Henry, Waffles, & Blueberry Pickin',

It turns out, that the second part of my birthday week has been just as exciting and busy as the first! On Thursday, Henry received a very special treat: a grooming appointment and a new chew toy. We had planned on eating at home that night, but after we found out that Henry's little spa day was going to take 2 hours, we decided to grab a bite at one of our new found favorites- Tortugas Pizza on 280. We had it a few weeks ago and fell in love with their authentic Chicago deep dish style pizza. The ingredients are so fresh and you can definitely tell that it's homemade. It's a little out of the way for us normally, but worked out perfectly since we were in the area. Although it was unplanned, it made for the perfect Thursday night outing.

Friday night we had planned on attending a birthday party for one of our friends, but I ended up coming down with something and had to stay in. John and I tried the make the best of it though by eating Ben & Jerry's and renting a Red Box. I am always on the hunt for free red box codes (like these), but we have seemed to exhaust all of the ones that are currently available. Regardless, we enjoyed the movie that we (more like "I" in stead of "we") chose--Beautiful Creatures. It was a little bit hokey in parts and the southern accents were absolutely terrible, but the main story line was original and pretty entertaining.

Thankfully, I was feeling better this morning. So, we started the day off by heading to The Pantry- a fairly new restaurant owned and operated by Stone Hollow Farmstead. They offer a wide array of unique, fresh and healthy menu items including: marinated tomato sandwiches, gourmet chicken salad, and  raw spaghetti among others. Today, we went specifically for the Waffle Bar, offered from 9-12 on Saturday mornings. I purchased a Super Deal a while back for it was so excited to get to use it! The waffle bar is located outside of the restaurant (which is actually located in a cute historic home in Crestline village-see photo above) and is full of inventive and tasty toppings such as: raw honey, Stone Hollow artisan goat cheeses, rose petal jam, and cantaloupe-basil salad. From the presentation of the food to it's delicious taste, it was a wonderful brunch. We will most definitely be heading back soon!

John and I had been wanting to go fruit and/or vegetable picking for some time and today seemed like the perfect day. So, I surprised him with a little note that said "If I could pick again, I'd still pick you!" and gave him the address to Bear Mountain Blueberry Farm in Springville, Alabama. It was a little off the beaten path, but thankfully Google Maps led us right to the entrance. Although it was a lot of physical labor in the hot sun, we had so much fun! We ended up carrying away 1 and 3/4 gallons of blueberries, all picked with our bare hands. What was even more rewarding was when we compared the cost of what we paid ($8 a gallon) to the prices at the local supermarket. We figured out that if we purchased the same quantity from the store that we picked on the farm, it would be a whopping $63! So, we definitely saved a lot and had a great time in the process.

After a hard day's work, it was off to the pool where I read up on Southern Living's latest edition which features Birmingham! Read all about it here.  I always love trying new things to do and places to go, especially with John. So, I can't wait to try some of the places recommended by SL.

Cheers to a wonderful Saturday!