Start with your favorite pho…add some slices of jalapeno pepper…

…a sprinkling of fresh bean sprouts…a few leaves of basil…a splash of lime…

…have sauces at the ready to dollop or dip…the sweet of hoisin…

…the fire of chili…

…in an atmosphere of calm…enjoy.

How better to kick off birthday-laden March than with a cake store? Located in Shirlington Village, right across the street from the Shirlington dog park, the brightly colored storefront caught my eye…had nothing to do, mind you, with the word CAKE in one-foot-high letters plastered across the front. Cake love…awfully redundant, at least in my [...]]]>

How better to kick off birthday-laden March than with a cake store? Located in Shirlington Village, right across the street from the Shirlington dog park, the brightly colored storefront caught my eye…had nothing to do, mind you, with the word CAKE in one-foot-high letters plastered across the front. Cake love…awfully redundant, at least in my world.

There seem to be so many birthdays lurking about this time of year that W suggested such a theme for this month’s banner. ‘Cause e-v-e-r-y little thing I do has gotta have meaning, the banner is a shot of the cake from my aunt’s recent birthday. Don’t worry, it wasn’t the retina-burning fuschia seen here—I went overboard on the photo editing.

By the way, I was reminded by a friend that today would’ve been Frederic Chopin‘s 200th birthday. See? What’d I tell ya? Lurking. I’ve provided a link, as I could never out-write Wikipedia on this stuff…plagiarize, yes, but we try to avoid that here.

Happy birthday, March!