Buon compleanno, mi Nonno!

 

Friday night was a very special one. My family and I all gathered in celebration of my Nonno's 80th birthday. Granted his birthday is not until November, but he is incredibly hard to surprise, and is heading back to Florida very soon. The conditions were perfect to surprise him in August.

My grandfather is someone that I truly admire and have always looked up to. He puts family first in a quiet yet strong & dedicated way. He is responsible for bringing over many of his siblings from Italy to America, being an incredibly hard worker, a great friend, a father of five, an uncle to an uncountable number of nephews and nieces, a grandfather to nine, and a great grandfather to three.  He does without asking, cares unconditionally and never looks for a thank you.

Joker, Dancer, Fighter, Friend, Rock. He is all of these things. I feel so blessed to have him in my life and so honored to call him my Nonno. Thank you for always being proud of all of us, supporting us through good and bad, and for your constant loyalty and love.

In true Italian fashion, we celebrated with wine, dancing, food and desserts. My grandfather is a fisherman, so of course, we had to implement that in to the party - showcasing many photos of him holding great catches of the years, a cake adorned with a photo of him cruising in his boat, fish sugar cookies as favors, sea glass & shell center pieces and more.

Here's a quick look at some of the delectable treats provided by family, friends and cuginos:

Mass Production of Fishy Sugar Cookies (Bagged & given as favors)

More photos after the break...

Lots-of-Birthdays Weekend

This weekend was full of birthdays! Two of the most adorable children I know had birthdays. My distant "cousin," Marissa, and my second cousin, Chase, both celebrated their birthdays this weekend with family parties filled with food, fun & laughs. Of course, I had to contribute to the celebrations the best way I know how - with sugar.

I baked these chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting for little Miss Marissa's birthday, which as you can tell, was Dora the Explorer themed. I made bright wildflowers out of laffy taffy & Starbust - the perfect compliment to the rest of the cupcakes that were adorned with "Let's Fiesta" Doras.









Last week, I had promised Chase that I would make him dinosaur cookies for his birthday. Although a day late, I made good on the promise and hand delivered these to him today. He loved them -and of course, ate them head first. I told him the blue ones were T-Rexes and the green ones....I couldn't identify - I just knew they were some type of dinosaur. He seemed okay with that.

I used the sugar cookie recipe & royal icing that I had previously posted. See it here.







Happy Birthday Marissa & Chase! Wishing you the absolute best for a great year filled with love & sweets. If you ever find yourself without, you know where to find me.

Calories Don't Count on Your Birthday

I have a confession to make.

Yes, I am one of those people that LOVES to celebrate birthdays - not just my own, but my family's, friends', peers. If there's a birthday, I have to know about it. Birthdays to me are incredibly special & significant. It's a time where you can look back on the last year and see how you've grown, how life is changed, reflect on lessons you've learned and appreciate the good that has resulted from the last year's worth of experiences.

My birthday was this week and I must say - it is the only thing I still look forward to with childlike giddiness & joy. I can't wait to be surrounded by the people that I care most about & to celebrate in my favorite way possible - over a lovely piece of cake.

And for my birthday, there is only one kind that is acceptable: white cake with white frosting and flowers - lots of flowers.

My bakery of choice? Fratelli's Pastry Shop in Quincy, MA. They crafted the beautiful cake above!

Let me tell you - it was amazing - moist, flavorful, just the right amount of frosting & sinfully sweet. If I was issued only one meal for the rest of my life, it might just have to be this cake.