Impromptu Date Night | Al Fresco

About a month of so back we discovered a cute little shopping center just down the road in Bonsall. We aren’t even sure if people live in Bonsall since we mostly drive through on our way to Oceanside, but we’re sure people do! We have passed this shopping center on several occasions and it just kind of looked unimpressive. Even after going through it we aren’t entirely sold. There is a pizza place where we get the most delicious pizza in town from and an over-priced Chinese restaurant with awful service. There is a mini movie theater and a Jack in the Box. There’s a tiny little grocery store.

Then there is an amazing little Italian restaurant: Al Fresco! We went a few weeks ago to their Sunday champagne lunch buffet. We figured it was the perfect way to sample their menu, and we fell in love! So last night we had an impromptu date night where we got dressed fancy and we headed out.

I love my husband in his purple shirt!

It was such a nice date night! We were able to sit and enjoy each other talking about our days and just laugh with each other! We needed a good date night like that!

When you first arrive they bring out bread sticks and a saucer with sauce in it. The brought us three bread sticks and Hubs ripped the third one in half, place half on my bread plate and said “Now that’s love!”

And you know what… it is! Sharing food with each other, making sacrifices for each other. Huge ideas in marriage exemplified over something as small as a bread stick. We get it right sometimes! We also got it right with dessert::

The most delicious Canolli I've ever had!

I hope you all are having an amazing Friday and enjoy the weekend. Even if you can’t afford to go on a fancy date night: get dressed up, sit at your coffee table, and share bread sticks! Create memories with your loved ones. Do something a little different from your normal routine! Enjoy the little things!

*I’m linking up with Lindsay! Go to her blog to check out the little things other folks hold near and dear!

iPhone-atics!

Get it… like “iPhone” mixed with “fanatics”?

Earlier last week I was hanging with Neidy and she was telling me some pretty awesome information about the iPhone and communicating with her husband with it. I tried not to be too rude, but needed to have all the deets about just how much these phones were, as the only person who had ever shared lead me to believe the phone bills were outrageous.

Oh, yeah… we were two of the five people still on the planet who didn’t have iPhones. I talked with Hubs about it and we decided Wednesday we would go out over the weekend and check them out.

Needless to say, this is my first time on the computer since Friday afternoon! We both got the iPhone 4 (not the one that talks to you- we figured we would start a little simpler!) and are addicted to them!

HOW DID PEOPLE LIVE WITHOUT THEM?

We really though we wouldn’t use them very much and that they weren’t worth their cost. Boy, were we WRONG!

Does the lady with the Brostache have an iPhone?

Ok, sure… maybe we’ve gotten some silly apps, but who can resist the BroStache (which was free, and is voice activated to move when you talk!) one? We also are both on “Words With Friends”(come find me, my user name is “TheYoungRetiree”)! We have been playing each other since we got the phones! Oh, and he won our first game of “Hanging with Friends”!

Of course, I am foursquaring my way around town and instagramming like it’s going out of style! I’ve been tweeting, facebooking and mailing from it. I have even been finding my way around in the dark thanks to the flashlight app! I really have no clue how we talked ourselves out of them for so long!

Take The Last Train To… Boot Camp?

This two months of pre-deployment prep are going by too quickly for my liking. The fun part is spending time with Hubs and of course, documenting this separation in our life with an awesome pre-deployment photo shoot! I have been giddy planning this shoot! Oh, and of course running thoughts through my head for one upon his safe return (which of course is going to be in his Army uniform-duh. We think it will be ACUs?)!

Our engagement pictures were jeans and white button downs. We did the Coronado Ferry Landing last deployment with the San Diego skyline in the background. Hubs in his dress uniform and me in a pretty tweed dress (which was actually my homecoming dress from the previous deployment!). We have our awesome beach pictures from this summer. I wanted something different and reflective of the time of year: AUTUMN! Oh, and a little bit of Christmas since we’ll be doing them in early December. We are going to be taking them in an old train station in San Juan Capistrano! Hello amazing architecture!

This morning with the help of some awesome facebookers I worked my way through our thoughts (argyle sweaters, bright funky colors, peacock accessories, flannel and cowboy boots, among others). I ultimately decided on my go to black dress for me with a red three-quarters length sleeve sweater and some amazing shoes I bought about 4 years ago and just unpacked from our HHGs. I’m thinking gray dress pants for hubs with a black or gray shirt… (or perhaps his really pretty purple one?) with or without tie.

I was at the thrift store today arranging a pick up of some of our old furniture when I saw the most adorable accessory across the room::

Only $3!!!

A lady bug found me taking pictures and definitely gave it her seal of approval! Eeeek! I am so excited! Even more exciting is since we’ll be doing them in early December, we will definitely be doing this to send out with our Christmas cards! The hunt now begins for candy canes that big!

Going out in our Christmas cards! Except... of us!

I can’t wait to have the shoot and show you some of the pictures!

Makes Me Want To Take A Back Road!

This past Saturday Hubs and I travelled out to Julian, CA! The thing I love about living here is you can go from the beach, to the mountains, to the desert all in one day, and all in one county! The journey for us was about an hour and the scenery along the way was breath-taking! We passed through two or three Indian reservations and were out in the mountains in no time. We saw the change in topography from palm trees, to dry sandy rocks, to evergreen trees! Along the route we had to stop to take in some of the beauty that is California!

 

A beautiful view!

As bloggers, most of you stop to take pictures of strange things, what you eat, what you wear, and like this, beautiful scenes. I photo document everything. Hubs just doesn’t get it, still! When I ask him to get out of the car for a quick picture, this is what I get:

He will learn one of these days, and that's why I love him even more!

He awkwardly stands on the side of the road, in the middle of a patch of brush on a turn about, as I try to capture pictures for our amazing memories! He does it even though he thinks it’s odd, and I love him for that! We do not have a tripod and these moments are exactly when I tell him I need one in my life! Instead, I balance the camera on the roof of the car and snap a picture of us, in nature, enjoying God’s beauty!

That awkward couple on the side of the road that you drove by!

Taking those back roads that twist and wind makes the trip that much more enjoyable. Being able to see things we never thought we would is such an amazing experience! What might seem like hills to those who grew up in the “real” mountains are enormous works of God’s creation to me! When we got to Julian, we of course stopped at the Julian Pie Company and grabbed a slice of pie and then it was off to the California Wolf Center! More on those later!

For now, spill it:: where is the most awkward place you stopped to take a picture for the memories or for your blog?

Two Years Later :: Happy Anniversary, Love

Most wedding anniversaries are romantic and celebrated as such. Not for Hubs and I! We celebrate two very special “wedding” days. Today is the day written on our wedding certificate and the day we said “I do”! We even have matching skull and cross-bones rings we gave to each other that day.

So we are having a romantic dinner tonight, right? If I’m completely honest it will be the most romantic dinner of the year! Two years ago after being wed by our chaplain we were preparing for trick-or-treaters. Nan and I were getting candy together and setting up outside while Hubs went to get us dinner. He came back with three Chicken McNugget meals. One for me, one for Nan, and one for himself. We decided right then and there that every year as we celebrate our love we would celebrate over McNuggets! Last year we celebrated with a candlelight dinner and our nugs. This year, there will be no candlelight, but there will definitely be two McNugget meals and we’ll “cheers” with out Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider in champagne flutes.

It is one of the most special days every year. We have been blessed to celebrate our first and now our second anniversary together. We are also getting the best anniversary gift ever this year:: our car and household goods will be delivered today! The dogs will hate me as they will have some kennel time while the doors are open and the movers come and go, and I’m sure they’ll hate all the boxes all over their house, but I couldn’t be happier! I know there will be something crazy, like we’ll have three crock-pots or something, but I’m so excited to get everything again!

The last two years have been quite the ride, but I could not imagine myself married to anyone else!

The Pumpkin Patch :: 2011

Our Radio Flyer filled with out Autumnal goodies!

This weekend Hubs and I headed out on a pumpkin hunt! We learned the recipe for a delicious pumpkin and pork stew at a recent Williams-Sonoma class and I needed some pumpkin to make it! [You can look for the full report Saturday 10.29.2011!] I was also itching to take part in my favorite autumn tradition of heading to the pumpkin patch! Since moving to Southern California I have realized the east coast spoiled me in many ways. We grew up going to tree farms and cutting down our Christmas trees just like every year we went to an actual farm and picked out our pumpkins. Out here in SoCal, I have found most “pumpkin patches” are in parking lots or grocery stores (the HORROR!) so I was pleased enough when we found one off the side of the road in neither!

Hay bales with pumpkins and a curious cat to boot!

There is something about pumpkin patches: the smell, the ambiance, the chill in the air… oh, wait. It was pleasantly in the 70′s as we made our way through the pumpkins looking for the perfect ones. The smell was mostly of the hay, but they surely got the ambiance down! The even had cupcakes and caramel apples for sale, as well as cider – although there was more a need for ice than for it to be warm! The best part of autumn decorating is you can get so many wonderful things, for a pretty decent price right at your pumpkin patch!

It's like the big pumpkins had baby pumpkins!

Baby pumpkins are just about my favorite thing! They are inexpensive and can be placed all throughout your home to bring Autumn into it! We picked some out to place on our mantle to get us through the Thanksgiving season! Oh, and baby pumpkins aren’t the only great thing to be found at the patch! We also got some gourds!

Gorgeous Gourds!

I just picked up a few to put in our cornucopia, but at the price you could very easily pick up several to place in decorative bowls on a coffee table, book-case, or to use as a centerpiece on your table! We also, of course, picked out small pumpkins for our stew and the hunt began for our big boys!

There were rows and rows of pumpkins lined for you to take a look at and pick your favorite. The pumpkin has to speak to you! We looked for about a half hour before we decided on the perfect ones to bring home and make a part of our autumn decor.

Big Boy number one!

Hubs picked out this good lookin’ fella’ and we took him to our wagon! The hunt for his perfect counterpart was a little more difficult, but we finally found him:

Big Boy number two!

I assure you this is not how we would have normally dressed to head to the pumpkin patch, but we thought we were heading to a nice restaurant for their champagne brunch buffet… it was a champagne lunch (which was delicious) but an hour after we were expecting! We filled our time picking pumpkins!

With our big fella’s, our stew pumpkins and our decorations, we were ready to call it a day! We came home with quite the brood! Poor Jonesie does not like the big boys, and we had to immediately move them to the outside from inside… any tips from “scaredy cat-dog” owners? We tried introducing him to the pumpkins and everything… no dice!

Can you believe Halloween is this coming weekend? The season seems to be moving too fastly and getting away from us, even with our wonderful trip back home for some great autumn weather! Have you been to your pumpkin patch? I plan on enjoying our goodies for quite some time to come, and might pick up another little one for more stew to freeze!

Home Again, Home Again!

HELLO FRIENDS! I have returned from what will always be my home to our home in Fallbrook! Our trip was such a whirlwind leaving me with so many things to blog about and so many blogs to read!

My first official PCS is happening, 22 months after our things were put in storage and there were good things and bad.

We got to spend two weeks with Nan enjoying Moe’s, good southern BBQ, Cheesesteaks, Dog-N-Burger and of course: Thanksgiving dinner!

We enjoyed dinner with a friend at one of our favorite spots in Norfolk: Bardo! Ah-mazing. I can’t wait to share this treasure with you, and the tale of spicy guava sorbet!

We got to have dinner with my best friend and her baby (and awesomely cute baby bump!) at No Frill Grill!

I remembered all the little things from back home that I love: Harris Teeter, fields of green, JET NOISE!

I also found things about home that I never understood why people got frustrated by: Long traffic lights, everyone having vanity plates, THE HUMIDITY! I have no clue how I lived there for so long and just accepted it!

It was sad to see places I loved no longer there, and the biggest disappointment was trying to get a slice of chocolate cake at Taste… and they had no clue what we were talking about!

We had the best slice of pizza I have ever eaten at Chicago Midway Airport… and it wasn’t deep dish!

We are so happy to be home! I can’t wait to share our pictures and memories with you all!

San Diego was great to fly into but it was a little stinky! That was one thing we didn’t have back home! There is nothing better than being in your own bed though, and waking up in your own home. Tonight we have the Navy ball and tomorrow morning we get our puppies back! Have a beautiful weekend, friends!

Little Things Like Airplanes and Nail Polish

So, this week and next I will be collecting memories of my little things with my snazzy slightly stupid phone… as in not a “smart phone”, not an iPhone, and not with instagram. Just a good ol’ phone with a good ol’ camera that I can text into Facebook and use to share some quick moments in time!

This week was a great week! I had some awesome pictures of packing and the dogs, and then left my computer at home! So, we shall pick up with our travels!

Seeing billowy clouds from high above the world!

That wasn’t the only little thing during our day of travelling that made me smile! We got to the airport bright and early (about 7:30!) since we didn’t really know where to park. We had breakfast at Chili’s (I know!) and then hung out at our gate waiting for our noon flight! Getting on the plane and getting a little treat made me smile, for sure!

In-flight snacks! Thanks Southwest for having reasonable prices, amazing staff, and yummy roasted peanuts!

While we were waiting for our flight I of course shopped! I found an adorable book and read three chapters in the air, which is pretty good for someone not too into reading and who napped… hard!

"You Had Me At Woof!"

Since then we have been hanging out with Nan, running around and getting ready for our PCS (From VA to CA… finally!) While over at the NEX getting stuff for Hubs’ uniform I scored a sweet deal on some nail polish! The NEX does these scratch off coupons where you save anywhere from 5% to 25%! Thanks to the coupon, I was able to get a few bottles!

Happy Birthday to me, indeed!

From left to right we have: Wicked, Power Clutch, Mink Muffs, Eternal Optimist and the ever popular Turquoise & Caicos! I can’t wait to get some on my nails!

The best birthday gift of all was the storm that rolled into the area Thursday. God gave me a beautiful double rainbow that a cell phone picture just does not do justice for! It was breath-taking and beautiful! I needed it!

Thanks, God! What a beautiful birthday gift!

This week was overall lovely. I had several little moments to bless me. I hope you did as well!

East Coast Living!

Well, y’all, I am coming to you live from the East Coast It is very awkward to be using my old desktop dell instead of my sweet laptop, but I had zero carry-on bags that a 19: would fit in. The downside of a suh-weet laptop, right there!

World Class Travellers:: We spent about 5 hours at the airport! Better early than rushing to make it!

I was detained at the airport and I blame TOM! I was so busy people watching I completely forgot my TOMs were on my feet. The TSA agent asked if those were shoes on my feet. Suspiciously I was the random person asked to do a private screening. All they did was wipe my shoes. I found our time with security and at the airport in general very pleasing, except the $30 Quiznos lunch! Our flight out here was rather enjoyable! I think we have adjusted to the time switch rather well. It has been a stressful few days just dealing with our belongings, a missing dress uniform, and trying to get into storage.

We found our storage unit key and will have no problems  getting the movers in. Hubs found his dress uniform… or the most expensive parts (pants, blazer, tux shirt) at least! We just had to buy all of his mini medals, his cumberbun (however the heck you spell it!), and some buttons. Easy day! Where was the uniform, you ask? In a Target bag, balled up! I love that man, but good grief, y’all- the hunt was trying!

Today we are celebrating my birthday and I could not be more excited than to be home and celebrating with Nan! She made me a very special gift, that isn’t for me at all, but rather a friend I’ve recently made. I hope she loves it!

I have been horrible reading blogs and know I will have tons to write and read when we get back home! I have missed the connections with you all!

We have much more to do and see while we are in town and if any of you Hampton Roads girls want to get together while we’re in town, holler at me over twitter or Facebook!

[Oh, and pictures will all come from my cell phone or once we're back in town... since we don't have my computer!]

Get On You Bad Motor Scooter, And Ride!

Any where I go around Fallbrook it seems I see motor scooters. Yesterday afternoon Hubs and I were talking and I mentioned getting a scooter instead of another car. We have had one vehicle since moving to California and it works for us… most of the time. It would be nice to just whip over to the post office, or buzz over to the grocery store to get something I need for dinner without having to call and ask Hubs to stop on his way home. Something to just cruise around town in… er, on.

This prompted our research for VESPAS! Of course, Hubs researched to the point of knowing when the first one was created, when they begun being sold in the States, and where the first dealership was. I just started thinking of the suh-weet goggles I would ride around wearing, with a cute little helmet and my cape. Oh yes, CAPE! Well, I suppose I’m kidding about the cape, but man, what I wouldn’t give to drive around with one on!

All I need is one that goes at least 45mph so I can ride on Base and head over to the MCX. That’s the furthest I think I would go on one.

We headed into Riverside this morning to check out a Motorsports shop. I have fallen in love y’all!

This is one bad motor scooter!

Oh, and she can go as fast as 80mph! We did not come home with a Vespa today… we are going to price shop while in Norfolk since the tax and registration would be so much cheaper! We can just have the movers move it to California with our HHGs! If they will move it, that is! So, we are going to check with the moving company and then check with a dealer out in Virginia! If not, I think I’ll be getting this beauty under the Christmas tree this year, if not before!

Of course, you have to practice safety:

Safety First, kids!

Let me tell you: I have never been more excited for anything in my life! I am ready to have it, yesterday, y’all! Oh, and of course since the visor is for daytime, I get to have these sweet goggles for night operations:

Night time goggles

I need Victoria the Vespa in my life! The pink is limited edition so we have to act quicker than we want and may not get her… If not I think I’ll go with Ruby, the red one! Either way, she will be pretty, shiny, and all mine!