A Very, Very Happy 31st Birthday!

This was written a long time ago (late April), but thought i would share anyway..

As my inaugural blog entry, I decided to write about the best birthday present any girl turning 31 could ask for- well, lucky for me, I had more than just one.

The first present was a wonderful surprise. On Friday around 1.30pm, I get a call from my mom. Not so unusual. She asks what time I was getting off of work. That day was good Friday so we actually were getting off at 2pm. I tell her when and the she asks “ can I pick you up?” Say what? Huh? She was just a few blocks away from my office! Without me knowing it, Anthony and my mother had decided to surprise me and take me out to dinner that night!

Anthony had made reservations for the three of us at a place I have heard a lot about and have been wanting to try for a while- Bistro Campagna. It is a small French restaurant located in North Center. Quaint, romantic, dark – perfect restaurant to go with my husband and mother. J We sat in the corner of the back room and the server described all of the wines and food with such detail. We were all drooling while trying to figure out on what to select for our meals. We decided on sharing a bottle of pinot gris. Anthony got a steak (big surprise) and my mom ordered some sort of slow roasted beef. I selected the feature item on the menu – antelope! Alright, I have to admit, I forgot exactly what an antelope looked like when I ordered it and I am glad I did. It was one of the best meats I have ever tasted. So moist and tender. GREAT meal! I would highly recommend it. Then the next day I hit up wikipedia and of course, I instantly felt guilty. What a beautiful animal.

The next surprise was actually given to me before that. If you have known me for a while, you know I used to be an absolute concert fanatic. I don’t know what happened, but I used to go to any and every concert possible. Anthony, knowing this, decided to get me back in the groove and got tickets to the Arcade Fire concert. Again, if anyone ever questions what they should get me, it should be anything related to food or music and I will be sold.

I followed Arcade Fire a few years back when Rebellion was a big hit, but really haven’t paid much attention to them lately so I wasn’t so sure what to expect for the concert and how much of the old songs they would be playing. But we got to the UIC Pavillion about 20 minutes before they went on. We were on the floor, standing around mostly college students (another moment in my life when I am glad I am tall). As the lights shut off, they came out and I had forgotten how many people they had in their band- 8! But from the first song until the last, they played hard. I recognized about 40% of the songs, but even the songs I didn’t recognize, I instantly loved. The had a screen behind the stage that would play random videos- my favorite being a video off of a wing of a plane as it took off and then landed. I don’t remember exactly what song it was played with, but it was intense. I just stared at the screen for the entire song. So mesmerizing. Since then, I have purchased every album and am listening to them religiously at work. I am sure at some point I will get sick of the songs, and have to track down the next concert to be mesmerized by.