Whew…happy Tuesday y’all. The long weekend was, in fact, quite long (the good kind, not the bad) and I’m looking at a very full September calendar wondering just how we got here – the end-ish of summer, the beginning of a new season. We spent a good part of our weekend celebrating B’s birthday. He isn’t big on fuss- he doesn’t want a party and I often have to pull meal requests out of him like pulling teeth (“I like everything you make”) but we still manage to let him know he is loved.
His parents came into town on Friday so we kicked birthday/Labor Day weekend off with a meal out. Gracie ate none of her grilled cheese but all of her fruit and charmed everyone at the table with her sweet behavior and love of coloring. She wore a dress from my childhood and looked fantastic if I do say so myself.
Who knew that a hidden joy of parenting is dressing your child up in your old clothes? Also, please note my child is now tolerating bows in her hair, which is good since we own a metric ton of them.
After dinner we headed back to our house for pre-birthday birthday cake so we could enjoy it with the whole crowd. I made this recipe and it was pretty dang good- I should have crushed the Oreos smaller, but besides that, divine!
Saturday morning, B’s actual birthday was spent at the zoo just the three of us (B’s parents were helping his Aunt with a few house projects), where we checked out the “heebras” (zebras), the sea lions, the ‘mingos (flamingos) and of course the monkeys and lions. Fun tip: the gates of the Lincoln Park Zoo open an hour or so before the zoo officially opens (kiosks, special exhibits, etc) and this is when the animals are their most lively- the temperatures are cool, breakfast is being served, and you get a lot more action than the middle of the afternoon.
Post-zoo there was lunch and naps and general relaxation and playing with Grandma and Grandpa before B and I headed out for a night on the town. I had made reservations at Summer House and we enjoyed tuna tostadas, burrata with a tomato compote, rainbow trout with roasted walnuts (him), orecchiette with lobster, corn and truffles (her), and one of their signature cookies for dessert. After long conversations (about…nothing, everything, Gracie, and stuff in between it all) we wandered around and ended up at the bar of a French restaurant that we ate at for my 24th birthday, way back in the day. A couple that was about to get married was sitting near us, and it made us do a lot of “remember when” on the cab ride home. All in all, a wonderful day celebrating my favorite person.
The best part of the weekend was that even after a jam-packed Saturday we still had two days for relaxing. B’s parents hit the road home after a nice breakfast out on Sunday and we spent the rest of the weekend enjoying our in-town down-time – splash park, grilling out with neighbors, playing with the dog and generally enjoying life. Even if summer is “officially” (but not really) over, we still have a few summer-y things on the calendar before we are in the full swing of fall and pumpkins and falling leaves.
