Happy Birthday to me! Today is a big one for me—I’m 30 years old. I’m saying goodbye to my 20s and welcoming my 30s with open arms… and cake. 🙂
For the last two years, I’ve shared my birthday cakes with you, so I guess this really makes it a tradition now. You can see last year’s here.
Today is my actual birthday, so this cake was made a little bit before so I had time to photograph and share it with you all. I sort of love that I have “a thing” I do to celebrate with all of you, my online friends. But of course, I also promptly ate a piece of this cake and shared it with Janae who was helping me photograph that day. So in that way, I kind of get to spread out the celebration, too.
So what is this cake? It’s actually really simple. It’s Joy’s Everybody’s Birthday Cake. I saw this recipe on her site recently, and with my birthday coming up, I thought it looked just perfect. At the moment I’m knee deep in cookbook development, regular stuff for ABM, and a little bit of menu development for our soon-to-be-open bar… so it was sort of a relief to just read someone else’s work and follow it. The end result being a truly delicious cake! If you’re in need of an excellent yellow buttermilk cake with creamy chocolate frosting (a true classic), then I highly recommend you try Joy’s recipe.
And then I decorated it with gourmet, colorful popcorn. I kept seeing bags of this at my grocery store, and I really just wanted an excuse to buy it. So I thought I’d use it to decorate my cake. 🙂
Guys, I’m really excited about my 30s. For real! I feel like the first half of my 20s was filled with self-doubt, worry, a lot of hustling just to make rent, failure, multiple broken heart moments, but a few great friendships. Then the second half of my 20s turned out MUCH better as I finally felt like I found my stride with a career path, I fell in love and got married, I bought my first and then second house, and I got to travel and see some truly amazing places.
If my 30s are going to be anything like the second half of my 20s, then I am ALL IN! I have no doubt this decade will also hold plenty of challenges and difficult moments, and I certainly don’t think I’ll always know how to navigate it all, but I feel cautiously confident and hopeful. And I just keep thinking that if on my 20th birthday someone had showed me a glimpse of what my life was going to be like by the time I turned 30, I think I would have seriously jumped for joy. (I’m really thankful for my life, if you can’t tell!) So I’m hoping something similar is true by the time I reach 40, ten years from now.
Blah, blah, blah birthdays. Sorry to ramble so much. It just feels like a big one this year and I’m really excited about it. 🙂
To all my fellow Aquarians out there—happy birthday to you too! xo. Emma
Credits // Author: Emma Chapman. Photography: Janae Hardy.
Happy Birthday Emma! It has been wonderful to watch you grow, alongside with Elsie, and share that story with us over the years. Cheers to many more wonderful decades of happiness and creativity!
PS: turning 30 last year was a great experience for me too! Bought my first new car, buying a house now, etc. Lots of cool adulting things, haha.
Happy Birthday Emma! May your 30s bring you lots of love, happiness and success! And your cake looks absolutely gorgeous: I’m obsessed with that popcorn topping!
Lots of love!
Happy Birthday! I turned 30 last week too 🙂 AMAZING cake!
Being in my early 20’s (23) I totally relate to everything you said about the self-doubt, worry and the hustling to make rent (and the other stuff too though ha). It’s nice to know that things are gonna get better for me in a few years. I hope I live a fabulous life like you all do at A Beautiful Mess 🙂
Hey we share our birthday! Been reading ABM for years but I didn’t know 🙂
Happy belated birthday to you Emma! Wishing you many more beautiful years to come.
(and cheers to the big days – I got 18 on thursday which means I’m of full age here in Germany!) Your cake looks amazing. thanks for inspring me daily! (seriously.)
Aruna
Happy belated birthday, Emma!! That looks like the most delicious cake ever, I love that you used all that colors popcorn. It’s such a unique cake decoration!! Cheers to your next decade!!!
xoxo. Holly Erinn
happinessbrand.blogspot.com
Happy Birthday fellow Aquarian! I love how gracefully you seem to be entering your thirties. I plan to do it flailing and a bit of whining. Only 2 years until that explosion… 😛
On a separate note, my god am I jealous of what you’ve accomplished before 30. I hope you are giving yourself a MAJOR pat on the back for the shop, the successful blog, the apps, the book(s), the partnerships. I mean, holy cow. Always rooting for ya!
That is one “beautiful mess” of a cake ;).
Happy birthday! 🙂 Hope you had a great one.
Happy birthday, Emma! I hope you have a lovely day!
Kristi | Be Loverly
Happy Birthday Emma! Your cake is beautiful and fun, as are you! 🙂
Happy Birthday Emma! Have the best day e v e r.
Happiest of birthdays. Looking forward to sharing your 39*s on ABM blog!
What an amazing cake! Happy Birthday! 🙂
That cake looks great. Happy Birthday! http://www.hannamarielei.com
Happy Birthday! Love the idea you had to decorate your cake with popcorn! I hope your 30s are like the second half of your 20s too!!!
Julie http://www.xfallenmoon.com/
Happy Birthday! Also, that cake is GORGEOUS.
Happy Birthday!!This cake seems yummy 😉
Happy Birthday Emma!! I also turn 30 this year and look forward to it! By the way I listened to the podcast you mentioned on IG and loved it 🙂
Happy Birthday Emma!
Happy birthday! Here’s to an awesome year. And that cake looks awesome!