Brooks, Garth Brooks

I know, we're all terrible at posting during the summer.  I just joined the party like everyone else, right?  Yeah, we'll go with that.

About a month ago, Alex and I went to New Orleans for the weekend.  As a longtime fan of Garth (and upon the recommendation from Kara), we scored tickets to his first concert in Louisiana in EIGHTEEN YEARS.  Well, I guess technically it wasn't his first concert because he ended up doing four concerts in the span of three days, but you get the idea.

Everyone and their mama that lives in the Gulf Region was in NOLA that weekend for those concerts.  In fact, originally Alex missed out on tickets for the Saturday night show, but a few minutes after they sold out, a second (late) show was added, so that's what we got.  As it turned out, a friend of mine got early show tickets before the late show was an option, and wanted late ones instead, so we agreed to swap.  It was really a much better fit for both groups, honestly.

We both worked on Friday morning and then began the nearly 5 hour drive south early that afternoon, rolling into the hotel parking lot right at dinnertime. Typically, we do not "do" hotel restaurants but thanks to Alex's dad (somehow) we were considered reward members which included 25% off the menu.  I was feeling pretty "hangry" (exhausted, hungry, cranky) at that point, so we took advantage of the offer and then settled in for an early night.  Heck - we don't have a TV in our bedroom so watching TV in bed at hotels is always an attractive idea for us.

Saturday, I was feeling less than energetic and not at all interested in navigating the city (really, NOLA is just a big navigation headache), we decided to have brunch at a little hole in the wall cafe across the street from the hotel.  Tic Toc Cafe was totally adorable and really hit the spot for exactly what our bellies needed. It was also really awesome to see the staff recognize all the locals, calling them by name and remembering their "regular" orders.

 

Again not wanting to stray, I sat by the pool as Alex cooled off there for a while in the afternoon.  My friend met us to exchange the tickets and then we got ourselves together and were on our way.

Our awesome friend, Cam, told us about this super nifty app/website called ParkMe which finds parking spots near certain locations, allows you to "book" a spot, pay beforehand, print the ticket and have a guaranteed spot available waiting for you upon arrival.  Given the nature of two Garth Brooks concerts in Downtown New Orleans, we loved the idea of having a guaranteed spot to park, so we gobbled that one up.  It made life sooo much easier once we got down there.  And while our plans to kill time eating dinner at Walk-On's (re: thousands of other people had the same idea), we happened upon a trendy little pizza joint called Blaze that I would totally go for if I encountered another location sometime in the future.

Admittance to the concert and finding our eats was easy-peasy, but I almost had a heart attack when we found our seats.  I knew we were sitting in the third level but I didn't realize how huge and high that stadium was!  My anxiety really picked up and I wasn't sure I'd make it through the concert.  Alex asked a nice looking older couple a few rows lower than us if they would switch but they didn't go for it so I had to suck it up.

 

Garth was amazing (of course) - and Tricia Yearwood too - but I can't help but think I would have enjoyed the concert tons more if we had been in a smaller arena or sitting lower.  I did hear he recently added some shows in Little Rock this December so maybe we'll look into trying again.  Or not.  It is what it is.

Sunday morning we knocked out 9 a.m. Mass and then hit the road headed north all over again, with plans to attend a work event (free food/booze) for Alex later that night.  All in all, we enjoyed our little getaway, but I'm glad it's over and the craziness of summer travel is drawing to a close.  I'm pretty ready for regular schedules and a little less chaos in my life.

Hope all is well with you!

- Lauren

One Person's Trash: A Datevitation Coupon

Last fall, I came across Datevitation while reading a blog.  Seeing as how Fall is gift season in our house (three gifts for Alex between mid-November and the end of December), I thought I'd jump on the opportunity to snag something unique.  Plus, with the 1st Anniversary being "year of the paper," the coupon book really made sense.  More about what else I bought some other time.

This Datevitation coupon book seemed like the perfect way to give a whole bunch of gifts all at once, without breaking the bank.  Alex received five specially-designed coupons, redeemable anytime.  In fact, he even redeemed one of the coupons before receiving the book...oops.

A month ago, Alex finally decided to cash in on one of his coupons...a coupon I had been hoping he'd forget.  Yeahhhhhh...I created a coupon that I wasn't super excited about redeeming.  But, hey, all in the name of serving my husband, ay?

For one whole month, it was my responsibility to take out the trash.  Can we just say EW?!

How did it go?  Well, since there are just two of us in our house, we really don't have all that much trash...especially considering how much goes directly into our recycling bins.  Therein lies a problem; I could put off taking it out...over, and over again.  I think I only ended up pushing the can to the road twice the whole month, and only the second time because it was the end of the month and Alex insisted I finish off my commitment with a bang.  Of course, there had to be evidence:

Attractive?  Not so much.  Then again, can taking out the trash ever be attractive (unless, of course, HubbaHubbaHusband is the one doing it!)?

Whew, I'm glad that one is over!  I suppose it could be worse...one of those coupons says I'm not allowed to complain FOR A WHOLE DAY!!  Uh yeah...I'm out!

-Lauren


Note:  If you want to order your own Datevitation coupon book, the website is advertising 30% off and Free Shipping (not sure if those offers can be combined) for a limited time!  No, I will not receive any compensation or reward for your order.  Yes, I love Datevitation enough to recommend it even without any reward for myself!

No Peeking: A Creative Date Night Idea

Our goal is to go on a date once a week, but it doesn't always work out that way.  Alex and I take turns planning for Date Night, picking where we're going and what we're doing.  Over the summer, I decided to deviate from the typical restaurant dinner date by planning something a little unique.  The kicker, though, was that Alex was kept in the dark (literally) until the big reveal.

As we got on the road, I had Alex close his eyes so that he wouldn't know where we were going.  For dinner, I decided to stop at Jimmy John's to pick up a couple of sandwiches.  The restaurant had just opened, and neither of us had gotten the chance to try it yet.  We'd discussed waiting to eat there until we were together.  I just deviated from the plan a weensy bit by getting the food to-go instead of eating in.  ...He did become a bit antsy waiting in the car while I went into the restaurant to order the food.  Obviously, I couldn't just go through the drive through and expect to keep dinner a secret!

It just so happened that this date night took place on a gorgeous summer day (it wasn't hot as hades just yet), so the weather was perfect for a picnic.  I took us over to West Monroe for an evening at Kiroli Park.  We'd visited this park the year before when Alex's mom was in town visiting from North Carolina, but we really hadn't done a whole lot of exploring that day.  After enjoying our picnic, we decided to check out some of the walking trails.  It was really fun to put aside distractions from technology and just focus on having authentic conversations with one another.  The trails were mostly rustic, and appropriately scenic.  We had a great time!

We worked up a bit of a sweat hiking through the trails, so froyo dessert was called for!  Making one final stop at Orange Leaf was just the perfect way to end our night.  I guess by that point, the surprises were over so I'd given up on the photo documentation aspect of the date.  (You're all disappointed, right?)

So anyway, Alex didn't find out what the evening entailed until we arrived at the park and I told him to open his eyes.  He tried to figure out where we were by imagining which turns I made while driving, but he really had no idea.  It was fun to maintain that element of surprise for as long as I could, and he was definitely surprised for the big reveal.  The whole night was so much fun, and I can't wait until conditions are right for another "No Peeking" night out!

-Lauren

Goodwill Games: A Creative Date Night Challenge

On a more pleasant note...we watch way too much TV around here.  Okay, I know that sounds...not pleasant...but I promise I have a point.  With Fall work schedules in full swing around here, we decided to make Friday an excuse for a date night.

In an effort to break from our habit of watching too much television around the house, and the same 'ole, same 'ole dinner dates, I took to the interwebs for a little idea searching.  I also happened to have joined Pinterest the day before, so it seemed like a win-win combo for dreaming up a creative date night.  I can't say I found this specific idea from Pinterest, but a couple of other ideas led to this particular adaptation.

It turned out to be a stormy afternoon, so I decided on two options - date night in (building a fort/watching a movie) vs. date night out.  A quick check on the radar indicated dissipating weather systems, so Alex voted for date night out.  And so off we went!

First stop, the local Goodwill store.  Say what?  Yes, indeed.

As we pulled into the parking lot, Alex was obviously confused but he trusted the process and went with it.  Once we arrived, I told him we were going to play a little game.  For Round One, we had 10 minutes to find something for under $10...for the other person!  His face light up and totally bought into the challenge.  *Wife for the win!*

I went straight for the CD table.  Of course, there was nothing current or appropriate.  Then, I spotted the bookshelves...surely something there would work, right?!  Jackpot!  Within 30 seconds searching through the book section, I spotted a Photoshop tutorial book...and the best part...it was just $0.99!  YES!  With plenty of time to spare, I continued shopping, for bonus points, of course.  Just before time was out, I came across a lava lamp, and grabbed it before going back to home base.  (We recently had a conversation about how neither of us had ever owned a lava lamp, even though "all the cool kids" had one.)

Wife, for the win!

Alex wasn't so lucky with Round One.  Reluctantly, he decided on some unknown DVD...something to do with the title or the cover picture relating to something...obviously if  I don't remember it now, the choice was a poor one.  Wife wins again.  :)

For Round Two, we took 5 minutes to find something for under $5, for ourselves this time.  Again, Alex scoured the store, only to grab a random belt at the last minute.  And again, I found success on the bookshelf, with a Karen Kingsbury novel for just $1.99.  Score!

Alex determined the challenge for Round 3 - 7 minutes to find the most "obscure" t-shirt.  Now, if you have ever been shopping at Goodwill, you know this is the place is a treasure chest for t-shirts.  With hundreds of strange, funny, and inappropriate t-shirts all sorted by color, having just 7 minutes to find the "most obscure" is quite a challenge!  I think we ended up calling a truce on that round, but it was fun nonetheless.

California Raisins do Vegas?

After Round 3, we were out of ideas and sufficiently gross-feeling (think how many people have touched all that crap!), so we decided to call it a night and head off to dinner.

So there you have, next time you are looking for a creative date night idea, take your "sigoth" out to Goodwill and challenge each other until you're worn out, or the employees start giving you the stink eye.  We would totally do it again, but probably not in Monroe (have I mentioned how disgusting this town is?), and probably with a longer list of pre-planned challenges.  Either way, you can call it a little friendly competition, call it weird, call it what you want...it was fun!

-Lauren

Just for ME: A Creative Date Night Idea

Some of you may know, my birthday was last week (27, whoop whoop!) and as holidays go, birthdays are always my favorite.  Well, except for this year because I was home alone and didn't get any cake (until, like, 4 days later...and only because my parents felt bad for me).  #HusbandFail?  I did appreciate the many messages, texts, and phone calls, though...especially the two-hour call that made me feel not quite so alone for the evening.

To his credit, Alex did plan a date night out for us a few days before my actual birthday (and the gifts - tickets to see my favorite band in Dallas this summer - were not too shabby, either).  We tend to take turns with date nights and don't typically tell the other person what's in store for the night, so I had no idea that I inadvertently ruined part of his well-intended plan.  Come to think about it, that sounds awfully reminiscent of our first "date."

Creative dates are kind of our "thing," so Alex boasted for days before our date that he had come up with something pretty unique.  Day of, he spent the afternoon mowing the yard and freshening things up around the house.  When I got home from work, he said it was too early to leave for dinner and asked if I would play a game of ladder golf in the yard with him before we left.  I was in a khaki skirt and feeling sort of achy, so thinking the yard work had got him in the mood for outdoor games, I deflected by encouraging him to bring the game with him to work the next day, saying his buddies would play with him before the baseball game that evening.  He tried again to convince me to play, but didn't push too hard so I let it go.  (I promise this is relevant to my story, so keep reading please.)

So anyway, we went out to dinner at a local hole-in-the-wall burger joint called Magic Grill.  It was nothing fancy, but dinner together was enjoyable as always.  Afterwards, we had dessert at another local hangout - Eskamoe's Frozen Custard (fun fact - this place appeared in an episode of A&E's Duck Dynasty).  On the way home, Alex said...well, can you guess the theme of tonight's date?  I racked my brain and all my guesses were pretty weak so I gave up and let him explain.

He said, "It was dinner just for you...LME (my initials)."

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L-M-E?  Ladder golf - Magic grill - Eskamoe's.  Ohhhhhh...I got it!

I'm pretty sure I never would have guessed it, but looking back I think he did a great job of exercising those creativity skills.  Unfortunately, I ruined the first part of his plan (hence the title, "Just for ME") and felt terrible about it afterwards.  I really need to learn to be more spontaneous, don't I?  Oops.

I have to give him credit for putting together something totally different than I ever would have imagined.  Making date nights unique really goes a long way in having fun together and keeping things special.  I guess the ball's in my court now for something creative next time around.  Ya think he'll notice if we do progressive dinner via Applebees, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Eskamoe's (A-B-E)?  ;-)

Stay tuned!
-Lauren

Progressive Dinner: A Creative Date Night Idea

Inspired by an Instagram linkup with Kaitlyn at Wifessionals and Lauren at Wifestyles, today I am sharing one of my favorite creative date night ideas - Progressive Dinner!

Don't ask me where we got or the idea (probably some random Google search), but Alex and I are HUGE fans of Progressive Dinner, especially when we feel like we're in a rut, or have something special to celebrate.  So just what is this thing called "progressive dinner?"

It's exactly as it sounds - progressing through dinner - with a stop at a different restaurant/bar for each course of the meal.  We always aim for at least three separate locations (drinks/appetizers, dinner, dessert), but it could definitely be dragged out to experience additional "courses" (drinks, appetizers, salad, dinner, desert, coffee/drinks).

(According to Wikipedia, this could also be called a potluck if hosted at various homes, and in the UK, it is referred to as "safari supper.")

Due to the holidays and busy-ness with work, our last date night was probably in mid-December sometime. Toward the end of last week, Alex convinced me it was time for a date night and when I asked what we would do, he said he had it covered.  I went about my business with work on Saturday, trying not to wonder too much about what he had planned.  As it turns out, he resurrected our old favorite, the Progressive Dinner date, and off we went.

Stop 1:  Buffalo Wild Wings

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Course:  Drinks/Appetizers
Alex had Bud-light on draft, while I enjoyed a delicious glass of Red's Apple Ale.  We shared some chips and salsa, and probably should have just stopped there...since we ate the entire basket and all.

Stop 2:  Genghis Grill

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Course:  Dinner
Have you ever eaten at Genghis, or maybe Mongolian Barbecue?  This place is a cross between hibachi grill and buffet-style dining.  We really loved treating ourselves to Genghis in Little Rock, and were thrilled when one opened here in West Monroe.  It is so FUN to pile on the raw food, mixing and matching seasonings with sauces, then debating which "starch" we're feeling that day so the grill master can throw it all together and whip it up into something yummmmmy!

Stop 3:  Sweet Frog

Course:  Dessert
Let's face it, you can't go wrong with froyo!  Even though we were stuffed full to the brim, we went ahead and walked on over to Sweet Frog to finish out the progression as planned.

Creative date nights are great!  We like to take turns planning, and usually the other person is in the dark until we arrive at whatever the location may be.   The thing about Progressive Dinner is that it's different - as the enjoyee (as opposed to planner) it keeps me guessing, and it can extend the night out (because time spent eating dinner can pass faster than you think).  Progressive Dinners also provide time for couples to spend time catching up with one another, which is different than going to a movie or even doing some kind of recreation activity together (such as mini golf or bowling).  I'll say it again, we're huge fans!

I can't wait to check out other creative date night ideas.  Follow me on over to the #wifelifelinkup on Instagram to see what others have suggested!

-Lauren