The Big 3-0!

Hi, everyone! This past Monday was my 30th birthday (eek!), so I thought I'd put together a quick post to show you a few shots from the day. Milestone birthdays can be both exciting and depressing (I realized I'm technically entering into my fourth decade on this earth, yikes!), but my friends stepped in and made the day incredibly special. Who knew turning 30 could feel so good?!

Here's a shot of me at the end of the day with my candle-lit birthday dessert, wearing my brand new Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress (a birthday gift to myself. I love it!). But let's start at the beginning...

The birthday festivities actually started the day before, when my lovely mother took me out for a ladies brunch. I was in my hometown over the weekend for a friends' wedding, so it was wonderful to spend some time with my family pre-birthday and have a delicious meal with my mum to celebrate!

On my actual birthday, the weather in Toronto cooperated in the most beautiful way. My friend planned a picnic on the beach, which was a heavenly way to spend the afternoon.

She's incredibly crafty in the kitchen and the picnic was clear proof of this. She prepared an almond quinoa salad, home-made hummus and chips, and peanut tofu wraps with cilantro pesto. Pair that with lemonade and a variety of trashy magazines, and you have the ultimate girly beach afternoon!

It didn't hurt that we had a beautiful view of the lake while we ate, chatted, and caught up on all the celebrity gossip!

And to my amazement, a swan swam by shortly after we arrived. I know swans aren't really that rare, but whenever I see one I feel like I'm witnessing some sort of mystical creature. So of course I had to take pictures!

The sky and water were blue and beautiful, which was so relaxing and lovely!

Then for the evening, I met up with some friends for dinner at one of my favourite Italian restaurants in the city. Can't go wrong with lots of carbs on your birthday!

I started off sharing a beautiful salad with one of my friends. It featured cambazola cheese, pine nuts, roasted red peppers, and kalamata olives over top of mixed greens, drizzled with honey. Heavenly!

Then onto my favourite pizza...

Roasted red peppers, roasted eggplant, mozzarella, and goat cheese on thin, oven-baked crust. Authentic Italian pizza with fresh, delicious toppings. Mmm....

And then my friends surprised me with an incredibly scrumptious dessert sampler plate!

It included panna cotta with strawberry sauce, custard with caramel, and a warm molten lava cake, surrounded with fresh fruit and biscotti. To-die-for!

I ended the day as an incredibly happy birthday girl! Luckily I'm not feeling any older yet, though maybe a few pounds heavier after that dinner! ;) Thanks to all of my friends who made the Big 3-0 incredibly special! xo