19 candles

For quite a few years now, Lesley-Anne hasn't had a big birthday celebration because there always seemed to be something going on - school, exams, CCA, etc. So her birthdays were typically celebrated with just a dinner and cake.

Since she didn't have school this year, I insisted she organise something special. So she had her friends over for a sleepover last weekend and they had a blast. They played games, ate lots of food and chatted the night away. No pics though cos teenage girls don't like having their photos plastered online. Bah!

However, I do have pics of our family celebration. We went to Prive at CHIJMES and the food was not bad at all. The ambience is lovely - we sat inside which was cool but still gave us a great view of the surroundings.

Here are some pics of what we had:

Salmon penne in pink vodka sauce

Signature burger

Pulled pork ciabatta

Fish and chips

On Easter Sunday, Lesley-Anne had an early birthday surprise. We were conducting a creative writing workshop for 12 kids organised by Jenn, a mum and long-time blog reader. After the workshop, Jenn brought out a specially made Danger Dan cake for Lesley-Anne!

Pwoar! The fact that Jenn remembered Lesley-Anne's birthday was astonishing enough to me. Can't believe she went out of her way to have the cake made. 

We're very touched by the thoughtful and generous gesture. Thank you, Jenn! In case you're interested, Jenn blogged about the workshop here.

Workshop kids singing the birthday song

Back home, we had our very own cake-cutting session yesterday. Nothing quite so elaborate as a Danger Dan cake. Just chocolate would do.

As for presents, Lesley-Anne is a simple girl with simple needs. She never asks for anything, except books. Which makes gift-shopping really easy. Books then!

With that, my precocious daughter is now 19. Not gonna go on and on about how time flies because that would be repeating myself every year (plus it makes me feel really old). So I'll just say how very blessed we are to have her in our family and I hope that she will continue to shine a light in the lives of those she meets.

May God shower her with boundless joy and love always ♥ ♥