Worse Than 30, but Still Pretty Darn Good

I turned 31 yesterday, and it was much harder than turning 30. I don't know why, but it made it more real to actually be in my 30s, but it started off okay, so I don't think it'll be too bad.  My mother-in-law came down and stayed with Elijah pretty much all day. My friend Bethany took me out to lunch at Baja Burrito (yay for fish tacos!), I went and got a massage, and then Michael surprised me by coming home early from DC so that we could go to dinner.

I was researching a new exciting place to go eat, and kept coming back to one I read about on Urban Spoon called Belcourt Taps & Tapas. I was expecting a restaurant feel, and when we walked in to see high-top tables and stools, I was surprised, but we decided to get a couple tapas and then see how we felt. And oh, am I glad we did. We had fried artichokes with a lemon ranch sauce, white cheddar grit cakes with chorizo gravy, and a slider trio. Um, delicious. I probably could have eaten more, but we decided to get dessert instead -- I had chocolate chip bread pudding with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream, and Michael got a mango mousse/pudding thing that was so creamy I was a little jealous. But really, there was nothing to complain about. There was hardly anyone in there, so the service was awesome, and the music mix of Jack Johnson, Foo Fighters, Switchfoot, Nirvana, and Patty Griffin gave it an interesting little ambiance. I'm sure it's got a different feel when they have live music (and when it's not 5:30 on a weeknight), but I highly recommend it. Yummy.

This morning Elijah and I are just hanging out at home thanks to a nasty nose on him and the fact that I'm pretty much caught up on housework (it's amazing how keeping your house so clean just in case you have a showing can ease your stress about housework). As I started to write this blog, I looked up to see Elijah watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse from a new vantage point:

Guess I should start paying attention to him.