Turning 20, A Horse Named Rex, Hurricane Sandy, Chicken Pot Pie and Birthday Cake

My baby girl said goodbye to her teens and is now 20 ... the start of a new decade in her life when she'll get her first apartment, graduate college and achieve so very much.  It is our hope that she will move joyfully and effortlessly through life, leaping from success to success, from one wonderfully positive experience to the next - and we will be there cheering her on. ♥

Birthdays in our house are huge and are celebrated with food, family and friends.  This year Lauren wished for a trail ride, boots, chicken pot pie and dairy-free cake.  Mission accomplished.

My dear friend Susan, who you first read about HERE, gifted Lauren with a trail ride at Kross Creek Farm on her trusty stead Rex.  Rex and Lauren immediately hit it off.  Thank you, Susan! ♥ 

For her birthday dinner, Lauren had only one wish and that was for chicken pot pie.  One was tucked away in her tiny dorm room freezer in anticipation of the big day.  Then Hurricane Sandy came to town and dinner plans were out the window, along with electricity for a week for an entire university. 

So, I prepared belated celebratory homemade mini chicken pot pies for her to take back with her to school.  I bought small aluminum pans at the grocery store, the perfect size for a hungry student.  Yum!  Crisis averted.

A birthday would not be complete without cake!  This year's celebratory cakes were provided by Vegan Treats.  We happened to be there the same day they had shipped a cake to Ellen DeGeneres who is vegan.

Another rite of passage.  Happy Birthday, dear Lauren.

~Merrill ♥