Thursday, October 16, 2014

Thirty.

Today is my 30th Birthday. Today. Thirty.

That sounds weird. I'm not struggling with the implications of getting older, but just the sound of this new word that helps to define me. It sounds strange.

Anyway, it's kind of been a week of celebrating. We had my "big party" on Sunday night with Trav's family where he made me this cake.

Then Tuesday I got a special delivery at work from my Mom & Dad.


30 carnations for my 30th birthday. Aren't they pretty? This way I get to enjoy them all week long, too.

How we're really celebrating is by taking a little road trip to St. Louis. There will be eating, wine, some site seeing, and a half marathon. Oh yea, that's how I'm taking my mind off things. By training for a race.

It will be a short trip, only four days, but it's always good to get back to see my family and visit one of my favorite cities.

The true celebration is the week after we come back. There is a really great Caribbean restaurant up here that Travis and I just love. True, you would not think Caribbean fare fits in well with your typical Iron Range pizza and wing establishments, but this place is pretty popular. We like to save it for special occasions.

They just so happen to be doing an "Island Hopping Rum Dinner" on the 29th. The tasting menu includes:

- Turtle soup (Bahamas) served with Pikliz (Haitian~ tangy, spicy slaw)
- Curried Oxtail (Jamaica)
- Prawn Mofungo (Puerto Rican~ mashed, fried plantain dish with prawns)
- Boliche Cubano (Cuban~stuffed beef roast with chorizo)
- Coconut Flan (Tobago)


Each course comes with a "rum based cocktail from that region to compliment the flavor profile of the dish being served". Rum is pretty much the only hard alcohol I can handle, so I'm pretty excited about this experience. 

I will honestly say that the turtle soup and oxtail dishes make me a little nervous, but I'm willing to be adventurous! 

So, it kind of seems like we will be celebrating my birthday for approximately two weeks. That seems accurate, no? 

Do you do anything special for your birthday? Have you had turtle or oxtail? 

2 comments:

  1. I have never had turtle or oxtail. Sounds so adventurous!

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! I hope you have a wonderful day. What gorgeous flowers.

    For my birthday we typically go out to eat with friends. :)

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  2. Hope you had a great birthday! My birthday is at the beginning of October so we usually end up celebrating from then until Ben's birthday (October 2-16), so I definitely think celebrating for 2 weeks is totally fine!

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