The Day After My 30th Birthday (or Happy Birthday: Part Two)

Birthdays always last at least a week in my world. There's the party night with friends, the party day with family, and the random meet-ups throughout the week before or after my birthday with friends who can't make it to the actual birthday celebration.

Sunday, the day after my 30th birthday, was the family birthday party. But the day started at my friend Vaughan's house for brunch. Vaughan threw me a sweet-ass birthday party on Saturday, and my friends Sheridan and Drew, Greg, and my boyfriend Paul and I spent the night. The next morning, Vaughan's girlfriend Barbara cooked up Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes and Waffles with Fresh Blueberries:

After brunch, I made the hour drive to my hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas to eat more cake and open more presents with my Mama, Daddy, Granny, Pa, Me-maw, and my cousin Sarah.

My family LOVES Mexican food, so tacos with soy crumbles and Daiya cheddar seemed like a natural choice:

On the side, my mom made her fantastic Mexican salad with kidney beans, black olives, corn chips, lettuce, more Daiya, and French dressing. We know French dressing is not Mexican, but that's how we do in Arkansas:

Mama also made some homemade guacamole:

And some tasty Spanish rice:

We all stuffed ourselves silly with little room left for cake or pie. But that didn't matter because two of the most delicious desserts ever were waiting to be consumed. I requested my mom make me a vegan ice cream cake. She'd never made an ice cream cake, but you couldn't tell after a bite (or 10 bites) of this tasty Chocolate Cake with So Delicious Coconut Almond Chip Ice Cream and Chocolate Ganache:

Granny brought over her cocoa-licious Tar Heel Pie:

I'm converting this pie into tarts for my cookbook, so you'll be seeing more of this soon. It's super yummy.

Gifts from the family ranged from the complete My So-Called Life DVD series, a badass mosaic skull box, a kitty wall clock, a peace sign ring, clothes, and Hello Kitty PJ pants. Plus, Granny hooked me up with a stockpile of home-canned pickled okra, regular not-pickled okra, and combo jars of okra, corn, and tomatoes:

Though he didn't get to enjoy any cake or pie, my doggie Datsun also thoroughly enjoyed himself. My dad bought him a new ball, so it was kinda like his birthday too:

Question: How do you celebrate birthdays? Do you drag it out as long as possible? Or do you keep your birthday a secret?