24

Another year, another birthday! No matter how old I get, I still get excited about birthdays. What's not to like? It's the one day of the year that I get to be the center of attention without trying! I get presents and cake! I love presents and cake! I celebrated early last weekend with good food and my cute boy. We took a walk in the rain around historic Ellicott City, one of my favorite places to be, followed by dinner at The Rumor Mill, an amazing fusion restaurant in a turn-of-the-century building off of Main Street. It's our go-to place for special occasions.

 I saw strawberry beer on their drink menu and I had to try it. When I poured it into my glass I squealed when I realized it was PINK! How fabulous is that? It was definitely the girliest beer I've ever had. Perfect for sipping while wearing a frilly dress and mary jane shoes.

 The food was spectacular as always. See that pile of fried something up there with sauce on it? Yeah, that's an avocado. A curry tempura fried avocado stuffed with jumbo lump crab meat and drizzled with preserved lemon aioli. Stop drooling. You'll ruin your keyboard and I don't think your warranty covers it.

 Dessert consisted of chocolates from a local candy shop. I saw a sign in the window for "Old Bay chocolate crabs" and had to go in. They did, in fact, have molded chocolate crabs with Old Bay seasoning mixed in. How very Maryland! Sounds crazy, but they are delicious. If you've ever had chocolate covered bacon, it's sort of like that. Sweet, salty and smoky, with a hint of spice. Yum.

I cherish these dates with the man I love. We slow down, we indulge, we laugh, we take time to enjoy the things we often take for granted about each other's company in the day-to-day busyness of our lives. It's the best birthday gift he could give me.



P.S. SQUIRREL UPDATE: We ended up taking the babies to Frisky's Wildife and Primate Sanctuary in Woodstock. It's a sprawling animal rescue run by a compassionate and savvy woman who has been saving wildlife and exotic pets since the 70s. I trust that they are in capable hands and they will grow up to be healthy, strong little squirrelies.

local flavor

 Today we attended an annual summer barbeque at the Prigel Family Creamery, a local dairy store that sells delicious homemade ice cream along with milk, eggs and meat from a small family owned farm in Glen Arm. We sat picnic-style in the grass and enjoyed live music while the kids drew with chalk and ran through the sprinklers, followed by the consumption of quite a bit of ice cream.

 Is it me or does food just taste better when it's fresh and local? It just seems so much cleaner. The ice cream was pure and flavorful and so perfect in every flavor we tried; mint chocolate chip, chocolate peanut butter, and a flavor made from a trio of summer berries. All amazing.

Maryland is a state rich with small farms and artisanal foods like these, and I feel so lucky to live right in the middle of all of it. There are so many wonderful flavors and places to experience, especially in the summer time. I'm looking forward to finding as many of them as we can this year.

photo friday: making paper

Autumn and I took a paper making class at the Oregon Ridge Nature Center, where we learned how to dye recycled paper pulp with natural materials. This one is dyed with blueberries and strawberries. Bonus: it smelled delicious!

the post in which xan got to frolic through the woods in a silly costume

May 12th brought us to the annual Maryland Faerie Festival, one of our favorite yearly events. My beau and I headed over to Camp Ramblewood with three little pixies (Autumn and two of her friends) in tow. The theme this year was "Goblins" so I put together a black and green ensemble complete with a handmade tulle bustle and a cockroach in my hair. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. My top and stockings matched my hair color perfectly, and my leather boots and bat wings really tied it all together. I love a well assembled costume. I may be 23, but I'll never grow out of playing dress up. I enjoy becoming a character for a day, and using the word "bustle".

Photo Credit: Tantalizing Enigma Photography

The girls looked adorable in their outfits as well. Autumn surprised me this year by requesting a pink tutu and flower crown; probably the girliest things she has ever asked me to make. The sudden fear that my Tiny Small was outgrowing her tomboy phase was quickly quelled by her declaration that she is actually a dragon faerie, and that she can breathe fire. *phew*. As long as there is still fire breathing, we're safe.

 

Don't be fooled by her cuteness. She will straight up roast you.

After our troupe of fae danced around the Maypole and consumed an outlandish quantity of fried potatoes, we met up with some of the festival's regular cast of characters, including Sweetie the Unicorn...

 

 Wedgie the Goblin (surely the guest of honor this year!) who had a much larger cockroach than mine...

 

Jealous.

  and my friend Posie, who hosts marvelous tea parties for wee faerie folk. Pinkies up!

Two painted faces, one new hula hoop, several minutes of bongo drumming, a wild rumpus, a handful of baby goats, and an exhausting royal quest later, we had thoroughly explored the realm of Fae once again.

 

As always, we look forward to coming back next year!

the plague comes to baltimore

On Wednesday night Adam and I headed to the Bourbon Street Ballroom in Baltimore to see Emilie Autumn on her very first North American tour. Not only was it a good excuse to dress like an escaped tightrope walker from a goth circus, but it was one hell of a show.

Emilie and her Bloody Crumpets put on a stunning, elaborate performance that combined her music with acrobatics, burlesque and beautifully choreographed dance. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Emilie's voice is just as lovely live as it is on her albums, and she can shred on that electric violin like nobody's business.

And would you get a load of those outfits? Amazing. I don't know how anyone manages to prance across a stage spinning hula hoops and walking on stilts in a corset, but they made it look easy. All of the costumes they wear are handmade, which makes me all the more inspired to add some of these looks to my own wardrobe. Seriously, who wouldn't want a pair of stripey bloomers? I went to bed that night with my head full of dreams of painted parasols, tea stained dresses and lace ruffles.

If you're not familiar with Emilie and her music, you need to be. Seriously, look her up on YouTube or something, and then get yourself to the nearest stop on her 2009 Asylum Tour. You can't see this woman live and not fall hopelessly, utterly in love.

down on the farm

This weekend we took advantage of the last of this year's warm weather with a visit to nearby Clark's Elioak Farm, one of our favorite local attractions. The storybook inspired concrete buildings and characters scattered throughout the farm are pieces salvaged from The Enchanted Forest, a now defunct amusement park that was featured in a certain John Waters movie in the early 90s. Their sweet vintage charm--along with the petting farm and pony rides--is what keeps us coming back several times a year. Later in October we'll return for our Halloween pumpkins and local apple cider.


When I was a kid I read every one of the Little House on the Prairie books and became enchanted with the idea of a simple country life, living off the land and taking only what you need, walking outside to nothing but a big blue sky and endless fields of green. I wanted more than anything to live on a farm, braid my hair and call my parents "Ma" and "Pa."

Now that I'm an adult the idea of waking up at the buttcrack of dawn to shovel poo has somehow lost its charm, but I still hold on to the idea of a modest homestead with a big back yard and a vegetable garden, a few chickens, maybe even a goat or something. Visiting places like this makes my soul ache to move someplace quiet and green that we can call our own.

Will it ever happen? Maybe one day. Until then I'll keep coming back to this place to pretend.