Happy Birthday To Me – Part 1 – Getting Ready To Party

Thank you all for the fun birthday wishes. I had a great birthday and a deliciously fun party.

My party was a Spanish tapas party. Everything from the food to the wine was authentically Spanish. Tapas means small plates. I prepared a ton of food, and some of my guests brought things too. Everyone was very happily satisfied at the end of the evening, just as it should be. The really ironic thing though, is I actually barely ate. TRUE! It usually is too when I host a party, for different reasons, but more so than not, I get into restaurant/catering mode and I get busy making sure everyone else is happy and fed, and taking care of them, and I just forget to eat myself. I fixed myself a plate, but only took a few bites, then got busy again. Oh well. It happens. I can definitely afford to miss a few meals. 🙂

I like lots of color, so I set my table in a very colorful way. As you can see, I mix and match all the time too.

Most of the guests and the main tapas. The menu was:

• Roasted pepper salad with an herbed vinaigrette
• Mixed olives with hints of orange Olives and Oranges
• Steak empanadas with salsa roja
• Chicken peri peri (or sometimes piri piri)
• Garlic Shrimp
• Patatas bravas or spicy potatoes

These are just the dishes I made. We also had some eggplant roll-ups (Lauren), fig jam crositini (Laura), spinach balls (Les) and albondigas in a spicy marinara sauce (Janet).

Then of course, we had to have postres or desserts too, again, made by me.

• Smoky almond brittle Smoky Spanish Almond Brittle
• Pistachio and honey tart
• Fruit & Spanish cheese platter
• cookies
• various chocolates and sweet nibblies

This is just the over view of course. You know I will share all the details to everything I made. That’s just what I do. But sometimes, a little anticipation is a good thing too. 🙂

There were “prezzies” too. Even though I don’t need anything, we all like to unwrap presents. You already saw my beautiful big drawing of Juneau that Julia drew for me. An Early Birthday Present

My niece sent me a box of goodies a little early too. She knows I am always doing something creative with my hands, so got my an embroidery kit, as well as a bracelet and some bird magnets, since everyone knows I love my birds and animals in general.

I also got a lot of beautiful flowers, wine, an engraving kit and silver chains, both of which will be perfect for my jewelry class, a beautiful hand painted ornament and a new tapas cookbook. Ironically, I made quite a few dishes that were listed in the cookbook, though I had no idea I would be getting that. I made traditional tapas, which are in many different cook books, including this one. 🙂

It was a very fun, happy birthday indeed. Thank you all. I feel so special and so blessed. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it so make it fantastic. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.