My dad is turning 60 tomorrow and last night we kicked off his birthday celebration with homemade orange cake with orange buttercream icing.
We were too impatient to wait for the cake to cool before we frosted it, so it looked pretty pathetic, but it tasted great!
My dad made sure to make a wish before blowing out his candles and opening his gift. He absolutely loved his present and I typed up a blog post all about it that I’ll be sure to publish first thing in the morning!
We spent the rest of the night enjoying each other’s company before bed.
Brunch at Casa Marina
This morning we took my dad out for a birthday brunch at Casa Marina, a restaurant located right on the beach in Jacksonville.
Right when we walked in, we knew we were going to leave feeling absolutely stuffed.
Check out the beautiful buffet!
With so many options to choose from, I didn’t know where to begin!
Round one included eggs Benedict served on a fried green tomato, paella, shrimp, veggies, seafood salad and creamy grits. The paella was my favorite!
Round two included a Belgian waffle with fresh whipped cream and strawberries (Ryan’s fabulous recommendation), sliced sausage and a buttermilk biscuit with gravy.
I am normally not a huge biscuits and gravy fan, but my sister’s boyfriend raved about it and convinced all of us to give it a try. Great recommendation! It was delicious!
For dessert, I started with the most decadent chocolate mousse and got through about half of it before I turned my attention to the carrot cake, pecan pie and baklava in front of me.
My eyes were bigger than my stomach and I ate about half of everything until a serious sugar coma set in.
We had a great time at brunch, celebrating my dad’s 60th birthday as a family!
Once we got back to my parents’ place, we hung out for a few hours before Ryan, Sadie and I said our goodbyes and hit the road for Ocala. It was a short trip, but well worth it to wish my dad a very happy birthday in person.
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!
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I’m literally DROOLING looking at all of that wonderful food! I think I would be overwhelmed haha ;). It seems like your dad had a wonderful birthday! I’m glad you could make it over to see him, he most have loved that 🙂
Cake recipe please, asap. YUM!
I second that request…orange cake sounds delicious!
Brunch buffets make me so excited I have to take multiple plates at once to collect as much food as possible. Orange cake sounds pretty special! Pretty different than your standard chocolate or vanilla but I guess very appropriate for Florida?
YUM! Brunch buffets are the best! Glad you guys had a nice time. Happy Birthday to your dad!
Awesome food! I’d go straight down the middle and opt for loaded waffles with a side of pecan pie! yum!
a seafood buffet?! amazing!
That orange cake sounds amazing!! Will you be posting the recipe?? 😉
Happy Birthday to your dad! What a fun little celebration!
Every time I’ve gone to a brunch buffet like that where there’s SO much amazing food, I get overwhelmed about where to start because I want to try everything! Yum!
That looks so fun and the cake looks amazing! My dad’s birthday was Friday, so we had cake for him last week when I was visiting with them. 🙂 Ps. your dad is a youngin!
Sounds like a wonderful celebration! The orange cake sounds delicious (can you post the recipe?), and all that food…amazing! I love buffets! 🙂
Looks like you had a great time!! All the food looks fantastic! Quite the variety.
This pregnant lady is drooling over all that yummy food 🙂 I am a Florida girl too and shrimp is my ultimate favorite! Delish!
Breakfast buffets get me every time! I totally understand your need to take a little of many desserts because I can’t pass up anything that sounds good. I AT LEAST need a taste of it! I’m glad you had a great weekend and Happy Birthday to your Dad!
Wow that buffet looked like it was incredible! Particularly the carrot cake which is by far my favourite 🙂
Happy birthday to your dad! All that food looks awesome- wanna send me that sun too? 😉
OMG. That food. haha and 90 percent of the time I ice prematurely. (In retrospect, that’s an awkward way to phrase that, but I’m rolling with it.) Melty cakes are my specialty… unless I KNOW I have to take a picture of it. 😉
Happy Birthday to your dad! All the food looks delicious!
Everything looks SO good. I would have definitely ate my weight in food (and then some) if I were there!
Your dad looks great for being 60! He must wear his sun screen or somethin’ 😉
Yum, shrimp! That’s one buffet item I cannot get enough of. 🙂 Happy birthday to your dad!
Brunch is probably one of the best things in life. Especially a brunch like that!
Brunch buffets have got to be the best invention ever. I need to find one of those around here! I love buffets because I hate deciding on just one item at a restaurant, I always want a little of everything!
What a wonderful spread of food…That all looks great! I think you look a lot like your dad 🙂
I love brunch…I always leave feeling soooo uncomfortable though LOL :). That carrot cake (my fav :)) looks so yummy! Happy Bday to your dad!
Wowowow! Carrot cake looks amazing, literally having a FOODGASM over here! Happy Birthday to your Dad!! Love + Shine CourtStar
Omg that buffet looks ammaaazing! I’m so glad your dad had such a special day!
That buffet looks ah-mazing! And Happy Birthday to your Dad. So nice that you guys could make the trip to celebrate with him.
Ooh a brunch buffet would be heavenly! All the food you had looks delicious, especially the waffle and the carrot cake! The present you did for your Dad was really thoughtful and sweet too 🙂