Alabama + Graffiti

On Friday – I did something that I rarely do.  I stopped obsessing over work, took my child to the doctor and had a car picnic afterward.  The doc told us Sheff was as healthy as he could be, and that child is four feet tall!  He hasn’t quite broken the 40 pound mark yet – but he’s getting close!  But I will tell you how great it felt to take that time to have lunch with my kid- something I haven’t gotten to do since I was required to return to work.

 On Friday night, we made the decision to do a day trip down to Auburn.  There were a few things we’d been wanting to do down there, and well, it got us out of the house.  We got some lemonade at Toomer’s, saw all the summer graduates, ate lunch on college street, went to Coach Dye’s garden, and then ended the trip with a stop to Resting Pulse Brewery in Opelika.  It was such a fun way to spend a Saturday, and love that it was all on a whim.

Sunday we did more of our normal weekend stuff – bake, play in the pool, and then figured out there was a way for all three of us to play Mario Kart.  It made Sheff so happy – even when he was getting beat.  That kid was so happy about 7th place!

Also – found the BEST recipe for chocolate chip cookies (I’ll share here soon), but I also got to learn a cool new skill in the kitchen: browning butter!   Just look at these things!!

I hope y’all had a great weekend – this is our last week without real school, and I’m pretty anxious about it.  We are supposed to get a packet in the mail with who his teacher is and all of the supplies needed.  Wish us luck!

(linking up with Steph and Jana)

The Proposal – Jasmine Guillory // I saw so many people reading this author on so many SUYB posts, so I had to give it a go!  And even though the ending and everything throughout was predictable, it was so enjoyable.  I love that push and pull between romantic characters, and this book delivered on that in full.  Can’t wait to read more from her!

 Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl – Jeannie Vanasco  // Disclaimer about sexual assault – if that triggers you, definitely stay away from this book.  However, it was a very interesting take on a girl who was assaulted by one of her friends, and years later she contacts him to discuss.  Interesting and timely.

 The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides  // WHOA – this book.  So messed up, but in such a good way.  I had no idea what was coming, and it was glorious.  A mystery/thriller type, and if that is your jam, then definitely read.

 Untamed – Glennon Doyle  // I had seen this book all over SUYB, but honestly had no idea what it was about.  The cover was pretty, so I figured why not?  What I wasn’t expecting was some grand life-changing book, and that’s exactly what this was.  I mean – a way to make you rethink everything you thought you knew about being happy, about finding happiness, and the tough stuff you think you need to go through to find that happy.  Definitely read.

The Wives –  Tarryn Fisher // So dark, so twisty.  This book had me on the edge of my seat and up to 10pm (which RARELY happens) just to finish.  I couldn’t figure out what was going on, and it was just good.

It’s kind of been the week of eating all the things, but in my defense, it’s been a really long week, and it’s finally Friday, and yeah.

We started out the week with a lunch at Rougaroux for B’s birthday – we got the Lone Wolf po’boy and that thing was  full .  Talk about every kind of meat available, cheese, fried shrimp  and  oysters, pork rinds – it was so good.  We continued the birthday celebration with sushi for the birthday boy for dinner.

Wednesday nights have become Mexican nights for me and my sister – it’s been nice to have that sister date smack in the middle of the week.  We always just get cheese dip and the nachos to split, and that is plenty for us.  This past week, our waiter gave me margaritas for happy hour price past happy hour, and that was pretty awesome.

Thursday morning, I ordered Zaza breakfast strictly because I really wanted some bacon, and they have the most amazing bacon in Birmingham – don’t tell me any different, I’m not listening.

I’m still super emotional over Sheff and the whole kindergarten thing: having to say goodbye to Cathedral daycare is pretty much wrecking me.  Those guys have been family to us since Sheff was three months old.  They take the absolute best care of Sheffield, and they love him so much.  I ordered this book from Amazon for all of his teachers to leave him a sweet note.  I’m a crying hot mess over everything dealing with him nowadays.

He has his 5 year well appointment today, and he’s really worried about the shots – if there any.  I’ve promised him a chick-fil-a car picnic if he can power through the appointment, and taking him back to daycare so he can participate in his second-to-last splash day.

It has seemed like the longest week ever, and I’m really happy to finally see Friday.  Happy for a low-key weekend just hanging out.  Hope y’all have a good one too.

Nadine shared with me a post from a mom who was mourning her son’s school year – in what would have been his very first school year.  And it got me thinking, because, you know, this is Sheffield’s first year in school.

  Going to school, going to kindergarten, is a big life moment, and even though he will “get” to go to school, it won’t be the same.  He will attend school Mondays and Thursdays, and be in e-learning the rest of the days of the week.  He will have to wear a mask the entire time he’s at school – there will be dividers in-between the student’s desks.

There is no back-to-school shopping, no getting to go to school with him and meet his teachers and walk his new halls with him.  There’s not even that fun school supplies shopping where he can pick out his pencil box and crayons, since we’re trying to limit his exposure to the grocery stores and Targets of the world.  I think it will really hit when we drop him off for his first day of school, and we won’t get to go in with him.

We have no idea what we are walking into this year – he is ready for school, so it was never in the plans to hold him back a year.  And even if we did that, there is no guarantee that next year everything would be “back to normal.”

I know that this is just one story among the millions – there are kids who aren’t getting a normal senior year, or able to play the sports that they’ve trained so hard for, and kids who aren’t getting the true college experience.  And I know I’m mourning the rite of passage more than he is – kids are resilient, and he will be fine.  We will do everything we can to make it as normal as possible.

(the picture above was from earlier in this week where he dressed up specifically in his cape and mask just to come say good morning to me – then promptly ran back to his bat cave)

On June 27th, B and I celebrated 11 years of marriage.  Y’all – that is such a long time!  But we spent it doing one of our favorite things – trying out a new restaurant.  This time, we tried out Bocca Ristorante off 2nd Ave in Birmingham.

We first started off with an amazing bottle of wine.  I do want to say that all of the servers were wearing masks, the patrons were required to wear masks unless eating, and every table was socially distanced.  There were probably four other dining parties in that restaurant while we were in there.  They were also sweet enough to give us a complimentary glass of champagne to celebrate our anniversary.

After we got our wine, we decided on the antipasta of prosciutto with burrata.  And y’all – this may have been one of the best things I’ve eaten.  We’ve become huge fans of burrata (you can find it at Publix!), and adding prosciutto is a no-brainer.

For the second course, we decided on the Pasta Bolognese.  I could have eaten this for my meal, it was that good.  Their meat sauce is something I wish I could reproduce for sure.

For the entrée we tried the veal marsala.  I love veal and will get it almost anywhere we go that serves it.  This was delightful.  They also have many choices from shrimp scampi to chicken parmigiana, and everything in between.

We also had dessert and coffee to round out the evening.

It was such an enjoyable evening – and was really glad with how they were handling the situation surrounding Covid.  Trying new places is so ingrained into our relationship, so we were so happy to be able to.

Definitely try this place out if you’re looking for some delicious Italian food in downtown Birmingham.