Readers who have been following my blog
regularly know that I absolutely love birthdays; they are a sort of small
personal holiday celebration.
A couple of months ago it was my birthday
and I wanted to celebrate by doing something special. No huge plans, just spoil
myself along with a glass of bubbles, delicious tapas and a glorious cake! And be
in good company.
In the evening, we went out for one last
drink at Le Verre à Monique, a speakeasy cocktail
bar.
I had a marvellous time and feel grateful
to have such wonderful people around me. This was such a fun small party and I
had a blast, so that is all that matters!
As for my look, I wore an azure dress for
my party, which I had fallen in love with at first sight in the shop
window. I paired it with these red sandals and my favourite bracelets...
Sweetheart’s birthday card. The first one
I opened was from him, just before his trip.
Gifts...books, beauty products, home décor
items, clothes...and this stunning bouquet of flowers from my lovely sister...
For the table decoration, I used a white
table cloth and napkins; I picked some Evelyne Dahlias, Daisies and a Fittonia
plant in the market. Then I added some candles…
For the food, I kept it simple and tasty.
We had a variety of “summer appetisers”
Skewers of melon with Serrano ham
Cherry tomato, mozzarella, olive and basil
skewers
Salmon, avocado grapefruit and St-Môret
rolls
Tuna fish empanadas
Duck mousse toasts (walnut bread)
For drinks - the day was very warm so cold
bubbles were welcome - we had sparkling wine (Freixenet Ice and Café de Paris)
and fruity chilled rosé…
I was very specific on what I wanted my
cake to look like. I wanted a chocolate and berry cake with a chocolate
ganache. I made one from “The
Australian Women’s Weekly” cookbook - awesome cakes! I adapted it by
completely covering the cake with a thick chocolate ganache, then I decorated
it with blackberries, currants and strawberries. I must admit that I was truly
proud of this cake, which was extraordinarily delicious. Probably the most
delicious chocolate cake I had tasted in ages.
