Monday, February 18, 2013

Birthday sprouts and sprinkles

Yesterday I celebrated my 26th birthday, and I think I did it in kind of an Austin way.  There wasn't a party, there weren't any balloons, and shockingly enough, there wasn't even any cake.

Instead, it was essentially a trip down Lamar, starting with Half Price Books, where I bought three books for three dollars.  You gotta love that.  Here's what I added to my library:
  • A complete collection of Guy de Maupassant's short stories
  • A vintage copy of 'The Travels of Marco Polo' which is destined for a little Gilmore Girls swap upcycling
  • Not technically a book, but a page-a-day cupcake calendar, with photos and recipes
From there, we headed up to The Yogurt Spot.  Because who needs cake when you can fill up a bowl with Taro Tart?  Every time I taste it, I cannot believe how delicious it is.  And even though there isn't as much turnaround of flavors here, that never really bothers us because we love what they have.  I would have been really disappointed if Taro hadn't been there.

There were some rotations, though.  Toasted Marshmallow was really interesting, I think it perfectly captured that slightly burnt sugar taste, without being too sweet or too smoky.  Raspberry Tart replaced the Burrberry, and inspired a very wide-eyed reaction on my part.  Both were tasty, but the latter made it into my bowl along with some Strawberry Fields.  Just with the yogurts, it looked so pretty, with a lilac, two soft pinks, and a deep magenta from the Raspberry Pomegranate sorbet.  And for my birthday, I splurged on some rainbow sprinkles to go along with my fresh fruit topping.  Because sprinkles make everything celebratory.

Taking advantage of the parking available at Yogurt Spot, we walked down the block to Lush for another chosen birthday indulgence: body care.  I have loved Lush ever since I first passed one by on the way to class when I was studying abroad in Prague.  I'm so glad that Austin now has one of our own, even though it's a terrible temptation.

I'm not really concerned with getting older and anti-aging at this point, but I feel like pampering is what birthdays are about, and my love of beauty products is not limited to nail polish and eye shadow.  They have some of that now at Lush, but there are so many other products I would love to try, from bath bombs to henna hair dyes.  I can't really justify buying any more lotion or shower gel until I use up more of what I stockpiled while I worked at Bath & Body Works.  It's been a couple of years now, and I still have plenty.

So this time around, I decided to try the Soak and Float shampoo bar and Angels on Bare Skin face cleanser (couldn't find it on their website).  The shampoo smells pretty much like a campfire, which is...interesting.  Makes me think of Salt Lick BBQ sauce, which isn't usually an association I make in the shower.  I've used their Godiva shampoo bar before and really like it.  Just the concept of a bar of shampoo is fun, and really pretty practical.  The facial cleanser I've used once so far, and feels really nice.  I'm thinking next time I might splurge for a face mask.  Because Cupcake just seems too perfect not to, right?

And then, we went further up to Central Market to source the necessary ingredients for what perhaps is an unlikely birthday dinner.  Weird as it sounds, I decided that I wanted some Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.  The sprouts we roasted in the oven with some dijon, and the cauliflower was just steamed with some seasoning.  Delicious.  And that left plenty of calories for me to indulge again for dessert.  The bakery had so many things to choose from, but ultimately I went with creme brulee.  It may never be Jello, but that's a good thing.  It was so luscious, I could literally feel the conditioning effect of the full-fat cream on my lips.

Another birthday gone, another 364 un-birthdays to celebrate until the next one!

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