spring and sprout

we have a bird nesting 

and

the rain is falling

it's march in illinois

spring has sprung

let's pray it's here to stay

the kids were outside all weekend

riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline 

causing chaos in the cul-de-sac

I LOVE IT!

dan and i had date night in the city

we ate dinner at sprout

and

 i elbowed chef dale levitski in the stomach

oooops i'm such a klutz
and tend to make a scene

remember him from top chef?
now he probably has a bruise on his belly
due to my elbow

i'm kinda (really) short and jumped out of my bar stool
right onto chef dale
then i collapsed in a fit of giggles
oh man

for me
the evening was exciting because of the top chef thing
and i love good food
but
dan was excited because he knew dale in college
they were both competitive divers
and competed against one another
dan at miami of ohio and dale at iowa

we're both such nerds

that being said, the food was amazing
i enjoyed every single bite
we ordered the 8 course prix-fixe menu
and OMG
i nearly licked the plates

some of the highlights were

english pea 
(chilled soup)
speck | purple haze | radish |mint

pork
white bean | fennel | bacon | apple

salmon
cauliflower | escarole | faro | meyer lemon

this is AMAZING octopus dish... my absolute favorite. 
i couldn't find the explanation online :(

i realize i'm going on and on
but it was SOOOOO yummy!

if you're ever in chicago, run don't walk to sprout
(link)

hope you had a great weekend!
happy monday - e