The past few days

The past few days have been a wonderful whirlwind! My mom and I have been able to spend so much fun time together, sewing, shopping and eating. :) Brandon stayed with the kids on Friday so my mom and I could run some errands and spend some quality time together. First stop was Steak on a Stone--we realized that lunch prices were almost half what Brandon and I paid for dinner a few weeks ago and my mom was anxious to try out such a fun, unique place.
---ahhh---terrible picture of me! I should have thought before taking this in front of the bright window!!

Here are our fresh steaks sizzling to perfection on the stones while the server gave our little demonstration.

And the first bite--mmm....tasty!

My mom tried the greek potatoes as her side and I had mashed potatoes--soooo good.

It was so scrumptious!!

We took advantage of kid-free time and went to the fabric store. Talk about a dream! Just me and my mom, wandering through aisles of beautiful colors, running our fingers over each texture, dreaming of the things we could create. It was truly magnificent!

We headed to the mall to grab a couple things and my mom found herself a sassy pair of jeans on clearance for $10...love it when a bargain looks amazing!

We went in search of Bennigans Death by chocolate cake, and discovered the restaurant was closed now! Darn it!! So, in it's place we indulged in our own "death by chocolate" at Applebees. (a combo of Blue Ribbon Brownie and Triple Chocolate Meltdown, both with icecream and fudge sauce on the side.)

A little snippet of my mom and I...self-portraits with the camera on the table look kind of funny...

THANK YOU Brandon for a day away....and THANK YOU, THANK YOU mom for all the fun time together that day. It has made a memory that will last forever!

We came home to find our new DVR was hooked up. HOORAY!! HOORAY!! The installer told me my monthly price, which wasn't the price I was quoted originally. I know everyone has wondered if our $16.00 deal would really happen. Well, I called up Dish Network and told them I would absolutely not pay more than the $16 I was quoted, and long story short, they adjusted the additional $25 off the bill and we are back to the previous quote. So--just got to be firm! :) We have already recorded several movies to save for a rainy day in the future. Ahhh.....glorious DVR. :)

The next series of pictures need a disclosure. I promise we don't eat out all the time! Thanks to a gift card and Brandon stashing away some cash for a special occasion, we were able to go out again today...

My mom and I had to practice a song we are singing in church tomorrow, and then we ran a few errands. Olive Garden was mentioned at one point and ironically enough we were a block away. So we dashed over and were seated at a quaint table for two tucked away in the corner, surrounded by smells of fettuccine Alfredo, marinara sauce, and fresh baked breadsticks.

I just loved all the lights...very fancy feeling...

Isn't this a cute momma??

Even though Olive Garden has entrees to please any appetite, we chose the soup and salad with breadsticks. TOTALLY hit the spot.

We came home and sewed almost all afternoon. We have now completed 3 reversible superhero capes and almost 2 aprons. Still on the list are new hotpads and curtains and a pillow covering....and hopefully a few more projects! :) My mom is so talented in the sewing department and I am learning so much from her!!

Evening came and Brandon and I headed out on a special date--our Valentine's day celebration a week early since we actually have a sitter on hand! Brandon has been secretly stashing some money aside so we would have some to do something fun. I thought that was pretty darn sweet...Brandon and I really wanted to try somewhere new, and Mexican sounded pretty good. So we picked a new Mexican place--

We decided the kids would love this place because of the decor...it was....bright. :)

The verdict? Eh....not gonna go there again. It was okay...but really just OKAY. Either way, it was so NICE to not be saying "don't touch this, sit down, eat your food, etc".

We had no real plans, in all honesty. It was just a "fly by the seat of our pants" kind of night. So our next stop was the mall. We just walked and talked and browsed and laughed. It was totally fun...

While we were there, Brandon bought me a surprise. I have a general idea, but don't know exactly...and I can't wait to find out!!

Once we left, we just drove towards home and ended up at the movie theater. After seeing there were really no good movies to see, we stopped off at a few stores and I got to pick up a few new shirts on clearance. Brandon was such a great sport to go...I know that 1 hour shopping wears him out more than a 1 day hike... :)

It has really been a great few days...I need to hold on to all this happiness and package it for sale.

:)

More updates tomorrow...