365 Inspirations—285: Date Night

“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.”—Mark Twain

 
For the record, we don't have an official date night. In fact, everyday and night are date days/nights for my husband and me because we enjoy each others company and spend a lot of time together at our favorite spots—walking around Greenlake, going to movies, going out to eat, hanging out in the house drinking tea and talking.

Tonight we went out to dinner at Steelhead Diner in Pike Place Market and went to see the Seattle Symphony play Mozart and a few others (we got free tickets from Yoon's yoga student who is in the symphony).

It was a wonderful fall evening downtown and all the leaves had changed colors. After our dinner, we got a pumpkin spice latte in Starbucks and watched the sun set below the Pike Place Market sign. I absolutely loved the conductor tonight. He was from England and told stories about each piece of music we were about to hear. I've never heard a conductor do that, but it was perfect and gave the music so much more context.

Now we are housesitting down on Puget Sound. The moon is out, the smell of salt water from the Sound is in the air, the cats are curled up in an armchair, jazz is playing on my husband's iPad mini and I'm eating a chocolate macaroon.

Sunset down at Pike Place Market

Can't get much better then this!

Do you have a specific night for date night, or do you celebrate every day/night?

365 Inspirations—48: Bargain Hunting

"Thrifting is a scavenger hunt, where you can hope and dream about the Ultimate Bargain, but have to expect not to find it. Half the fun is in the looking..."—Dustin Wax

Last night, Yoon and I watched Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. I think he's now seen it three times. He loves it. He rented it from the library and after our French dinner at Cafe de Paris in Edmonds, we watched it at home.

My favorite lines in the movie are when Hemingway asks Gil, "Have you ever hunted?" To which he shrugs his shoulders, laughs and says, "Only for bargains."

I will admit it. I love bargain hunting.  I always feel victorious when I find something of very high quality for a fraction of the cost. My husband is more of a "grab it and go" kind of shopper. I, on the other hand, like to meander.

After yoga class today, my husband and I got a bite to eat and then we headed off in separate directions. There are many thrift stores and discount stores near our house in Seattle. I don't shop often, but when I do, I really take my time.

Today I stopped in Marshalls and found two beautiful tea cups and some round green placemats. I must be thinking of spring because I wanted to look at everything "green". I also bought French hand soap ( I don't know what it is about France theses days, but everything is pointing us to France) and all natural Cedarwood soap.

We have a Grocery Outlet near our house. I normally shop at the local, organic supermarkets near our house, but every now and then I pop in to see what they have at Grocery Outlet. I found some organic apples, chicken, bananas and mandarin oranges. I also bought a few other staples.

Usually I don't have time to bargain hunt with my schedule, but it's the weekend. I also have Monday off. I don't think I'll hit the Presidents Day sales. Too many people. Sometimes I can also find sales online and can avoid the shopping crowds. I definitely don't like crowds when it comes to shopping.

Are you a bargain hunter? Are you a "grab it and go" kind of shopper or do you like to meander?

365 Inspirations—35: French Food

"After one taste of French food ... I was hooked. I'd never eaten like that before, I didn't know such food existed. The wonderful attention paid to each detail of the meal was incredible to me..."—Julia Child

 Okay, I don't know much about France or French Food, but I feel this is a place I have to visit. Particularly Paris. My agent recently informed me that my book accompanied my foreign agent in London to Paris. She was headed there for a book event and planned to talk to some editors and publishing houses about selling the foreign rights of Lessons from the Monk I Married to France. Croatian and Complex Chinese foreign rights have already been sold, so I can expect to see my book in both Croatian and Chinese, but French would be nice to add to the mix.

So on Saturday, in honor of my book making it to France, my husband and I did something we normally don't do. We splurged and went out for a 3-course lunch at a phenomenal French restaurant located in the infamous Pike Place Market in Seattle. It was completely spontaneous. I actually had to break my Paleo diet rules for this one because there was no possible way I was not going to eat what they were serving.

The host said, "Bonjour Madame!" and lead my husband and I upstairs to a table with a view of Puget Sound and the ferry boats coming and going from the pier. It was so romantic. We both started with the French Onion Soup! Délicieux!

Then my husband had the beef cheek with potatoes and the tastiest gravy and green beans. It was cooked to perfection. I had the Penn Cove steamed mussels. Everything was so good!

Finally, they brought us out creme brulee and two cappaccinos for dessert and we stared out at the water in bliss.  The creme brulee was so delicious I wanted to lick the bowl. I hadn't had sweets for over a month and it felt good to treat myself. I know it was just a one-time spur-of-the-moment thing and I think it's good to be spontaneous sometimes.

All I could think about after our fantastic meal is that I need to go to France. Perhaps I will get an opportunity to go there on international book tour!

Have you ever had French food or been to France? Have you done anything spontaneous recently?