Birthday Celebration (Part II)!

On the BIG day, Jim and I woke up pretty early for an important meeting with our CPA since it is the first year we'll be filing taxes as a married couple -- eek!  Afterward, we went to Bruegger's and I had my favorite, a poppy seed bagel with olive and pimento cream cheese, plus a yummy cup of golden french toast coffee.





It was the perfect breakfast and made me wonder: why don't I ever stop at the Bruegger's near our house on weekends?  I used to love bagels from childhood all through college, but ever since I deemed them a bad carb and I've seemingly been missing out on one of my favorite breakfasts for nearly a decade.  Now, that I'm well into my early 30s, I think I'll make an effort not to deprive myself so much...everything in moderation, right?

Next, Jim indulged my desire for a LONG overdue first trip to Fresh Market, an upscale grocery store that opened in Latham this past year.  He was a little on the fence because he was worried that it would be all weird, organic, vegetarian stuff.  I, however, fell in love the minute I stepped in the door.  As for Jim, once he saw the gourmet salads and meats, he warmed up to the idea.  I think he was sold when  he noticed that the Irish soda bread was still warm as he placed  it in our shopping basket.  I decided to treat myself to some licorice mix (one of my fave things) for my birthday and Jim picked out
some pretty flowers for me.

As you can see, we came away with quite a spread.  After trying everything, I think my favorite is the amaretto almond coffee, seriously the best I've had in my life.  I've been saving it for weekends only in an effort to savor it...it's seriously that good.  The second and third runner-ups are the pesto pasta salad and chicken salad, respectively.  There will be MANY more weekend trips to Fresh Market in my future!

The loot!

Later that day, Jim presented me with my presents, a NintendoWii, which included two games, a car racing game and a steering wheel.  I was psyched!

I love opening presents!

We spent most of the rest of the day setting up the Wii and testing out our new games.  We even made a last minute trip to Target to buy another controller before consuming my scrumptious birthday cake, which was aptly named chocolate decadence (thanks Cooking Light).

Do you have specific birthday traditions, or enjoy different things each year?