birthday

An Early 16th Birthday!

We decided to celebrate Moose’s 16th birthday a few days early!

It was a rather space-themed day…we got him a pair of astronomy binoculars, and he received some space books and a planisphere to go with them. And a Lego set, because I don’t think it’s really a birthday if there are no Lego builds!

This afternoon, he led a rather raucous family game of Uno:

The space theme continued with his cake, which he asked me to decorate with the phases of the moon. I had to do it freehand, so it wasn’t perfect, but he seemed happy with it. I think it’s funny that he asked for a cake that went so well with his presents without his even knowing what they were!

It was fun to celebrate his birthday on a Saturday when we didn’t have any commitments, instead of on a weekday when everyone is busy with school and work!

Sartorial Saturday–Erstwilder’s 10th Birthday

Erstwilder is celebrating their 10th birthday this year, and to celebrate, they recently launched a “fan favorites” collection of some of their most-requested pieces (in some lovely new colorways!) from their decade of designing. I chose the “Oscar Wildenfox” brooch, partly because it is similar to the Flora Fox Face brooch that my Erstwilder handbag was designed after, and mostly because it’s GLITTERY!

Because Erstwilder is awesome, they included a birthday gift-with-purchase to their customers…this beautiful enamel pin:

I love a birthday celebration, and this one was no exception! I’m looking forward to seeing what lovely designs Erstwilder’s next decade will provide!

A Golden Bunny Day

Today is Bunny’s golden birthday!!! We started the day with presents:

I think she likes her new outfit!

We spent the day watching some of her favorite movies. We just got back from a short trip, so she was happy to stay at home and just relax. She picked her favorite dinner of Stromboli and Sunchips, just like she did last year:

She asked me to make a cake that looks like Wrecker’s stuffed friend, Lula, in The Bad Batch. I think it turned out ok, although it should be more red than pink.

Happy Birthday Bunny!

Happy Birthday to Me!

It’s my birthday…I woke up to a party this morning!

My family gave me some wonderful presents (as always!):

The one thing I really wanted to do today was go somewhere interesting and see something beautiful. I decided on the Lafayette Square neighborhood of St. Louis, where we got to see a charming park and some stunning architecture (plus a little history thrown in, for fun!):

Since we were visiting a park named for “America’s Favorite Fighting Frenchman,” I wore my French Market skirt from Pinup Girl Clothing, and accessorized with my favorite color, purple:

When we got home, I attended an all-penguin birthday party on Gloriana:

I’m so happy Roald came to my birthday!!!

We watched one of my favorite movies this afternoon (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), and I kept that theme going with a Chicago-style pizza for dinner:

Speaking of Chicago, my birthday cake was a copycat of the Portillo’s chocolate cake recipe. Bunny baked it, Ladybug frosted it, and Chickadee sprinkled it:

I ended the day watching our favorite pitmaster, David Sandusky of Beast Craft BBQ, compete on the premiere episode of season two of BBQ Brawl on Food Network (he advanced to the next round!), and visiting Chickadee’s island for a birthday celebration at her house:

I had a great time celebrating my birthday with my family!

Fourteen (on Mother’s Day)!

It’s not often that Ladybug’s birthday falls on Mother’s Day (I think it happened once before), but this year, we got to have a double celebration! After church, she got right to opening presents…I think she was pretty happy with the things she received!

This afternoon, we watched a few of her favorite movies, while I worked on dinner. For the second year in a row, she requested cabbage rolls and mashed potatoes…I think my cabbage rolling technique was much better this year, because they really didn’t fall apart in the cooking process!

She asked me to make a mirror glaze for her cake, which is not something I’d done before. Fortunately, I did a test run last month, so I knew what needed improvement, and in the end, I think I may have reached the pinnacle of my cake decorating abilities with this dessert! Yes, there is edible glitter on it!

And here’s a little glimpse at Mother’s Day (although the Oreo truffle bouquet is technically from last weekend, but it was made for a Mother’s Day celebration, so I think it still counts):

Happy Birthday Ladybug!

Nine!

Today is Chickadee’s ninth birthday! First things first…presents! She received some outfits for one of her American Girl dolls, a Lego set from her siblings, and a bunch of new clothes…when you’re the youngest of three girls, getting previously unworn clothes is A Big Deal! There was even an outfit change partway through the day!

When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday breakfast, she requested chocolate waffles. She is the first one of the Fab Five to ask me to actually make something for breakfast instead of getting store-bought cinnamon rolls or Toaster Strudel or something similar. I did cheat a little, and made them last night so they just needed a quick reheat in the waffle iron this morning.

Since we’re still not eating out because of COVID-19, I had her pick something she wanted me to make for dinner. She asked for breakfast again…this time, breakfast casserole and smoothies:

As she often does, she chose an elephant cake for dessert:

This evening, I visited her island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and gave her one of the few yellow dresses she didn’t already own as a gift. I also love the birthday shades she got in the game!

It was a rather low-key birthday for the second year in a row…we didn’t go anywhere or have any visitors. We did watch some of her favorite movies, though, and she introduced me to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which I actually liked quite a lot. We had a very fun day celebrating Chickadee!

18 is Golden

Today is a very special day, because not only is it Turkey’s 18th Birthday, it is also his Golden Birthday! We started the day with gifts…I’m so glad he still likes Lego sets!

His big present was a Lego pirate ship…it took him a good part of the day to build!

He asked for turkey for his birthday dinner…I made most of the traditional Thanksgiving side dishes to go with it:

And a chocolate mocha trifle for dessert:

Frankly, I’m still having a hard time figuring out where the years have gone, but I do know how proud I am of my first-born!

(Throwback) Chickadee Thursday

Today is Turkey’s 18th birthday, and I can’t help remember back to when he was Chickadee’s age almost nine years ago when I look at the two of them today!

How the years have flown by!

February Penguin Birthdays

As was the case in January, three of my penguin neighbors on Gloriana (Boomer, Sprinkle, and Puck), celebrated birthdays this month:

Now there won’t be another penguin birthday party on my island until fall!

January Penguin Birthday Parties

January was a busy month on my island in Animal Crossing New Horizons…three out of my eight penguin neighbors celebrated birthdays!

Gloriana has another three penguin birthdays this month…I love that so many of them have their birthdays during winter!