Sunday, November 2, 2008

The Perfect Way to Celebrate

Many of you guessed correctly that yesterday indeed was World Vegan Day and my (16th) birthday!I was pretty excited when I learned last year that they were on the same day- I suppose veganism is just my destiny :) My birthday was fabulous and I really wasn't expecting very many gifts since I told my parents that there wasn't anything I really wanted, but they were so sweet and went WAY above and beyond my expectations!

I actually was given this the night before my birthday (Halloween) from my family so I would have my own vegan candy to enjoy while they ate their Halloween candy. It's a gift basket from Pangea Vegan Store filled with: VeganSweets Chocolate Spread (tastes like hot fudge), VeganSweets Belgian Chocolates, Whizzers speckled eggs and chocolate soccer balls, a Mint Coconut Crispy Cat candy bar, a fudge brownie, a Tropical Source Mint Crunch bar, an almond chocolate bar, and an almond chocolate truffle bar. Talk about a chocolate overload!!! I told my family that I would be more than okay with it if they helped me out with finishing all of this candy because I know I will never be able to.

On the day of my birthday, it was time for more gifts! I was given two adorable t-shirts, some Alba shampoo, conditioner, body cream, and body wash, a cute striped scarf (not pictured), a turning cake stand (not pictured), a grapefruit-scented candle (not pictured), and a gift card to both Pangea Vegan Store and LUSH. Some friends of mine stopped by later that night and surprised me with a recycled notebook, some pomegranate goji berry red tea (it's a little joke between my friend and I because I always mention how I love tea and she always talks about how she hates it), and a slice of Chocolate peanut Butter Cake from Blind Faith Cafe.

All I wanted to do that day was go out to dinner with my family (and what better way to celebrate World Vegan Day as well?). I originally wanted to go to the Chicago Diner, but instead my Dad suggested we try Lake Side Cafe because it's closer and can seat more people (I had no idea why this was important if it would only be my family....). On our way there, my mom surprised me by telling me that she was going to pick up some other friends of mine to go out to dinner with us (then I understood why we need a place that could easily seat more people)! As always, I didn't bring my camera to dinner because I was so caught up in being around people I care about and having a good time that I didn't even want to bother with that. But I can tell you that I ordered the Vegan Gyros and apple cider to drink, and both were outstanding! I ate the leftovers of my gyro for lunch today and it still tasted amazing. For dessert, there was yet another surprise! The waitress brought out a huge chocolate birthday cake with a candle on it (the candle played the tune of "Happy Birthday" when it was lit, so I heard it before it came to the table and caught on). We were all so stuffed that we only had half slices of cake, but if I hadn't been so full I could have had a few more slices for sure. The cake was moist and the frosting was super chocolatey and fluffy, yet not at all too sweet. We brought the rest of the cake home, so I'm looking forward to a slice of that tonight :) Thankfully, everyone in my family and both of my friends really enjoyed their food and, most importantly, we all enjoyed each other's company and had a fun dinner.

As you can tell, between the two different chocolate cakes and the basket of chocolate candies, I am overwhelmed with the amount of chocolate I have in my house right now and I'm not sure how I'm going to even attempt to finish some of it. Oh well, trying is the fun part :) I really wasn't expecting much in the way of a birthday celebration this year, but it was by far my best birthday ever thanks to my awesome family.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you had such an amazing birthday! All of your gifts look amazing and so does that cake!!!


Do you use LUSH products now? Are they any good?

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Wow, what a super-sweet family! It sounds like the perfect birthday, and your gift basket is sooooo cool!

Happy Birthday/ World Vegan Day!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, GIRL!!! Such amazing treats :0)

Destiny's Kitchen said...

Happy Birthday! I love Pangea too! MANY years ago, I bought vegan Doc Martens from them. And we won't go into all the treats I've gotten from them. :o)

Anonymous said...

Aw, happy belated birthday! That is one kick-ass cake, too!

tofufreak said...

happy birthday!!! it looks like you had a great one!!! :D sounds like bunches of fun =)

Emma @ Bake Sew Grow said...

Aww what a lovely birthday! It sounds like you had a great day, that cake looks yummy! Don't think I'd have any trouble finishing all that chocolate off, hehe! ^_^ I love that I ♥ tofu t-shirt too, it's just a shame I don't actually like tofu or I could get one too! =)

Emma said...

It sounds as though you had an amazing birthday! That cake looks really good and the'I love tofu' t-shirt' is sooo cute!

Rural Vegan said...

Happy birthday! Glad you had such a great time and that cake looks amazing!

x said...

What awesome b'day gifts!! Happy B'day! :)

Vegan_Noodle said...

Happy belated birthday!!! Sounds like it was a fun one. How sweet of your family and friends to treat you. Oooh, and a gift certificate to Lush... very luxurious! I love their bath bombs!!

Erin said...

Happy very belated birthday!!! Looks like you were well taken care of. I LOVE the I heart tofu shirt!

Anonymous said...

Happy belated birthday. What a wonderful surprise! I love your new I <3 Tofu shirt.