Birthday Month

What is this you ask?  A "Flowers of the Midwest" poster?  A botanical display?  No, this is my birthday lunch!

For ages, I have been amusing myself by saying that I celebrate my birthday for the entire month of August.  While it's true that I can't fit all of the cupcakes, visits with friends and general revelry into one day, I also am particularly vocal about it because I want you to embrace your birthday month too.  Let everything good that happens, be because it's your birthday.  Why not?

So often people play down their birthdays because (*gasp*) they are getting older.  I want to encourage my readers to soak up as much fun as they can.  If a friend wants to bring you a cupcake or go out to lunch - do it!  If you need an excuse to buy a romance novel or order dessert, let your birthday be the reason.  I like to imagine someone out there thinking, "Well if Anne is celebrating the entire month, surely I can do (blank)."  Maybe you don't think of me when your birthday month rolls around, but in case you do...I'm here and I say enjoy it.

As for the glorious lunch above, it is this year's masterpiece from Punzel, a tiny Scandinavian shop near Interlochen, Michigan.  My mom and I visit every August for my "birthday" lunch and I love it.  Edible flowers, cold fruit soup (complete with one gummy fish), squash blossoms, an open face sandwich of Swedish cheese and fresh herbs all artfully arranged on a leaf-lined glass plate. 

Certainly not your everyday lunch, but then again, it's my birthday.