Wednesday, October 3, 2012

~* Out And About *~

My mom and brother came to visit over the past weekend. Aside from the fact that the family time was awesome and much-needed, it gave the hubs and I a chance to get out and about a little bit. I never realized how little we actually do outside of the house- there are a bazillion places around here that we haven't ever been to and things we haven't seen.

So, we went to dinner on Friday, after they got checked in to the hotel. We didn't go anywhere new. Actually, we stuck with a good favorite- Crazy Fire Mongolian Grill. Yum! Then we treated TCBY for dessert. Growing up in Delaware, we had TCBYs, but it was so much different as children. Now, it's like a fro-yo buffet.

Saturday, we went downtown and saw the new Veteran's Park and the Airborne Museum. I don't know why, but I had never been there, and the hubs hadn't been since the park opened. They did an amazing job with the park...I got goosebumps more than once. The Museum was a really cool thing to go see. It's run entirely on donations, so don't be a jerk if you go- give them a couple of dollars. They did a beautiful job. There are paratroopers hanging from the ceiling, Little Birds with soldiers jumping out of them, and tanks with cans of Pringles. Check it out if you haven't yet.

Since we were downtown, we decided to go check out the Folk Festival around the corner from the Museum. That would have been a blast if we had had more time- there were little vendor stations set up all the way around Festival Park, with food and goodies from all over the world. All we really got to sample was pizza and fried plantains, but there was a ton of yummy smelling stuff! We saw a guy from Australia playing wooden spoons, some Native American dancing, and some African dancers (btw, they looked like they were having the most fun of all).

Saturday night, we went to Gillis Hill Farm for some homemade ice cream. I had read about the farm in the newspaper a while back, and it's right around the corner from our house, but we just hadn't been. It's a tiny building, and they're only open 3 days a week for 6 months of the year- but the ice cream was AMAZING!! My brother and I both got cones of pumpkin ice cream, the hubs got mint chocolate chip, and my mom got vanilla. The cones were fresh- I think they might have been homemade too, and it was so nice to just sit in little white rockers on the front porch of the building eating ice cream with my family.

Sunday, before the mall expedition, we all went on post to check out the Special Warfare Museum. The hubs and I had been there once before- last year on Memorial Day- but only half of the Museum had been open. We were anxious to see the other half, and we were not disappointed. It's really cool to go through the centuries of changes in warfare, and to see what the SF guys go through.

So, the entire to point to this rambling post is that if you haven't had a chance, go see some of the cool stuff around post!!


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

~* Cinderella Got Her Ball Gown *~

Actually, she got 2.

My mom and brother came to visit this past weekend, and we all (Prince Charming included) decided to go dress shopping. We have our first Military Ball together in a few weeks, and I was not government-issued an appropriate dress. I do have a slightly unusual problem when it comes to shopping for formal dresses- many of them are lower cut, and I have a tattoo in the center of my chest. The hubs said it doesn't bother him, but I want to look nice and not be a reason for any unpleasant gossip in his direction. So, shopping was a bit of a nightmare.

I had promised the hubs that I could find a nice dress for less than $100, too. I'm a helluva bargain shopper, and since I don't have a very long client list yet, I always feel guilty for spending money. I had taken on a pretty insane mission.

We had decided to try the mall first. I don't mind altering a dress a little if it's not a perfect fit off the rack, and the hubs and my brother wanted to look for some things anyway. First stop was JCPenney. By the way, I will NEVER be shopping in Penney's again. I had taken 4 or 5 dresses into the dressing room. The hubs, my brother, and mom all waited inside the doorway at the end of the hall. Well, security told my husband that he had to leave because men weren't permitted inside the dressing room area. My brother got offended because they were only speaking to my husband, and I got upset because the area wasn't gender-specific, and because I didn't want to have to walk all the way down the hallway, leaving my personal belongings unattended. Plus, they were just very rude about it.

On to Belk. I had never been in a Belk store before, but it's just another department store. Just another department store where I hit the jackpot. Ok, let me clarify- we had ventured in and put a dress on hold, wandered into Sears, went back to Penney's (the dressing room thing happened on the 2nd trip), then back to Belk. So, back to Belk to pick up the dress we had put on hold. I wanted to scour the racks a second time to be sure I wasn't missing anything. I ended up taking 4 dresses, plus the one I had placed on hold, into the dressing room. 3 black dresses were dismissed by the general consensus as "eh, nice but not WOW". Then I stepped into a royal blue, one-shoulder Ralph Lauren number that had a $180 price tag. I got goose-bumps as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Holy crap, I look amazing.

Then I put the on-hold dress back on. It's also a one-shoulder number. It's pink and silver and very barbie-doll-like and the hubs loves it. I like it, but not as much as the blue one. SO....turns out the pink one is 50% off the 50% off that is already marked on the ticket....from $200 to $25!!! The Ralph Lauren was 50% off, plus 15% off for some sale that day...so $76!!! The hubs decided to just get both and we can decide later, and paid (after tax) $108 for both!!! Looks like Cinderella is now equipped for 2 balls, folks (get your mind out of the gutter). Prince Charming is pretty amazing.
" Don't place your better days in the future."