birthday boy

So this past Saturday marked Stefan's 32nd birthday.

One of my favorite things about him is that he's just one of the kids - 

always finding fun and silliness in the littlest of things

(us with all the kids at our wedding)

Now, birthdays are a pretty big deal in my book.  Each person gets only one a year, so why not take advantage of the perfect excuse to celebrate, spoil someone silly, and have a whole lotta fun?

But with Stefan, I came out of the birthday gate strong.
For his 30th birthday (our first together), I surprised him with 30 presents (introduced over the course of a week).  Besides a plethora of personal and very-thought-out gifts, I spoiled him with home-cooked, multi-course dinners of his choosing, homemade cheesecakes, and lots of house chores done without asking.

Last year, I surprised him with a 12-item treasure hunt around our new apartment (where he found all sorts of favorites stashed in various spots) which ended with him heading to the sauna, and then returning to find a surprise cocktail party in his honor.

So naturally this year, I felt just a bit of pressure to take it up a notch.  
My plan was to wake him up early, drive him up to Sonoma (where he'd be thinking we were JUST going wine tasting), and then take him sky-diving (the guy LOVES just-a-little-bit-insane adventure).  Afterwards, I had made us an appointment at A Rafanelli winery - a fabulous, yet tiny, family-owned winery in Dry Creek that is next to impossible to get into.  Appointments must be made weeks in advance.  We'd then wine taste at our leisure making our way to Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen for the Six-Course Chef's Tasting Menu before heading back to a little B&B for the night.

But of course, one day of celebration was not enough.  I'd have to cook for him the night before:

his favorite selection of pre-dinner treats: cheese, prosciutto and spicy olives

and then pea soup in the Vitamix: toss 1 bag of frozen peas, 1/2 chopped onion, and 2 cloves of garlic in the magic mixer and puree until smooth - so creamy and delicious, Stefan said it was TOO rich

the birthday boy sampling a bottle of fritz

the cheesecake was not my best

But for the past few weeks, Stefan has been working like mad, clocking in no more than 5 hours sleep on a good night, so given that all the guy would likely want to do is sleep in late, I decided to kill sky-diving.  
And then when I revealed the day's plans to him the night before, his excitement was subdued.  What he really wanted was just a low-key night at home.  So we canceled our dinner + B&B reservations, slept in very late, enjoyed a gorgeous drive up to Healdsburg with the top down, sipped wine at A. Rafanelli, and then drove back to have Delfina pizza and watch movies at home.  It was perfection.

Because here's the thing about birthdays.  They don't need to be extravagant or over-the-top to be special.  Sometimes all you need is the person you love and it's the most perfect day imaginable. 

xoxo
KK