39th Birthday with the Family!

My 39th birthday was last Wednesday, Oct. 16. But I wasn't able to celebrate with my parents until this past Saturday. In an awesome coincidence, my best friend Sheridan was also in our hometown on Saturday, visiting her family. So I was able to get in best friend birthday and family birthday!

I met Sheridan and Drew for lunch at The Truck Patch, an indie health food store in Jonesboro with a kick-ass salad bar!

They also serve vegan sandwiches (which Drew ordered), but Sheridan and I got big ole salads topped with everything: quinoa, beans, tofu, marinated mushrooms, olives, hearts of palm, cranberries, almonds, vegan bacon bits, and so much more.

After lunch and gifts, we roamed the store and each stocked up on the things we can't get in Memphis and Little Rock (where she lives). Then I headed to my parents' house. My cousins Christy and Tiffaney (with her partner and new baby) were visiting, so we caught up a bit before heading to dinner at Qdoba!

Did y'all know Qdoba has the Impossible burger? They do! And you can get it in a burrito, bowl, salad, or whatever. We don't have a Qdoba in Memphis, so I'll be eating here often when I'm visiting my parents in Arkansas. I got the Impossible Fajita Burrito with beans, rice, veggies, pico, and guac.  So good but very filling!

After dinner, we went to visit my Granny — who wrote a lot of the recipes in Cookin' Crunk. Her health is failing, and she's in a nursing home now. My cousins Christy (on the left) and Tiffaney (on top) live further away than I do, so this was a real treat for Granny to have all of her grand-daughters in one room. 

We finished out the evening back at my parents' house for coffee and slices of my mom's amazing Vegan Peanut Butter Pie. This creamy, peanut buttery pie is my very favorite dessert! My cousin Tiffaney, her partner, and her baby are all vegan as well, so we were all very excited to have vegan pie. My mom (who isn't vegan) says she always makes this pie vegan, whether I'm there or not, because the vegan version is better!