A Birthday Celebration

**Notice: I'm not sure why, but this never got published!!! Keep in mind this took place during November, so no I'm not seeing Catching Fire in January. I saw it opening weekend, like every other teenage girl ;)**

So this week was my 15th birthday...
I love birthdays. Seeing how many people truly care about you, seeing how many people are willing to do something nice for you, it's so incredibly heartwarming! It makes me want to do the same thing for other people, seeing them smile because of you is so great!
My birthday was during the schoolweek, so obviously I wasn't planning on doing anything fun. I mean, now that winter track has started I rarely make it home before 6:30 anyways. Nevertheless, my friends just had to take advantage of an opportunity to bake!

A brownie cake with marshmallow frosting. Um, yes. 

This is just one of the many delicacies I received that day-white chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookies, Oreo and Mexican brownies, all eaten before the day was over! 

But the end of the week, I faced a whole new celebration of calories. 

Carytown Burgers and Fries have by far the best hamburgers I've ever eaten. They're a household name in Richmond- everyone has stopped by once or twice! Carytown is the cute, vintage, hipster district of Richmond. Their businesses are small, local, and packed with personality! This restaurant is no exception. Nestled tightly between two nondescript shops, you'd walk right by it if it weren't for the bright, neon sign and ever-present line of people out the door. 

Since it was 7pm on a Saturday night, of course there was going to be a crowd, so we were fully prepared when we were warned of the 45 minute wait. We'd come all the way out here, there was no turning back! Luckily there was a large collection of coloring pages right by us, which we took full advantage of. Also, we decided to sample the various condiments sitting on our table. 

If you're not a fan of spicy foods, I would recommend staying far, far away from this one! The harmless-looking green tint is entirely too deceptive...

Aside from the condiments, the menu is an enormous list of mouthwatering combinations. My burger of choice is usually the Greek Geek- Tzatziki sauce, feta cheese, roasted red peppers and crushed garlic. But, since this was my birthday dinner, I tried to go for the wildest thing I could find. 

This folks, is the Flying Squirrel. Cheddar cheese, bacon, and peanut butter on Texas Toast. Of course I had to order it. 

I was extremely excited to taste such an unusual combination. It was delicious, but I found that the peanut butter overpowered the other flavors, and I barely tasted the cheddar. Nevertheless, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it! I can't wait to come back to try their other burgers-my next choice will definitely be the "Poncho Villa." Check out their menu if you're interested! 

After we had our fill, it was time to pick up my best friend in the whole world. She'd been off at boarding school for the past few months, but was finally home for Thanksgiving break! So we stopped by her house to steal her away before returning home. 

And then, it was time for cake.

I made it clear that I didn't want a big, elaborate cake for my birthday. There were only 4 people eating it, and the leftovers would just sit on our counter and go stale. So we stopped by the grocery store and picked up this beauty-a triple-chocolate tiger cake, just big enough for 4 people to split! Needless to say, it was delicious. 

And then, because we apparently hadn't had enough fun, it was time for...

Catching Fire!

I've been a huge Hunger Games fan since the 5th grade. I'd read it months before it was "cool," so I had to wait even longer than most for the movies! With the exception of the Hunger Games, all of the other movies come out within 3 days of my birthday every year for the forseable future. We managed to snag two tickets for the 10pm showing. We were both so excited that we showed up at 9:30. Thank goodness we did, because we ended up getting amazing seats! You know the seats that are right in front of that metal bar, so you can put your feet up? Yeah, those were ours. It totally beats last year's seats, which were the very. front. row. 

Anyways, the movie finished up around 12:30, which was perfect for two girls having a sleepover! 

Thanks to everyone for making this birthday so wonderful, see you in 6 months when I get my learners! 

Starbucks' Secret Menu

For those of you that live under a rock, there have been several new Starbucks drinks circulating around known as the "Starbucks Secret Menu." They're basically a list of mochas, frappes, and lattes that people have customized to create delicious new flavors. Needless to say, I've gotten obsessed! I've made it my mission to scour the internet and pick out the best drinks. These ones look delicious but are relatively easy to make (I have to feel bad for those poor baristas trying to add a million different syrups to each drinks!)

I know there aren't a ton of drinks at the moment, but know that as soon as I find more I will add them to the list. Also, if you have any suggestions for new combinations, leave them in the comments-I'd love to hear your ideas!!

Also, as a disclaimer, make sure to describe the drink when you order it instead of just ordering an "Oreo Frappuccino," because most likely the baristas won't have any idea what you're talking about, and it will just create a ton of confusion. Nothing is worse than holding up the line during the morning coffee rush! Another disclaimer is I didn't come up with any of these drinks, and full credit goes to their original creators (the vast, vast majority of these come from here.)

And now, without further ado, I give you

Frappuccinos
If you want an Oreo Frappuccino...

...Order a Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino with white mocha syrup instead of the regular syrup.

If you want a Cinnamon Roll Frappuccino...

...Order a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino with a pump of cinnamon dolce (pronounced DOLE-chay) syrup.

If you want a Peppermint Chocolate Frappuccino...

...Order a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino with a pump of peppermint syrup and java chips.

If you want a Snickerdoodle Frappuccino...

...Order a Chai Creme Frappuccino with a pump of cinnamon dolce syrup.

If you want a Samoa Cookie Frappuccino...

...Order a Coconut Mocha Frappuccino with a pump of caramel syrup.

If you want a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Frappuccino...

...Order a Strawberries n' Cream Frappuccino with java chips and a mocha drizzle.


Other Drinks
If you want a Pumpkin Chocolate Latte...

...Order a Pumpkin Spice Latte with chocolate syrup.

If you want a Raspberry Cheesecake Mocha...

...Order a White Chocolate Mocha with a pump of raspberry syrup.

If you want a Blackforest Hot Chocolate...

...Order a Signature Hot Chocolate with a pump of raspberry syrup.

Hopefully, we can turn this into the ultimate mega-list of Starbucks drinks! Let me know if you have any suggestions :)

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