In my previous post (here) I wrote about going out for drinks on Saturday night, to mark my birthday which fell in the middle of the week. So, this post is about what we did on the actual day.
I awoke to the declaration from Nick that today was the most important day of the whole year. He’s a very loving person and I feel blessed that he still feels this way after so many years of marriage.
I kind of guessed what my gift from him would be this year, since I had told him exactly what I’d like, including a link as to where to get it. So, seeing the long striped cushion for our outside bench, leaning against the wall with a bow stuck on it, wasn’t much of a surprise. (It’s not much to look at on its own so I’ll show it to you in action in an upcoming post, once we get our outdoor patio space all set up. If you’re curious, it is this one from Home Depot.
Also, sitting on the table was a small craft-paper shopping bag with some black tissue paper sticking out of the top.
I immediately knew what was in that bag, as this is the tell-tale wrapping of a great gourmet spice and seasonings shop in the neighbourhood (called The Spice Trader), where we have bought gifts since they first opened.
By coincidence, we had both gone to The Spice Trader separately back in February to get a Valentine gift for the other. We had the same idea — to replace the jar of Truffle Salt that we were just finishing up. Back then we were each told the same thing at the shop … the salt was out of stock and they didn’t know when they’d be getting more.
I just realized that I forgot to do a post about our Valentine’s Day this year, aside from this one about us going out dancing that night. Anyway, we both ended up getting something else there, instead of the salt. I got him a bottle of Balsamic Vinegar and he picked up something we’d not tried before — Pacific Smoked Salt. I like it but not quite as much as the Truffle salt, so I assumed I knew what I was getting when I saw that bag on the table on my birthday.
I even said “Oh, you got it”, and he smiled.
But I was wrong!
He tricked me and put something else in the wrapping from a previous Spice Trader purchase.
It was this pendant with a peridot gemstone. His beloved parents, who live far away, wanted to contribute to the gift so they sent him money for the chain part.
It’s such a great colour and will add a nice touch to all the black I tend to wear.
Upon looking it up, I see that Peridot is the stone given to celebrate the 16th year of marriage, and as it turns out, it’s our 16th year. He didn’t know that though and picked it because he liked the colour. It turns out that Peridot is also said to aid in prosperity and happiness. Can’t go wrong with that!
After my gleeful reaction, he handed me a second little craft-paper shopping bag with black tissue paper. This one did, in fact, contain Truffle Salt! (It’s this stuff and is delicious sprinkled on pasta.)
I also got some nice cards from family, and some birthday money from my parents that’s kind of burning a hole in my pocket. I predict a spot of shopping is in my very near future!
My cousin Lisa made me a pretty card … it’s the one with the hearts on it. (I displayed them on the card display thing I made at Christmas, and posted about here.)
And how about this adorable creation from Lisa’s four year old daughter, Delilah? The yellow part is a separate piece and the pink part is a pop-up feature. Spectacular!
There’s a new sushi restaurant on Queen Street West, that I’d noticed was getting rave reviews on Yelp, so I chose that for my birthday meal out. It’s called Saku Sushi, located at 478 Queen Street west.
Anticipating inevitable crowds (sushi restaurants are very popular in Toronto, let alone new ones that get great reviews), we decided to go for lunch instead of dinner. And, in order to miss the lunch hour crowd, headed over at 2 pm (I called to check and they serve lunch until 3, if you too are wondering about that.)
We shared a couple of their lunch specials – an order of “8pc Sushi + 6 pc Dynamite Roll” and “Dynamite Roll + California Roll + Spicy Salmon Roll”, with some Gyoza and Takoyaki on the side. These came with an appetizer of salad and Miso Soup. To drink we had some hot Saki.
After having been, I know why Saku gets such positive reviews! We’ll be going back for sure.
We were pretty full after that so ended up having birthday cake for dinner. Nick picked up a chocolate and raspberry “Cakelet” from the place we always go, Dufflet Pastries at 787 Queen Street West.
It was a great day that left me feeling very loved indeed.
Thank you for checking out what I’ve been up to. I hope you have a great weekend!
xo loulou
