Happy Birthday Doug!

I think Doug's birthday is one of my very favorite days all year. A lot of that is because it's the one day all year that I can justify making an overly extravagant cake. (a point proven by the fact that three out of the four pictures on this post are of the cake...) And because it's a day when we get to celebrate Doug. And I happen to really like Doug.

We began our celebration of Doug on Monday with his birthday cheesecake- toasted almond crust, a layer of creamy cheesecake filled with oven roasted strawberries (who knew they tasted so good that way?) and topped with a vanilla bean layer. Mmmmmmmmmmm....

Wednesday, Doug's actual birthday, was as full as a grown up birthday typically is with work and church meetings and such. I offered to bring cupcakes to his engineering team but for some crazy reason Doug didn't want me to.

We did manage to get in a fun lunch- takeout from Cafe Paesan during Doug's lunch break. SO good! It's a new restaurant that just opened up in Orem and was created by the same people who made Cafe Rio. It has an Italian influence where Cafe Rio's is Mexican- and lives up to all of Cafe Rio's glory. Amazing sauces, fresh herbs, homemade noodles, incredible flat bread. Mmmmm... I highly suggest the tuscany flat bread sandwich with pork.

Last of all, because this is apparently a food inspired birthday post, here's a little snapshot of Doug's bday present- a beautiful pasta maker complete with ravioli attachment. (and for the record, Doug DID ask for a pasta maker out of his own free will. I didn't just buy him something I wanted in the kitchen. Though, I will admit as soon as he suggested it I knew exactly what I would get him. I'm not one to pass up an opportunity such as that!) We're both so excited to try it out.