Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 26th birthday! My housemate Kristi and I have had a joint birthday party for the last three years because we have almost the same birthday (hers is on Monday), and this year's party was last night. It was such a fun time! Our theme was sparkling wine and hors d'oeuvres. Last weekend we went up to Napa with our friend Peter and picked out lots of sparkling wines from Mumm Napa, where Kristi and her boyfriend have a membership. Here are some shots from Napa:

And here's a shot Kristi took of all the wines we purchased! (We also stopped by Cakebread and Cosentino, although those wines weren't for the party since they didn't fit the theme!)

The wines were paired with hors d'oeuvres from a recipe set Kristi received from Mumm Napa of appetizers that pair well with sparkling wines. They were all delicious! We made pork and bell pepper skewers with mango dipping sauce, caprese salad skewers, and prosciutto-and-gruyere turnovers. We also added puff pastry with Stilton and apricot preserves, which I test drove last month for a Daring Bakers challenge. All of the recipes were absolutely delicious, and I'll be posting photos and recipes later this week. Here's a shot of the puff pastry appetizer since I already posted the recipe. We set out puff pastry rounds along with a bowl of apricot preserves and a wedge of Stilton so that guests could assemble the appetizer throughout the evening and they wouldn't get soggy.

Yum! As usual, we also both baked exciting birthday cakes. This year, I went with a lime cake with raspberry-lime curd filling and whipped cream frosting. Kristi baked a devil's food cake with brown sugar buttercream. Both cakes were absolutely divine! They were really delicious and everyone seemed to enjoy them. Photos and recipes of the cakes will also be upcoming in the next week or so. (The photos aren't on my camera, so I have to get them from friends!)

All in all, this was one of my best birthday parties ever! The abundance of sparkling wine made the whole evening feel extra festive, and the food was delicious. I also got to spend most of the day before the party baking, which was lots of fun and a good excuse to avoid doing work. I got to see lots of friends, and we also played Beatles Rock Band at the end of the night (a gift from Kristi's boyfriend)! So much fun.