Before the quarter-life crisis came about, I actually had quite a nice weekend celebrating my birthday with some of my favourite people. We had big plans of Halloween costumes and Luna park, but things got sidetracked a bit, so we kept it more low key. It turned out to be a very eventful weekend that revolved mostly around food.
On Saturday evening, a bunch of friends went out and semi-celebrated my birthday and Samantha’s. We had dinner and drinks, probably more drinks than dinner, but it was lovely none the less. We dined at the Deck, overlooking the Sydney Harbour.
The next morning went better than expected (hangover-wise) and I put the icing on the cake (literally).
the CAKE!
Yes. I baked my own birthday cake. But this is only because I have eaten this specific cake for 24 years and ONLY on my birthday. There is no way I was not going to make it. Normally it isn’t vegan, but a couple of tweaks made it absolutely perfect. I need to work on my icing skills, but that’s taken care of thanks to the cupcake decorating course that I recieved as a gift from my boyfriend and his mother. 🙂
We went out for lunch that day to an all vegan Yum Cha restaurant that I had read about in a Sydney guide book. It is hidden in-between a cathedral and an aquatic center in a park in the middle of the city.
bodhi! all vegan delicious-ness
I’d never had Yum Cha before so I was very excited and this spot exceeded all my expectations. The food was so delicious and there was plenty of it! I will definitely be heading back there for some dinner in the near future. I can only imagine how pretty it would be at night with all the twinkle lights and the beautiful surroundings.
Post-lunch we enjoyed the carrot-cake which was just as delicious as I remember it. So moist and sweet.
Once Sean’s family left he got to work on carving the pumpkin. Sean was beyond excited about this particular pumpkin since we had decided to carve a Dracula-like Lego man. It turned out pretty good, and I definitely think we would have been in the running to win a prize had we been in Toronto for the Hicks Annual Pumpkin Carving contest. Such is life though.
his first pumpkin...
The pumpkin made my day. It has since gone moldy sitting in our living room on account of the heat, and also on account of us not wanting to throw it away. Eeep.
birthday brekkie
The next day, my actual birthday, I had to work. To my surprise I received two ginormous bouquets of flowers delivered to my office. One from my parents and one from Sean. Upon bringing them home I spent about 40 minutes trying to find enough vases and enough room to display them throughout the apartment. But that is neither here nor there.
As a very sweet end to my day, Sean scooped me up from work at 5.30pm with a picnic basket in hand complete with crackers, dip, fruit and champagne! Oh… and Chocolate. Lots of chocolate. (4 bars) YUM!
We picnic’d harbour side in a park with a picturesque view of Sydney.
xxx
...but can she bake 
I would love to try the cake!! Can you share the recipe?
I’d like to tweak it a bit before sharing… while delicious it is not the healthiest cake I’ve ever made. I’d like to try and cut down on the oil and honey before I post! But I’m glad you’re interested, Thank you!
I can’t wait to try it!! You could use coconut oil or applesauce in place of the oil and agave nectar in place of the honey. I have been doing that for a while now with great results.
Belated happy birthday Caitie. Hope it was fab! xx
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