Birthday Dinner.

The birthday weekend continues with my annual birthday dinner with Crystal! We take turns taking each other out, just the two of us, for birthday dinner. Have been doing it for years. Last year we went to the Wildflower Grill.

This year Crystal suggested Unheardof restaurant in Mill Creek. I wore what is now becoming a favourite dress.

You can't tell from the photo but all the little layers come to life once I'm moving on the bike. And the skirt requires a little riding up in order to make pedaling more comfortable. A few times I caught my reflection in some store windows along Whyte avenue and thought, "Hey... legs!"

It was also a good opportunity to wear the new hairband Sable got me for my birthday. I later took it off and put it in my basket in exchange for my helmet. When I arrived at the restaurant I just switched back. I think I need a rear view mirror for my bike, just to have a reflective surface to tweak these sorts of things when I'm on the go. Would be handy for lipstick reapplication too.





The restaurant was really adorable. The food was excellent and well-prepared, but I would have to say the space and decor are a little dated. A few mismatched elements here and there, and varied decorative elements resulting in a sort of pastiche.

They do take care to source their ingredients as locally as possible and everything is fresh fresh fresh. They also take care to reduce their carbon footprint by being mindful of what they buy, how much packaging it comes in, how far it has to travel, etc.

The menu has a lot of variety for things that are gluten free and I suppose there is some vegetarian stuff, but it's one of those situations where if you're vegetarian and you don't like mushrooms? Probably not good.

Crystal had a goat cheese salad.





And some lobster and scallops.





We both had the rhubarb, bing cherry trifle too. Really makes me miss having a rhubarb plant.





Opened some presents. Kerstin's chocolate!





There were a variety of other treats too, like a baklava sampler from this moms & pops place close to Crystal's house in the north end. See? No matter where you live there are always local, independent businesses to visit!

She also got me a bottle of amazing sparkling Italian wine (apparent it's bright red and super delicious). The exact bottle is: Marotti Campi Xyris 2008.

Once we finished up and were outside I had to get a shot of Crystal's shoes.





The lady behind all my Saturday birthday treats.





And me again, with my birthday bounty loaded up on my bike.





When we were outside Crystal said when I had first arrived the lady who was seated by the window was going on and on about this girl who was all dressed up on the bike (aka: miss sarah). She commented on the heels, the dress, the hairband, and my handbag. I'm so pleased that I made an impression on her! I hope she might consider hopping on her bike some time too, now that she has seen that it's no big thing. Bicycle advocacy AND my birthday dinner in one. Yes!

The ride home was really fun too. I took the busy street the whole way because there was actually some construction detours. This meant the cars weren't moving that quickly and they were packed very closely. I was able to ride right up in between the right lane and the parked cars (with a mindful eye for the doors) at wicked speed with my bell ringing. Perfect way to get moving after a big meal.

Evening = Success.