Yesterday was my birthday -- I turned the big 3-3. It's kind of a random age; it lacks the "Gee, I guess I'm old now" feeling of 30, but isn't quite the "Joined a new demographic" age of 35. And happily, it's still a long way to 40. (Right?!)
The weekend was quite low-key. The weather was nice and sunny, though a bit brisk and quite cooler than Friday's 74 degrees. No complaints, though. Sunshine and blue skies work for me! After a bit of a sleep-in on Saturday D headed to the office for a few hours of work while I headed to Center City for a little retail therapy. After hitting up the Gap, Ann Taylor Loft, Sephora, and Macy's (and managing to only make three small purchases!), I stopped by Border's on the way home to see if there were any sales yet (our local store was just added to the chopping block) and treated myself to a peppermint cocoa trio (yum!) in their cafe. Upon arriving home I had a quick dinner of leftovers, then D and I headed out to Jet Wine Bar, which is located just a block or so away. We opted to share a bottle of the 2007 Steinbeck Syrah, a Californian wine from Paso Robles. We also shared a chocolate tart for dessert while watching old Starsky & Hutch episodes (with the sound off) on the large flatscreen TV behind the bar.
Sunday morning also got off to a late start (I love sleeping in!). After a quick breakfast we headed out on the town and, after running a couple of errands, we walked over to Reading Terminal Market, where we stopped off at the Down Home Diner for lunch. I opted for the grilled cheese and tomato sandwich (of course) with fries and a chocolate egg cream soda. Neither were life-changing, but they weren't bad either.
Following our meal we walked back through the Market to the Flying Monkey Bakery, where I bought a red velvet whoopie pie and a chocolate-dipped banana whoopie pie as snacks for later.
Afterward we meandered back home from the Market at 12th and Arch, and once here, D set to work baking me a chocolate cake from scratch. I lounged on the sofa; the birthday princess.
After the cake had been baked and iced, D and I headed out for Sunday School at Tria Cafe. The last time we went there was on a Sunday evening in late January; tonight the small restaurant was hopping, and we had to wait about half an hour for a table to open up. (Though they had seating outside under heat lamps, we weren't quite up to dining al fresco.) While waiting we each sipped on a glass of cava brut -- nothing says "Happy birthday!" like a flute of champagne! After being seated, we quickly got to work ordering and both took advantage of the day's Sunday School syllabus, which offers a low-priced glass of wine, cheese selection, and glass of beer. The wine du jour was a rosé, and the cheese was an earthy (and kind of stinky) selection from Switzerland.
For dinner I was boring and opted for the same entree I had last time -- a salad of mixed greens with mission figs, goat cheese, and pine nuts. But, yum, so good! D got a sandwich with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, tomato, arugula, and garlic vinaigrette. I ordered a glass of a malbec blend with my dinner while D opted for the Sunday School beer special -- a pint of Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball. We think our order got lost in the mix as it took quite awhile for it to show up at our table. As an act of good faith we received a comped dessert -- a nutella panino -- basically a grilled white bread sandwich slathered with nutella on the inside. (And remarkably tastier than its description might sound.)
Upon our arrival back home we both found ourselves too stuffed to slice into the magnificent chocolate cake. So, we opted to try the whoopie pies I bought earlier in the day, instead. The first one we tried (and I made my birthday wish on) was the red velvet pie. The icing was good, though the pie itself was a bit dry. I couldn't help but taste the chocolate-covered banana whoopie pie as well, and it did not disappoint. The chocolate was rich; the pie tasted like two slices of banana bread, and the icing was divine. If I had known that someone was going to eat the rest of it in the morning, I would have taken a bigger bite!
All in all, an excellent weekend and a fabulous birthday. Can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for me!
Oh, and one little note -- A Less Processed Life is now on Facebook -- who isn't? In order to avoid annoying my Facebook friends with daily blog posts, I've opted to add a daily blog feed to the fan page instead. You can "like" the site by clicking here.
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