As Canada turned the big 1-4-7 to the tune of magical fireworks [ps. I LOVE FIREWORKS!!!]; I, along with Lindsay Lohan + fellow Canadian Bret the Hitman Hart, were gearing up to turn another year older wiser.  This time around, instead of doing my usual dinner celebration at a restaurant, Mike + I hosted a little gathering.  Like a true Cancer, I sought pleasure and celebration in the comforts of my own home with the foods that I consider the most comforting and surrounded by the people that make me feel the most comfortable.  Selfish, perhaps, but on ones bday [or in my case, my bday week]…I’d say it’s allowed! #itsmybdayandilleatwhatiwantto

 I did what any hostess would do in preparation for a party; planned a menu + planned a cocktail offering + baked macarons and most importantly strung together a paper flower garland.  This floral creation took a couple of hours to make but I couldn’t be happier with how well it turned out.  I came across this DIY on The Lovely Nest blog once upon a google search.  I made the flowers from a combination of light weight card stock + scrapbooking papers + [recycled] paper shopping bags.  With a little help from my hot glue gun, scissors, and a spool of twine, these paper flowers were set to add a nice little floral bday pop to our day in day out condo decor.

and now onto the cocktails…

The theme for my party, if you didn’t already guess, was IT’S MY PARTY AND I’LL EAT WHAT I WANT TO and I figured my cocktail offering should follow suit.  I cleaned off the books and photo frames from the top of my bookshelf and turned it into a cocktail station.  We served up an offering of my faves.

…cocktail list…
PBRs [Pabst Blue Ribbon beer]
elderflower + sparkling [with choice of Belvoir elderflower cordial or St. Germain liqueur]
caesars [vodka or tequila] with pickled green beans for garnish

side note diy: To add an extra textural touch to my classic Ikea bookshelf, I created a fabric “table” cover by cutting a strip of burlap to the width of the shelf and finished it with a bright pink serged edge.  To prevent it from slipping around, I laid down a non slip mat [the same type of backing you would use for an area rug] before I laid down the burlap cover.  For continuity, I also created a matching table runner to accent the dining table. 

For once, we hosted a dinner party where Mike + Kial + Vinoth weren’t in the kitchen cooking up a storm.  My dinner menu was a deliciously huge mish mash of all my faves.

…dinner…
Doritos Cool Ranch chips
meat + cheese + baguette + olives + strawberry jam
nigiri + maki [from my Friday go-to local sushi joint]
McDonalds bacon cheeseburgers w/ sweet + sour packets [thanks Maddy]
fresh oysters
poutine
sauerkraut + mushroom perogies

    Mike + Co assembled the meat + cheese boards and made the poutine + perogies [from scratch].  The poutine recipe was from the Au Pied De Cochon cookbook.  PDC is one of my favourite restaurants.  Mike and I make sure to stop by whenever we are in Montréal and I have spent a bday dinner or 2 there.

I let the guys handle the dinner and I focused on desert.  Instead of a traditional birthday cake I opted for some smaller baked treats.

…desert…
strawberry macarons
banana cupcakes with peanut butter + cream cheese frosting

My actual bday [July 2nd] fell on a Wednesday.  I decided to celebrate early on the weekend prior to it.  I figured I may as well as it was kind of a long weekend and Maddy was in town.  However, Mike being Mike wanted to make me a dinner of my choosing on my actual DOB.  So I got to celebrate all over again!

…dinner #2…
app: caprese salad [with the most delicious buffalo mozzarella and pesto]
main: lobster risotto [with sweet peas + asparagus and chilli oil]
desert: Mike surprised me with 3 mini cakes from Nadegè Patisserie

[1] Marie Antoinette – hazelnut cake
[2] UJI -matcha cake
[3] Moment Acidulé – lemon + cassis tart

It was a great week of celebrations…now the sappy part….
I consider myself lucky to have such great friends and a great husband.  I know I’ve mentioned it in a past post, but like Thanksgiving + Christmas, birthdays feel like a piece is missing when not surrounded by family.  Though I’ve collected a bunch of misfits through various areas of my life…my work, Mike’s work, school, past Toronto lives…I consider you all [you know who you are] my Toronto family whether you like it or not!  Thanks to all you special people who joined me in indulging in all my fave indulgences.

…and then we watched fireworks and then went to the Jay Z + Beyoncé concert.
The End! Ha

happy bday to me!