I did have a baconfest birthday in April, but not the kind I was initially wishing for. As Baconfest Chicago approached, it became clear that I had a choice: I could either celebrate my birthday at Baconfest with one or two close friends (it was just too expensive for most of my friends to handle), or I could do something else with a lot more friends. Being Southern - and an extravert to boot - I chose the friends, and we had our own "baconfest-in-the-park." Everybody brought something staring bacon and we had a great time hanging out together and enjoying all the bacon-y goodness.
Katie-the-creative even made me my very own bacon tiara. So I got to be a bacon princess for the day! How cool is that?! There were gifts of bacon chocolate (Vosages, both milk and dark bars - yum!), and we devoured candied bacon, broccoli salad with bacon, bacon-wrapped dates*, bacon-chocolate chip cookies, spinach-artichoke dip with bacon, a well-named bacon-horseradish dip, too much bacon to remember it all!
*Wouldn't it be great if all dates came with bacon? ;-)
And hummus and carrots and pita chips. Because we had to have something to go with all the bacon. Call it a palate-cleanser.
I think one of my favorite moments was when one of my younger friends came to ask about the tea: "Is this bacon juice?"
It was a good day, and it was fun to see my friends love me by celebrating bacon.
In many ways, it's not been the easiest year. But in so many other ways, I've been very blessed. Some of the best pulled pork I've ever eaten can now be found in the Chicago suburbs, Chick-fil-A opened right across the street from where I work (I was even one the First 100 and have a lot of free food to show for it!), and I got to spend more time in the South with family and friends than I have since I moved to Chicago.
With all that, there are things I miss. I haven't been cooking much and I haven't been writing much. Hopefully, I can start correcting that. They're my creative outlets, and they've suffered. And I'm not better off for it.
But I'm Southern, so I can say it...
Tomorrow is another day!
