After brunch I went for a massage. I had won a complimentary massage back in May at work and this was a perfect occasion to use it :) The massage was wonderful! It felt so amazingly good. My doctor thinks that I should go at least once a week and I'm going to try. After the massage I went to a local day spa. My husband had given me a gift certificate for the spa as my birthday present. (Thanks honey!) I got my eyebrows waxed. It has been, literally two years since I've had this done. So it was way overdue. They look so nice when they're done. I'm saving the rest of the gift certificate for massages...
After that I took a couple of coupons I had and went to a hairdressers. I was just going to get a trim but they were having twenty percent off colouring and boy, did my colour need to be redone! Plus I had a coupon I could use for that as well as one for the cut. In the end I got my hair coloured and trimmed :) An awesome and lovely day of pampering!
These are the decorations the girls made. Aren't they cute? Emma (my eldest daughter Hardynn's best friend, who the family has known for years) made them. She got the idea from Martha Stewart. Emma has just started her own blog where she writes about her attemts at being a (sorta) domestic diva. You can find her at http://www.minimartha21.wordpress.com/
This was the first course. Maddie made it. She browned a slab of millet/rice bread in olive oil (which is how we do it, we don't brown it in the oven. I got the idea from watching "Julie and Julia") then topped it with a homemade bruschetta mix. The salad was lightly steamed snowpeas, slivered peppers, mint from the garden and a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice. She did a great job. It was really good.
The main course was quinoa pasta topped with sauteed asparagus. red peppers, zuchinni, mushrooms and garlic. Topped with vegan parmesan (we found a parmesan we actually like!). It was fabulous. I was really proud of the kid!
Then the piece de resistence: vegan, GF, sugar free chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing from the Babycakes cookbook. It's a famous bakery in New York city.
These cupcakes were sooooo good. Seriously. They weren't dry, which can sometimes be an issue with gluten free. They were moist, they had substance and they were intensely chocolatey. All in all an amazing experience :) Thanks Emma and Maddie!!
These cupcakes were sooooo good. Seriously. They weren't dry, which can sometimes be an issue with gluten free. They were moist, they had substance and they were intensely chocolatey. All in all an amazing experience :) Thanks Emma and Maddie!!
Here are the chefs: Emma and Maddie! On top of making me dinner they gave me some great gifts. Maddie made me some wonderful bath stuff. A chocolate and orange body butter and citrus sugar scrub, body oil and bath salts. All made with love and care. Emma gave me a huge tub of detox bath soak with calendula and a cute window garden kit with flowers from France. She also made me lovely card. My son Sam drew me a great superhero picture for my inspiration wall. My step daughter drew me a picture and made me a card with an inspirational quote. My Mom gave me some money I was supposed to spend only on myself and my son Josh gave me 2 movies I love ("An Education" and "The Last Station") and he lent me his buddha to use on my altar until I find my own :)
The only thing missing was my eldest daughter who is living 6 hours away and couldn't come home for my birthday. This is Hardynn with her boyfriend Johnny. I spent a lot of the day thinking of her. I also spent a lot of time thinking of my goals for the coming year. Once I have them all figured out, I'll share.
-Carolyn
