I’m a bad blogger. I’ve had so many things in the past couple of weeks that I wanted to write about, but I just haven’t been able to find the time, so I’m backtracking a bit because I want to tell you how awesome my husband is. My 28th birthday was exactly 2 weeks ago. While I was busy thinking about how far I am from where I thought I would be at 28, my husband was busy showing me how much he supports my hobby and how much confidence he has in me. Even though it was a weekday, he came home from work, made me a fabulous dinner, treated me to a chocolate peanut butter cupcake from a local bakery, and showered me with gifts.

First up was the set of chocolate dipping tools that I have needed for far too long. He also got me Peter Greweling’s Chocolates and Confections at Home. I’ve been using Greweling’s Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner since I received it last Christmas, and his “At Home” version is a slightly simpler version that uses more accessible ingredients.

And…a new camera!!! Woo hoo!!! Honestly, the camera does a lot of the work for me, which is good. As I’ve explained before, I can use all the help I can get!

And last but not least….

A box full of materials to package my chocolates in! I see this chocolate thing as a hobby that I still have a lot to learn about, but it’s really nice that he believes in me enough to want my chocolates to have a more professional presentation.

BUT THERE IS STILL MORE!

The following Saturday, he treated me to the Chocolate Bar at the Langham Hotel in Boston. We got to eat our way through Boston at their neighborhood-themed buffet. Stations were set up for North End, Chinatown, Faneuil Hall, Beacon Hill, Back Bay, South End, and Fenway Park. It. was. amazing. An entire room filled with desserts and a special occasion to celebrate so that I didn’t feel completely guilty about it? Heavenly. My favorites were the chocolate croissant pudding and the cinnamon sugar beignets. Here are some highlights. My memory is a little fuzzy, so I apologize if my descriptions are not totally accurate.

Clockwise from the top: Hazelnut biscotti, beignet, espresso profiterole, chocolate covered banana, chocolate dipped strawberry, chocolate cheesecake, blackberry lychee torte, and chocolate mousse.

Clockwise from the top right: Raspberry panna cotta, pistachio caramel torte, French macaroons, chocolate raspberry torte, beignet, peanut brittle, milk chocolate truffle, crackerjack, and in the middle are chocolate chip banana bread and peanut butter fudge.

Chocolate pasta with chocolate sauce, raspberry sauce, raspberries, and blackberries.

Lotus seed dim sum (the white blob), chocolate croissant pudding (OMG-AMAZING!!!), caramel sauce, pizza w/3 types of chocolate, pineapple, and candied ginger, hazelnut biscotti, chocolate peanut crunch cake.

Beignet, peanut brittle, gelato, and hot apple cider.

In conclusion, I had a wonderful birthday 🙂