My Bookclub Birthday Party

Yes, my birthday was back in July, but with everyone's crazy summer schedules and with Amy's birthday just days before mine we weren't able to celebrate my birthday until last night. It was definitely worth the wait!


I had to arrive a little late because we had a football game (victory 24-6) and I had to sit in my car after the game to finish the book we were going to be discussing. I called to tell them I was on my way, then proceeded to drive with purpose (quickly) to Amy's house. It seemed like the night for semi's though and I was boxed in and going slow...aargh! I finally got a break in traffic and went around the trucks only to do so at the exit I should have been taking! I'm retarded. So I ended up having to drive clear to the next exit to get off and then turn around and get back on. Duh. I got to Amy's house around 7:50pm only to find them dealing with a creative crisis involving my gift.


We finally ate dinner (Cafe Rio, oh yeah!) around 8:30 by which point we were all starving and weary. (That's kind of late for us to get going.) Dinner was scrumptious and we were able to catch up on some of the happenings in Collette, Amy, Jana and Jenn's lives (Michelle and I didn't add to the conversation). After dinner Jenn, Amy and Michelle went up to Amy's awesome craft room to continue working on the creative crisis, while Collette, Jana and I talked downstairs.


The crisis was finally resolved and "the gifts" were given. Jenn outdid herself again with an ambitious design for an 8x8 accordion-folded book in a box for me. She masterminds all the books (except her own, then Michelle takes over), creates the questions everyone answers, selects the colors & papers for the project then does the finally assembly when everyone brings their pages together...all this while being the Primary President, being mom to 5 kids and trying to sell her house!

I took these pictures this morning in my front yard (better lighting) and looked like an idiot when my neighbors went by, but oh well. This is the box and the IKEA gift card they gave me.

This is what the front side of the accordion-fold looks like when opened.

This is what the back side of the accordion-fold looks like when opened.

The project turned out great. It's sort of surreal to have such a piece of art all about myself, but I will admit I love it. It was kind of crazy to sit and read these questions and answers and have them be all about me. It made me nervous and then relieved. For the rest of the photos, including more detailed pictures of the gift, click here.


We ended up having this very decadent and tasty dessert of a huge cookie with Canadian Vanilla ice cream (my favorite), Jenn's caramel, and hot fudge on it. It was beyond tasty. (That's right, beyond!)


We snapped this self-portrait at the end of the night. It's so nice to get one with all of us in it since Michelle took the one of the rest of us at dinner.

We also discussed (briefly) our book for September (which we never got to because of scheduling nightmares) and all loved it. It's a little book 145 pages, but packs a punch and is beautifully written. I can definitely recommend this one, there's nothing offensive in it except the fact that it happened at all.


Collette and Amy gave us souvenirs from their travels (we just love gifts). Collette gave us syrup from Canada and literary bookmarks (she said they were ugly but she liked the quotes, ha). Amy also got us a bookmark (from Italy), plus a pencil with artist signatures on it from her trip to The Art Institute in Chicago. (She got us a cool pencil from Italy, but I hadn't gotten mine yet when I took the picture.)


It was a good night, though late. I didn't get home until 1:00am, then ended up reading blogs for a half hour (foolish girl). I feel surprisingly good today, but will most likely be wasted tomorrow. At least it's for a good reason right?

**Do you have a favorite page in the book?
Any fun question ideas for a book like that?
Is this your kind of dessert?
Do you use bookmarks?**