Everybody, it’s official. I’m 30. I know a birthday isn’t a usual Tourist Tuesday post, but it’s my blog and I do what I want. Also, I went to some nice places in London and ate some delicious food so it is relevant people.

I started my birthday festivities the Wednesday before with a picnic in Hyde Park. Luckily the weather was glorious! Lots of friends came out and we watched the Science Museum’s softball team play, we ate loads of food, we popped the bubbly, and even did a round of tequila shots. I know that I have young friends because when we suggested opening the tequila everyone was down for it. I feel like my 30-year-old friends would have hemmed and hawed and been unsure about it since it was a work night and all. If it hadn’t been my birthday I totally would have been less game. But then, maybe it’s just that I’m not as cool as maybe I once was. But there was loads of food: sausage rolls, cake, peanut butter cookies shaped like Darth Vader, and chips. It was wonderful. 

Then Sunday was the big day! Ryan sang me happy birthday and we had cake for breakfast (which has always been my tradition). That cake was a classic vanilla cake from a box with store bought chocolate frosting. Ryan and I went and looked at a beautiful fancily designed chocolate cake, but I wanted the box. There’s something about the sweetness and simplicity of yellow cake with chocolate that just feels like a birthday cake to me.

After cake I opened presents. Ryan bought me all the flavors of Candy Kittens that Waitrose had in stock. I loooove Candy Kittens and can devour a whole bag so fast – so I’m trying to pace myself. We did break into the sour watermelon flavor, which I hadn’t eaten before and was of course fantastic. I also got a Lego Star Wars TIE Advanced Prototype that came with three little guys (picture below in a bit) and something for the blog which will be revealed eventually. From my friend Charlotte, the one I went to Duck & Waffle with, I got a book about Abraham Lincoln and food – my two great loves combined in one!

I also got a new DSLR camera from my parents!! It’s the one pictured above. It’s a Canon EOS 100D. The lens on the left came with the kit and the one on the right is a Canon EF 50 f/1.8 lens. Hopefully between all of this new gear I’ll get some great new shots. I’m really excited about the camera because I want to become familiar with manual settings. When I was in high school I had a manual camera for a photography class, but I don’t remember much from it. I also remember that developing the film (yes, film!) was my favorite part. So, I have a lot to learn but I’m so excited about it! I can’t wait to have more control, learn a new hobby, and I hope it will improve the quality of my food photos.

Thus far, I’m intimidated but eager. I like that I have a project ahead of me where there’s so much to learn and I know so little. I set up my little photo studio (a box and some white fabric) and set up my new birthday Legos for a photo shoot. I played around for awhile and took about 100 pictures trying out different settings for aperture (the f number), the shutter speed (the fraction number) and the ISO. I was systematic about it overall, but here on the blog I wanted to share three photos with wildly different settings.

See in the first one how practically everything is blurry except the one spot by the wing? But then in the middle photo it’s mostly clear? Then in the one on the right, it’s clear except the back is blurry. I love that with the same subject and lighting the camera can do so much! I also like that some of it is a matter of taste. Ryan like the middle photo best because it’s the most clear, but I like the photo on the right because I like the background a little blurry. Anyway, I find it all really thrilling and plan on doing more Lego photo shoots.

For birthday lunch, Ryan and I made pretzel dogs (above). If you’re not familiar, it’s a hot dog baked inside a soft pretzel. I’ve been missing going to baseball games, and in large part because of the food. So for a birthday treat we made fries, dogs, and a cheese dipping sauce. It was an epic undertaking and we dirtied all the dishes. I even spilled flour on my foot and when I took my foot away there was a clear footprint. I’ve made soft pretzels before, but this was a new recipe for me, and I found it so frustrating. I think I needed a whole cup of flour in addition to what the recipe called for. I also used tons of methods to finally get the dough to come together. There was also some pouting. Because of that, I don’t feel comfortable sharing the recipe here – but I’ll work on it on my own and share when I have something more straightforward.

Even though the making of it was intense, the end product was delicious. Ryan said, “the best thing we ever made” and we both had big happy smiles on our faces. The cheese sauce was crazy good. Rich and smooth – we smothered it on everything. You can find the recipe here. The whole meal did taste just like being in the ballpark, which is something I love doing with Ryan. It was like being transported back to DC just for a meal, and I really liked that.

As if we hadn’t eaten enough the final birthday celebration was out to dinner at Ping Pong. Ryan and I went out with my friends Sarah, Abbie, and Charlotte and their boyfriends. I feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends to share my birthday with. They also gave me some great presents. Charlotte got me a 30 badge (shown at the top of the post) and it’s something I totally wanted. I love celebrating and showing off my birthday and it was perfect. Sarah gave me a pig card and a candle that smells like the sea (which she and I always sniff when we go to Waitrose). And the three girls are going to take me out for afternoon tea, which I can’t wait for! It’s the kind of thing I hoped would happen when I moved here – and now I’ll get to do it with my girls.

Overall it was a lovely evening and we ate a TON! Ping pong is a dim sum restaurant and you order a bunch of small plates to share. We ordered set menus and ended up with a ton of food. You can see the stacks of dishes above. I loved the circular table because it meant our big group could actually see each other and chat. The food was great and we tried something like nine dishes. The dumplings had fillings like beef, chicken, and vegetables. The wrappings were clear, thick, chewy, green. I had no idea there was so much variety! At the end of the meal it was hard for each of us to pick our favorite dish. Mine might have been the tofu and vegetable – which I wouldn’t have thought much of but turned out to be delicious.

Thirty has started off wonderfully. It was a milestone birthday, and I felt a little nervous about it, but I’m feeling good. It began with lovely generous friends and family, terrific food, and a few new things – all indicators that it will be a good year.

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