Unfortunately, it looks like I'll be pretty bombarded with this whole "school" and "work" thing until June, so until then my posts will be rather sporadic and a little out of sync with my actual life. However, I love this blog and want to keep it thriving, so I'll try my best!
Erik and I celebrated our anniversary on April 28th, 2012. We didn't have much time, what with Erik's 3 day camping trips for his geology field class, my weekends being filled with schoolwork and Project Compost events, and April being a hodgepodge of exams, projects, essays, and general insanity! We ultimately decided to still do a little something to mark our anniversary, and save something bigger and better for summer when we have more time (Pigeon Point perhaps?!)
So we planned a nice dinner and mini golf. Simple, sweet, and quite lovely.
We drove to downtown Sacramento and ate at this small restaurant called Magpie's Cafe. I had heard about it by stalking an ecology grad student on Facebook (don't judge) and was intrigued. A changing seasonal menu, an emphasis on sustainable gastronomic food, only slightly expensive? I wanted to try!
We got there, wearing casual but nice clothes, and found the cafe much less formal than expected. Though the emphasis is on good food prepared in a rustic homemade style, it's still just a cafe on a bustling hip street. You seat yourself in a small brick room, and can walk up to the counter to buy desserts or take things to-go. I loved that, and I think Erik felt much more comfortable once he saw it wasn't so ritzy. We seated ourselves alongside the brick wall at those tables that are extra tall in the corner next to the cashier.
My friend Imma told me to be a gastronomic nerd and take pictures of food for her, so I did.
The best iced coffee I have ever had in my life. So smooth and tasty! Sorry for the bad quality of the photos, it was quite dark in the corner.
Vegetable soup as an appetizer. It was hearty, full of various beans, carrots, onions, and other vegetables. The stock is apparently made in house, and it comes with a slice of delicious baguette.
Erik with his plate, the crispy pork belly with kumquats. This plate was DE-licious!! I would highly recommend it. The pork was soft and very juicy, the salad very light and fresh, and the glaze a wonderful sweet-sour citrus that was to die for. The kumquats and salad complemented the pork and sauce very well. Erik was extremely pleased with it, saying it was the first time he had paid more for a plate and felt it was worth it. I'm surprised he didn't lick the sauce off the plate (although there was none left when we left...)
Me with my gnocci with spinach. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't knocked out by this plate. It was good, a nice mix of olive oil, spinach, and parmesan. Unfortunately, that was it. It just tasted like gnocci with a little too much oil on it. I felt I could have made it at home. I was a little disappointed that the menu seemed a little limited on vegetarian options, while the meat plates seem such high quality. There is a risotto on the menu now which sounds fantastic, but this plate was simply average to me.
And for dessert, we shared a lemon poppyseed ice cream sandwich. Yum! Perfect for a hot day, and very refreshing.
We then headed to Roseville to Sunsplash, which is a water park that also has mini golfing, an arcade, laser tag, and mini go carts. It was crowded because it was a nice balmy night. There was a cute family in front of us with two young girls, a mother with a newborn baby, and a father who kept turning around to talk to us. It was fun to watch them try to get the balls in and take notes on what we should do, and then just repeat what they did once our turn came!
Erik about to hit a hole-in-one.
Me about to hit the ball into the water.
I was also quite proud of my outfit, since I had been wondering what I could wear that was semi-dressy but still casual. I went to Goodwill for Project Compost and ended up buying this khaki dress for $7. It had the tag from Forever 21 still on it, and has cork buttons running down the front, as well as a collar. I accessorized with earrings gifted to me by my friend Laura (from Francesca's), a hair band I bought a long time ago, a purse with elephants on it I bought at a random store in Long Beach for $10, and my Urban Outfitter flats made out of canvas material.
We both had tons of fun, and it was a great day to hold us over until we have more time to do something extra, like backpacking or camping. It was great to get out and spend a stress-free time with Erik, dedicated specifically to our relationship and the past year we've been dating. I still can't believe it's already been a year, and I hope the upcoming year treats us just as well.
How have you celebrated past anniversaries? What would be your ideal date if given a time constraint of about 4 hours?
(As a side note: I started work this past Saturday, and bought a new camera off a friend on Friday! Both important life markers, keep your eyes peeled for more information later!)
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