Happy Birthday to me

This is the gorgeous just-baked-that-morning peanut butter cream pie my husband bought for me for my birthday over the weekend. I’m not a big cake fan, so he went out to our awesome local bakery Auntie Em’s, and nabbed this one-of-a-kind lovely for my birthday celebration. They make a different pie every day, so this was a unique item.

I had asked my husband to plan the day since I was too busy, and he came through with flying colors. We did all kinds of things we both love, all packed into one day. So after he presented me with my pie to eat for dessert that evening, we walked to our favorite French coffee shop for cafe au lait and croissants. Then we picked up sandwiches from our local Italian bakery for a picnic at the Huntington gardens and museum, where we have a membership. It was a gorgeous day and we spent all afternoon there, strolling in the gardens and enjoying the art. We came home and rested for about an hour and then headed down to our local wine shop, the Colorado Wine Company, where we each chose a glass of wine from several they had on offer that day. Next door, I picked a couple of salads and they delivered them to us at the wine shop. A friend joined us for another glass of wine, and then we went home to join another friend and partake of the delicious pie. Our French friend proclaimed it “luscious.”

It was a perfect day, especially because my husband planned it with things we both enjoy and I felt his love all day long. He even acted as “pack mule” at the museum, lugging all our paraphenalia, so I felt free as a bird, without even having to carry a purse.

I declare it the perfect Compact-y birthday, because the only “stuff” involved was the pie, and that was a consumable, much enjoyed by all who shared it with us. I didn’t insist on the non-consumer part, it’s just the way we live. :)

Please share some of your favorite Compact-y, non-consumer activities in the Comments section. Happy Spring!

Comments

  1. says

    Happy belated Birthday, Angela! Your day sounded just divine. The peanut butter cream pie is making my mouth water!

    My favorite non-consumer activities are visiting the parks, libraries and local farms. I’d love to learn more about bird watching, and when we move into our new two family home (hopefully soon!), I’m excited to garden and cook in our nice spacious kitchen, including some recipes from my mom’s copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Maybe I should get a recipe for peanut butter cream pie too. :-)

    • Angela says

      Thanks Catherine! The pie was amazing.

      Parks and libraries are two of my favorites as well. I don’t visit any local farms or even know where they are, but I do go to the Farmer’s Market as often as I can.

      I’m intrigued by the idea of a two-family home. Are you doing that with friends or family? And it sounds wonderful to be able to cook in a nice kitchen and try recipes from that classic book. Best of luck!

      And thanks for commenting. :)

      • says

        Hi again Angela! No family/friends, the upstairs will be rented out to another family. We hope to have our own single family one day, but for now it’s a good way to save money. At the moment we don’t need that much space. The only tricky thing is hoping you’ll get good renters. We’re in a two family now and the renters downstairs play loud music far too much.

        I love farmer’s markets too!

        • Angela says

          Catherine, That sounds like a great plan and I have seen it work very well for a number of friends and acquaintances. There are a lot of duplexes in L.A. so that is a common thing to do. If you get good renters, it can be fantastic financially. So good luck with it- and it will be your choice so that helps a lot.

  2. Lilypad says

    I am also a March baby and had a great day this year. My husband and son (10) spent the day with me. We ate out—which is always a special treat!—and the weather was nice, which is rare in Seattle in March, so we went for a walk. I had marked a few pairs of earrings on etsy.com that I liked, and my son chose one $25 pair for me, and that was all I wanted. (I don’t usually ask for a present but since I turned 45, I figured that was a good number that needed something special!) (And my husband had a credit on PayPal, so they were even cheaper. A man after my own heart!) I love my earrings and knowing they were handcrafted and chosen for me with love makes them all the more beautiful.
    Thanks for sharing your special day, and many happy returns!

    • Angela says

      Your birthday sounds wonderful! The older I get, the more I realize that the best part of a birthday is spending time with people you love. I loved the day with my husband, especially that he was completely focused on me and making me happy and not distracted by chores or other things. :)

      I think we should have a “birthday” type of day once a month. I think I’ll talk to him about it. :)

      Happy 45th! That is indeed a year that deserves a special celebration. And enjoy your earrings!

      Thanks so much for commenting.

  3. Hilda says

    Happy birthday to you Angela, and many more. Sounds like you had a great day. My husbands 65th birthday was March 27. We just got home a few minutes ago from 2 nights at Santa Cruz KOA. The off season prices are great, they start going up on April 1st. We had a 1 room cabin and enjoyed the hot tub and pool twice, drove around Capitola beach area. It’s a beautiful KOA and we even enjoyed playing ping pong in the rec room. We haven’t played that in a long time and we had so much fun. He beat me by a long shot.
    Also, we spent very little money on food. We had a great time.

    • Angela says

      Oh, Hilda, your husband’s birthday celebration sounds perfect! I absolutely love the Santa Cruz/Capitola area, and a cabin with a hot tub and pool sounds heavenly. In fact, I am going to check it out the next time we are visiting friends in that area. :)

      We have a ping pong table and love to play. My husband nearly always beats me. :)

      Glad he had a nice birthday and thanks for sharing it with us. Happy birthday to Larry!

  4. says

    Happy birthday, Angela, and I’m glad there was pie!
    I celebrated my December birthday in one of the goofiest ways possible, at the Talkeetna Bachelor Auction and Wilderness Woman Competition in Talkeetna, Alaska. We always have a good time there, even when there ISN’T pie.

    • Angela says

      Thanks Donna!
      Your birthday celebration does sound goofy, and by that I mean original, and super fun! Wow. Do you have friends/relatives in Alaska?

      Great to hear from you.

  5. Marie-Josée says

    Happy belated birthday Angela! What a wonderful day your husband planned for you, and boy does your birthday pie look yummy! And you got to spend time with friends as well! We seem to always be pressed for time, so I guess my favorite compacty thing is having the luxury of time to savor each moment and just be. Your birthday is a perfect example of such a day.

    xox

    Marie-Josée

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