happy 'hatch' day to me - the airy fairy spreads her wings and gets out of the kitchen!

i have had just a fabulous day...what a wonderful birthday. some birthdays are just regular run-of-your-mill kinda days and then others just kinda take you by surprise because without having planned too much, the day just gets better and better. just adore when that happens.

so first of all, let's examine the presents...what does one give an airy fairy? well something cupcake-y for starters and hey, presto!...present #1 - a cupcake stand, two-tiered and decorated with cupcakes. i have wanted one of these for ages and was so excited to get one with cupcakes round the edges. my cupcakes are gonna look so darn cute on this!

then of course, i'm also a serious drama queen, hence present #2 - a drama queen mug! nobody but nobody is gonna be using this except for MOI! the one and only drama queen! love these mugs by jamie oliver, they're called 'cheeky mugs' and they are definitely cheeky!
then, something incredibly airy fairy, a 'bubble' necklace from the Museum of Modern Art...it's the most delicate and lovely thing that i have ever laid my eyes on and i have been longing for it for ages since my friend bought one...
and a fabulous silk scarf from BIN in Singapore, my fav batik shop. their designs are rich in colour and intricate in pattern and the silk...ahhhhh, so very smooth!ok so that's it for the pressies. now for how i actually spent the day. well the spatulas were down today for me...no baking but instead a trip to Co. Wicklow to the Powerscout Estate (one of my favourite places here) for lunch with a view.

lunch was in the Avoca Cafe there, an amazing restaurant with great home-cooked food, they have an amazing array of salads and you choose a main dish like lasagne, baked potato, etc and you get to choose three of the delicious salads to go along. i chose a mozarella tart and cous-cous, chickpea and feta salad. they were all so good, subtly flavoured with dressing and the vegetables were crisp and fresh. the portions are very generous as you can see...

so after all that, of course there was dessert and who needs to bake when you have a spread like this to choose from...i was spoilt for choice. it was a serious decision but someone's gotta do it.
so we went with two desserts - the meringue roulade, which was a little like eating fairylightness and fluff...the meringue just melted in your mouth, the strawberries and raspberries provided a lovely fruitiness and the cream just caressed it all. simply divine!
and the other was the ultimate chocolate cake, it was rich, moist and oh-so-chocolatey! do i really need to say more?

lunch was followed by a trip around the food shop there, a lovely shop full of tantalising gourmet food, baking equipment, kitchenware and lots of other surprises...just a taste to excite your senses!

and if that is really not enough to motivate you to visit this place...did i mention the view??? yes, it was definitely lunch with a view...just kinda takes your breath away.

all in all, a day well spent out of the kitchen! but of course, i am looking forward to baking the next batch of airy fairy cupcakes and placing them on that precious cake stand :)