What are the odds that at a party of 14 friends, three of them share the same birthday — and that birthday is also a national holiday (flag day)? Well, with compliments of AI, I found out: the odds are roughly 1 in 16.4 million (or 0.000006%).

Isn’t that amazing? So every June, at our June dinner group, we celebrate this crazy improbable birthday occurrence!

This year I signed up for dessert and made a wonderful cake that was a huge hit. It was also easy and could be made ahead. A triple winner! The cake is called Neiman Marcus Cake, and I highly recommend trying it. I think you’ll get rave reviews.

I had to add a little handmade touch: tiny dolls to sit on each slice. I drilled a tiny hole in the bottom of each doll, glued in a toothpick, and topped them with little hats I found at a craft store a few years ago. The dolls came in bulk from Amazon — because naturally, a person who makes things needs a stash! 😉

It came to mind as I put together today’s post because it feels like a celebration of exactly that—bright and beautiful things in the garden, and second, our little creature great and small—our pup’s first vacation to Carmel By The Sea.