Healthing It

First off, thank you all so much for your lovely birthday wishes via comments, emails and Facebook! It added so many more warm and fuzzy feelings to my day

I had a great birthday, full of love from family and friends. It all started from the moment I woke up.

I opened my door and found 22 beautiful roses on my doorstep from my parents:

And a box full of presents from my awesome brother. I guess he’s trying to make up for years of sibling abuse during my childhood

My new cooking Bible

Foer's latest book! This is nonfiction about his experiences with vegetarianism

What's up, zucchini noodles?

I told you he was great!

My mom said we were going to get sushi for dinner, just my parents and me. What she didn’t tell me was that my cousins and an aunt from Queens were also coming! It was a nice surprise.

I was given more beautiful flowers right before dinner:

But the sweetest gift I received yesterday came from my seven-year-old cousin Daniel. First of all, it came in a Spider-Man bag. He already won me over, and I didn’t even open it yet.

Inside the bag I found a Swarovski box…

With an original necklace creation by Daniel! Now that’s hours of meticulous work:

But wait! There’s more. He wrote me a fantastic letter:

You might be wondering why it’s addressed to “Olay.” In Russian, the softer, cuter version of my name is Olya. But for a seven-year-old learning English in school and speaking Russian at home, that might be confusing…So, my name is Olay

My favorite parts of the letter: 1) his concern for my gift accumulation  2) the joke of all jokes. So cute!

After lots of laughs, we all headed to Omiya Sushi, my favorite sushi place near my house. Drinks were “buy one, get one free,” so we split huge Sapporo beers.

We also ordered two Star Wars salads for the table. It consists of deep-fried shrimp on top of greens and avocado, covered with the “House Special” sauce, which is spicy and tangy. I don’t know why it’s called Star Wars, but I don’t care. It’s delicious!

Then we ordered a bunch of different rolls to split:

I made sure to situate myself strategically near the ginger. The wasabi can go elsewhere, thanks. Even though I love spicy food, I can’t stand that green devil!

My mom and I share a love for the Omiya Roll, a house-special roll that’s baked and arrives warm to the table. It’s beyond incredible.

When we got home, my mom whipped out the cake she bought on her way to the restaurant from work. It was Cake Kiev, which is pretty much Ukraine’s most popular cake. It has three layers of meringue with hazelnuts and a buttercream-ish frosting. This version had walnuts too.

As you can imagine, the cake is super filling, so having a little piece (especially after that intense sushi dinner) was enough for everyone!

After spending time with family, I headed to Williamsburg with some friends. We only made it to two bars ( K & M and the Bushwick Country Club) before it was 2:30 in the morning and I was ready to pass out!

I’m telling you how late it was so you’re not surprised that I had brunch this morning, rather than breakfast

But I did wake up to another package, four jars of Crofter’s Organic Superfruit Spreads that I recently won via Brandi’s giveaway:

After opening this box, all I could think of was a bowl of PB & Jelly oats:

I cracked into a jar of the European origin: Black currants & Pomegranates blended with Morello Cherries and Red Grapes:

This was slightly tangy and delicious with legit pieces of fruit in it. I loved it! My brother and his girlfriend had this spread on toast and were also big fans.

Today, I am looking to relax! Maybe do some yoga, but nothing intense.

Are you snowed in where you are?

We got some snow but nothing like the Capital!