Birthday!

My birthday has past but it is still my birthday month & don't worry I will be taking full advantage. I kicked off my birthday with a Swedish massage that I bought a few months ago off Groupon. I have been looking forward to this since I bought it. I don't recall ever having a Swedish massage or a massage that wasn't sports injury related & I wasn't sure what to expect but I knew what I was hoping for: a massage that worked my sore muscles. Needless to say I was disappointed. It was relaxing but she did not work my muscles hardly at all. At one point she found a knot on my back and began to "work it out" but it was so gentle. I now know that I need to get a deep tissue massage. There is always next year.... or the next Groupon.

After my sleep inducing massage, Geoff & I went to Petsmart and bought the Stay + Play Wireless Fence System. It was on sale & something we have thought about buying for a while. Geoff's sister has the system and it works very well with her dog. Originally we were going to do the underground system but that requires wires and such and this seems more practical. Geoff is training the dog so we shall see....

This is what happens with no fence.

We then ventured to Dicks Sporting Goods. I played in a golf scramble yesterday and after attempting to hit golf balls at the driving range on Wednesday I realized I needed a golf glove. Not just any golf glove but a pink one. Of course. I also picked up a golf polo that was on sale from $50 to $19. I only have one polo and it was black and not made of the athletic material that can breath. 

Needless to say I don't golf, I don't have clubs but I have a friend that was ok with that. Allison & I had a great time & it was a fun way to spend a Friday afternoon. I am now in need of a deep tissue massage. Come on Groupon!

I love sporting goods stores. They seem to motivate me & make me want to spend way too much money. Somehow I managed to get out of there with spending less than $30. 

We then ventured to Whole Foods. Let me point out that Dicks Sporting Goods & Pets mart is about 45 minutes from were we live so this was a big deal. Tack on 20 more minutes and you are at Whole Foods. We tackled the salad & hot food bar hard and had a beer. Eating dinner (or lunch) at WF is always my favorite. You can pick and choose and you know what ingredients are used. If you have food allergies and are vegan this is also a big deal. 

Our last stop = my favorite stop: Babycakes! As many of you may know, Babycakes is a Bakery in NYC that is gluten free, vegan, soy, and refined sugar free. A year or two ago they opened a location in CA. This year for my birthday (which I decided about 6 months ago), I asked Geoff to order cupcakes form there since I was thinking about ordering cupcakes from there for our wedding. Well, I went to the website & much to my surprise, they opened a location at downtown Disney. This is an hour from my house! It isn't a full store but they have doughnuts, cupcakes, brownies & frosting that I can eat.  

The self control it has taken for me to not stop by there every single time I drive by that exit has been a lot to handle but TOTALLY worth it. It is now going to take more self control to stay away..... 

The lady at the counter made the mistake of saying "if you buy 5 the 6th is free" SOLD. Geoff quickly stated that we did not need that many. Boy was he wrong.

We got a vanilla with vanilla frosting, a chocolate with chocolate frosting, and a pumpkin with cinnamon frosting as well as a cinnamon sugar, chocolate cookie crunch and vanilla cookie crunch doughnuts. These 6 treats came to $19 & at over $3 a pop, they are a little expensive for a regular treat but perfect for a birthday. 

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! I had a perfect day & am looking forward to an amazing year.

I will be back soon with the simplest tomato soup recipe that I have made multiple times this week. 

.live creatively well.

-nicole.