Birthday Surprises

I just celebrated my birthday.  I love that my birthday falls during school vacation week so I get to stay home and celebrate my birthday with my family.  We have a few birthday traditions at our house. For your birthday you get to have dinner at the restaurant of your choice and a homemade birthday dessert of your choosing. This year we had a girl's outing and got our hair curled up for our dinner out.  It was a lot of fun! Here I am with my new curls, wearing the necklace that my friend Michele sent me for my birthday. Michele was my first teaching assistant, over 18 years later and several moves around the country, we're still friends.  Thanks Michele, you always spoil me!

This is my requested birthday dessert. It's Ultimate Pretzel Crusted Peanut Butter Cookie Candy Brownie bars. You can find the recipe here. They were yummy. See the crocheted top in the picture? It was made by my friend Val.  She sent me a birthday surprise and included the top for my daughter. Val is amazing with a crochet hook! Well really she's amazing with all types of crafting! Pop by her blog to see some of her creations.

Look at my new red bag!  Val crocheted this cute bag just for me. She even made it in my favorite color; red.

The inside of the bag is lined with a sweet cherry fabric.  I just adore it!  Thank you Val!

 My friend Kerry also sent me a surprise birthday package. Kerry make these amazing freezer paper tote bags.  This one is a tree with an owl on it. I have this thing about trees, I like them and think they are amazing, they weather all kinds of things in the course of a year but still continue to grow it bloom. They are strong and resilient, this bag makes me think about that.

I have a bit of a zombie problem, I love them!  I'm slowly collecting handmade zombie dolls. Kerry made this amazing zombie doll for me. 

Her name is Zoey and she came in a handmade box wrapped up in cellophane with this little poem attached. She's made with paperclay and has a fabric body. It was like receiving a precious china doll, only it's even better it's a zombie! Kerry is an amazing crafter, check out Kerry's creations here.

Here's an updated photo of my zombie horde.  The horde is continuing to grow. Rumor has it there might be a zombie doll swap in the near future over at yarnigras swapper spot. If you're a zombie doll fan you might want to check it out.

If I haven't mentioned it before, I have some amazing friends!  They are kind, thoughtful and so amazingly talented!  Thank you ladies, your kindness and friendship means the world to me! Thank you for spoiling me on my birthday!