chocolate ganache almond cake(yes I made it - can you believe it) and birthday flowers
Today is my birthday....my birthday is always a transition to the Christmas season for me. Once Halloween is over and my birthday is over I start feeling all jingle-belly. Of course it helps to get into that holiday mood when snow covers our part of the planet. My sister's birthday is the same day as mine (our dad was an engineer!) and the Babe and my sister's husband celebrate their birthdays a few days after ours - we just get everything over in one week and then we can happily go on to Christmas.
Over the next few weeks, specifically beginning with next weekend, I would like to share snippets of my Christmas preparations. Those of you who celebrate some kind of winter holiday or moment are more than welcome to join me in sharing your family traditions. It does not need to be anything elaborate - post a thought or a picture as often as you like. Leave me a little note here if you want to participate and I can check out your blogs on a regular basis to see your representations.
I love traditions - being of European descent but having lived in Canada for many years, my holiday traditions are a blend of the two cultures. The reason I love Christmas, is that it is a time when we celebrate with family and we get together with friends for some happy cheer. It is a time to dress up, feel festive, cook wonderful food and eat lots of it. We have never placed an emphasis on giving multiple gifts - rather, I am brought up with the philosophy that at Christmas you receive one thing you want but don't necessarily need. Growing up, gifts comprised one special item and usually a book. I am glad Christmas is only once a year because that is what makes the holidays festive...besides, if we celebrated in that manner all the time we would go broke buying new clothes for our ever expanding waistlines :)
So happy weekend everyone and more holiday thoughts and musings to come over the next four weeks.
66 comments:
I know I have always enjoyed some of the classic traditions going on at your place for Christmas, with exception to that blasted carrot ginger soup, haha. In all seriousness though, christmas eve is always fun, get to try new Beers from Mike, lil bro and I argue and eat awesome food, Lol, and there is always some good tunes.
Well, first off, a VERY Happy Birthday to You!!!
That cake looks divine! What a great idea to share your traditions -- I'm in. ;-)
And do tell. All about "that blasted carrot ginger soup". "haha". ;-)
Happy Birthday! I'd be happy to bring my own spoon and plate for a slice of that cake!!
I love being married to an American for the same reasons: incorporating my traditions to his, I also love him for listening to my crazy family meal stories and letting me reminisce! He keeps saying that he's rather be in my family than his until we start watching old 1950s movies his parents made...then he starts talking!!
Anyways, I could keep one going for a long while like this and that would be so uncool because this is YOUR day!!
Happy Birthday again!
Penblwydd Hapus! Happy Birthday!
Your chocolate cake looks so good. SO good!
I'm looking forward to seeing your snippets of christmas. Our daughters birthday is end of nov. so we wait for the christmas festivities to start then. It can be a long wait...but otherwise i fear her birthday would get swallowed up!
Happy Birthday! As a fellow 'birthday before Christmas' girl, I know what you mean about letting one pass before starting on the next.
The tree never goes up before my cards come down.
Všechno nejlepší! I agree with your European philosophy of giving gifts and traditional celebrating. We have one celebration today, what a coincidence, and I went out (in my PJs, cha, cha) and got a bouquet of flowers. That follows the idea of simple and nice gifts.
Happy Birthday!
Your pictures are always so classy - I love them. I look forward to seeing your Christmas preparations.
x
happy birthday to you!!!!!!! have a nice joyfull time!!! and of corse i would to partecipate with christmas traditions!!!
Happy happy birthday!
That cake looks scrumptious. Chocolate almond huh? delish.
Our Christmas is always huge. Mike's family stretches out to about 60 for lunch... that is a lot of Italians in one room! I'm the only English chick there.....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
It's funny how we all have these wee markers through out the year isn't it. sounds like you have plenty of celebrating to do in the next few days though!
as for sharing Christmas preparations, that sounds like fun. Count me in : )
I hope you had a lovely birthday yesterday :o)
I look forward to hearing more of your Christmas traditions - I love the philosophy of receiving one present of something on the more frivolous side
I'll post a few little bits about Christmas for sure - though for me I can't get super Christmassy until December 1st!
Hahhpy Happy Birthday to You! (sorry, a day late, just let the celebration continue on :^)
Mmmm, that cake and those flowers are beautiful, seriously stunning.
Someday I hope to feel as gracious about the holidays as you... Actually I relate to your view very much and I'm even hoping with the current economic tank that folks will return to a more simple and even more joyous holiday season... if that makes sense.
Chocolate ganache---My favourite! Hope you had a Happy Birthday! Looking forward to your Christmas posts, as my in-laws are from you part of the world, so some of your decorations will doubtless be familiar!
Oh, Raina, Happy, Happy Birthday! I hope you have a great weekend!
Happy Belated Birthday, Raina. And yum to both the cake and the photos thereof!
My birthday was yesterday; my older daughter's exactly two weeks after mine - we ease into the festive feeling timidly after mine and before hers. When her celebration is over, it's full on Crimbo time.
We used to do Christmas so that the circle of presents under the tree stretched out into the living room - now we do £10 Christmas with the proviso that there are no joke-y gifts, and I really enjoy the challenge of finding just the right thing while obeying the rules. I do get to cheat a little now and then because I can sew things, and if I forget exactly how much the fabric cost - oh well .... ;o) x
YAY!!! happy birthday yesterday :) sorry i missed it! i hope it was GREAT. and happy birthday to your sister as well! i don't have any christmas preparations to share, but i look forward to reading about yours!
Happy Belated birthday! We're celebrating my mom's birthday today. I hope you have a great weekend.
busy time of year for you. Happy Birthday! the cake looks divine.
Happy belated birthday Raina! It's wonderful to see you celebrate the season your way.
Happy belated birthday Raina! I've been busy for the last few days so I didn't get to check until now- hope everything is going well! That chocolate looks delicious! Hope you had a wonderful day. I feel the same way about Christmas traditions - being with family and friends and eating delicious food is my favorite part!
OH yumm... look at that cake. Happy belated birthday!
Happy Belated Birthday Wishes honey! Hope it was a fantastic one.
Happy belated Birthday! Warm hugs from me ;-}
Happy birthday!
happy birthday! that cake looks divine, hope it tasted as good as it looked.
What a scrumptious looking cake! Looking forward to seeing your Christmas photographs. :)
Happy Birthday - hodně štěstí a zdraví!!!
You cake looks delicious! Mňam, mňam, mňam :-)
happy birthday,Raina...and that cake-looks to die for!
I am in favor of tradion also...it is good to be grounded in some areas.
Happy, happy birthday Raina! I hope you have had a lovely time and were spoilt a bit. x
My sons birthday is very near christmas so we do the same and wait until it is over then start the christmas stuff.
I had all the plans to make traditional fair isle xmas stockings this year and still haven't done it.
Happy birthday!!!! hope you have a fantastic one...that cake is beyond divine!
Happy Birthday! Your cakes look wonderful :)
I look forward to hearing about your Christmas traditions and enjoying vicariously your holiday cheer!
oh yes, this looks delicious... happy birthday!
Happy Birthday! I love chocolate ganache and on a cake is even better!
HI Raina,
Happy Birthday to you- it seems we have a few things in common- It was my birthday on Saturday and I also live in Alberta. Thimbleanna's blog led me to yours-
As for having some traditions - we have a few. For years we have hosted a Christmas tree trimming party - we have hors d'oeuvres and snacks and bring up the decorations and play Christmas music and sing. It is a great evening for one and all. Some years it is more difficult to find a good day to have it as we put up a real tree. A long time I used to do dinner but found it easier to manage snacks and such instead. I am a teacher so school sometimes lets out later and other times earlier- it is such a busy time of year isn't it! We will start playing Christmas music now.
It is nice to meet you Raina!
Regards.
Anna
Best wishes (with a delay) on your birthday dear Raina! The cake looks scrumptious!
beautiful cake! and look forwars in seeing your preparation for the holiday!!
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday, Raina! Oh, but I'm late getting here to wish you happy day...Hope you had a wonderful, fun weekend celebrating your day! Your cake is a dream...like from a magazine...mmm...Any leftovers? ;o) Hope you get what you wished for...((HUGS))
Happy Birthday Raina, somewhat belatedly! I had a busy weekend (a very early christmas dinner with some friends we don't see very often) so no blogging. Your cake looks delicious. I was trying to think if we have any christmas traditions but, aside from hubby eating as many christmas dinners as possible, I don't think we do. That's a bit sad really, so I'm looking forward to seeing yours. If I do discover any then I will post them.
Happy Birthday!!
That cake looks delicious!!!
Happy Birthday! Looking forward to hearing more about your holiday traditions!
OH my goodness! Happy Birthday! I'm late....is there a piece left for me? I looks so delicious ! Bet it was! Hope you had a happy happy day!
happy birthday, Raina!! i would love to participate in sharing holiday traditions of this winter season too...it will give me something new to post about :) that cake looks amazing, i love how you decorated it.
Happy Birthday Rainia, it was Tony's on Friday too. Your cake looks delicious, hope you had a lovely weekend. Jane x
ooo! happy belated birthday my friend!!! your cake is gorgeous! And i love your holiday philosophy!
xoxodeb
Happy Birthday! What a festive time of year to be born. I love Christmas!
A very happy birthday! (We have almost the same birthday!) That cake looks incredible. I'm off to catch up on all your posts I've missed over the past few weeks I've been away from the internet.
As would be said by Crocodile Dundee, "now that's a cake!"
Hoping you had a terrific day!
The Christmas idea is a good one - I'm knitting a pair of socks at the moment and the yarn is called Holly. That's sort of Christmassy isn't it?
Hope your birthday was lovely as a fresh winter snowfall, and that you enjoyed every scrumptious bite of that cake. Mmmm....
Happy Birthday!! That cake looks sinfully delicious!
I love the "something you want, but don't need" idea. May just have to use that one :)
Happy Birthday deary! I can't wait to see more of your Christmas traditions...xo t
O-TANJOBI OMEDETOU GOZAIMASU!
and WOW! that cake looks oiiishiii!
Happy Birthday late! It's cool that you make your birthday special, and that is some cake!! I'm very impressed. You're making me catch the holiday spirit, which is harder for me to do now that the kids don't live at home any more. But our future son-in-law will be with us this year, and it will be his -hopefully- first snowy Christmas, so that is something special.
Thank you for your very nice comment on my blog ;-}
Very late in commenting, but at least I did get your birthday wishes on time! :)
Xmas is a hard holiday for me. I don't have traditions in my own home because of my work schedule--every year, I'm in the field right up to the date that we leave to visit family for the holidays. This year is no exception. So I don't decorate or cook or do anything but figure out gifts for family and friends. So really, it never feels like Xmas to me until we are driving to my parents house after being picked up at the airport and seeing the decorations and the lights...and walking into my childhood home that is decorated, warm, and smelling of bake cookies. Then, it hits and suddenly, everything seems right with the world.
Better late than never....i hope you had a Happy Birthday!
Our Christmas season is full of family traditions. Surely I'll post some pictures of former Christmas; it is spent in the same place for years. We miss some beloved ones and on the other hand we join other beloved: all the in-laws and children (from 9 to new born). We are about 30 persons!
(did I express myself correctly??)
That cake looks and sounds gloriously good. Yum.
My birthday is on christmas. My daughter calls is Jodimas.
hey, i missed your birthday:(
congrats my friend:)
the cake looks delicious...
i've been gone, so forgive the delay in wishing you... A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Happy, happy Birthday to you! I adore Christmas and the food doesn't hurt at all. Hope you have a wonderful day along with your sister and I look forward to reading your posts.
Dy
oh i hope you had the most fabulous birthday~ looks like it if that cake is anything to go by!
am looking forward to the traditions you will be blogging~ if i come up with some will let you know!
hope you are great:)
x ashley
JOYEUX ANNIVERSAIRE !!!
(I know your blog back from the kitchen poetry challenge)
don't tell me you're going to share that amazing chocolate cake ?!!! ;p
oh Raina what a gorgeous cake you've made! i'll close my eyes and imagine i'm sharing a bite with you on your special day. Happy Birthday to you Raina!
:D
Happy Birthday!
Colette
Happy Birthday! Hope you have a lovely day.
That cake looks and sounds amazing - chocolate and almonds is a perfect combination. There is something so evocative about the sound of the word 'ganache' too.
I'm all for sharing some photos and stories of Christmas preparations. I do so love this time of year!
Happy birthday!! That cake photo looks like it could be in a magazine!
A belated Happy Birthday to you Raina. What a lovely idea to share snippets of your Christmas traditions. I am busy preparing the Advent calendar for the girls this weekend as they keep reminding me that December is only a few days away. xx
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