Since I just moved to a new city, I don't know too many people yet. But I was determined to have an awesome day anyway! Here's a little guide on how to succeed in having a happy birthday (or any day) when there's not much going on. Happiness is all about setting achievable goals for yourself, fulfilling simple desires. In other words, your 25th birthday should be just as happy as your 3rd, just without the crown and cake and mountain of presents. Unless that mountain included a bubble saxophone, in which case your life has been downhill since then.
Step 1: Know there are people out there who love you
All this talk of the enjoying the simple things is great, but it would be useless if you didn't realize that being by yourself doesn't mean that you're alone. Aww, cliches. Anyway, due to the magnificent invention of Facebook, I could watch the birthday wishes roll in and know that I have friends who care about me. And my parents, of course.
Step 2: Pamper Yourself
I decided the day before that I was going to make myself breakfast on my birthday. I'm not a big breakfast fan - it's either too greasy or too sweet - but growing up my dad always cooked breakfast on special occasions, any time we had an excuse to be together in the morning. Favoring the savory over the sweet, I decided to make myself some scrambled eggs with goat cheese and parsley, one little piece of bacon (which was enough for me), and some chai.
My morning was spent relaxing with the tea and a good book.
Step 3: Look forward to the simple things
I made a plan to go exploring, which somehow ended up with me window shopping at a mall. The good news: I found a mall. Really, I knew it was out there, I just wanted to go out there and see what it was like. And then on my way back I stopped at Whole Foods for some ingredients for dinner. Turns out they sell hand-made earrings there and I bought myself a birthday present.
I also booked my mega bus tickets back to Chicago for fall break. Just another little something to look forward to.
Step 4: Eat Well
I picked out my birthday dinner days in advance and scheduled my exploring adventure around getting groceries at Whole Foods, where I found a $3 bottle of wine, with a cute label.
I'm no wine expert but it was a lot better than some $7 bottles I've had. I won't say it was amazing, but I definitely wasn't disappointed.
Here's a recipe like chicken cacciatore. Chicken with tomatoes and peppers:
Ingredients:
3 lbs. chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
4 Tbsp olive oil
3 oz. prosciutto, chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 large can tomatoes, chopped, with juices
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh marjoram
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch strips
Directions:
Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large pot, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and add prosciutto, sauteeing until it begins to become crisp. Add the chicken, skin side down and brown, about 5 minutes a side. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, juices, 1 clove garlic, and marjoram. Simmer uncovered until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in another frying pan, heat the remaining olive oil and sautee 1 minced clove of garlic until starting to brown. Add the peppers and sautee until tender.
Add peppers and juices to the pot with the chicken and let cook for about 5 minutes.
Serve over pasta.
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