My first gift to him that day was waking up with him at 5:30 in the morning on my day off. It was tough, believe me, but I was pretty excited to start celebrating. While VABeau showered, I threw together this Birthday display:
Growing up, my parents hung a Birthday Banner up in our living room which stayed up most of your Birthday week. I always loved how festive it was and how it put all of us in the Birthday celebrating mood. I decided to make my own so that we could start this tradition in our home.
A quick surprise breakfast
I definitely recommend this homemade banner. It did not cost a thing! I printed out each letter, cut them, punched holes in each one, and strung them on ribbon. Check out RuffledBlog for the templates.
As soon as VABeau walked out the door for work I set out on the cheesecake making adventure. I had an unreasonable fear of making a cheesecake and I don't really know why. I love baking desserts. By High School I had already mastered pecan pie and by college I had attempted my first lemon meringue. I think my fear of cheesecake stems from the fact that VABeau is obsessed with cheesecake. I have heard numerous stories from numerous family members of his love of cheesecake over the years. I married the boy and so I married his love of cheesecake too. It's about time I stop relying on our neighborhood Cheesecake Factory for his favorite dessert, and make one myself. I decided to start out with a basic New York-Style Cheesecake from my trusty Southern Living.
New York-Style Cheesecake
Bake crust at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool baked crust on a wire rack.
Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, flour, and vanilla, beating until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add sour cream, and beat just until blended.
Pour into prepared crust.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove cheesecake from oven, cool on wire rack.
Surprisingly, my first attempt tasted great. However, it developed a huge crack during baking. Any tips on how to avoid huge craters in your cheesecake? I'm thinking I may have over-cooked it?
Cover and chill 8 hours. Gently run a knife around edge of cheesecake, and release sides. Store in refrigerator.
VABeau lucked out and got free Nats tickets from his company for the noon game on his Birthday. So he did what any reasonable Birthday boy would do, left work early and headed to the game for lunch and beer!
Not only did we get to see our favorite president when the president's race(Go TJ!) but we actually saw the Nats win a game (well, until the rain)
With the Birthday boy before the storm!
After a nap and some gift opening, we headed to on of our favorite new restaurants for great beer, cheese, oysters, and an amazing dinner.
Surprisingly, he still had room for dessert and had a piece of my cracked cheesecake.
Growing up, my parents hung a Birthday Banner up in our living room which stayed up most of your Birthday week. I always loved how festive it was and how it put all of us in the Birthday celebrating mood. I decided to make my own so that we could start this tradition in our home.
A quick surprise breakfast
I definitely recommend this homemade banner. It did not cost a thing! I printed out each letter, cut them, punched holes in each one, and strung them on ribbon. Check out RuffledBlog for the templates.
As soon as VABeau walked out the door for work I set out on the cheesecake making adventure. I had an unreasonable fear of making a cheesecake and I don't really know why. I love baking desserts. By High School I had already mastered pecan pie and by college I had attempted my first lemon meringue. I think my fear of cheesecake stems from the fact that VABeau is obsessed with cheesecake. I have heard numerous stories from numerous family members of his love of cheesecake over the years. I married the boy and so I married his love of cheesecake too. It's about time I stop relying on our neighborhood Cheesecake Factory for his favorite dessert, and make one myself. I decided to start out with a basic New York-Style Cheesecake from my trusty Southern Living.New York-Style Cheesecake
- 1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 5 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 3 large eggs
- 1 (8 ox) container sour cream
Bake crust at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool baked crust on a wire rack.
Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, flour, and vanilla, beating until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add sour cream, and beat just until blended. 
Pour into prepared crust.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove cheesecake from oven, cool on wire rack. 
Surprisingly, my first attempt tasted great. However, it developed a huge crack during baking. Any tips on how to avoid huge craters in your cheesecake? I'm thinking I may have over-cooked it?Cover and chill 8 hours. Gently run a knife around edge of cheesecake, and release sides. Store in refrigerator.
VABeau lucked out and got free Nats tickets from his company for the noon game on his Birthday. So he did what any reasonable Birthday boy would do, left work early and headed to the game for lunch and beer!
Not only did we get to see our favorite president when the president's race(Go TJ!) but we actually saw the Nats win a game (well, until the rain)
With the Birthday boy before the storm!
After a nap and some gift opening, we headed to on of our favorite new restaurants for great beer, cheese, oysters, and an amazing dinner.
Surprisingly, he still had room for dessert and had a piece of my cracked cheesecake. I think he really enjoyed his Birthday! I know I really enjoyed getting to spend a whole afternoon and evening with my husband (something we have not had time to do lately)
