Treat Yourself Tuesday: Birthday Edition

This weekend was so wonderfully relaxing and family-filled; the perfect birthday weekend. There was a whole lot of tasty food, cozy time watching Breaking Bad, sweet treats, and more. Wanna hear about it?

I thought this would be the perfect time to take part in my blend Becky’s Treat Yourself Tuesday link up.  It only took me a good 11 weeks to get in on the fun, but better late than never, right?

Treat-Yourself-Tuesday-Badge

Becky’s Treat Yourself Tuesday…

“Between now and Tuesday, do something nice for yourself. Wake up a few minutes early and enjoy a nice, hot cup of coffee before your hectic day begins. Take a bubble bath when you get home from work Monday evening. Spend some extra time stretching after your workout this weekend. Treat yourself to a cookie or some froyo this afternoon. Or maybe head out on a girls’ night this weekend.

Do whatever feels best for you. Do something that will make you feel relaxed and loved and happy. Remember this is about treating YOURSELF – not your friends, not your family, not your spouse, not your dog – so make sure you really focus on you. Treat yourself well and treat yourself often so that you will become the best you possible and in turn be your best for others in your life!”   source

So here is my treat myself Tuesday, birthday edition.

Starting on Friday night….

I haven’t been feeling too well so Dana and I had a quiet night in complete with a snack platter—Havarti cheese (my fav), salami (not a fan), shrimp, hummus, olives, and some Byerly’s chicken pasta salad. We enjoyed these little nibbles while watching at least two more episodes of Breaking Bad.

cheese and snack tray

Dana made homemade chocolate chip cookies that evening as well. 🙂 K, really he made the dough. The cookies weren’t made until the next day. The dough is my favorite part!

Saturday was my actual birthday and it began with a free cup of Caribou Coffee—Lite Caramel Mocha. Yes.

caribou birthday coffee

The day was full of lots of sweet surprises…

flowers

XoXo to my blends Becky, Katie, and Caroline

care package

A bunch of birthday cards!

Lunch at Muffuletta Cafe in St. Paul. I got the mini muffuletta which is  New Orleans style sandwich of ham, spicy capicolla, pistacio mortadella, and genoa salami piled high with provolone, smothered in our olive relish and served warm on fresh focaccia. Sweet potato fries on the side. Holy moly this was delicious! I was a little too excited to sink my teeth into this bad boy–sorry for the blurry photo.

muffuletta

Lunch was finished off with a free bowl of Sebastian Joe’s salted caramel ice cream with two spoons. I shared. 🙂

After lunch we headed over to the Como conservatory which features amazing plants and flowers. It was the perfect thing to do on a rainy cool November day.

dana melanie como conservatory

After the conservatory we walked over to the Como Zoo and checked out the animals! I loved this part! I could watch the primates for hours.

como zoo

Later in the evening we went to my brother’s for my birthday dinner with the family. I requested mom’s baked ziti with spinach and meat sauce. She even used gluten-free brown rice noodles!

Dessert was per my request as well—-homemade banana cake with chocolate frosting. There were lots of sweet treats happening this weekend!

We spent the rest of the evening at Comedy Sportz, which is an improv comedy club in Minneapolis. It felt GREAT to laugh and to be with my amazing family.

dad and melanie

Of course I was spoiled with lots of presents too.

On Sunday Dana and I did our usual Sunday morning gig: newspaper, coupon cutting, and coffee.

For lunch we headed over to my in-law’s for a Greek dinner from Mediterranean Cruise Cafe.

greek food

And DQ ice cream cake!

birthday cake

And more presents. Seriously I am so spoiled!

I felt so much love this weekend and I thank you all for making my birthday so special. I don’t know what I would do without you all. You are my world.

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