Date night

After a few weekends out of town it was so glorious to be home. We made simple plans that way we could enjoy being home as much as we could. We have been having a heatwave which surprisingly took a break over the weekend but it is back with a vengeance this week. I won’t complain though because over the winter I craved warmth and well, I got it now.

Usually on Saturday we wake up and go to the gym but this Saturday we decided to just lay in bed as long as we could. When I finally got up I made us some scrambled eggs with veggies, bacon, toasted up some English muffins and brewed us some coffee. Usually I prepare our meals for the week on Sunday but this time I did it all on Saturday including grocery shopping. We also decided that we’d go out to dinner around 6pm which left me several hours to relax with a glass of wine and watch some new episodes of Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix. Yup, I still love the show as much as I did when I was a freshman in college.

We didn’t make reservations, which we normally do, but luckily the restaurant that Sean wanted to go to had availability and we were seated immediately. We initially were going to eat outside because the weather was gorgeous but there were smokers on the left side of us and if there’s one thing I dislike, it’s the smell of cigarette smoke. So much to Sean’s delight I suggested we eat at the bar. Sean loves to eat at the bar as much as I love to eat outside. We had a delicious meal and great service at Grain and I’m looking forward to going back again. This wasn’t either of our first time at the restaurant but our first time at the restaurant together. When we were done eating we decided to go to a local bar that had a band playing music from the 70s. So much fun!

This pretzel with beer cheese was delicious and so filling.
I think I could have eaten just this and been satisfied.





This wild caught salmon dish was so delicious too and made for a tasty leftover the following day.



It was a good night for a date night and I’m looking forward to another weekend just like this one.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend and that you have a great week! ♥

Magnolia love in the rain

On our way to try out a new restaurant (which was incredible by the way!) for dinner, we drove pass rows of blooming Magnolia trees. I did what any normal human being would do, I asked Sean if he would park the car that way I could take some pictures. I’ll say that’s the advantage of always carrying around my camera; however, I don’t believe that Sean would ever say that’s an advantage but I digress... We made plans to arrive at the restaurant a little earlier than our reservation to get a drink at the bar (we like to get a feel of a new restaurant) while we waited so we weren't going to be late. Sean looked at me and said, you do know it’s raining. I said, well, momma didn’t raise no witch and he said ... yeah, I won’t say what he said. It was raining, I didn’t melt and Sean got some fun pictures of me being ridiculous in the rain posing with these Magnolia trees. These trees aren't around for very long and since they happen to be some of my favorite trees, I’m glad I took five minutes out of our evening to get these shots.

Who knows? Maybe I’ll make this shoot a yearly thing ... just don't tell Sean ;).
I hope you had a wonderful weekend & that you have a great week! ♥

Downtown lights

I love being downtown around this time of year. All the lights twinkling and Christmas décor put me in the jolliest of moods. I just love all the festive décor and can stroll for hours checking out all the little boutiques and shops that are decorated for this time of year. This evening, we walked around taking in the sights and then ended the night with dinner and drinks. I’m hoping that we can get one more night of walking around downtown and taking in all the lights and sights before all the Christmas décor is taken away.

♥

Peruvian food for our Friday date night

A few weeks ago, I told Sean that I wanted to treat him to a date night, so he should let me know what restaurant he would like to go to and what he’d like to do afterwards. Sean did some research online and then told me he wanted to check out a Peruvian restaurant in the neighboring town. Sean traveled to Peru a few years ago and loved their cuisine so you can say he was pretty excited to find a Peruvian restaurant so close to where we live. The best part was that the food was amazing and they also served Columbian cuisine. I am not exaggerating when I say, there was not a piece of food left on our plates.

It was like a meal prepared for you at home, but better, and we can’t wait to head to El Chasqui again.

We went for an early dinner and it was a great time to go because we were the only patrons.
The owner was so attentive and helped us decide what to order when we could not make up or minds.
For a rather small restaurant, we were surprised with their extensive menu.













I hope you all had wonderful weekends and have lovely weeks! ♥

Date night ♥

You know it’s a problem when the both of you can’t remember the last date night. At least, when you’re us since we take date nights kinda seriously. We decided that this was the weekend to fix that since we had no plans except for tree removal from our backyard earlier in the day. I didn't want to see the tree go but sadly it was dead and there was no bringing it back to life. We made reservations to a new restaurant (to us) a few days prior to mix things up.

We haven't had many experiences where we did not really enjoy a restaurant we visited and I guess it was our time. The restaurant has so much potential as it is absolutely gorgeous but the atmosphere/vibe was just so blah. Even the ever changing colored lights in the ceiling did not do much to make the atmosphere lively. The menu they had that night was an event menu (wish we knew!) so it was very limited and nothing was appealing. I don't like pumpkin so this could be where my beef was at, but seriously, who would put pumpkin risotto on their menu in the Spring? We both ended up ordering burgers that we did not finish or box to go.

I'll admit that it was not the worst restaurant we've ever been to but with so many great ones in our area, there is really no reason for us to go back which is unfortunate because it truly has so much potential and is located in a great spot! But you know what really hurt? One of my favorite restaurants that I've blogged a ton about on here (The Hamilton) is right next door, haha.









Although our restaurant choice turned out to be lackluster, our night together was not. It's so important to make time for your relationship because things get in the way. Life gets busy. Mistakes are made. Feelings are hurt. Things get said that you'll never be able to take back. But when you take the time to ensure that your partner knows that you love them unconditionally, regardless of the flaws that you both certainly have, it is worth it.

Whenever I am having a moment when I am infuriated with Sean, I always ask myself this simple question. Is this the moment that I want to have broken us? For some odd reason, whenever a person tells me that a relationship is over, I always wonder, what/when was the exact moment that broke them? Would they go back and change the way they handled that moment to ensure that they remained intact? Because of this, I always ask myself that question, and if the answer is no (which it has been to date), I handle the situation a different way. I think hard about what I say and how I say it.

It's amazing how that simple question has helped me not only choose my battles but to always treat Sean kindly and with respect. I'm looking forward to our next date night but it most likely won't be us trying a new restaurant. I'll take tried and true for 100, Alex ;).