50th Birthday Month
On the 24th of March my dear wonderful husband turned 50!! So this post is dedicated to him and all we did to celebrate his special day. As you all know we never have had a lockdown in Sweden but lots of restrictions in place. Hopefully next year we will be on the Emerald Isle to belatedly celebrate his big day. All that said though I am so chuffed with how all it went.
We kicked off festivities the weekend of the 12th when we went to one our favourite restaurants. Nook was celebrating their 7th birthday with a 5 course 500kr menu. We had not been back since our 3rd wedding anniversary so we were overdue a visit. As usual the whole evening was delicious and they really got the wine pairings perfectly. A most enjoyable evening.
On the 18th I clocked off work for 12 days!! The hubby was still working that day so I spent most of it finishing up birthday errands. And then finally at 6PM as per tradition the husband blasted out Madonna 'Holiday' to let me know he was free too. I made us some cocktails and we grazed over some of our favourite crisps. We are knee deep into Better Call Saul and Parks and Rec so spent the night watching them. And I must say that I think that Better Call Saul might just be better than Breaking Bad!!
On the 22nd we put on our best clothes to head out to his first birthday surprise. And I do mean our best, the hubby had to wear a suit and tie!! I honestly can't remember the last time he wore a suit. My parents had emailed me at the start of the year asking what they should get him. I explained as always an experience would go down best. They spent a few weeks coming up with something and my goodness did they deliver! They managed to get us a reservation for lunch at the private club where we got married. Luckily my Dad knows a member so he was able to help us secure the reservation. As Irish Ski Bunny said when the surprise was revealed, "I never thought I would see the inside of here again!". The current manager gave us a lovely tour before our lunch and he even let us sneak in a photo where we had our ceremony. Lunch was toast skagen both one of our favourite Swedish dishes. After lunch we walked around the corner to my hotel for a few glasses of fizz! Life really has come full circle and the novelty of working around the corner from my wedding venue never wares off!
Tuesday after a nice slow morning we packed up and headed to the Bank Hotel where we were booked into for 2 nights. My hotel has a partnership on at the moment. We have been upgrading their staff when they stay with us but nothing for our side...But they did give us the best room in the category. It is a nice hotel but so much carpet!! And terrible beds and pillows. I would have been really unimpressed if I had paid full price. None the less still always a luxury to change environment for a few days. It was a a spectacular day of 15 degrees and sunny so once we dropped off our bags we headed straight out. We had oysters and champagne at Hotel Diplomat (we still had a voucher for 2 free glasses) and did a nice 5K loop around Djurgården. Only the crocus are in bloom so far but we spotted lots of buds and hopefully it is only a matter of weeks before the city is in bloom. I picked us up some dips and pita bread from our favourite Middle Eastern deli that we had back in the room that evening.
Wednesday was the main event!! We began the day with an early room service breakfast. We spent the morning taking it pretty easy as we had a full day ahead of us. The month before I managed to get us lunch reservations at Frantzén the first and only 3 Michelin star restaurant in Sweden. We had lunch at their original restaurant years ago so I always had the idea of going back for a special occasion once they got the 3rd star. I saved all last year for it and was over the moon when I managed to get a reservation. They only have 24 covers every day and because of restrictions right now only 21 covers. The day we were there they actually had a cancellation so we were only 17 guests. It was so hard keeping it a secret from him but I managed to pull it off! I just wish I had filmed his reaction when the surprise was revealed. We had a truly outstanding day and were at the restaurant from Noon till they closed at 8:30 (because of the current restrictions). All the food was as expected totally exceptional. Every dish had a story to tell. We even at one point sat outside on their beautiful roof terrace to share a Nicaraguan cigar. The whole experience was pretty much flawless. And they truly have the best staff that you want to be friends with! A day we shan't ever forget.
Saturday we did one of our favourite 10K walks into Kungsholmen to stock up on our favourite kimchi and noodles. I also had ordered a chocolate cake from an Irish baker in Stockholm that I picked up on our way back from the hotel. He had told me we could freeze it since it was just us 2 having the 8 piece cake but needless to say we finished it all in four days....! I am already dreaming about when I can order another cake from him. His mix of textures in the cake were so good. Back in January I had emailed 106 family and friends to collect birthday text and video greetings. It was a lot of work and at times like pulling teeth but in the end I received 25 text messages that I printed out and 41 video messages. Saturday evening after we had dinner we sat down to watch them all. Some were only 10 seconds long others were a few minutes. And quite a few people he was not expecting from so that was nice!
Good Friday was the last activity. The birthday boy had brewed an Easter Ale that we enjoyed in the park with a small group of friends. Usually we would have invited 30-40 people but of course kept this small. The weather was a tad spastic but nonetheless we got to raise a glass to him and enjoy his latest delicious homebrew with some good friends. My Mum turned 75 last December and my cousin 40 at the start of the year so we are hoping to throw a joint party for the 3 milestone birthdays this summer!
My darling husband you are the kindest, most patient, wickedly funny person I know. You truly make the world a better place with your gentle heart. I love you so much!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We kicked off festivities the weekend of the 12th when we went to one our favourite restaurants. Nook was celebrating their 7th birthday with a 5 course 500kr menu. We had not been back since our 3rd wedding anniversary so we were overdue a visit. As usual the whole evening was delicious and they really got the wine pairings perfectly. A most enjoyable evening.
On the 18th I clocked off work for 12 days!! The hubby was still working that day so I spent most of it finishing up birthday errands. And then finally at 6PM as per tradition the husband blasted out Madonna 'Holiday' to let me know he was free too. I made us some cocktails and we grazed over some of our favourite crisps. We are knee deep into Better Call Saul and Parks and Rec so spent the night watching them. And I must say that I think that Better Call Saul might just be better than Breaking Bad!!
On the 22nd we put on our best clothes to head out to his first birthday surprise. And I do mean our best, the hubby had to wear a suit and tie!! I honestly can't remember the last time he wore a suit. My parents had emailed me at the start of the year asking what they should get him. I explained as always an experience would go down best. They spent a few weeks coming up with something and my goodness did they deliver! They managed to get us a reservation for lunch at the private club where we got married. Luckily my Dad knows a member so he was able to help us secure the reservation. As Irish Ski Bunny said when the surprise was revealed, "I never thought I would see the inside of here again!". The current manager gave us a lovely tour before our lunch and he even let us sneak in a photo where we had our ceremony. Lunch was toast skagen both one of our favourite Swedish dishes. After lunch we walked around the corner to my hotel for a few glasses of fizz! Life really has come full circle and the novelty of working around the corner from my wedding venue never wares off!
Tuesday after a nice slow morning we packed up and headed to the Bank Hotel where we were booked into for 2 nights. My hotel has a partnership on at the moment. We have been upgrading their staff when they stay with us but nothing for our side...But they did give us the best room in the category. It is a nice hotel but so much carpet!! And terrible beds and pillows. I would have been really unimpressed if I had paid full price. None the less still always a luxury to change environment for a few days. It was a a spectacular day of 15 degrees and sunny so once we dropped off our bags we headed straight out. We had oysters and champagne at Hotel Diplomat (we still had a voucher for 2 free glasses) and did a nice 5K loop around Djurgården. Only the crocus are in bloom so far but we spotted lots of buds and hopefully it is only a matter of weeks before the city is in bloom. I picked us up some dips and pita bread from our favourite Middle Eastern deli that we had back in the room that evening.
Wednesday was the main event!! We began the day with an early room service breakfast. We spent the morning taking it pretty easy as we had a full day ahead of us. The month before I managed to get us lunch reservations at Frantzén the first and only 3 Michelin star restaurant in Sweden. We had lunch at their original restaurant years ago so I always had the idea of going back for a special occasion once they got the 3rd star. I saved all last year for it and was over the moon when I managed to get a reservation. They only have 24 covers every day and because of restrictions right now only 21 covers. The day we were there they actually had a cancellation so we were only 17 guests. It was so hard keeping it a secret from him but I managed to pull it off! I just wish I had filmed his reaction when the surprise was revealed. We had a truly outstanding day and were at the restaurant from Noon till they closed at 8:30 (because of the current restrictions). All the food was as expected totally exceptional. Every dish had a story to tell. We even at one point sat outside on their beautiful roof terrace to share a Nicaraguan cigar. The whole experience was pretty much flawless. And they truly have the best staff that you want to be friends with! A day we shan't ever forget.
Saturday we did one of our favourite 10K walks into Kungsholmen to stock up on our favourite kimchi and noodles. I also had ordered a chocolate cake from an Irish baker in Stockholm that I picked up on our way back from the hotel. He had told me we could freeze it since it was just us 2 having the 8 piece cake but needless to say we finished it all in four days....! I am already dreaming about when I can order another cake from him. His mix of textures in the cake were so good. Back in January I had emailed 106 family and friends to collect birthday text and video greetings. It was a lot of work and at times like pulling teeth but in the end I received 25 text messages that I printed out and 41 video messages. Saturday evening after we had dinner we sat down to watch them all. Some were only 10 seconds long others were a few minutes. And quite a few people he was not expecting from so that was nice!
Good Friday was the last activity. The birthday boy had brewed an Easter Ale that we enjoyed in the park with a small group of friends. Usually we would have invited 30-40 people but of course kept this small. The weather was a tad spastic but nonetheless we got to raise a glass to him and enjoy his latest delicious homebrew with some good friends. My Mum turned 75 last December and my cousin 40 at the start of the year so we are hoping to throw a joint party for the 3 milestone birthdays this summer!
My darling husband you are the kindest, most patient, wickedly funny person I know. You truly make the world a better place with your gentle heart. I love you so much!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx