date night

A few months ago, a production company contacted me through my Pgh Momtourage blog about the upcoming Cirque du Soleil show that was coming to town. They offered me 2 tickets to check out the show and also gave me a family 4-pack of tickets to give-away. It was a fun contest with lots of interest!

We have been anxiously waiting for this date night!

Especially considering date nights have been pretty rare since baby girl joined us!

They put up this giant tent in our Strip District. Now every time we pass it, Graham says, "Mommy & Daddy, date!"

Anyways, the show was just incredible! This pic is hard to see, but there was a giant screen in the floor which would do all sorts of water scenes and other pictures. The music was all done live and was amazing. The stunts & acrobatics were unbelievable.

The whole show was just so much fun!

What we didn't know was that because it was the Premiere Night, we were offered free popcorn, soda, champagne, and cupcakes from Dozen (local cupcake bakery)!!

If you ever have a chance to see a show, definitely take it!

Thankful for one amazing FREE date night. =)

date night

I was contacted thru my momtourage site about a local restaurant that wanted me to come in and try their fare and then be given a gift card to give away on my momtourage blog.

 (Locals, stay tuned!)

Now that has been a tasty unexpected perk of my mom's group! I have now been contacted several times about trying different products, doing give-a-ways, free museum passes and other great opportunities! I do put a lot of time and effort into it each week, so having these little perks has been extra fun!

I figured this would be a really fun date night and it definitely was!

So we headed out to the Sonoma Grille last night!

Heading downtown, at 8 pm, can it really be? Lovin' it.

 The Sonoma Grille is billed as "California Eclectic" and specializes in local, sustainable, and organic foods.

Bottom line: it was delish!!

They had also told me that while it was no problem to bring my hubby, the portions would be for one person. No problem, we ate dinner first, fully expecting a few nibbles of whatever they would offer. 

They first trotted out to a selection of five of their appetizers. 5!!

With items like -

*Jerked Laughing Bird Shrimp, Papaya Salsa, Plantain Chips, Toasted Papaya Seed Dressing

*Indonesian Chicken Satay with Thai Peanut Sauce

*Filet Mignon with roasted tomato, sweet & sour onion marmalde, Dijon Aioli, Jack Cheese, Micro Greens

Those were followed by 2 (full!) sandwich entrees (and the most amazing fries!):
*Grilled Amish Chicken Breast -Free range chicken, La Quercia Farms prosciutto, housemade mozzarella, roasted red pepper, cilantro pesto, Ciabatta
*A Grilled Vegetable Gyro - grilled fresh vegetables, romaine, roma tomato, local feta cheese, tzatziki, pita

We ate what we could, we were unbelievably stuffed. Poor Eden gained 5 lbs in one hour. Yes, it was totally Eden doing the gaining, not me. :)

I seriously felt full all day today!

So a big thanks to the Sonoma Grille and for a fun & free date night!

date night

Well, we have done it. We are past the excuses and the procrastinations and the hope that something will work out. We have decided to pay for baby-sitting. Probably not an earth-shattering moment for most of you, but it was something we really were hoping to avoid. are we cheap or what? :) Those who live by family, be veryveryveryveryvery thankful!
We ALL say, oh, of course we will keep our regular date nights after we have kids. After all, our marriage is our first priority. uh-ha. and then kids HAPPEN. So for us, 18 months, and oh, maybe, 6 dates later, it was time for drastic measures. Our marriage was suffering. Not having even a monthly time to go out of the house together, talk, share, laugh, enjoy.....it really makes a difference. Graham goes to bed at 7, so we technically have about 3 hours each night of alone time. But it's not the same. You're in your sweats (super sexy), you're busy with the tasks you didn't get gone during the day, you're watching tv, you might have ice cream on your chin....yeah, not the same. :)
 We had tried doing swaps and we really thought that was the answer for us, but you know what? It's harder than it sounds. You feel like you're bothering someone or they feel like they're bothering you, and it can be difficult to work out times that work in both of your schedules.....We're still hoping to do the swaps, because we want to be available for others who need kid-sitting and we want to encourage other parents around us that you must absolutely go on dates. But I think you have to have an understanding that I'm not bothering you and you're not bothering me, so let's do it!  So, any Pgh parents out there that want to swap, call me. :)
So, last night we went out on a date. A 3 hour date. It was good. I didn't even bring the camera because I didn't want to be "writing a post in my mind" during it. I didn't even know if I would post anything about it. But, maybe some of you have gone thru this scenario or have some tips on how to make it work.
And so I encourage you, if anyone else if finding themselves going week after week without having that time out, make it happen.
So if it takes us a little longer to save for that larger vehicle or we can't necessarily go out for dinner all the time on our dates, it's ok. Because all you need is love. :) :)

[Love you babe, thanks for the FUN date!]

so here's what we did

Cape Henry Lighthouse, and yes, we walked to the top!

good thing we're in good health :)
big bummer, part of Andrew's original plan - go on a dolphin-watching cruise - was canceled because of the weather. :( Apparently the ocean was too choppy. we hope to try for it another day before we move! So instead, we took the cardio intense plan B :) and drove up the shoreline and climped to the top of the Cape Henry Lighthouse. (around 200 stairs total!) it was very beautiful!
just some of the stairs!

this is the current lighthouse that is in use.

We then enjoyed walking around downtown Norfolk and then dinner at Freemason Abbey Restaurant. Then it was back to rescue our baby-sitter after 6 hours! Thank you so much, Sue, you made our day!

Freemason Abbey Restaurant - an old church that was converted.

such a fun day - thanks for a wonderful anniversary, babe, and for planning to make it so special.

A Last Hurrah

In anticipation of having a slight life interruption...and a baby-sitter included in future date nights, we had the opportunity for one last big date.

We were actually given fReE tickets to see Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. He tours with a 15 piece orchestra made up of some of the most talented jazz players in the world. They are phenomenal!! (For those who haven't heard of him, he is one of the most famous trumpet players ever and one who Andrew grew up listening to and playing his music.) So Andrew was especially excited about this!! Since Andrew's birthday is in less than 2 weeks, we also made it a special time for his birthday (in case that gets overlooked!)

It was such a great concert. And we thank God for answering our prayer to keep Graham from interrupting! Now, there is nothing hindering...so come out soon baby boy!

Before the concert, we had the most incredible sky! Sandler Center for Performing Arts We couldn't take pictures during the concert, so this is the best we got.
After, we tried out a new spot called the Melt which had the most amazing Gelato!