Birthdays Equal Good Food

So, my birthday weekend was full of food and fun! Starting with the amazing chocolate cake Jeff got me for my birthday party Saturday night.

I forgot to take a picture of the whole thing but that slice looks pretty amazing, doesn’t it?  It was so rich and decadent.

My good friend, Jess, brought over a pitcher of sangria and a container of soy vanilla ice cream. We also ordered pizza (my favorite-garlic & tomato) but I failed and forgot to take a picture. I was having too much birthday fun. We stayed up playing Cranium until 3:30 in the morning. Then everybody camped out on our living room floor.

On Sunday morning (my birthday), a bunch of us went to brunch at Cafe Madison in downtown Albany.

Guess who joined us?

Mae from Ohh May! I love her-she’s so sweet…and ridiculous…

That’s her behind my Peach Bellini! I ordered Raspberry-Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes

They were so good and kept me full all the way till dinner. I also stole most of Jeff’s home fries and a slice or two of cinnamon-swirl toast. I love brunch!!

My family traveled  from Rockland County (about 2.5 hours south of Albany) to see me for my birthday! Even my adorable nephew, Nicholas, made the trip.

We went to dinner at Buca di Beppo,  a family-style Italian restaurant. Buca is a perfect place for large groups (there were eight of us) because you order a bunch of dishes for the whole table to share. Family-style restaurants are also perfect for my family because we always pass our dishes around to share anyway.

We ordered a pitcher of sangria to start off my birthday celebration.

Followed by an order of Bruschetta:

We decided to let each couple choose an entree to share. Jeff and I chose Eggplant Parmigiana.

With a humongous side of spaghetti marinara. Everything was delicious. The eggplant was a little bit crispier than I remember it being last time but it was still very good. We had a ton of leftovers and I’ve been eating them for dinner all week.

The waitress brought out a special cupcake for my birthday and had the people at the tables surrounding us sing to me.  It was pretty embarrassing.

I had a couple of bites and wrapped the rest. I was saving my  appetite for the chocolate birthday cake my mom made for me!

It was so good but whoa! CAKE OVERLOAD!

Notable Food-Related Birthday Presents:

• A bunch of fun stuff from Trader Joe’s including a pumpkin pancake and waffle mix and French Roast Coffee (plus money for new running shoes!) from my parents.
• Jeff gave me a waffle iron!!!!!! I’ve wanted one since last summer!!
• Mae gave me a gift card to Uncommon Grounds
• My brother and sister-in-law gave me an awesome cheese grater
• Jess gave me an issue of VegNews Magazine and Banana Bread Beer!!
• Jess’ sister, Erica, gave me a book called This Can’t Be Tofu
• Dara gave me a set of Starry Night Flexible Cutting Boards

Awesome, right!? It was a fantastic birthday!!

Injury Update:

Since I pulled an ab muscle, the doctor said no physical activity that involves working out my legs or abs for 4 weeks! AHHHHHHHH! Everything I do works out my abs! She said running may be ok but right now, I definitely don’t feel ok to run. I haven’t been to the gym in over a week. I’m freaking out a bit but I’ll deal. I might try the elliptical in the next few days. Jeff and I will be walking A LOT in D.C. so that should make me feel better about it.

Well, I’m off to bed!!

What do you typically do for your birthday!? What’s your favorite birthday celebration memory?

Have a great Wednesday!