Monica says:

I swear we didn’t plan it!

Both of our daughters are born in June and so am I…it just kinda happened! But I’m so glad it did!

Having wee little ones born in the summer where we live, is much easier on new parents than winter babies! No worries about snowsuits, bad weather, etc.

Since my girls are 10 days shy of 3 years apart, it was always so hard for Claudia (my older one) to understand that her younger sister, Daria, actually had her birthday celebrated earlier in the month than she did! We went through this for years…until one day, it clicked!

By then, she didn’t care much….my birthday starts off the month of June, then Daria, and by the time Claudia’s special day arrives, we are in the swing!

Poor Lewie (my hubby and the girls’ daddy) loses most of his paycheck in June!

As the girls have grown, we really look forward to spending some quality time to celebrate our birthdays. It’s not too often, unfortunately, that that three of us get to see one another at the same time. Claudia is super busy teaching and working on her PhD, while Daria spends almost every waking hour at the restaurant baking and designing new recipes.

In a word, the girls are….BUSY!

So it is up to this (less busy) “Junebaby” to coordinate a birthday event for the three of us!

This year, we decided several months ago, that we would attend a performance by the New York City Ballet. We love the dancing, we love the music….we love it all!

A Midsummer Night’s Dream was on the June schedule at the David Koch Theater at Lincoln Center….PERFECT!

Daria and I headed up to NYC to meet Claudia (since it’s been her hometown for several years).

We checked into our hotel and when we spotted her coming along the sidewalk, we just broke out into huge smiles! She had just gotten her hair chopped and she looked adorable!

Being together in the hotel was very special and nostalgic for me. When the girls were in their mid-teens, they decided to move back into one bedroom to be closer to one another and seeing them together talking and laughing like old times was great!

Even though Daria over packed for ONE NIGHT!! What a girl!

They enjoyed opening up their “birthday boxes” (old cigar boxes) filled with dark chocolate, their favorite candy bars, and some good old cash that I folded into butterflies and fish (origami style)!

 

What hams they are!

I’m so happy that they have each other!

Anyway, once we got ready for the evening, we set out to find some gluten-free food!

Claudia knows quite a few places that we can safely eat.

It didn’t matter to me where we chose to dine, and after considering several restaurants, the girls decided on Bareburger. This eatery, which has several locations in the city, boasts of a “build your own burger” from organic ingredients and features your choice of patty from classic beef, bison, chicken, elk, wild boar, duck, turkey, black bean, sweet potato with wild rice, to farmer’s quinoa.

What I immediately liked about this little organic place was that as soon as we were seated, the waitress came over and explained all of the menu choices. And since the menu is extensive (includes many other choices of salads and shakes, too), she made sure that we were aware of the gluten-free items…very nice!

I decided to go for the organic classic beef patty with grilled onions!

And did I mention a hemp milk bun? This was by far, the BEST gluten-free bun that we tasted in a restaurant!

When you pressed on it, it actually sprung back….something that doesn’t usually happen in the gluten-free world!

And of course, I needed a side salad!

Daria decided on the lemon chicken with alfalfa sprouts! And she had a side of wasabi carrot slaw!

So yummy!

We just sat and ate and ate and had a great time….loved the atmosphere, too!

Great shot of this upcycled light above our booth!

After a visit to Washington Square Park (a favorite place to “people watch”) and eat ice cream (only Claudia enjoyed a sprinkled cone)…

 

 

…we walked to the Strand Bookstore to satisfy our literary needs!

A NYC favorite for book lovers, this place is amazing!

Soon after we hit the subway and made our way to Lincoln Center to enjoy the ballet….such a great evening!

 

The next morning, Daria and I headed for home.

Since we didn’t have breakfast in the city, we stopped at Tick Tock Diner in Clifton, NJ, for brunch….how about an omelette?

I had the veggie omelette while Daria had the steak and cheese (only took a pic of mine)!

I made sure to ask if the home fries were done on the griddle and not in a fryer!

We have gotten sick more than once!

We had a great mid-week “Junebaby” birthday celebration!

Life is so busy….you have to partake in as much fun as you possibly can!

Happy birthday my dear girls….hope to spend it with you again next year!

xoxoxo

© 2015, Monica of glutenfreedoubletalk