Two for Two?

Yup, people, my hubby's two for two today!

Wait, that's not what I mean... (whatever it is you're thinking)

The fact is... I'm not a "birthday celebratin' on the day of your birthday kind of gal", so my hubby and I decided to go on a "Birthday Date" that turned out to be "Dates" (plural people)! One in the afternoon and one at night! (a rarity among rarities in our married history so of course, I'd blog about it! )

We both wanted to watch the movie, Avatar. So we did... in 3D and IMAX! We found a theater in Dallas that showed it and still gave us enough time to pick up the kiddos after school. We quickly purchased the tickets after lunch at Whataburger nearby. I sooo recommend it! (my own waterworks started and flowed near the end, it was so good!)

Proof it was IMAX... lol (that's just the middle of the screen)
Our 3D glasses... (we took pics when we had them on, but it was so dark, all you could see of me is my nose and the glare of the overhead lights- on my forehead!... not a pretty picture...)
And my gorgeous date, complete with his own tub of popcorn! (I was good, I had water) I wore an eggplant colored top, denim capris and eggplant colored ankle heeled boots. I also had my hair in a tight pony. I looked movie ready!

Then, tonight... We dressed up a bit and went to our second date, a nice dinner out. Of course, we opted for seafood (one of my kryptonites) and had a great time sampling the generous (and mouth-watering) portions at our nearby Papadeaux Seafood Kitchen. This time, we were in the Restaurant Row of Dallas, a little closer to where we live. The place was packed, but we got seated right away. We had a great time!

Look at this fountain at their entrance. Wowie! It's inside a portico side entry.
Once inside, we started our dinner with some beefsteak tomato salad with blue cheese crumbles. Yum!
For cocktails, Mr. Man got a pina colada daquiri while I opted for the strawberry one. The V version, of course!

I tried their current special-- Lobster Lafitte, it's half a rock lobster, head-to-tail stuffed with crawfish, shrimp and crab then topped with lobster meat and a scrumptious creamy sauce of my choice (lemon caper). It was paired with some crawfish etouffe. Of course, neither of us finished what we ordered, they were on massive platters! (this is what's leftover of mine. Mr. Man's Crawfish Trio platter looked just as full.)

And here we are! See? completely different looking! :-) I went for a "totally blinged-out" look because I've never really done it before. It was actually a lot of fun. I put on a silver top with black slacks.

Mr. Man went for "I'm her eye-candy" in a rugged casual way. Loved it! (And I think our young female server thought so, too! She refilled his soda, praised him for trying crawfish for the first time and was thoroughly helpful. Me, she didn't come around with a water pitcher for refills and my clutch that she asked me to move when the dishes came only got complimented after we asked for take home boxes. How cute...)

To not look so formal, I opted for simple jewelry like this choker I found at Kohl's today. I also donned a silver clutch, to hold my cell phone and lipstick. :-D
and silver dress sandals, but for my lips, toes and nails, I went copper!
I looked and felt like a million bucks, but in reality, my piggy bank barely noticed I dipped in. ;-)

What a great day! I hope you and your sweetie can indulge in a "two for two" very soon. It is worth it and so much fun!

Til' next time!

Anniversary Dinner Date

It's not officially until tomorrow the 26th, but since Mr. Man's schedule changed again, we've had to be flexible with our plans- three to be exact...

Tonight, this 13th year, was at Lawry's The Prime Rib in Dallas. We had a fun time enjoying the delicious food, especially the "melt in your mouth" sides that highlighted the entrees well. We were seated in a booth closest to where the servers pass through from the kitchen, but since they were so careful to not disturb us, it felt like the most private spot in the whole restaurant. It was an awesome experience! It was great seeing different people serve you over different things. It reminded me of our 10th anniversary at Mr.Man's previous employment, The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, AZ. Lawry's atmosphere inside was just as luxurious. (Lucky to have found these pictures online as we dined on similar fare and the location shot was done in the fall as well.)

Notice Mr. Man's tie and jacket, yes, it was that kind of restaurant. We scrimped to have a nice celebration for our 13th year to ward off the "unlucky" association with the number 13 and considering our wedding day was also so close to Halloween. ;-) (Nah, we just scrimped since we had a great coupon that we were able to use there.) What, you thought I wouldn't use a coupon at a nice place? Well then you don't know me at all... ;-D

Don't we look great all dressed up?

He needed more work tools for his new station so that was his anniversary gift from me. Easy enough for me! ;-) His anniversary gift to me, he let me buy a new sweater turtleneck top, a great looking beige crocheted dress jacket and my new black "cat woman" boots by CL by Laundry (Chinese Laundry), a fave shoe maker. (LOL, I was trying to show off my ring, but I miscalculated the water goblet's spot in front of my hand.) And you know that they were all bought dirt cheap...

Towards the end, we asked our server to take our picture. Can you see how big this slice of triple layer chocolate cake is?That's actually HALF of what we ordered! It is aptly called, Chocolate Fantasy cake! The shot didn't give it justice- it's bigger than that! They automatically offered to have us take home the other half. Fine with me, more chocolate!!!

And this English Trifle with Strawberry sauce was their signature complimentary celebratory token. Mr. Man loved it while I savored little bites of that huge cake slice above. Can you say we ended on a great note?

We didn't do anything after that, we just went home, because I had 6 essays due by midnight. But tomorrow, our actual anniversary, he will be taking me to breakfast somewhere and another date on Tuesday... We're trying to stretch out our anniversary into three days to make up for the few years we didn't get to celebrate...

Hope you all have a great week!

A "Date" to Remember...

In Hobby Lobby last Monday, we also found, or I should say, Mr. Man found his son his first model car to build. He was as excited about finding it than I-Dude was in learning how to put it together! Here he is with all the pieces out of the box... (Mr. Man took his pictures)
After several minutes of concentration and hardwork, I-Dude manages to complete it all on his own! Look at that grin of accomplishment! ;-)
Tonight, we also decided to make good on our date to try out Joe's Crab Shack that we've set when we first saw the sign by the freeway, TWO YEARS AGO! Mr. Man took me to Marshall's so I can spend my giftcard in finding another top to use for our date but I couldn't concentrate and none of the styles called to me. *exasperated*

How do l look? Am I ready for our date? I know, a momentary lapse of cowardice to bring you a photo of moi! (yes, my hair is naturally wavy and the hubs love my long hair, so no cutting it this year!) I don't wear make-up normally but I do wear them from time to time. You just can't tell half the time because of my skin tone.

Anyway, we left Marshall's empty-handed, but I hinted that I wanted to wear heels to our date (for the obvious height gap; let's just say that even with heels and my hair pulled straight up from my scalp, I'd still be a few inches shorter than my darling hubs.)

Look at what he got me! We went to Payless and I found this uber cute pair of dark purple, 3-in heel, ruffled, peep-toes! I love them!
This is what it looks like from Payless dot com... Isn't it gorgeous? Mr. Man thought they were S-E-X-Y! Sold and cha-ching! My second "NOT ON SALE" pair my whole married life. My first one, my wedding pumps...
I can't tell you how good it feels to have a baby-sitter at a moment's notice!

Well as you can tell from any establishment with a "Shack" at the end, it is no Four Seasons. We walk in and each table, mostly booths, were occupied with families, FAMILIES! Awkward phase 1- check!

Since Mr. Man is a mechanic, any blingage is a no-no, so often, his wedding ring sits in my jewelry box. Tonight, it sat in the box, but I had on mine, so at Joe's, I looked like a cheating married tramp in hot looking getup of purple overblouse tank, straight cut figure-fitting jeans, high heels, dangling earrings, luscious curls down my back and red lipstick to boot! Oh the looks I attracted... Awkward phase 2-check!

We had to wear bibs to protect ourselves from the embarrassing accidental explosion of cracked crab shells. Did I mention my hair is naturally thick and wavy? Well, putting on that bib took a little longer than I thought only to find later that I DIDN'T manage to tie it at all! It fell down to my *ahem* front, stopped by *ahem* my "twins". So... I had to look for a wet wipe on our table, quickly get the "crab guts" and smell out of every nail and whole hands, quickly grab UP, then RETIE my bib! I was so relieved I didn't have any "accidents", but... but... I was more concerned about my new shoes! So I kept looking down while Mr. Man was staring at me, letting me know that he approves of my "purty" look. He had to eventually ask me if I dropped anything or if I got anything on my legs. TRAMPY PERSONA COMING OUT? lol Awkward phase 3-check!

Overall, I realized that the date was a true success. We kept people guessing if we were married-to each other; Mr. Man had all eyes on me and I looked and felt H-O-T, as in I looked good! (Haven't felt that in a while and it felt amazing!) I told the hubs that it felt like we were on an "early dating" sort of date- and we didn't talk much about the kids! We enjoyed the shellfish, each other and the fact that we just strengthened our marriage...

Hope you, too, had a great Tuesday!

It Ended with a Date...

Hosted by "A Southern Daydreamer"
Yesterday was wonderful; we stocked the fridge with a trip to Kroger's (got some FREE Capri Sun and walked out with $2 next trip coupon), had lunch at IKEA and found some more of those awesome containers; even had the kiddos play in their "Smaland". Then to Home Depot for some pull chain for the kiddos' bedroom ceiling fan. After we got home, Michelle and I made a quick sausage and pasta dinner then Mr. Man and I went on a date! Yes, a date! *woot woot*

We dined on burgers and soda at the Studio Movie Grill near where we live and watched...
... the newest Harry Potter! It was great, but PG was not what I would categorize it as. Too intense in some scenes and the references to young romance and "snogging" is the undertone. Definitely a PG-13! Loved it though, as I am a HP fan! ;-)


Back in Utah, last Monday, I also took pictures of my in-laws' garden. Look at these beautiful pink roses flanked by beautiful blue blooms. Such a wonderful moment for me!

The previous owner filled the slope with all kinds of wildflowers, and while I was choosing what to shoot, a bee buzzed by so I followed it here...

... and here! Such a busy little bee!

Ok, I hope you enjoyed the pictures... I have more to share soon!

Heart you all for peeking! To our host, Susan, a big thank you!

Deal Hunting Date

(I borrowed this from I Stock Photo's collection.)

A Charlie and I segment...

For now, he's on another 10-hour workshift leg of his Apprentice Training rotation, which meant he is home with me a couple of days during the week when the kiddos are in school. Sweet deal, right? Of course, being a couple, we take advantage of our freedom and go on a daytime date. Who wouldn't?

So, what do we decide to do?
Opting to don our favorite "camo" outfits of sweaters and sneakers, we braved the bright sunlight and hunted down those sweet deals we normally find hiding in the aisles or special endcap "bushes" of our fave stores.

Our weapon? A tight budget. Our target? The 75-90% holiday discounted goodies. Which area of the vast Clearance jungle do we lie in wait? We specially prize the Ross, Target, and Walmart regions that specialize in housing these prolific goodies that will be soon displayed in our home during the next round of holidays.

Now that you have the background of our hunting escapades, today (and yesterday), we found ourselves looking for goodies perfect for the next big wave of "wallet busters" we call Valentine's Day. What did we come up with? A few "species" that can definitely co-exist on my next... tablescape! I can't wait to show it all to you soon!

We had so much fun going to Target and Ross looking for pieces that could go together. One of our (ok, mine) weakness is Taco Bell and diet Pepsi, so we had that for lunch (though I'm proud to say that I indulge every few blue moons since we moved from California. Reason wise, nothing specific, it just worked out like that). When he indulges me, my heart melts just as quickly as those grated cheese strips hitting that warm seasoned meat in each taco... (Man, I must be truly in love to compare my feelings to cheese on a taco!)

We even visited The Container Store, a veritable containment of anything that can "contain" anything! No, we didn't get all sappy and walked in and perused the whole store hand-in-hand! Even I'm not that bad! I'm all for the romance, not the sappiness, lol!

How did we end this very good day?
We helped our children with their homework, said thank you to our neighbor next door (they watched our place while we were enjoying Utah's snow) by surprising them with their own beautiful set of dishes (Ross) to go with their new dining and living room sets. While I napped after dinner, he finished up washing our laundry and when I woke up, he left the room and in his wake, inadvertently serenaded me, using the radio, with the song, "I'm Amazed by You" sung by Tim McGraw so I can blog in comfort! I tell you, the man sweeps me off my feet without even trying! (Ok, giddiness getting in the way of my blogging...) I just love that about Charlie!

I'm Amazed by You

Every Time Our Eyes Meet
This Feeling Inside Me
It's Almost More Than I Can Take
Baby When You Touch Me
I Can Feel How Much You Love Me
And It Just Blows Me Away
I've Never Been This Close To Anyone
Or Anything
I Can Hear your Thoughts, I Can See Your Dreams

(Chorus):
I Dunno How You Do What You Do
I'm So In Love With You
It Just Keeps Getting Better
I Wanna Spend The Rest Of My life
With You By My Side
For Ever and Ever
Every Little Thing That You Do
Baby I'm Amazed By You

The Smell Of Your Skin
The Taste of your kiss
The Way You Whisper In The Dark
You're Hair All Around Me
Baby You Surround Me
You Touch Every Place In My Heart
Oh..It Feels Like The First Time, Every Time
I Wanna Spend The Whole Night..In You're Arms

(Chorus):
I Dunno How You Do What You Do
I'm So In Love With You
It Just Keeps Getting Better
I Wanna Spend The Rest Of My life
With You By My Side
For Ever and Ever
Every Little Thing That You Do
Baby I'm Amazed By You

Every Little Thing That You Do
I'm So In Love With You
And It Just Keeps Getting Better
I Wanna Spend The Rest Of My Life
With You By My Side
For Ever And Ever
Every Little Thing That You Do
Every Little Thing That You Do

Baby I'm Amazed By You…

Don't worry, he reads this post, so I'm sure he probably didn't realize the lyrics to this song either. I can see him blushing now! (lol)

I can't wait for next week! Or tomorrow!