scenes from my birthday weekend

justin and i were awakened at 7:00 am, on a sunday morning, by a telemarketer. bastards.

we got up since we were awake anyway, and i made biscuits, which we ate with herbed butter and boca italian sausage coins and pomegranate juice. our house is completely clean and we had no obligations this morning, so we got to climb back in bed and, ahem, continue the birthday celebration.

and my birthday was an all-around lovely day.

i woke up early yesterday and got the urge to clean out my closet. okay, it wasn't a particularly lovely task, but it was satisfying when completed. if being 36 means i get an urge-a-day like that one, things will be much nicer around here from now on. we decided on the perfect place to hang my birthday mola in the living room and got it put up and the lighting rearranged with a minimum of cursing.

justin and i went to the market and had our breakfast on the balcony before buying all the fresh stuff for the party, and to farkas bakery for a dobos torte for my birthday cake, and to family dollar for paper goods and coloring books. we cooked and cleaned like crazy, then got ourselves cleaned up and went to our friend charlie's first birthday party. he was intrigued by the caterpillar xylophone/keyboard we got him, but he really got into his cake that looked like a turtle. he's a reserved person, so it was nice to see him really enjoying smacking his hands in a puddle of frosting.

despite the anxiety i always have before we have a party, it was a relaxed evening. catherine arrived first with stephen and sam, who is model-cute; he has blonde hair and blue eyes outlined with dark lashes. he should be in a toddler snowsuit in the ll bean catalog. catherine brought me a beautiful silver necklace; my camera is not good enough to get it properly into focus, but it has an interwoven design acknowleding the past, present and future. it was so nice to finally meet catherine in person; we should have done it a long time ago, no farther apart than we live. i was surprised by how soft-spoken she is! she is so passionate on her blog that i expected her to be more dramatic; instead she is ladylike and composed. who knew.

there were 20 of us over the course of the evening, which is probably the perfect number when we're not opening up the carriage house and the weather is too dreary to spill over into the yard. my friend dyan brought me a clear, red recorder for my birthday, and i offered to play it with our friends who brought their guitars and played some blues for us, but they weren't too keen on jamming with me on "peace must be our goal" - the only song i could remember from my fourth grade recorder class. i did play it solo, though, to everyone's delight. really.

in the kitchen we had eggplant dip with sourdough crostini, caprese salad on a stick (toothpicks threaded with grape tomatoes and tiny balls of fresh mozzarella and basil leaves and drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil on the platter), baked artichoke squares, thin wedges of spinach pizza, mushroom bread triangles, and a very garlicky cheese ball with assorted crackers. in the former den/hans's room/storage room/now den again, we had a tray piled with orange slices and red grapes, and a big bowl of halloween candy, and later slices of the dobos torte. justin unveiled his scottish ale, and i enjoyed a lovely bottle of cava. writing about it is making me hungry; i think i need to go forage for some leftovers. if you want to nosh with me, and want to pretend you are a 1950s housewife, you can make a cheeseball like mine. here is my recipe:

garlic cheese ball

4 c shredded cheddar cheese
4 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 c sour cream
1/3 c chopped green onion
4 crushed garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

mash cheddar and cream cheeses together. mix in sour cream. stir in green onions, garlic, hot sauce, and vinegar. shape and roll into a ball. wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate for two hours, or until firm. toss paprika and chili powder together in a gallon-size ziploc bag. add cheese ball and toss in the powder to coat.