Ha! There we are!!
Category Archives: Dates!
I’m sold on these Tori Belle magnetic lashes!!
Yeah. I’m sold on these Tori Belle magnetic lashes!! I hate liquid eyeliner (but I hate glue waaay more) and I do need to work on the finer points of application…but overall it was super easy. And I might need the other less dramatic styles because these are a little much for Saturday morning baseball.
After a few hours at baseball and back at home, one lash felt like it was starting to come off and Katie even told me it was coming off. So I pulled it off without looking at it too closely. Once I got up off the couch (Maggie was sleeping on me) I checked it out and reapplied for date night.
Redone…with more eye makeup…and I just love how they look.
So after I put them on a second time they felt even better. But about five hours in, I could just somehow feel like they were loose or something, so I touched them to see… And could tell they were pretty much off. It was weird. But really I’m happy with 5ish hours of wear for my first attempt.
Our bag…not our cat.
We had birthday dinner with friends then went back to their house. We had brought a game in a bag and after we started playing we noticed this.
A day in Chicago with friends!
I honestly feel guilty being this close to Chicago and not doing stuff…but I hate all the traffic, I hate the congestion, I hate all the pedestrians who think the world revolves around them, I hate paying through the nose to park, I hate paying for an Uber so we don’t have to park somewhere else…shall I go on? 🤦🏻♀️
Yet once in a blue moon we make plans to alleviate the guilt…so today was hanging out with out-of-town friends. But first we had to deal with this. The last mile took 20 minutes.
Waiting for our friends to arrive.
Now it’s getting worth it—peeps, drinks, and brunch at The Publican. I look frightened purely because it was difficult taking the photo. I have a margarita so I’m good.
Since Ballast Point was practically right next door, Tom had to stop (it’s one of his favorite breweries out of San Diego). So we’re all here. No margaritas, though, so I’m sitting this one out.
Then it was a quick Uber to the Wendella docks for a Lake & River Architecture Tour (with drinks!). Honestly I was hesitant about this because we’d already done the Architecture Tour when we went last year, but if you recall it was so hot that we stayed in the A/C and drank and only saw the bottom half of the buildings. The weather today was much better so we figured we’d get to see all the buildings…
We were at the very front of the line so scoped out what seats we wanted—and there were six right in front that were perfect. And we got them! And drinks, of course. 🙂
Doing a thing I’ve never done before—we’re in a lock!! (Plus something I do all the time–there’s a margarita just out of frame.)
Then we went out into Lake Michigan—something or last tour didn’t do so that was cool. We might also have gotten splashed just a bit—the water was rough and we were at the front of the boat.
Then it was dinner and drinks at Beacon Tavern (right off the docks). Sooooo much good food and amazing company…
So a day in Chicago is DEFINITELY not something we want to do all the time but sometimes it’s DEFINITELY worth it.
Small plates my ass!!
The kids are gone so we’re hitting all the places we’ve been wanting to try. The menu at The Vine – Martini & Wine Bar said “small plates” so we ordered four dishes: Elote fritters, mushroom aroncini, calamari, and poutine tots.
Think this is enough food? Cripes. We felt like we needed to explain to the other tables that it was our first time and we had no idea.
But, yay, Tuesday is $5 margaritas!! 🙌🙌
Cheers, it’s vacation, y’all!
I love coming home to visit. Hubby and I leave the kids with Gramma and Grampa and we hit all the local shops we love—shout out to Tip’n the Mitten which is always our first stop (I love me some 100% Michigan-made products) and then it was the AuSable Artisan Village (where my mom used to sell her Pysanky…and I have bought many things) and then some fireworks (since they’re not legal where we live)… and then, last but not least, Paddle Hard Brewing where I enjoyed two strawberry margaritas that made me SUPER happy and a little buzzed.
Do you have places you have to visit when you go home?
Date night: A first for both of us!
Tom and I did something tonight we’ve never done before—a Paint and Sip! I’ve been wanting to do this ever since we moved here and I found the studio…and the stars finally aligned and we weren’t busy, had sitters (thanks to Anna for the sleepover), the design was perfect, and Tom agreed!!
It was so. much. stinking. fun!! I had no idea what to expect but the owner and his wife were totally wonderful and meeting some totally awesome new friends helped for sure. (Jennifer and Brigette brought margaritas and chocolates to share—how could I not immediately love them? I mean, I don’t hug just anyone within five minutes of meeting!!) We’re actually already making plans to go again with them (and snagging some other friends to join us, too)!
I’m am so glad we went outside our normal date night box… It was hard letting go and being creative (I like rules!) but the friends and alcohol helped with that—and I even liked my painting so much I had it framed on the spot!!
I wasn’t having good luck with the black on the trees.
So help stepped in. 😄
The original painting on top and the current work-in-progress on the bottom.
Our awesome group!!
Dessert because why not?!
We want to be regulars at Frank’s.
So Tom took the day off today so we could go to lunch with Katie. This meant we got to spend the whole day together…so that means we started at Marshall’s and planned to go out for lunch… We decided to head to Kenosha to hit up Frank’s Diner, which we’d seen on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives.
Our experience started with a literal bang when I went to slide open the train car door and it was much easier than I anticipated so I literally slammed it open. Everyone looked up at me and one of the waitresses made some smart ass hilarious comment and I opened my arms wide and said something to the effect of “I’m here! The party can start now!” She came back with something about knowing how to party and tequila and right away we knew these were our people. 🙂
So we ordered drinks (I got a bloody Mary and Tom got an Irish coffee) and shortly after they deliver them she came back with two shots of tequila for us. Okay, we’re in. So Tom and I cheered each other and drank them and then the waitress came back in a few minutes and chastised us for not waiting to drink with them. Apparently they all drink shots when they have first-time guests. So…she gave us each another shot so we could all drink together…and we did. 🙂 (By the way, the bloody Mary was really very delicious.)
So we were sitting at the counter directly across from the cooktop so we watched everything. I saw the cook pulling bacon out of a…greenish liquid…so of course I asked. Jalapeño juice. So…jalapeño bacon. 🌶🥓 Let that sink in. She said they used to buy it but making their own was better. So as I’m thinking about that, she hands us this:
OUR VERY OWN SAMPLE! I made some comment about it being in the shape of a heart and she laughed and said it was totally accidental. So we tried it and OMFG IT WAS AMAZING. I said it would be awesome in the bloody Mary…so when we ordered another—SURPRISE!!—they gave us more bacon. 🥓🥓😳🤤 (Don’t expect it if you go, though. They said it was a lot of work to offer it. But if you ask, tell them Jennifer Hudson sent you. 🙌🏻)
This was our view while we ate. We were actually there when they closed after lunch which is why there’s nothing on the stove.
The whole time we were there they all just had the most amazing fun happy attitudes amongst themselves and the customers. You could tell that most of the people in there were regulars. We would be regulars too if we lived closer.
I didn’t get too close to this (so it’s a bad picture). Of course now I want to go back and watch the episode again.
And a photo taken on the way out (since it was pouring on our way in).
Date afternoon in Kenosha
When the sun is shining so bright you can’t see if you got a good pic or not…and we lucked out with both. 🙂 I was trying to get the painted Kenosha sign in the background so blurred one and left one regular.
And, of course, a margarita—or close approximation since they offered me their house punch which they said was like a margarita.
Date night!
Kids were going to parents night out and we were going out to dinner with friends!
Date night face!
We were going out to a nice dinner with friends in another city so I decided to do a full face! This is how many pics I took trying to get some good new ones. Of course they aren’t all winners…but I did get some great shots.
I spent a lot of years hating how I looked and having to take 50 pics in the hopes of getting a single decent one. So it still blows my mind when I take pics and can’t pick a best one…because there are SO many good ones. Of course it helps that I have awesome anti-aging skincare and makeup products to compete the look!! 💄
I don’t often get this dressed up–and I use fake lashes even less–but it’s fun to do now and again. I considered this a dry run for formal night on our upcoming cruise… 🚢
I couldn’t decide on the best pic from the night, so here’s 16 because why not. 😍
And then to these. 🙂
Of course I had some photobombers.
But that was okay because I needed Owen to take our picture. 🙂
And the impressive before and after…showing that even plain janes can look gorgeous with a little bit of work!
I never expected to cross off two bucket list items tonight!
So let me backtrack a bit and say that back in July I saw a news article come across my Facebook feed about the most unique margarita in Michigan. Of course I clicked the link…and was happily surprised to see that it was a thimbleberry margarita in a restaurant in Calumet—exactly where we’d be headed later in the summer to pick the kids up after grandparent’s camp. What are the odds?
I tried to figure out when we could stop, hoping it would work on the way through as it would be about an hour from where we were staying (and since we’d only be there two days, we didn’t have much time to be traveling two hours for a margarita…even if I REALLY really wanted to). We planned to be passing through about 9pm which was perfect…except we left later than anticipated plus ran into construction and rush hour traffic so by the time we were driving by it was after midnight and they were long closed. 🙁 And then I kind of forgot about it since we were busy with family.
But then we went on our date night—which was about 20 minutes from the house—and actually put us about halfway to the margarita. Tom suggested we go and I thought about it for a minute, thinking I’d love to but that would mean a 45-minute ride home afterwards and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that. And he looked at me and said “REALLY?! Let’s go. We won’t be this close for at least another year.” #vacationbucketlist
I love this man.
So off we went. We walked in to the restaurant and headed to the bar. An older gentleman sitting at the bar welcomed us (which seemed slightly odd, but whatever) so we thanked him then ordered the margarita. It. Was. Delicious. Here’s me enjoying my first one.
I asked who came up with it and the bartender pointed and said “The owner—and she’s right there!” So we started chatting with them. They were a husband and wife (which, had I reread the article, I would have seen their photo) and they were really great and super nice.
So as we were talking, I jokingly asked if they would let me drink from the dispenser (because who hasn’t wanted to do that with a drink or ice cream at some point in their life?!) and the owner said yes! WAIT, WHAT?! I was kidding. But they said it was a first and no one had ever asked! Ha! Free margaritas? I’m totally in. She said I’d have to let them take pictures to post on their Facebook page and I said that was no problem!
So I did it.
My first thought was it’s harder than you’d think to line your mouth up under it—the dispenser shoot is pretty close to the machine itself which doesn’t lend itself well to putting your mouth directly under it. Plus I had to hold my hair out of the way so it didn’t get in the machine, get covered in margarita, or get in the way of the pics being taken. Plus you couldn’t just crank it open full force or you’d choke—and it obviously have you brain freeze! So it was a delicate balance…but I handled myself like a pro. 🙂
Tom, the owner, and the bartender were snapping pics the whole time. Unfortunately noone took a video.
And from the bartender’s view:
It might have been dripping out of my mouth.
What a total riot! I mean seriously. I never would have guessed this is how my night would end. I told her I’m sure people would PAY to do that (I would!) and she joked that maybe that would be her new business model.
I took a pic with the owner and we exchanged pics and I posted them right then and there.
We even joked about me doing it again because we didn’t get a video and she said I could but then it didn’t go any farther. She said she’d let Tom do it if he wanted but he’s not a margarita guy. She then offered him the beer tap of his choice but as Marine Officer he declined. But, she did give me my second margarita on the house! Oh, and we also had a piece of delicious chocolate cake that the owner made!
We will definitely go back there…and I highly recommend the thimbleberry margarita.
Our very last date night (part 1).
We head back to reality Sunday so this was our very last date night…a very popular BBQ place right on Lake Superior called Fitzgerald’s. Not a crappy view… 😄
Our view from the table was gorgeous, too!
Dinner was a hard decision since everything looked delicious, so I ended up getting three appetizers.
Tom had a rack of ribs (in reality he ate two and took the rest home). 🙂
Tom wouldn’t let me get it.
It’s date day so of course we ended up at a Costco. (Tom said no.)
Anniversary day in Chicago: a foodie adventure!
Since the kids were away at grandparent’s camp, we decided to take advantage and go to Chicago for some foodie experiences to celebrate our anniversary a bit early. Of course I hadn’t thought far enough ahead about making reservations so the one place I really wanted to go had nothing available until September so we planned on walking in and hoping to eat at the bar (friends had done that so we knew it was possible).
Stop 1: Frontera Grill by Rick Bayless
We got there about 10 minutes before they opened and there was a line of about 10 people. By the time they opened there were probably 30 people waiting. We had a reservation and they sat us in the bar area at some reserved tables.
The menu wasn’t what I’d been looking at…I had downloaded the lunch menu, not paying attention that weekends had a brunch menu. (Rookie mistake!) So of course the two dishes I’d previously decided on weren’t available. I did ask if I could still get the dish I really wanted (one of their three ceviches) and he checked and said no. Dang. So it took me quite some time to pick what I wanted.
We started with drinks. Tom had a Chupacabra and of course I had a margarita. I really liked his and I’d order that above my margarita.
CHUPACABRA
Milagro blanco tequila, fresh and roasted vegetables (tomatoes, tomatillos, cucumber, celery, garlic, onion), fresh lime, Worcestershire and chipotle.
TOPOLO MARGARITA
Milagro reposado, Royal Combier, housemade limonada, shaken tableside.
FRONTERA CEVICHE
Hawaiian albacore, tomatoes, olives, cilantro, green chile. Crispy tostaditas.
The ceviche was amazing. It was a tie for my favorite dish of the entire day. I would eat that every day for the rest of my life. And it was one of the three ceviches they had that I didn’t think I’d like because I don’t like olives. But I’d never have known there was olives in it. I’m drooling now just remembering it. The tostadas were amazing—they stayed wonderfully crispy even with all that juicy ceviche on it.
I opted for two starters as my lunch:
GRILL ROASTED ELOTE CORN
Serrano mayo, cilantro, and fresh cheese
I had recently had Mexican corn at a farmers market and it came in a cup. I totally didn’t think this would come on a cob. LOL So it was messy but yummy!
SOPECITOS RANCHEROS
Crispy corn masa “boats,” braised beef shoulder, roasted tomato-serrano sauce, avocado, queso fresco.
Sooooo good. Unbelievably good.
Tom went way outside his box and got a vegetarian dish! I am not a huge mushroom fan so I’d never order it but it was good. (I forgot to get a pic once he unwrapped it and dug in.)
MUSHROOM MIXIOTE
Shiitake, maitake and oyster mushrooms, dark pasilla chile sauce, potatoes, chayote & local greens cooked in a parchment package. Creamy goat cheese, sunflower shoots.
And then dessert. We weren’t going to get any because we knew we had to eat again at 4:30 but…screw it. We both immediately went to this:
DOS, TRES, QUATRO CAKE
Dos candied nuts, tres leches, cuatro chocolates (chocolate-infused tres leches cake, house-ground chocolate ice cream, chocolate cookies, hot fudge), candied almonds & pecans.
We both love tres leches but weren’t huge fans of this. It was okay but we apparently like less fancy versions of this dessert (we joked give us your 9×13 pan instead of this crazy thing).
Stop 2: Chicago’s Original Architectural Tour by Wendella
We had asked friends for recommendations of things to do in the few hours between restaurants and this river tour was highly recommended. It was a quick walk from Frontera so seemed perfect. However, we hadn’t anticipated the hot and humid weather (it was probably 93° with 80% humidity) and we both decided there was NO way we’d enjoy any of it sitting topside in the blazing sun…so we each had a drink in the bar for most of the tour (they had margaritas so it seemed like fate). We will go back again with the kids when it’s cooler.
Stop 3: Hubbard State Cigar Shop
Because it was on the way back toward the car and Tom needed new cigars.
Stop 4: Firecakes Donuts
Because donuts. And it was right on the way.
From top: Espresso something or other, Pistachio old fashioned, Cherry fritter, Malted milk ball, Strawberry marscapone, Chocolate cake, PB cup, Creme brulee, vanilla with coconut
Stop 5: Three Dots and a Dash tiki bar
This bar was named one of The World’s 50 Best Bars so imagine the coincidence that it was ALSO on the way. It was only accessible via the alley—they had tiki torches outside (you can see them behind us).
Then it was down into the dark, cool depths of a basement bar.
The drinks were amazing…but expensive as hell. We only had one each. Tom said he has found his retirement job.
Stop 6: Girl & The Goat by Stephanie Izard (Winner of Top Chef)
So we got to Girl & The Goat way early. We wasted some time at a nearby coffeehouse since it was still like 90° and humid. At about 4:10 we walked down. The doors were locked but the revolving door was open so I walked in and asked the first employee I saw if it would be okay to sit at the bar until they opened since we’d just driven a long way and it was so hot out. He said he didn’t think legally we could do that and then suggested we sit in the waiting area. Okay, that was fine with me.
But my anxiety started kicking in as more people started lining up outside and then trying to come in (at one point a huge gaggle of like 20 people came in). You could see the manager getting irritated with people wanting to come in and wait but they obviously weren’t open yet. And the people looked at us sitting there like why did we think we were so special. I’m a rule follower at heart so I was torn between going to wait outside with the rest of the herd and keeping my seat (which no one was telling us we had to move…). I really wanted those first seats and we had been there first but I was getting paranoid that something was going to prevent it. Tom said he was ready to make a dash to the seats if need be. I know it’s just food and it would have been okay if we ended up needing to wait a bit, but I was still anxious.
Fast forward to 4:30 and a lady came over to us and asked if we had a reservation and we said no, we wanted to eat at the bar…and she said to go grab seats. Yay! So we were seated before anyone from outside even walked in. Phew!
That’s a goat topiary behind us.
And of course another margarita because why not?
I’d perused the menu ahead of time—as well as all the dishes our friends had ordered—so I had a good idea of what I wanted. I told the bartender that friends had been there and sat at the bar and had an amazing experience and he said he’d try to live up to the expectation!
We had drinks and picked four dishes. This is the order they came out (they serve them in the best order to eat them):
SWEET CORN PIEROGIS
Charred scallion sour cream, sweet corn-tomaro chimichurri
Everything was good, of course, but this was by far our favorite course of the night. The bite of pierogi with the chimichurri was pure delight.
SQUASH BLOSSOM CRAB RANGOON
Almonds, chive yogurt
We love crab Rangoon so had to try these. They were delicious, of course.
DUCK TONGUES
tuna and black bean poke, crispy won tons, piri piri
Just as delicious as our friend mentioned. (It was a toss up between this and the pierogi for the winning dish but the chimichurri pushed the pierogi over the edge.)
Then they surprised us with a dish, compliments of the chef, for our anniversary (we’d been talking about it with the bartender). It took me by total surprise and I forgot to get a pic. I’d never have ordered them but they were DELICIOUS.
SAUTÉED GREEN BEANS
Fish sauce vinaigrette, cashews
And the final course… We debated between a few and I let Tom pick.
GOAT NECK
Perilla marinated heirlooms, pickled grape tomato, green plums, tahini yogurt, wood fired pita
Mmmm. The meat was so tender and flavorful, the marinated tomatoes were perfect, and I’m not a tahini fan but it worked well together.
Before this dish came out we had discussed that we might need to order one more dish. While we’d had three planned dishes and one surprise dish, it really hadn’t been THAT much food. Did we need more? No. But we’d probably never be back so why not. But after the size of the goat neck, we opted to just go with dessert.
CARAMEL CORN & MALT BALLS
Vanilla malt ice cream, popcorn caramel, chocolate magic shell
When they delivered it (with the lit candle) they wished us a Happy Anniversary, as did all the bartenders behind the bar as they walked by! This was a crazy dessert that totally worked on all levels. Each component was delicious but a bite with everything was sublime. I’d order that again in a heartbeat. (They should really also add chocolate ganache squares to the description.)
We were there for almost two hours and we had a great time interacting with the bartender—I can’t imagine sitting at a table. When the bill came, they hadn’t charged us for the dessert, either, so we left him a huge tip. Overall an awesome meal. Just delicious all around. I highly recommend it…
And a last-minute photo as we were leaving!
It was such a great day and I’m so glad we did it…
Surprise anniversary adventure, day 2!
Tom told me to get dressed and be ready to go by 8:30! I had no idea what was in store…but I could only imagine it would involve more delicious food…somewhere north. I love adventuring with this man!
Sushi for lunch! Yes, please!
Then we walked around the downtown river area of Milwaukee. We might have done a little shopping and exchanged anniversary cards at one store. 🙂
Tom had made plans for dinner, too, but we didn’t spend as much time walking around as he had thought so we just headed home. 🙂
Our typical date night.
The kids had Parents Night Out and my mom and stepdad were here… So we went out for dinner and realized as we sat down in a crowded and loud restaurant/bar that it was both A) Cinco de Mayo and B) Kentucky Derby day. Thankfully it cleared out within 20 minutes because the race was over.
After, they went home to get the kids while Tom and I did our normal kidless shopping excursion.
Our first stop was Ross, where I saw these hideously hilarious “Protein Snacks” underwear for Tom. I queried Facebook to see if we should buy them and the answer was a resounding YES.
So we did:
Then it was down the parking lot to TJ Maxx (we shopped, but nothing as picture-worthy as the underwear) and then to Trader Joe’s (since we hadn’t been there yet).
And look what I fell into?! Teeny tiny margarita shots! So I succumbed. Yes, it was technically still against no sugar rules but I allowed it.
And then this…
But we didn’t get any chocolate.
And then we weren’t sure where to go and I said “Hey! I washed to try an Everything Croissant at Starbucks—let’s go across the street to check!” So we did and they did so I had a croissant for tomorrow.
And then we realized we were next door to a grocery store so we went in to look for polish meatball ingredients so I could make them with Mom.
Date night while the kids are at parents night out!
We took Papa and Grannie out for dinner and then they went home to pick up the kids!
Tuesday date day!
Tom took the day off after his sleep study so we had a date afternoon and went out for lunch to a new place…
Afterward we hit a craft beer store and Tomgot his treat. I had a margarita with lunch so it was his turn. 🍺
Tom looks at beer while I look at beer names. This is my current favorite.
Date drinks and dessert.
I’ve been wanting to try the s’mores pizza at Paddle Hard Brewery for quite some time… And today was the day. 🙂
Official 2017 USMC Ball Picture
My official thought? Meh. Who takes a pic angled UP?! 😕 😂 I did think it was weird he wasn’t using a tripod but didn’t think much of it. I guess at least it’s straight?! I guess you get what you pay for (it was free for us) and at least we have a clear picture, right?
2017 Marine Corps Birthday Ball
Turns out we have zero good lighting spots in our house for pictures. Which means I should have gotten out my real camera…
So we did a selfie and hope that our actual ball photo will be better (they took professional pics but they were free so we have no idea when we will get them).
Doh! The first time ever we could bring our own wine and I forgot.
It’s always fun to get dressed up and go out but I never know anyone so it’s honestly kind of awkward. We ended up leaving early because we were both tired…
It’s time to relax.
The craziness of the craft show is over so it was time to relax. The kids were at the rec center for another Parents Night Out so we went out for a fancy steakhouse dinner at The Tavern.
—Our Menu— BAD KITTY (for me) and BEER (for Tom)
MEDITERRANEAN OCTOPUS
GRILLED OCTOPUS, POTATOES, PROVENCE OLIVE OIL
BAKED FRENCH ONION SOUP
CROUTON, GRATIN CHEESE CRUST
CAVIAR POTATO CHIPS
TOBIKO, SWEET ONIONS, CRÈME FRAICHE
THE TAVERN FILET 8 OZ
& BLOC OF FOIE GRAS
CREAM CHEESE CARROT CAKE
Steve Martin and Martin Short!
Date afternoon seeing Steve Martin and Martin Short courtesy of the USO! It was a free event and I wanted to be sure to get in so I was there three hours early (LOL!)—though Tom and I went out to eat and then it was such a gorgeous day I walked around Pokémoning. Then about 800 young navy recruits showed up that were going to be allowed in first so there was ZERO point in me being there early. (As it turned out there was plenty of seating but we didn’t know that until 15 minutes before the door opened.) I’m glad we went—it was a good time!
Drinks. In leather recliners. Because we can.
The kids are at Parents Night Out at the community center—we just couldn’t pass up $26 for four hours!!
Since Papa and Grannie are here, we’re taking advantage!
Last-minute date night!
On our way to see peeps!!
So tonight was a dinner out in Alexandria at one of our favorite places, the Green Pig Bistro.
May the next 20 years be just as awesome!
It’s been 20 years since the night Tom and I met…
Our dinner splurge:
Tom in beer heaven:
Happy New Year 2017!
In probably the most unexpected detail ever in the history of this blog…I did not take ONE. SINGLE. PICTURE. ALL. NIGHT. 😯
So, we were the surprise guests for this party. Meaning, obviously, no one knew we were coming (except the host and one other friend). We’ve had surprise guests at other Tivo events before and it’s always fun, so when it worked out that we could do it for this party (due to our White House tour) we were excited. And it was cool—we’re so glad to have surprised our old (and new) crazy ax murderer internet friends and spent the evening with them!
This was taken by Jay, who I haven’t seen in real life…
…since 2009.
You know you’re old when you have two glasses of sangria and think it’s got to be getting close to midnight…and it’s not even 9! There was lots of good food and games, and we all managed to make it to midnight (waiting for the ball to drop, below), but the party broke up shortly thereafter. I really knew I was old when I wasn’t drunk heading back to the hotel. 😆
I slept in until 10 (!) the next morning, and then it was off to brunch with friends before the wave of goodbyes (again, I did not take one single picture).
White House Tour
Touring the white house has been on my bucket list for awhile but I’ve been too lazy to do anything about it…so through a chance encounter, we met someone (a friend of a friend) who had two openings for New Years Day. At the time I was even MORE geeked because I thought the holiday decorations would still be up and Christmas is totally my thing…but unfortunately, the decorations were already down. 😥 The only slightly bad things were that 1) we would have liked to take the kids, but I wasn’t going to pass this up and 2) we had New Years Eve plans in New Jersey that would be cut a little short. But again we couldn’t pass this up. Uncle Rob was staying with us over the holidays so he watched the kids for us.
First stop: The Ellipse…and The National Christmas Tree.
“The walkway surrounding the National Christmas Tree features 56 state and territory trees decorated with handmade ornaments that are unique to each tree.”
Workers were maintaining the trains…
Vacuuming the tracks (I thought this was funny but if you think about it it has to be done).
There were so many people milling about that it took a few minutes before we could get in front of the White House with no one else in our selfie. 🙂 It was also hard to get the White House lined up between us because it was VERY bright and we could barely see the phone screen.
See? White House placement fail.
The hordes.
I just had to. 😆
Potty break. We sent it to Owen and told him it was a Pidgey (Pokémon) nest.
Starting the queue to get to the tour.
First ID and ticket checkpoint.
Through that building was the dog who sniffed everyone one at a time.
We couldn’t take pictures in one building, and then we were spit out here.
Entering the White House!
Unfortunately, it wasn’t so much a tour as a regular museum experience. There were lines and hordes of people just like every other museum so you had to wait your turn to poke your head through a doorway for 10 seconds or wait for people to get out of your way to see something on the wall.
I like that you can see my reflection in this one.
Gift shop at the start of the tour! We got a White House ornament.
This was literally a 3′ doorway to poke your head in to take a sweeping look around.
And look what was in the middle of the tour… 🙂 We each caught a few Pokémon and hoped they’d be good ones (they weren’t) but I now have a few I caught in the White House.
We opted not to wait in the huge line to take a picture directly in front of the Presidential Seal and doors so we got this instead. Had we not been trying to hurry, we could have tried to move to the side ever-so-slightly and hidden people behind Tom’s head. 🙂
And then it was done! They weren’t kidding when they said it only takes 45 minutes or so. I’m glad we did it, of course, but it wasn’t what I expected (though I don’t know why I was expecting an actual TOUR, like with a few people at a time—this is DC! Nothing happens without hordes of people!). The other bummer is that all the Christmas decorations were down. You were also encouraged to ask the guards about the house and the individual rooms and whatnot, but with as many people as were there and how crowded most of the areas were, you almost felt guilty if you held up the line just to chit chat with the guard.
We quick had someone snap this before more people walked out and ruined the shot.
See? The lady took a minute to reframe the shot and…people.
Fun with photoshop.
So, since we were in DC, we had to pick somewhere cool to eat—the Old Ebbitt Grill was on our way back to the parking garage!
The French Toast Breakfast Club (bacon-wrapped ham sandwich, apple compote, pecan butter, Vermont maple syrup) was DIVINE.
And then it was back to the car and off to New Jersey where we were going to be surprise guests!