Belated Birthday Bash Blogging

Having a phone has made it easy to blog about random stuff cause I just take a picture and email it to post (yes, I know what's on my plate is not THAT exciting...). I rarely turn on the computer. The result, multiple pictures to post = late blog post. Although collaging is definitely a must, there are just some pictures that can't be grouped together.
Okay, Okay... I admit I've just also been lazy to write about my birthday celebrations...
We first celebrated the end of my second decade "reliving" my youth and going dancing!. Went to this latin restaurant that turns into a nightclub after 9:30. On the menu: patacones served with a cheese fondue that had tomatoes and something else in it; steak and potatoes (one of them had spicy yucca chips); and guava creme brûlée. We mostly people watched, and in between giggles of how crazy the 'nightclub scene' is, we thanked each other for being a pair. :)

On my actual bday, I met T for lunch. Even though we each work one major block away from our place, we don't meet up for lunch. Nothing fancy, just a restaurant in the food court below our condo. The day proceeded without much ado, which was a bummer but I'm not one for much hoopla. Dinner, I can't remember, but then T surprised me with a birthday cake and present :) so sweet.
The big bash came on Saturday. We invited our friends for an afternoon of games and dinner, plus more games. Because we wanted to enjoy the afternoon playing games, we ordered dinner from a chinese restaurant nearby. Me, the control freak when it comes to party food, got to make all the appetizers and dessert. I forgot to take pictures of everything, but we had: croissant rolls with roasted red peepers and cheese; shrimp ceviche; veggies with mango curry dip; roasted paprika chickpeas as munchies; guacamole; and phyllo rolls with curry chicken + taro filling.

Dessert was two giant apple crisps with homemade dulce de leche frozen yogurt and homemade earl grey tea ice cream. If you've never had earl grey ice cream, I highly recommend it. I had it for the first time in Boston at T's favo(u)rite ice cream place in Harvard square (T tried to go back on his most recent trip to Boston, but they have closed...). I've never made egg-custard base ice cream and this was the perfect time to try it. Plus I had a ton of decaf earl grey tea bags. Really yummy!!! And a big hit at the party! Sad I didn't take more pictures of the process, but both frozen desserts were lots of work. I made the dulce de leche from scratch (oven method), plus strained the yogurt to get a creamier consistency vs. watery, and each required a step over two to three days (one for making the base, another to churn - thank goodness I have an electric ice cream maker). I'll definitely make the tea one again, but I'd buy the ready-made dulce de leche instead of baking my own.