Birthday Weekend Eats and Treats

Just checking in to share a few of my birthday eats and treats from yesterday. I shared a few snapshots from my pre-birthday dinner on Saturday, but wanted to showcase a few more and bask in my birthday glow a little longer. And also, it gave me something to do today while I prepare to take the New York Bar Exam tomorrow and Wednesday. I decided treating this test like a race was the best idea, and that tapering was a good call, so I spaced out my studies and gave myself plenty of time, and took most of the weekend off from Friday through this morning. This afternoon, I’ll review a bit more before having dinner and getting to bed at a decent hour (we have to be at the test center at 7:30am tomorrow, so I need to leave my apartment by 6:30am). I’ll check back in when it’s all over, but until then, I leave you with these morsels of deliciousness…

 

Yesterday morning, I woke up to rain. But that ended by 8:30am, and as I went out on my run, the sun broke out by the end of my first mile, a happy birthday present from the sky. I breakfasted along the way on a few more of those berries, and when I got home and showered made a proper birthday brunch. An omelet with muenster cheese and grilled chicken, a side of cucumber slices and baby carrots, and a yogurt with more wild raspberries and fresh blueberries. All great refueling after a solid 7.5 miles!

 

 

 

 

Best of all, this brunch ended with a cupcake from Swoon Bakery in Ridgefield, a dedicated gluten-free and nut-free bakery that makes the best treats! My parents got me a Very Vanilla and I topped it with rainbow sprinkles, and they split a Straciatella cupcake (vanilla and chocolate marbled cake with chocolate chips) to share in the birthday sweetness with me. Swoon cakes and cupcakes are absolutely delicious, very dense and moist, and a little bit goes a long way. That didn’t stop me from polishing off my entire cupcake in about five minutes, but I savored every bite! It’s awesome to have a bakery like this right here in our little Connecticut town.

 

 

 

For dinner we went to one of my favorite diners, EJ’s Luncheonette, back in NYC, because I had to be back in the city for Tuesday and Wednesday’s testing. I was pretty tired and it was even hotter and more humid in the city than in Connecticut, and I completely forgot my purse when we left the apartment so there are no photos. Instead, here are some from Friday night (pre-pre-birthday?) My family had dinner at home. We grilled wild sockeye salmon which was awesome. We always eat a lot of it in summer, and I love it, so it’s great for me when I’m home! There was also broccoli rabe sautéed with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, and feta cheese. And of course my rice and veggie grape leaves.

 

 

 

On Sunday evening, I had breakfast-for-dinner including an omelette with feta, mushrooms, tomatoes and basil, and a side of sweet potato fries. Afterwards, we made a trip up to Emack and Bolio’s where I had my third round of birthday weekend ice cream. Caramel Moose Prints (Moose Tracks with an extra ribbon of caramel) with rainbow sprinkles on top! 

And now, I’m off to do a little revising and a lot of relaxing before the big day tomorrow. See you on the other side 🙂

 

 

 

What were you up to this weekend? How do you typically celebrate your birthday?

 

 

 

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