This past weekend included several occasions wrapped up in one...the July 4th weekend, seeing my husband for the first time in a month, and our first wedding anniversary! Because of all of the celebrations it became a weekend full of wonderful activities and LOTS of food.
The weekend began with Jeremy arriving in Bloomington on Friday evening so for a quick dinner we got pizza. But this past weekend was all about trying new things so we got some famous local pizza from Aver's Pizza. I had to make Jeremy try the Crimson and Cream pizza (the one they made for IU) which has bacon, potatoes, bleu cheese and other wonderful things on it. We also tried their gyro pizza and breadsticks....super yummy.
Our food indulgence continued on Saturday morning with breakfast at the Bloomington Bagel Company. Not only do they have a lot of different kinds of bagels but they also have a lot of schmears. So Jeremy was very excited to have a bagel with cream cheese and Lox. After breakfast we drove around town before remembering that the farmer's market was going on so we decided to stop by it. It is probably one of the coolest and cheapest farmer's markets I have ever been to. It is held every Saturday morning in the same place where they held the food festival, The Taste of Bloomington. After the farmer's market I took Jeremy to see the park with the cool slides but we saw something even more interesting a block away from it. According to what others have told me, the brother of the Dalai Lama actually lives in Bloomington and because of that we have two Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries and even a couple of Tibetan restaurants here. This is the Monastery near the park, it is situated in some beautiful woods.
Later on after lunch, Jeremy and I went to look at the house I will be moving into in August. Luckily one of my future roommates was there so we were able to tour the inside. Seeing it again just made me more pleased with my decision. (I'll post pics of the house after I move in) Later on, knowing we were going to be eating out most of the weekend, we made lemon-rosemary chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, and garlic green beans for dinner at home. After dinner we saw the Music Man, the musical I helped paint for the Indiana Festival Theatre. Although Music Man isn't my favorite musical it was a very good production. After the show we got drinks with my friend Sean at a sports bar that during the summer they cover their entire outside area with sand and they even grill out some basic stuff.
The weekend only continued to get better on Sunday since it was our anniversary. Sunday morning we had more good food (which seriously seems endless in Bloomington) for brunch at a cute little place called the Runcible Spoon which is located downtown in a little house. Although they have a great lunch and dinner menu they have an even more extensive breakfast menu which they serve all day.
After brunch we walked around downtown to see some of the other shops and cool restaurants. We stopped in this funky bookstore also in a house called Boxcar Books (I always try to find cool bookstores no matter where I am). It isn't a used bookstore which is my usual favorite but it was cool for other reasons. Not only is it a non-profit bookstore run by volunteers with a community meeting space but they give most of their proceeds to The Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project, which sends thousands of books to prisoners free of charge. Of course it is a good cause but it is also a cool store because of the book I bought there called
I Want to Punch Your Face. I promise this is an amusing book that takes 2 minutes to read and is actually redeeming.
So back to sweet things..... ;) ......after some down time we had an amazing anniversary dinner at a restaurant called Farm Bloomington. It has this wonderfully nice casual atmosphere while having very upscale food. The coolest thing (besides the wonderful food) is that it is a green/sustainable restaurant. The sustainable factor is awesome because most of the food comes from Indiana so you really feel like you are eating something special.
We got some original cocktails and an order of sweet potato fries with a fruit dip as an appetizer. But the entrees were the most delicious part. Jeremy got the Lugar Burger which actually won Best Burger in Indiana by the Food Network Magazine....and Jeremy says that they deserved it. The Lugar Burger is a local bison burger with Columbus Cowboy Espresso Chili Rub. I ordered the "Don't Jerk My Chicken" pie which is the most unique pizza I have ever had. It had mango chutney, avocado, jerk chicken, black beans, and boursin on it.......so yummy!!!!! For dessert we got the flourless chocolate cake which had a jalapeño ganache, tequila whipped cream, and lime sorbet. Does life get better? I only wish Jeremy and I had stopped eating long enough to take pictures. But the anniversary celebrations didn't end with dinner.
We waited after dinner until it got a little later and then we headed to the Starlite Drive-In Movie Theater. Jeremy was nice enough to bring me some more stuff from Oklahoma and Arkansas. One of the things he brought was my futon mattress so we decided to leave it in the back of his Honda Element so it was the most comfortable drive-in experience we have had (granted we have only had 2). We got there about an hour before the movie started so that we could get a good spot. Only 15 minutes after we got there it started to pour down rain. Luckily once the movie started it only took about 10 minutes for it to stop so we were able to open the hatch back up. The sound for the movie played through our radio so it made it very easy to hear.
Before and during the movie we nibbled on our wedding cake. Surprisingly it was still delicious....extremely rich....but very delicious. Unfortunately it no longer looked as pretty as on that wonderful day a year ago.
Of course there isn't really a choice on the movie you can see at the drive-in so we wound up seeing Cars 2. Although it was my least favorite of the Pixar films, going to a drive-in is about the experience and not the movie.
Our anniversary was awesome but our celebrations didn't end there because yesterday was Independence Day! Monday morning we ate breakfast at the Scholar's Inn Bakehouse and I had a wonderful thing called the Tuscan Bagel. It is a bagel with cream cheese, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and balsamic vinegar on it...delicious no? After breakfast we did a little shopping. Jeremy has lost another 10lbs since I last saw him so it was definitely time for him to get some new jeans. Of course I enjoyed getting to buy a trifle dish for the dessert I made for that evening.
Later we went over to a friend's place for a July 4th cookout. Of course we had some delicious burgers, potato salad, chips and watermelon but I loved getting to try a new dessert recipe. I made a Red, White, and Blueberry Trifle (a recipe I stole from the Skinny Taste blog). It had layers of angel food cake, strawberries, blueberries, and a creme mixture; completely yummy and weight watchers approved.
After our cookout we all carpooled to the Monroe County Fairgrounds for the fireworks show. We got there about an hour and a half before the show started but luckily we had plenty to keep us busy. We played bean bag toss, Catchphrase, and ate kettle corn.
Of course Jeremy and I started being goofy at one point and took some random photos.
As it started getting dark outside we pulled out the sparklers.....yay....fire! And us, lit by sparkler.
Finally the Fireworks started and it was a great end to our amazing weekend!
Early this morning Jeremy left after grabbing a bagel at Bloomington Bagel Company again. Of course all day I called him whenever I had a break at work to see how much closer he was to home. It has been hard being without him this past month. We agreed that this is one of the best visits we have ever had with each other. I don't know if it is marriage, or having lived together last year, or what has changed but saying goodbye this time seemed a little easier than when we were in undergrad. You never want to be used to saying bye to someone you love. But this month went by so quickly and I think we realized that the next 3 years are going to go by a lot faster than we thought. Three more years and then I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend (with no more goodbyes). I love you baby!
