Celebrate! (Giveaway Post)

Have you all missed me?? I know I’ve missed you all… but it’s been a SUPER busy week full of celebrations that went way past my bedtime most nights. Therefore, blogging has taken a back seat. But I’m back today, and make sure you’re in a comfortable seat, you have about 3 days worth of stuff to look at! I’ll keep it photo-heavy and not too much reading…

A huge thank you goes out to each and every one of you that sent me sweet birthday messages throughout the day on Thursday! Every time my phone would “ding” with a new message, I’d get a warm and fuzzy feeling!

I started my day early (5 a.m. or so) and was greeted by Adam, carrying a birthday Boston cream donut (a favorite!) with a candle in it, along with a sweet card, iced coffee, and a breakfast sandwich for later in the morning when I was sure to get hungry.

I spent my birthday at camp, and was absolutely floored by the number of cards and gifts I received! One gift in particular though, was beyond thoughtful. Two moms I’ve come to know and love over the years are What’s for Dinner readers, and presented me with this beautiful box of spices from the Spice House in Evanston, IL.

Thank you so much Lisa and Kim! These will surely make an appearance again! Camp was a blast, and I had so much fun passing out the mini cupcakes I made for the campers and staff. My little girls got one version of the cupcakes, served in appropriate “duckie” wrappers:

The remaining staff and campers got a different kind of wrapper, in the form of “nut and party cups” for a sturdier final product. They were a bit harder to unwrap, but held up so well that I can’t wait to use them again!

Later in the day, after going to the pool and hanging out with my girls for a while, my mom and David surprised me at the forest preserves with MORE cupcakes and a birthday present!

I’ll get to the gift in a minute… it was absolutely a beautiful day!

I got home to a surprise from Adam, two things I’ve wanted and wouldn’t buy for myself:

A new rolling pin (since I had kidnapped the one from the cooking room at school as my own, and had to give it back) and Toy Story on Blu-Ray! There was much more from him this weekend, but you’ll have to wait to see…

Our first stop of the night was to use the birthday present from my mom and David to get something I’ve been wanting for oh, about 5 years. It’s small, shiny, electronic, and made by Apple.

I GOT AN iPHONE!!!! I’m a little excited. The remaining pictures from the night are taken with its sexy camera.

We then headed out to a restaurant I’ve been hearing about in blog land for a while, and just opened here: Seasons 52.

Since it was, well, my birthday, I started with a glass of Moscato wine that was AMAZING (Mondavi 2008), and Adam ordered us a Pellegrino.

We started with a spicy yellowtail sushi roll (really, are you surprised?)

Adam also ordered a bowl of their buffalo chili, and I got a tomato and balsamic salad:

For my entree, it was really hard for me to decide on what to order since everything on their menu is 475 calories or under. I decided on the roasted pork tenderloin with polenta, mushrooms, spinach, and a sherry sauce. I was not disappointed!

Adam ordered the crab stuffed shrimp, which were fantastic:

Then, came one of the things Seasons 52 is famous for: their shot glass desserts! I was presented with a candle topped tower of dessert shots, and we were told to choose two… of course, we chose 4.

From the left: Strawberry shortcake, chocolate peanut butter, key lime pie, and s’mores. Mine were the middle two and they rocked. I’m so glad to know that they’re so good, because a glass of wine and shot glass desserts sounds like a fun night out to me!

Now, to help me celebrate, the lovely people at Chavrie (you know, the goat cheese people)have offered you all a fantastic giveaway. Are you ready for this? Are you sitting down? Chavrie celebrates each season, and since my favorite thing to celebrate in summer is my birthday, I wanted to time this giveaway this way. For the FTC: Yes, I received this prize too, for free, and have not been compensated in any way.

For the low low price of a comment about your favorite birthday memory, you will be entered to receive:

• One Pottery Barn vintage wood chip and dip set (approximate value: $50)
• Coupons for free Chavrie cheese (approximately $5 value each)
• A Chavrie goat cheese cookbook

The chip and dip set is seriously beautiful. It’s made of carved natural and sustainably harvested mango wood with a porcelain insert for your favorite dip.

For additional entries, you may do the following, but please make sure you leave a separate comment for each one.

• “Like” What’s for Dinner on Facebook
• Tweet about the giveaway, mentioning @imadedinner, @chavrie, and link to this post
• Link back to this post on your blog OR leave a separate comment about your favorite use for goat cheese.

I’ll have two more birthday-related posts for you in coming days, and never fear, you’ll get the cupcake recipe!

Have a great rest of your Sunday, and TGIM!

Tagged as: Baking, birthday, camp, chavrie, cheese, Chicago dining, cupcake, date night, dinner out, family, fun, giveaway, local, out, pork, twitter