Friday, July 23, 2010

Photo Op... Almost Forgotten






Who could pass up the card called "Photo Op"? This is what I live for.

Earlier in the week, Kevin mentioned it was going to be brutally hot in Oakland and suggested a family beach trip...Half Moon Bay or Stinson? I jumped at HMB. I had a plan. Lunch at the Flying Fish Grill, a little shopping, and time at the beach. Let's go!

I threw my bathing suit on and a cute little dress and was ready to go. We had hoped Charlie would utilize the hour long trip and nap, but luck wasn't on our side. Not to mention, everyone and their brother had the same idea...BEACH! It took us a while to get there, but it gave me time to enjoy the scenery and reminisce. Half Moon Bay is one of my favorite places and it provides many great memories thanks to Gina and Lauren. We've spent many a day there at the beach, shopping, or dancing the night away at the Half Moon Bay Brewery (ok..so it's in El Granada, but it's close enough).

Luckily, at the peak of lunch, we were seated right away at the Flying Fish and Kevin got his fish tacos, I got my California wrap (filled with fried Shrimp and a mango salsa), and Charlie got his sweet potato fries. Why is it that when you are so excited about something and you finally get it, it's never as good as you remember? The next time we visit, we'll bring a picnic lunch and save the $30.00. However, I did get a thrill out of watching Charlie as he stuffed his mouth full of orange potatoes and Kevin hum as he was in fish taco heaven.

On Main St. we wandered through various stores admiring furniture that was well out of our price range. We are looking for that perfect dining room table and chairs for our next home. Sure it'll be a while, but we might as well be prepared. Actually, we found it at Wooden Duck, but still we love to look. Charlie was a rock star for the most part, but wanted out to walk around. It's tough on the streets when there are a ton of tourists doing the same thing we are. He loves to push his stroller, but if a cop were around he'd get pulled over for a DUI even though he is completely sober. As we walked into my favorite place, Have to Have It, a place with lots of crap (see photos), but stuff that is just super fun, I realized oh, shit this was supposed to be a "date night" and I completely forgot. Good thing Have to Have It is the perfect place for a photo op and I wasn't the only one there with the same idea. There was a girl taking one photo after another. I think it was a class assignment, but who knows. The first shot I saw was from behind the fence. Pumpkin planters in July, really?

Kevin looked at me as if I were crazy. His look saying, "Shouldn't I just be enjoying "family day" just because we were together? Why does every time we are on a date are you thinking of your damn blog?" Okay, so he would never say this nor would he even think this...maybe this is my guilt saying, "enjoy the day and don't worry about what you are going to write about later."

Kevin had a blast in Have to Have It. He found all kinds of antique furniture, old posters, and best of all, an old telephone booth that "if I had a bar, this would be in it." He enjoyed himself so much and I got a kick out of watching "my kid in a candy store". I loved taking photos of random "stuff" and think I may even use a couple on my website. Yeah, I need to create a new one, but that is a whole other story.

After browsing, we headed back down the street looking for coffee when I heard a really loud, rude voice. I turned and loudly cleared my throat hoping to get her attention letting her know she should keep it down. She thought I was being rude and then noticed who I was and laughed. I knew from the get-go that it was Ginny (a WMMS colleague), but was thrilled to see Sally and Sandy as well.

After coffee and a cookie, we jumped in the car and realized while it was perfect weather to be at the coast, it was too cold to go to the beach. We decided to head to Pescadero to go look at our favorite furniture store, Made in Pescadero. Kevin had picked up a flyer stating there was a Barn sale...there were a dozen or so yard sales in the town. Unfortunately, we arrived as everyone was packing up and there was nothing worth looking at. The funny thing is that neither Kevin or I give two cents about yard sales and yet, we wanted to see what sort of crap people were selling. After drooling over a $5,000 dining table (note: chairs NOT included), we headed home, but this time decided to go home over the Bay Bridge enjoying new scenery and avoiding the traffic going over the San Mateo bridge. And did Charlie utilize this time to get in a late afternoon nap...I think NOT!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

One for Me, One for Us


Cheap...I think not. So, this entry doesn't follow the line of "cheap dates". Oh, well. We all deserve a little indulgence every once in a while.

After spending an afternoon with Mom going through old photo albums and scrapbooks (a project that is still in the works and has extended to my own home), I left Charlie with Nana and happily drove off for a date by myself. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) I drove home and asked Kevin to drop me off at Family Nails (bad name, great service). I didn't have to pay for parking...see, saving money and using my head. Over an hour was spent with a massage via a massage chair, leg and foot (my favorite) massage and the hand massage. Kevin still owes me two foot massages (a Mother's Day gift). At the last minute I decided to add a cute little flower to my toes. The funny this is, she painted hibiscus flowers on each big toe. The day before, I was wearing a glass pendant with a hibiscus flower that Kevin had made for me in Hawaii. I tried to explain this to her. I'm not sure how much she understood, but she did understand that I was more than pleased with her choice in flowers. Ok, I just realized how easy it is to "go off on a tangent". One story leads to another that leads to another. I should just stick to the "date part", but it's so much fun to let my memory drift to other wonderful memories and on and on and on. Back to the date...

I called Kevin to pick me up and we headed off to Flavors of India, a fabulous restaurant in our neighborhood. We love the ambiance and I could easily decorate my future home, ok, maybe a room like the restaurant with the jeweled colors and hanging tapestries. We ordered wine and enough food that Kevin will enjoy his lunch today. (Edit) Actually, we ate it for dinner and Charlie decided it was so good that he ate off our plates, as well. I was hoping for a walk, but that damn Bay Area summer fog had rolled in and all I wanted to do was go home and put on PJs and socks. I know, romantic. So, I curled up in a blanket, instead.

Kevin had borrowed Firefly (it was so good that they only made one season and stopped) from his parents on our last visit to Chino Hills. I must say I fell asleep during the first episode, but I finally got hooked. Think Startrek meets The Outlaw Josey Whales (I had to ask Kevin for help on this one) with a little A-Team thrown in. It's your basic space western. It's a little hard to grasp, but two of the women are absolutely stunning to look at...yes, I did say this.

It was a lovely, peaceful evening which ended in bed with a book (Kevin with his Patrick O'Brien and me with my Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest....sorry, no further information to be shared. A typical date night for us, minus the kid, which Kevin started missing at 4:00 in the afternoon, while we were still at Nana's. But our date continues as we sit here at Starbuck's laptop to laptop as I write this and Kevin looks for a job."You are looking for a job, aren't you?"
It's actually kind of sweet, sitting across from my husband "working".

We took two cars here, as I'm leaving shortly to pick up Charlie and have lunch with Papa and Yah, and as I saw him walking toward me I said, "Hey, it looks like we are headed in the same direction. Would you like to join me for a cup of coffee?" I was trying to flirt with this "random" man who looked like he was on his way to a cafe, but he didn't get it. I told him I would hit on someone else who would appreciate it. I think it's somewhere in the cards..."meet somewhere, pretend you don't know each other..." I tried. He was... well... clueless.

Cost of One for Me, One for You:

  • Beautiful purple toes and light pink nails: $39.00 ( I tip well)
  • Dinner with my love: $46.00 ( I round up)
  • Firefly: (future trip to Chino Hills in a few weeks- cost: a hell of a lot of gas, but worth every penny)
  • Books: (free: library and Fran (Mema Lopez))
  • Stabuck's Coffee: (thank Goddess for the Gold Card. We'll need to add to them next time around)
  • Time spent together: priceless. I must say, I really am enjoying this laptop to laptop thing...maybe it's my new foreplay. I love you, Honey Pie!