Dashing Dish

My 25th birthday was this last Thursday and it was wonderful!!! This Daily Dish is a bit different from all the rest, because it’s filled with all the wonderful treats (basically all my favorite foods) I had on my birthday!

Also, today is the day I announce the winner of my giveaway!!! Thank you to everyone who entered and sent me beautiful pictures and descriptions of how their recipes turned out! I SO ENJOYED reading all the reviews, and hearing the stories about how family members were ‘convinced’ that healthy food can taste good!

That being said, I’ll get right to it… The winner of the giveaway was determined using a random generator…(thank goodness because I could never pick one out of all those amazing entries!) AND (DRUM ROLL PLEASE) The winner is Katie from Faith Food & Fitness! YEAH!!! Congrats Katie~ Your peanut butter maple protein bars looked delicious and I loved your description! (Pictures of The Bars are shown on her blog…along with the Review HERE!) These are some of my ‘favorite’ things..I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Now onto the Daily Dish~ Birthday Edition!!!

I started the day with my FAVORITE breakfast of all time…A Peanut Butter Butterscotch Protein Shake with PB Pows!!! Mmmm!!

My hubby and I went downtown to Jimmy Johns and I got a Turkey UN-WICH for lunch, it was SO good! :)

(My husband had the day off, so we spent the whole day together! Lucky me!)

Sean got a Ham Sub!

My UN-WICH!!!

After lunch we went to a Frozen Yogurt place for a treat!!! (I went light on the lunch so I would have room for this, because I prefer sweet things over savory any day! In fact, if I had it my way, I would skip the sandwich all together and just have the ice cream! But I know better than that!)

My Frozen Yogurt was Vanilla and Chocolate Soft-Serve with Sprinkles, Reese’s, Chopped Nuts, and Hershey’s Syrup on top!

Sean got Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream next-door! Haha..He’s making his chocolate face here...(Yes he has a face he makes when he gets chocolate! I”m sure we all do, but it just isn’t always captured on camera! Haha!)

After ice cream, we did one of my favorite things…Went Shopping!!! To make it even better, it was a beautiful day outside!

We also stopped to get Coffee..AHH if only every day could be this way!

After shopping, we went Strawberry Picking! My husband found all the details and took me there by surprise! It was SO fun! I hadn’t done it since I was a kid, but I Strongly Recommend It, no matter what your age!

I was on a mission! Don’t underestimate a Little Lady with a Big Basket, and a LOVE for Strawberries!

Apparently the ‘competitor’ in my husband meant he was on a mission as well…A mission to find the BIGGEST and BEST strawberries in the whole field! Haha!

It was Wonderfully Fulfilling to find the ‘Best Berries’ (and just as much fun to take them home and eat them! );)

Our Berries! We got all of this for only $7.00!!! See, I told you picking your own berries was AWESOME!

I got them home and tried some, and oh my…They tasted better than any berry i’ve ever bought from the store!

That evening we went to my parents house, (this is where we go for every birthday dinner,) where we had My Favorite Dinner, Chicken Shish-Kabob’s!!! :)

Loaded with veggies of course! Grilled Veggies are the best!

And here’s the finished product…I like them a little more ‘well-done’ …Not the healthiest way to eat veggies I know, but on my birthday anything goes! ;)

We also had a Big Salad on the side.

And we also had a side of Garlic-Parmesan Baked Pita Bread, with Hummus!

Oh, and Juicy Watermelon!

OF COURSE THE STAR OF THE ENTIRE MEAL WAS MY BIRTHDAY CAKE!!!!  It was Moosetracks Ice-Cream Layered Between Home-Made Peanut Butter Cake Layers!!! Need I say more!?! ;)

The funny thing is, (and this shows how much I truly LOVE to cook/bake), I created and made this cake myself!

My husband and I were getting excited to have some of my cake! He treated me like a princess on my birthday…And he truly has everyday for the past 9 years ~ (8 of them being dating years, and almost one year of marriage so far!)

Mmm…Yes….IT WAS AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS!

Check out all of those Peanut-Butter Layers!!!

My piece was Rather Large! And I enjoyed every last bite! :)

I have incredible family members, and they really ‘get’ me…So I wasn’t surprised when I opened some of the most amazing gifts ever! The first one being an Ice-Cream/Frozen Yogurt Maker!!! And if you’re wondering if this means that I will be posting newly-created frozen yogurt recipes this summer…You’d be right! :) I can’t wait to use this baby!!!

And from my sister..A Stevia Cookbook for Inspiration!!! I hardly ever use cookbooks/recipes, but I do love to look through them for new ideas/combos/inspirational ideas…And I LOVE to put my own spin on already-created recipes!

GOOOOO STEVIA!!!!

Oh…What’s this!?!? ID Nike Shox!!! (They were custom made by my sister!) Thanks Em!

So Cute! I Love the Different Shades of Pink and Metallic Silver! The backs sported my new last name!

From my older sister, I got a Pandora Bracelet! I have always wanted one of these, but they are on the pricy side, (as are all the individual charms)…So I was thrilled when I received one as a gift! I got all of these charms for my birthday! My family BLESSED me! :)

She also got me some new Nike Workout Gear! Love It!!!

To me, A Birthday Wouldn’t Be Special Without Family!!! (This is my family minus my mom…She was taking the picture.)

And sharing life with this Wonderful Man of God makes everything more enjoyable as well!!! :)

And Last-But-Not-Least, Happy Father’s Day to The Most Wonderful Father Ever~Who Truly Represents THE FATHER’S LOVE to My Sisters and I! :) I Love You Dad!!! xoxo Love~Your “PIE”

I Hope You All Had A Blessed Week As Well!!! Congrats Again to Katie!!!~ And Thanks To All Who Entered!  :) (*And be sure to stay tuned if you entered, because I will be showcasing all of the wonderful entries that I received in the near future!*)