birthday weekend

i swear, i do have other things to post about besides being pregnant!!  this is a long one. 

birthday #31 started with the office closing at noon on friday for the 4th of july holiday weekend. that made for a great start to birthday festivities!  this allowed me to use the afternoon for a prenatal massage and rain shower.

massage
i went to a place called urban oasis which has amazing prenatal tables. i got to lay on my stomach. ahhh i used to sleep on my stomach. after months AND months of not being able to do that, do you know how good it feels to lay on your stomach?  some of you might!  i repeat, ahhh.

 the little belly basket molds to the size of your belly - those are like woven elastic bands.

but out of the whole massage, for as wonderful as it felt for her to release knots in my back, the best part was my feet! i didn't expect that. she pressed up under the arches and rubbed the ball. this was certainly not my amateur pedicure lady!

the southern

then patrick and i met up for dinner at one of the restaurants in our neighborhood that we've never been to, called 'the southern.' it was such a gorgeous summer evening and our food was unexpectedly delicious.  patrick started with a bourbon drink and i had sweet tea.  my crabcakes were really good (i rarely order crabcakes because they are usually horrible, recipes vary so greatly ... but upon the waiter's reco, i went for it, and am glad i did!), but patrick's choice was the real star. 

johnny cakes

johnny cakes. smoked pork. chow chow. cornmeal.

us: what's chow chow?

waiter/bartender: it's like a giardiniere.  yah the johnny cakes are awesome.  they're served with little rounds of cornmeal that are like cornbread tortillas. and then you put it all together.

my cell phone serves them no justice! 

i'm not a pork person, but i loved the idea behind this dish.  they were like little southern tacos!  i tasted, and could tell the flavors melded together. has anyone seen a dish like this before? is it common?  maybe i am waaay behind on southern inspired cuisine...

patrick LOVED the smoked pork here!
very into it.

this place does a fried chicken dinner for groups if you call in advance, and i kind of want to get some people together for a fried chicken birthday dinner for patrick next month -- i am thinking that i'll have a 2 hour time span to leave child with my dad when he is in town ... so he could maybe babysit while we run out, or maybe someone else wants to babysit for 2 hours?  this would be the weekend of august 7th.  oh hmm, which happens to fall on my brother's birthday.  which is why maybe my dad would want to come too, because then we can celebrate patrick AND ryan.  actually the place is so close, i could BRING the baby. i digress. ... hmm, me and my ideas. and i don't even like fried chicken, but it's not my birthday, and i bet this place does a good job!  anyone interested? seriously, let me know!!

farmers' market
i woke up early on saturday (my actual birthday) and headed to the green city market by the lake.  i had intentions of waking up even earlier and volunteering at the fleet feet water station on the lakefront path (they just give out water to runners, bikers, whoever is out training on the path), but my pregnant body couldn't get going quick enough.  so i still headed toward the lake pretty early and picked up some fresh goodies for a birthday breakfast.  yes, i picked these things up myself on my own birthday - but i love going to the farmer's market early on beautiful summer mornings!

the flower guy set up a dahlia bar - he was very proud of his mix&match idea...

and he always talks like he's still kind of asleep, you have to hear him.

breakfast sandwiches
i came home with a big, gorgeous heirloom tomato, wisconsin wasabe goat cheese (was limited to the pasteurized choices, but this sounded so amazing i didn't even bother tasting first), fruit and arugula.  reminds me there was a point in my pregnancy where i was having ARUGULA CRAVINGS!*

when i got home, i started prepping while patrick ran out and picked up bread from our local market - and it happened to be the best sourdough i have ever had in chicago.

sandwich: crusty toasted sourdough, hummus, garden basil, pan-seared heirloom tomato, scrambled egg, wasabe goat cheese. with side of farmer's market raspberries and cherries.

yoga
i scarfed down my sandwich and hurried off to morning yoga.  nothing like a little birthday yoga. made it to my fave instructor!

errands!!
what birthday is complete without running errands?  babies r us, ikea, costco ... big box weekend crowdedness.  ugh.  suburbs.  ugh.  traffic back into the city on a saturday evening.  ugh.  thought of prepping for 15 guests tomorrow.  ugh.

birthday dinner.
patrick surprised me with flowers and i am glad we didn't bother with reservations anywhere because when we got home i had some sort of a complete meltdown and was clearly too tired to go anywhere else! we thought and thought about what to eat, what to order in ... and patrick came up with the only thing that sounded good to me.  broiled sourdough with olive oil, a cheese assortment, and a birthday preggo lady sized sample of wine. he set it up beautifully and i was a happy as a birthday cake.

 pretty red birthday flowers from my love.

4th of july cubs game!

it was HOT HOT HOT at the game.  if we weren't in the shade, i probably would have had to go home -- 95 degrees and very humid!  patrick kindly brought my attention to the fact that i was pitting out!!! i had no idea, and had no idea what to do.  i don't think there is anything one can do? 

well we ran into katherine and kyle at the game ... and snapped some photos.  well my underarm area looks SO bad in katherine's photos.  i am mortified.  i told her i'm going to kill her if she posts them. omg, she's going to post them anyway, huh?

slightly edited pits photo. my life is awesome.

4th of july BBQ
we came home from the game, and got ready for christine, nikolai, badger the greyhound, my brother, wendy, amy, elaine, chad, erin, katherine, alice, stephanie, their friend whose name i have momentarily forgotten, matt and elizabeth to join us for the 4th of july! 

we didn't build our table up on the roof, nor take our gas grill, tv and lamps up there this year, given that we didn't need the extra work with baby on the way. after bbqing on the patio, we did take up some christmas lights and a folding table and chairs so we could enjoy the 360 degree views of the fireworks we get from the top of our building.  it never photographs well, so you'll have to just come over and experience it for yourself next year!

patrick getting ready to grill...

preparations ... i feel guilty for using plastic this hear

 

ryan brought over pork belly for pork belly tacos: beautiful, huh!?

click the expand link at the bottom for a few more pics from the 4th that katherine took (if they're not already showing).

yes, elizabeth and i had the SAME dress on!

man. food. beer.

she's due just a few days after me!

monday holiday - day of recovery!
enough said!  it was an amazing weekend!

*Arugula Pregnancy Craving: I almost forgot how I was having the STRONGEST cravings for this 6 ingredient salad, and patrick made them for me when i was at work late: arugula, parmesan, avocado, sunflower seeds, oil and vinegar.  i think i ate 10 of these in two weeks.