Weekend Review {2/15}

This is going to be a long one, Gentle Readers, and photo heavy.  For a weekend with ZERO plans, we sure know how to fill a weekend.  #YOLO, lol

FRIDAY

After struggling all week with what day of the week it was (I kept thinking Weds was Thurs, etc), it was finally Friday and I was so relieved.  We headed to work to get that out of the way so we could get on to weekending.  I started on a new project this weekend and it means that technically I work with Teh MD-AR!!  Sadly, the project will be ending soon, but principle!  Earlier in the week it had been decided that we'd do an office outing on Friday evening at The Alley downtown (bowling).  Really, what this meant was an excuse to drink on Company/the boss.  #WIN  Also, since Teh German and I had reservations downtown for dinner at 6, I hitched a ride with Coworker so I wouldn't have to worry about parking (which is the absolute worst part of going downtown Charleston, always and forever). 

I ordered a amaretto sour from the bar when I arrived and the bartender gave me a midori sour, but instead of telling him, I just took it and drank it.  When we got our lane, the bartender came up to me with an amaretto sour and said, "You didn't tell me!"  I said I didn't want to complain and it was no big deal.  What that really meant was 2 drinks for me and 1 for free.  After that I moved to gin and ginger-ales (2) and had to stop drinking because I still had to get to dinner and I was trying to save my appetite for dinner so I only had 2 tater tots and 1 of the gator bites (pictured).  We actually ended the bowling 30 minutes late, which was kinda perfect for me since that meant as soon as I walked to Charleston Grill, I'd be seated.

Another Coworker told me I should ask someone for a walk, but I needed to walk after 4 beverages on a mostly empty stomach.  I arrived to Charleston Grill with a few minutes to spare and I realized it was SUPER fancy when they addressed me as Ms. R---.  The hostess also asked me whose birthday it was since I had noted in the reservation that it was a birthday dinner.  I told her ours (Teh German's is at the end of Feb and mine, obviously, at the beginning).  She told me happy birthday and she led me to the table, which had a card sitting on it that said happy birthday from Charleston Grill.  Teh German was about 15 minutes late because he had to find parking (see what I mean about the parking disaster downtown?), but it was fine because I was just people watching and enjoying being in such a fancy place.  I tried to keep my cell phone out of my hands, cause ya know, fancy.  The server brought me water and a tea (with simple syrup) while I waited.

Teh German arrived and we got started with dinner.  I was impressed that the beer he ordered was cheaper at the fancy place than at Mellow Mushroom.  We perused the menu and I was interested in several items.  The server had said the special of the night was antelope (nope, not kidding), so I was also interested in that as well.  Then Teh German noticed there was a sampler option for $95 and there was a note the entire table should pick this option.  I asked the server if he could check and see if we could personalize the sampler to get the items that I was interested in and when he came back with a yes, our choice was easy.  I'm pretty sure we actually got more courses than the sampler actually included, which was extra awesome.

After we ordered we were given the option of bread (cornbread muffins, italian rolls, or whole wheat slices) and a kitchen special was delivered in a spoon (spicy tuna salad with some stuff on top).  After that, I remembered I was a blogger and started taking photos (no flash, because #classy).

Octopus appetizer
A little chewy, not my favorite, but still good.

Crab cake appetizer
This crab cake was probably one of the best I've ever eaten. With hints of lemon and shrimp on the side.. PERFECT.

Scallop with sausage and something else, with sugar snap peas and mushy minty peas (which were very tasty)
The scallop was perfectly cooked and buttery and melt in your mouth.  I ended up giving my sausage to Teh German because it was too spicy for me.  The sugar snap peas were perfectly done and the peas were different and delightful.  I'm considering looking for a recipe for the mushy peas.

Antelope with asparagus
O.M.F.G.....  Teh German's reaction summed it up perfectly: I feel like a lion. 
The antelope was tender and had a slight gamey taste, but it wasn't over whelming to me (I don't like venison or duck because of that gamey taste).  The caramelized onions on top were the perfect sweetness to go with it.

Lamb with polenta? and asparagus
It was at this point that I started to get full, but I powered on.  The lamb was tender and delicious and the lamb flavor wasn't too overwhelming to me.  The antelope was definitely hard to come back from to just lamb, but we were still pleased.

dessert drink with a raspberry
This was just a little shot, but it was perfect and light and refreshing and I could have drank a gallon of it.
It was kinda like a juice tea, if that makes any sense.  Sweet like juice, but light like fruit tea.  Amazing.

Complementary wine since it was our birthday
I don't like wine, but I enjoyed this.  I'm sad I didn't get the name.

German chocolate cake with coconut ice cream on toffee
We giggled a little bit that it was "German" but this was the perfect ending to a delightful dinner.  Sweet, but not overly sweet.  The coconut wasn't overpowering and the toffee was great.  Teh German's favorite part was the sweet roasted nuts.

cloth hand towels in the bathroom

Lilies!

Birthday dessert platter with 2 happy birthday pieces
When I got back to the table, this had appeared and I actually said, "Oh geez, more food?  Ugh."
Nonetheless, I sampled each item on the plate, the best being the white chocolate (which I'm not usually a fan of) and the peanut butter chocolate fudge paired with the fruit flavored gummy thing (so like a PB&J).

I wish I could do this meal justice.  For each and every course there were groans and mmmmmm's of approval.  There were no words for food that delicious.  I told Teh German that he may actually have to roll me to the car I was so full.  We were a little overwhelmed when the check came and it said $235, because we hadn't realized that the sampler was $95 per person vs $95 for the table.  Oops.  Nonetheless, Teh German said it was worth it.  I told him that I was thinking no more than $150 and I kept apologizing, but he said that it was worth it and a really good experience and he would do it again.  He had misunderstood the menu, just like me, so we laughed a bit at that.  We were so full by the end we were actually uncomfortable.  When we got home, it was stretchy pants and snuggles on the couch with the dogs for a little bit until it was bedtime.

SATURDAY

Teh German didn't work this weekend, so it meant snuggles and sleeping in and I was glad since I'll be at Disney next weekend and I don't think Teh MD-AR wants to pretend to be Teh German, lol.  Twin Dad (a coworker) had suggested earlier in the week a date with his wife (Twin Mom) to get our nails done so she could get out of the house and we could hang out.  I was down, but there were some complications because babies don't care about adult schedules.  I asked German Girl (coworker of Teh German) if she wanted to go get her nails done with Twin Mom said she wasn't going to be able to go and she said yes.  Then, Twin Mom said she was able to go.  Teh German and I suggested brunch at Ms. Rose because we had both received a $5 gift certificate at the Yelp event last week.  So German Girl and Twin Mom met us there.  The ladies got the crepe special and Teh German got an omelet and he made the better choice since we were all still hungry after finishing our crepes (there were only 3 small crepes on the plate with strawberries, filled with nutella whipped cream).  I was too hungry to take photos.

After brunch, Teh German left us to go get his hair cut and run some errands he wanted to get taken care of while the ladies went to Luxia Nails Spa because it had the best reviews on Yelp.  They were able to get us in quickly, but I wasn't overly impressed.  My yelp review isn't going to be as great as everyone elses for sure.  On the other.. foot.. since we got only pedicures, they did at least paint my entire nail, so they get extra points for that.

I unintentionally went with mermaid colors!
The Princess Runs are all Little Mermaid themed and it's going to be in the 70s in Orlando, so I'll be wearing flippy floppies and this will be perfect!

After nails were done, Twin Mom had to go home, so German Girl and I decided to do some shopping.  I had some Kohl's coupons, so that was our first stop.  I ended up going full on prisoner.  #notsorry.

New work shirts, a dress, and a pair of slacks (with pockets, of course).
I had to send a photo of my prisoner attire to Teh Sister and Teh MD-AR who are well aware of my stripe addiction.

After Kohl's, we stopped by Goodwill to drop some stuff off, then we went to Target because German Girl hadn't been there before.  After Target, I asked her if there was anywhere else she'd like to go, or if she'd like to go home, and she said she'd like to go home, which was fine by me.  After dropping her off at her apartment, I headed home.

Teh German finally got his headlights fixed how he wanted them to be so that was the first thing he had to show me when I got home.  It had taken him an hour and a half and the problem was the bulbs, not anything he had done (the wiring, soldering, etc).  I was glad they were working because they have bothered him for a while now.

We settled in for a lazy evening of puzzles after dinner.  I downloaded After You on audiobook because I wanted to listen to something while puzzling.  Teh German is enjoying it so far, even though he doesn't know anything about Me Before You.

SUNDAY

Sunday was another lazy morning.  The only thing we had on the agenda was watching Deadpool with Twin Dad, visiting House, and a trip to the grocery store.  Eventually, we got up and I made breakfast.  Definitely making the bacon "extra" crunchy for Teh German (aka I pretty much burnt that shit).  He surprised me with a very sweet card, even though we had agreed we weren't doing anything for valentines day.  That's fine.  I got him a bday present and he doesn't know.  BOOM bitch. 

We met Twin Dad at the movie theater and Twin Mom dropped him off.  They had just picked up the twins from the hospital so we got to see them!  They were so little and cute!  Deadpool was hilarious.  See it, but definitely not with a parent.  That would have been super awkward.  We brought Twin Dad home and hung out for a bit chatting with Mom and Dad and Kid 1 while the Kid 2 and Twins slept.  Eventually, we headed to House to check progress.

#nofilter lol
When we came out of the theater, it was overcast, breezy, and downright cold.

2 levels of sticks!!!

Again, there were simultaneous gasps when we drove around the corner and saw we had 2 levels.  We checked to make sure that the doorway that was missing last week was there (it was) and we just walked around trying to figure out what each room was upstairs.  We finally left the lot and headed to Publix to pick up groceries.  We were both hungry, so it was nearly impossible for me to make decisions about things I wanted to fix for the week and several impulse buys (for the freezer). 

When Teh German said he was super hungry I asked if he wanted to go out for dinner and told him that when we'd driven by Willie Jewell's earlier I had been tempted, but was trying to save monies.  He said he was really hungry and I explained that if we went straight home and I cooked it would be around 7 when we ate.  He said we should just go out and oked Willie Jewell's.

When we got there, they announced there was at least a 20 minute wait on all orders.  I asked Teh German if he wanted to stay and he said yes.  Fortunately, it didn't actually take 20 minutes, maybe 10, so we were happy.  Also, I'm still the Dutchess of Willie Jewell's on Yelp, #win.  For everyone that doesn't know what that means (aka everyone but me and Teh German), it means I have the most check-ins at that place.  #notsorry

After we finished eating, we headed home to feed the beasts and put away the groceries and be lazy for the evening.  About 30 minutes after we'd gotten home, the power went out in the neighborhood.  Fortunately, I have candles in every room, so I just used the "flashlight" on my phone to find the lighter and lit all the candles.  So we had an impromptu "romantic" evening with candles and puzzles and listening to After You and snuggling with the dogs.  The power came back on after we'd gotten in bed.

He just stood there staring at me through the crack in the door for a solid minute before Meri came bounding in and "opened" the door for him.  Creeper.

For a lazy weekend, it was super busy and productive and fun!  Next week/end is the Princess runs, so the schedule around here might get a little wonky while I'm away.  Teh MD-AR arrives on Weds and it's still not soon enough but it's only 2.5 days!





Linking up with these ladies:
Meg @ Life of Meg
Biana @ BLovedBoston