Self-made Birthday

My birthday was yesterday, so I wanted to wear a very Evelyn-ish outfit. I think the jet lag dress I made last year fit the bill perfectly. I added the yellow sweater to echo the yellow spirals and a light brown belt. I have a leather jacket the same color as the belt, and it would have been a good addition too. I brought nicer shoes with me, but I forgot to put them on, so it was Birkenstocks all day again for me! Since we were riding our bikes, I was worried about sweating through the dress, so I wore a tank top underneath and tried a technique I had seen on some other blog-pinning thin athletic socks to the armpits of garment to absorb sweat. It turned out that the day was windy and cool enough that I needed the under-layer for warmth, not sweat absorption, and I didn't end up taking off the yellow sweater I wore over it anyway, so visible sweat was not a problem. I think the sock technique has promise, though, and I will try it again on a day it is more necessary.

The day was a mix of productive and fun. In the morning, I did a bunch of filing (I got a filing cabinet for my birthday-my former "system" was paper bags in the closet), then we biked downtown so I could get my new driver's licence and transfer the title and registration to Illinois. (That's why I have license plates in the top picture. I got my new plates right there, not in the mail, so I had to carry them around for the rest of the day.) I also got my new license right then and there, which was fun. I'm glad I'm wearing this outfit in my license picture. After getting the boring stuff out of the way, we took an architectural cruise on the Chicago River. It was very informative, and I was amazed at how many beautiful buildings I had never seen before. We got down with the cruise just in time to go to our 5:30 dinner reservation at Zealous.

Us at Zealous

I got the vegetarian tasting menu with wine pairings, and Jon got the regular tasting menu without wine pairings. I liked my meal better, and Jon liked his better, so it was perfect. Scoff at the early reservation time if you want, but it meant that even after a leisurely end to the meal and some dilly-dallying, we were on our bikes back to our neighborhood by 8 pm, so we didn't get in too late. The wind, which had been pushing against us on our ride to downtown earlier in the day, was at our back, so even though we were stuffed from dinner, we felt like we were flying home. I put on leggings to ride home because it had gotten pretty chilly.

Right where we turn off of the Lake Front Path to go the rest of the way home, there is a perfect view of downtown. The lights of the city were beautiful, and we could see the waves crashing on the rocks below us. We sat together and enjoyed the evening for a while before finishing the ride home. It was the perfect end to a perfect birthday. (Incidentally, I am now 28, which is a perfect number.)