day 52 of 57: The Leopard Queen's Tree

    On day 52 of 57 Days of Dresses, Jason and I enjoyed a sunny Saturday afternoon celebrating his last day being 36! There was also an anti-nuclear plant protest going on downtown, followed by an Occupy GA in Pritchard Park, but we didn't stick around for that. Something about the serious and somewhat dreary tone of a protest and assembly that really doesn't encourage birthday celebration feelings.
    We started with lunch at Papas & Beer, a local Mexican restaurant recommended by a fellow vegetarian friend of ours. As we were walking up to the entrance, something along the lines of "You win this time Mexican" was scrawled on the side of the building. Weird.
    The chips and bean dip was tasty, and the self-serve salsa bar--an all-the-rage attraction at the local Mexican restaurants here in Asheville--had a good selection of sauces ranging from a pumpkin dip to a roasted tomatillo salsa verde to a "kids dip." Our meals arrived; Jason got the Baja fish tacos (he eats fish occasionally) with no sour creams or beans and extra rice, and I got the veggie fajitas with corn tortillas and no sour cream--our usual Mexican fixes. Our food came out fast and we got to grubbing. The quality and flavor profiles were typical of "Califorina" style Mexican restaurants: Unauthentic, Americanized and too salty. Oh, how I miss living in Arizona.
    The meal ended abruptly and, well, crappy after finding a piece of meat at the bottom of my fajita sizzle skillet. Touching and mingling and mixing with what was suppose to be a vegetarian meal. I know these things happen every so often, and it's just the risk a vegetarian runs when eating out at establishments where meat is prepared. But, man, when it happens, it really turns your stomach. Needless to say, we're probably not visiting Papas & Beer any time soon.
    After being fed, we headed to the west side of town to bask and gallivant in the sun, and found this quaint community garden. It was eclectically decorated with oddities, old shovels, hula hoops, glass bottles and a bright blue tree. Definitely a place for a photo shoot, and a future picnic!
    This leopard-print maxi dress is a fabulous piece I picked up at the Downtown Market here in Asheville. It has an empire waist, long sleeves and a U-neck. Being 5'9", I'm happy that maxi dresses are never too long for me---this one falls slightly above my ankles. I decided on a casual Saturday, so I'm sporting knee socks and my trusty chucks. Good thing, too, since Jason and I decided to take a few leisure strolls around the west side and downtown. When it comes to jewels, sometimes too much is not enough, and I went for silver-studded bohemian beauty: A ring on each finger, bangles, earrings and necklaces. The finishing touch was one of my handmade feather hair clips featuring Canada goose and bluejay feathers.
    Sometimes my honey-brown complexion doesn't do well with leopard-inspired prints--the pattern just doesn't pop--so I like the way the cooler tone of this dress works better with my natural warmth. It can be hard finding a good animal print, but when I do, I love it!