Date Night: August 2016

In January my husband and I committed to dating each other this year. This meant that we'd set aside one day or evening to purposefully go on a date with one another. This would require planning around his schedule and the kids, and so far, it has worked. Our June and July "dates" were more like "hey, let's grab a bite before going home from Lowes." We've been super busy and these past two months have reminded us why this time together is so important. With August winding down, we needed to get a date on the calendar. Every weekend was taken by his work schedule so we dared to opt for a weeknight. I know, we're such rebels. My in-laws came and watched the kids and we were off.

I've lived in our little part of VA for 9 years now and I've still yet to visit all of the local favorites. We decided to try Robin Alexander's. It's a lovely bistro set in downtown.

We loved the atmosphere. It was a place you could get a little dressed up for, but would find yourself perfectly comfortable in a pair of jeans. And the food...the food was delish.

We started off with their wings as an appetizer. We chose bone-in.

My husband chose a specialty drink as well since this place is known for its drinks. He got the James and the Giant peach martini. I don't personally drink but he said it was excellent.

We then chose our main courses. Their menu is pretty versatile and it was hard to make a selection. We eventually decided to try their gourmet burgers.

I loved their Big Kahuna Burger. It's a delicious combo of Hawaiian flavors.

My hubby tried their Bison Burger. Yum!

The meal did not disappoint and our time together was much needed. I'm really looking forward to our next date.

Linking up for Mommy Moments

February Date Night: We Were Here Tour

This year, my husband and I committed to dating one another. We had another date scheduled for this month but when opportunity knocks, we answer. This past Friday we went to the Jason Aldean concert. If you get a chance to see his We Were Here Tour, do it! I do however suggest you not go if you are battling a double ear infection accompanied by a major sinus headache. The volume level is almost lethal (but hey, it's Jason Aldean so I suffered through).

Despite the ear infection and headache, everything was perfect. My husband is a firefighter for the city and was offered special tickets...for FREE! Talk about a blessing. We would not have been going otherwise since concerts, no matter how awesome, are currently out of the budget.

We began the evening by grabbing a bite to eat at Moe's Barbecue.

It is one of our favorite places. I must recommend their smoked chicken wings and macaroni and cheese. Their complimentary jalapeño cornbread is also amazing...really you can't go wrong with anything there. *I was not compensated in anyway; it's just that good.

Afterwards, we walked back to the stadium where we waited for quite some time in the cold. Despite having tickets in our hands, the search process made for a long wait. Upon making it into the warm of the building, you could sense the level of excitement.

We found our seats among several of my husband's fellow coworkers and enjoyed the show as it began.

All of the performers were excellent. Thomas Rhett is such a cutie and puts on a great show. He had gotten so caught up in the excitement that he even took a little tumble off the stage.

My medic friend standing to the right of Thomas sent this to me after the performance.

If you follow him on IG you may have seen this picture. The guy checking him over and the medic next to him are two of our really good friends that were working that night. Lucky ducks.

The remainder of the concert was incident free. I can't speak for all of the highly intoxicated folks around us, but the show was definitely memorable. Admittedly,  watching some of the sloshed viewers around us was almost as entertaining as the concert.

We headed out right before the end to relieve our sitter. I'd say this month's date, minus the accompanying illnesses, was one for the books. We're already looking forward to March!

Linking up for Mommy Moments

Monthly Weight Loss and Pictures

I won't even pretend that I've given a praiseworthy attempt at losing weight or accomplishing my goals this month. In fact, since I'm being completely honest, this month I hit a wall. I've been facing a weight loss plateau and I let it get the best of me. Curse this back and forth sway of 1-2lbs. I lost focus. I got caught up in the traveling, and while wonderful, I didn't eat like I should, nor exercise, during those times. I allowed being away from home to be my excuse for extra snacking and high calorie food options. I was on vacation!

We've also been facing some personal matters and I've found myself settling into old habits. More than once I caught myself turning to food for comfort. Remnants of my Emotional Eating surfaced but I refused to let them stick around.


::via::

I've tried not to be too hard on myself...that would only crush what motivation I have left. While this last week has held many wonderful things, it has also held it's share of stress, anxiety and disappointment, but I did my best to not allow these feelings overrule my better judgment. I've gotten in a little more exercise this past week and I'm feeling better about greeting July (if you don't count the fact that half of my summer will be over ::tears::)

So while I wish I had amazing results to share with you this month...I do not. I know in order to move forward that I can't focus on "what I should have done."

::via::



 

I did, however, have a memorable moment...my hubby and I took our first "real" date since the birth of our daughter over a year ago...and I wore "the dress". This dress has not been worn in almost 3 years. It fit better now than it ever has...I consider that a major accomplishment.

With all that being said, I've decided to take a step back from social media for a while. I feel that I need to be devoting myself more to some of my relationships and health and I need to get myself going forward in full motion again. I'll still be blogging, but maybe not as often and as for Facebook...don't be offended when I look clueless if you tell me about something you posted. More than likely I will have missed it. As much as I love reading updates, I have some updating that I need to do outside of the technological realm. God bless and I hope all of you are enjoying your summer!

 

::via::

A Little Southern Comfort Day 4

This was one of my favorite days of our trip. This day consisted of some wonderful girl time, makeovers and a surprise date!

The day began with me meeting my baby sister at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast.  I highly recommend their Cookie Dough flavored ice coffee. She then treated me to a manicure for my big date.

We then went back to my mom's where we were treated to Mary Kay makeovers.

Me

My sweet momma

My baby sister

Once my makeup was done, it was time to get ready. I've been excited about this date for a few days. My husband, who has always been so wonderful, decided to treat me to a little extra romance. We have not had an actual full night out since G was born (almost 14 months ago!). So, we handed G off to mom and headed out to what would end up being a wonderful evening. 

Granna and G just a swingin'

Now let me preface this date. I am very Type A. I don't tend to like big surprises and the planner that I am insists on knowing details. In this instance, I was not given any of these options. My hubby was determined to surprise me and for probably the first time in my life, I relinquished control and allowed him to take care of everything.



Ready for a night out...

We began the evening with a fabulous dining experience at La Scala. I've never been but have always wanted to go! This establishment is known for their good food and a truly fine dining experience. (I'll never forget C's face when the waitress took our silverware after eating our salads and provided us with clean forks, knives and spoons for our main course.)

To top it off, because we were there before the "real" dinner crowd, we had the place to ourselves for  the first part of the meal (around 6:00pm people starting pouring in.)

Compliments of the Chef

This was our delicious appetizer...

  

Our beautiful salads...the vinaigrette on mine was amazing!

My main course: Pasta Margherita



The hubby's main course



  

After enjoying an amazing meal, he treated me to a real movie theater movie (haha). I have been dying to see Maleficent. I'm in love! This movie was well worth the wait.

I hated to see the evening end. The "us" time was long overdue. It's been a while since I've sat back, relaxed and just enjoyed myself. Being a mom is truly the best thing in the world and I would never trade it for a million of these types of nights, but it was nice to feel pretty again, dress up, and go somewhere without a diaper bag on my shoulder.

My vacation posts are quickly coming to an end. As I look back on the pictures and memories I've yet to share, I become excited about other possibilities this summer holds.

*I was not compensated for any of my opinions regarding any establishments or products in this post.*