#LoveBlog: Quality {Lunch} Time

People always tell you that once you have a baby you need to get ready for your marriage to change. While you and your husband may have been able to spend all your free time together, or at least as much as you wanted, when it was just the two of you, when there's a tiny human involved your time just isn't used the same way.

Lunch at SmashBurgerObviously when the baby is awake there isn't a lot of time for conversation. Sure we can hit the highlights, but when there's a crazy baby demanding your attention there's only so much you can talk about. Especially when there's screaming involved and you can barely hear each other.

Lunch at Newk'sOf course, there's time once the baby is asleep. But almost 14 months into this baby thing, I'm only now starting to feel like I'm caught up on sleep. There have been far too many nights where I've passed out on the couch as soon as I've put her to bed. And those nights where I manage to stay awake? Well, after I've spent all day with my co-workers, all afternoon with my daughter, those last few hours before bed are some of the only moments I can have to myself to unwind.

Lunch at PaneraConsidering the title of this post is quality time, when then do the boy and I manage to get any in? Well, as you may have guessed from all the pictures, it's at lunch. We're lucky enough that we work down the road from each other, and manage to fit in a lunch together about once a week or so.

Lunch at Quodoba
While the point of this post may have been lunch with just the two of us, I couldn't resist sharing this video, still taken on a lunch date.I realize this arrangement may not be possible for all, but for us it works perfect. It gives us a chance to connect, de-stress, and have adult conversations together. It's always been something lo-key, but also with a big payoff.

Today I'm co-hosting Belle Brita's LoveBlog, a daily link-up for the month of February. See below for more info on the link-up and to meet the other hosts.

Meet Brita Long: Christian feminist blissfully married to Dan Fleck for almost two years. Lover of Paris, pink sparkles, sensible shoes, manicures, and books. Fueled by hot tea and mimosas.
Twitter // Instagram // Facebook // Pinterest // Tumblr // Google+ // Bloglovin

Meet Shoshanah: California girl who moved to Louisiana and fell in love (with her husband and the state!). Loves to read, especially historical fiction and YA. Obsessed with gingerbread lattes and creme brulee.
Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // Bloglovin

An InLinkz Link-up

#LoveBlog: Valentine's Day Traditions

I remember the first Valentine's Day I celebrated with the boy. I asked him what plans he made and when he told me, "nothing," I assumed that meant I was in for a great surprise. He must had made reservations at some new restaurant. Or had something crazy and exciting for us to do.

The Boy's Present to Me Our First Valentine's Day, 2007The day finally arrived, and the boy had planned... nothing. He was telling the truth the whole time! I was a little disappointed at first, and a little in disbelief, but despite that we still wound up having a great time.

Valentine's Day 2008We exchanged presents in my apartment. I can't remember what I bought the boy, but he bought me a coffee cup (that I still use today!) and chocolate covered cherries.

A Valentine's Day Wedding, 2009We went to dinner. (I'm not completely sure where, but maybe Macaroni Grill?) We stopped at the bookstore, before going to the movies to see Music & Lyrics with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. (A movie I still love and have all the songs memorized.)

Valentine's Day 2010Since then, that's pretty much been our Valentine's Day standard. A dinner and a movie, and if we're lucky we'll make it to the bookstore. It's low key, and it's perfect for us.

Valentine's Day 2011As for our plans this year? Surprise, surprise... we don't have any! But we'll likely let Elley spend the day with her grandparents and make our way out for dinner and a movie.

Valentine's Day Sushi, 2013Today I'm co-hosting Belle Brita's LoveBlog, a daily link-up for the month of February. See below for more info on the link-up and to meet the other hosts.

Meet Brita Long: Christian feminist blissfully married to Dan Fleck for almost two years. Lover of Paris, pink sparkles, sensible shoes, manicures, and books. Fueled by hot tea and mimosas.
Twitter // Instagram // Facebook // Pinterest // Tumblr // Google+ // Bloglovin

Meet Tayler Morrell: Mormon stay at home mom married to her best friend, Justin, for 3.5 years. Mother to 19 month old Rhys. "Retired" history and English teacher, runner, lover of video games, fantasy, books, and cooking. Consumer of Italian food, chocolate, steak, and strawberries.
Twitter // Instagram // Facebook // Pinterest // Bloglovin

Meet Shoshanah: California girl who moved to Louisiana and fell in love (with her husband and the state!). Loves to read, especially historical fiction and YA. Obsessed with gingerbread lattes and creme brulee.
Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // Bloglovin

An InLinkz Link-up

From Miss to Mrs: Ou Est le Groom?

I decided early on I wanted to do our first look on the bridge in the Japanese garden, which by far is one of my favorite locations at Houmas House. Except with us getting ready in the bridal cottage, I was on the complete opposite side of the property from our first look location. Since it was in the middle of the afternoon in the summer in Louisiana, the temperatures were slowly starting to rise, which didn't make for a good equation.

My photographer thinking about the long walk with my dress, asked our coordinator if there was a golf cart we could use. Luckily there was, and our coordinator, photographer, and photographer's assistant were in the golf cart when our photographer asked if the boy knew he was supposed to be in place for our first look.

Now the boy knew we were having a first look, and I asked him several times to look at a schedule. But did I ever come out and say, "Be at the bridge at 4:15 for our first look?" Probably not. Our photographer asked for the boy's phone number to call and make sure he was in place, but I don't actually have it memorized. Luckily my now-SIL was with us at that point and was able to call him and tell him to walk over (since no, he had no idea that's where he was supposed to be).

We drove slowly to the garden, knowing he was on foot and we didn't want to pass him. And when we were just around the corner the cart was stopped and the photographers got out to make sure he was in place. Except he wasn't there. And since his sister called him before we didn't have his phone number.

Our photographer stayed at the location, while the coordinator and I drove to the Turtle Bar hoping someone there would have his phone number. I'm not sure who my coordinator talked to, but they did reach the boy who confirmed he was now in the Japanese gargen, so we were again moving in the golf cart to meet up.

It seems the boy had reached the bridge, got hot waiting, and left to cool down in our reception area. He figured he could cool off and be back before I made it there, but of course that's not quite what happened.

Either way the boy was finally in place waiting on the bridge,
and I stepped out of the golf cart to meet him.
Do you know your signification other's phone number.
(I still don't, but am getting there and now have half of it memorized.)
Or whose phone number do you have memorized? (
I think the only ones I do are my own, my parents' home and cell numbers, and my brother's cell number.)

All photos in this post courtesy of Sabree Hill Photography.
Miss a Recap Post?
From Miss to Mrs: The Calm Before the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: There's a Hurricane Coming?
From Miss to Mrs: Here Comes Isaac
From Miss to Mrs: Weathering the Cane
From Miss to Mrs: After the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: Trials and Tribulations
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Errands
From Miss to Mrs: A Night on the Town
From Miss to Mrs: The Hangover
From Miss to Mrs: Rehearsing in the Heat
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Supper
From Miss to Mrs: Gifting the Girls
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Night
From Miss to Mrs: Oh What a Beautiful Morning
From Miss to Mrs: Getting Prettified
From Miss to Mrs: Prepping the Plantation
From Miss to Mrs: Turtle Time
From Miss to Mrs: The Photographer Has Arrived
From Miss to Mrs: Becoming the Bride
From Miss to Mrs: Dress Details

Get Jealous

"Aren't all your blog readers jealous of all the food I cook for you?" The boy asked me recently. Guiltily I told him that food blogging had taken somewhat of a backseat lately to book blogging. But since I've now made you all curious here are some of the boy's recent creations.
Meatball Grinders.

Pork tenderloin stuffed with rice, spinach, and goat cheese. Isn't it pretty?

Homemade Hummus.

There was also fried mozzarella in there, and I'm sure one or two meals I've missed. So let's build up his ego and let me know if you're jealous!

Sun Bunny

Guess what I did this weekend?
Yes it's officially warm even to lay out in the backyard. And I don't just mean it's almost there, instead I was sweating just sitting there and 30 minutes. Yes, it might be a little early to get warm, but after last year's winter which seemed to go on forever I'm glad this year's shaping up differently.
I was fully stocked up with provisions. Oh, you need a closer look?
There's 4 magazine (EW, Glamour, Redbook, and Everyday food) and a book (Specials). And yes I'm behind on my magazine reading. But I catch up when I lay out. A Little Debbie Nutty Bar (which I ate before in completely melted), and handful of cheez-its, and a glass of water. And of course my ipod and camera.

Now can anyone tell me the big difference between the photo above and a similar one from last year? (Besides the fact I'm laying out a month earlier this year.)
Last year I brought out a whole box of cheez-its where this time it was only a handful. No reason isn't because I was trying to eat less. Instead it's because last year when I brought the box back instead a bunch of ants hitchhiked in as well. Luckily we got rid of them before the infested anything else, but since then the boy have forbid my bringing whole boxes of food outside and then back in the house.

Anyone else's significant other make "silly rules" about what you can and can't eat outside? And how was your weekend?

I'm Stuffed

Every once in a while the boy decides he's going to go all out and comes up with a great idea for dinner. The past week there was one of those nights. One the menu was burgers, salad topped with bacon, pecans, and oranges, and herbed toast.
But want to know a secret? These weren't any ordinary burgers. Instead they were stuffed!
Mine were filled with feta and olives wheres he stuffed his with mozzarella and bacon. So basically a bacon cheeseburger inside out. Great idea, right?

Anyone else have their significant other surprise with a meal? Or have you been able to surprise someone with a meal either with the meal itself or within the food itself?

Holiday Compromise

I've been kind of hesitant to write this post considering I'm still conflicted on the whole subject. But hopefully by actually articulating some of my confusions it can help me see a little bit clearer. It starts out simple in a way, this year we have our first Christmas tree.
Coincidentally it's also our first engaged Christmas which only makes me wonder about the years to come. It's hard for me because I'm Jewish, so not only is this our first Christmas tree, it's actually my first Christmas tree as well.

In a way I brought this whole thing on myself. My mom converted to Judaism, which to me meant that while we didn't have Christmas in our home I was still able to celebrate the holiday at my grandparents' or at my Aunt and Uncle's. I figured this was the best idea, and that I would find a guy who would convert for me so that my children would still get to celebrate Christmas with their extended family but that they would be Jewish.

I accomplished my first goal, since the boy is Catholic, except he isn't planning on converting. We have discussed this (over and over even) and the compromise is that I'll be raising the kids Jewish. But while we can talk about this all we went, it's hard to know what exactly this means, and how it will develop or change as time passes.

But this year the boy wanted to have a tree. It's really the first year it made sense since we've been living together since the last 2 years we've been in the process of moving. And while I can admit that having the tree in the house is pretty, I'm still not completely ok with. I feel like being Jewish and having a Christmas tree, is almost a way of saying, "my religion isn't good enough so I need a part of yours." I don't feel that way, but I think my worry is that other people will think that. Which I admit is kind of silly, but it's hard to shake.

But even if I'm not completely there on accepting the fact there's a Christmas tree in our home, I know how happy it makes the boy. And isn't that, wanting to make your significant other happy, so much what marriage is about?

4 Years to Forever

Yesterday was mine and the boy's 4 year anniversary. We had made a few basic plans for the night, but weren't planning on anything too crazy. We stayed at the house and watched LSU beat Ole Miss in their football game and then headed out to dinner.

We had dinner at Albasha's which is where we had our first date, and both ordered our regular meals. I thought we should exchange presents at the table so I set the boy's wrapped ipod nano on the table, but he wasn't quite ready to trades the nano, still wrapped, went back in the purse.

Outside the restaurant the was a wooden bench we walked over to, my mind is kind of a blur and I'm not completely sure what happened, but all of a sudden there was a ring and the boy was down on one knee. I can't even really remember what he said, and all I remember saying is, "Are you serious?" because I really and truly wasn't expecting this at all. He had made sure to convince me it wasn't happening anytime in the next year or so, and I was completely convinced. I'm still in somewhat disbelief.

But it did actually happen, and the boy even agree to take one of those posed, "Look at my ring! We're engaged!" pictures once we got back to the house!
Posting will probably be a little lite this week except for maybe a book or movie review or both. So this engaged couple is wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

~Shoshanah

Show us Your... Laundry Room

The theme this week at Kelly's Korner Show us Your Life is bonus rooms/playrooms/laundry rooms. Since I only have one of those 3 I'm sharing my laundry room.
I realize it's not that exciting. We haven't really done anything in here except add "the stuff." The paint color and curtains were hung by the previous owner. But sharing this photo reminds me of a story that I've never shared before on From L.A. to LA, so sit back and enjoy...

The Tale of the Iron and the Mixer
Back when the boy and I were first looking for a house together we spend a few months living with his sister's family. As it worked out we found an apartment and they found a new house at the same time, so within a few days we were all moving out of the same space.

His sister had told me we could have their own iron, so as I was leaving with boxes on a trip to the new place I found the iron sitting in the middle of the floor. I figured it must have been left out for me and brought it to our new place.

The iron sat in the closest until the boy and I were getting ready for a wedding. He had a new shirt that needed to be ironed, and excitingly I went to the closest to get our iron for its inaugural use. Except... it wasn't actually an iron!

Instead I headed him the handle to his sister's hand mixer. While the look the same from the top if you turn them over you'll notice a clear difference. An iron is flat and metal whereas a mixer has whole for a mixer blade. Not quite the same. The boy loves telling this story and adding in a killer line about how this shows I can't do laundry or cook. But the story does have a happy ending because his sister has her mixer back, and now in our house we have both a mixer and an iron which hopefully will never be confused in our house again!

Seasons Greetings

Now that it's starting to get a little cooler weather-wise I can't stop thinking about the upcoming holidays! I've always loved the idea of holiday cards I think I'd be fun to send them out eventually. Eventually as in the future when we have kids, or in the future once we're married, because it seems silly to send out holiday cards from a couple whose just dating, right?

sourceExcept Shutterfly is giving out 50 free holiday cards to bloggers (Check it out here!) and if they're free maybe it's the perfect time to do it! I even found I few designs I'd considered using, like the ones I'v shown throughout the entry. Since I'm Jewish and he's Catholic I did my best to find options that seemed more winter-y or general holidays than one holiday in particular. Except finding a good picture of the two of us might prove to be a little more difficult!

sourceSo when do you think is the "right" time to start sending out holiday cards? Do you send you holiday cards? If not, is it something you think you'd ever want to do? And finally, do you think it'd be weird to receive cards from a couple whose dating, but isn't actually married yet?

source~Shoshanah

Hair Spaghetti

The other night the boy got out of the shower with a very profound thought, "That conditioner you use is really just like olive oil." Umm, what? Yeah it made no sense to me either, so I asked if he could elaborate a little. "See you add olive oil to spaghetti to get the strands to stop sticking together. And you add conditioner to your hair to get the strands to stop sticking together. It's the same thing"

"I guess I see how they're similar, but that's not all conditioner does."

"You should still just save money and use olive oil in your hair," he replied back.

"That's crazy! It would make my hair all oily. They may have a similar function, but there are definitely not even close to the same thing. I would never want to put olive oil in my hair"

Do you know what he did then? Out came the conditioner bottle so he could look at the ingredients. Can you guess what one of the ingredients to my conditioner is? Wouldn't you know they use "Olive Fruit Oil" in it. The boy wanted to be sure I mentioned that he was righteously vindicated and that olive oil and conditioner are practically the same thing. However, I don't plan on taking olive oil into the shower with me anytime soon!

~Shoshanah

Show Us Your Life: How We Met

The week's edition of Kelly's Korner's Show Us Your Life is to tell the story of how you meet your husband or fiance. Well, I'm not married nor am I engaged, but I do have a boyfriend. This fall we'll have 4th anniversary, and if everything goes the we we've planned at some point several years down the line he might hold that title.

I actually started telling the story of how we met and started dating last year. I promised Crazy Shenanigans, that my New Year's Resolution would be to tell the next chapter of this saga. So with this week's Kelly's Korner theme I though this would be a great time. If you're new here be sure to check out the links to the first few chapters below.

For our fourth official date (or third from his point of view) we went to the race track. The boy's parents raise quarter horses, and this night one of their horses happened to be running. The plan was to place a few $1 dollar bets, eat some food, and watch a few races. He told me we might run into his parent's there, but we could try to avoid them. And sure enough there was a moment when his dad walked right by us not noticing.

Not too long after we were there, the boy's sister called asking him if he wanted to see a movie with her and her husband. The boy's always been a big movie person so people would tend to call him whenever they went, knowing they could always count on him to say yes. Except this time he had to say no. Since this was somewhat out of character for him, she curiously asked where he was.

"You're at the racetrack? By yourself?" I'm sure the response must have gone.
"No, I'm here with a girl."
Not too long after that, he handed the phone to me. "She wants to talk to you." Now, I honestly don't remember what we said. I'm sure nothing more than a hello, but clearly she was curious about this new girl his brother was dating.

Acting as any younger sister would, she immeadiatly called their mother to let her in on what was happening. If she wasn't able to met this new girl her brother was dating she at least wanted someone to. Which meant not long afterwards the boy received a call from his mom. Turns out that while we were standing at the track itself, his parents were the on the second floor of the building almost directly behind us. We waved hello, and since we were officially spotted headed upstairs so I could meet his parents for the first time.

We spent the rest of the night watching the races a table with his parents, one of the couple friends, and the couple's 4-or-5-year-old son. (If your curious their horse wound up losing its race that night.)

But that isn't the end of the night, because he still had to take me home. He took me back the apartment, and that night, the night that I first met his parents, we shared our first kiss. We said goodnight, and I went on-line eager to share the details of the night with my best friend. We were already chatting on AIM (remember those days?), when I heard a knock at the door. I opened it up to find...

Yes, this is how I'm ending this one. Don't you love a cliffhanger? Have you ever had your first kiss after you've already met their parents? If you're here from Kelly's Korner thanks for stopping by! Otherwise, be sure to head over to Kelly's Korner to here more "How We Met" stories. I had a feeling this is going to be a great week with some great stories.

~Shoshanah

Part 1:We Meet in Math Class
Part 2: We Get to Know Each Other
Part 3: The First Date
Part 4: We Start to Date

The Big News

No we didn't get engaged, and probably won't be for a few more years. But on a similar note... We bought a house together!

I don't mean we decided to buy a house together or that we made an offer on a house. I mean we officially bought a house, signed papers, and closed yesterday! Its still a little surreal, and I'm not sure everything will feel completely real until we've been living there for a while. But it is technically official!

Gift the realtors left for us in the houseWe have our apartment lease till the end of the month, which is a good thing since we have approximately one box currently packed. Posting might be a little sporadic these next few weeks as we get everything taken care of. But I promise there will eventually be lots pictures to share!

~Shoshanah

Blogoversary Q & A

I've been wanting to do a Q&A session for a while, but I was a little scared as to the questions I was going to get. What if they were all questions I didn't want to answer, or even wasn't sure how to answer. But you all surprised me, and I loved all your questions. I've kept rereading them, and I've been awfully excited to answer them all! I was a little surprised that in general they seemed to fall in categories, and figured it would be easiest to organized the answers that way. I hope you enjoy reading the answers as much as I enjoyed answering them!

In General
Amber asked "What did you go to university for?"
In college I doubled majored in math and chemistry. And I went to grad school for a Masters in math.

Amber asked "What is your current career and is it what you'd hoped/planned to be doing?"
and
Classy in Philadelphia asked "What's your job?"
I do try to avoid talking about work in general, but I can let you all know I work in the insurance field. (And yes, I realize how little that narrows it down.) I actually had no idea what I wanted to be doing, and kind of fell into the whole situation and field. But I do think its a pretty good fit for me overall.

Crazy Shenanigans asked "I want to finish hearing about how you and the ended up together. You left us hanging WEEKS ago!!!"
Haha! You're right! I do have a full entry planed to answer this, so I will keep you waiting a little longer. How about I make a New Years resolution continue the story!

Abbie asked "What is your favorite season?"
I would probably say summer, most likely since I've always lived in fairly warm climates. I do like visiting the snow, but I'm not a fan of actually having to live in it.

Suz asked "Do you have any nicknames?"
Not really, people have tried but in general they tend to to stick for too long. I've had people have tried Shosh, Shoshie, or even Shaun, and the boy's niece has been calling me Aunt Sonna lately.

Traveling
Anais asked "I'd love to have a list of all the places you've been! Whenever you talk about a new one I'm like - OMG you've been there TOO!"
and
Baker Girl asked "I too would love to know all the places you've been. It seems like you're always throwing in some other place and I'm all 'Whoa she's been there too???'"
My parents gave me the traveling bug early. They decided that it would be a great idea to take me to Europe as a baby. I can't tell you all the countries I went to on this trip, since I don't quite remember. But I can tell you all I spent my 1st birthday skinny-dipping on the French Rivera. But the trips that actually count (excluding Mexico and Canada, both of which I have been to at one time or another, and various US States I've been to)
England - Summer 1998
Italy (& Nice,France) - Summer 2000
England (and Wales) - Thanksgiving 2003
France (Mainly Avignon & Paris) - Summer 2004
Japan - Spring 2008
Israel - Spring 2008

Lisa asked "Out of all the trips you've taken, which one is your favorite?"
and
Classy in Philadelphia asked "What's your favorite place to travel to?"
Its hard to choose, but I think I'd say my trip to France in 2004. I was there for 3 weeks on what my college called an "Intensive Study Abroad Course." I got to live with a host family, and at times felt like I was actually living in there. I think that's the main reason why I'd say it was my favorite, because I actually got to feel like I was living there.

Movies & Books
Anais asked "I know you love seeing movies - which is one of your favorite ones, the first one that comes to mind?"
I have to go with two, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and A Little Princess, the 1995 version.

Classy in Philadelphia asked "Because I love books, what's your favorite book?"
My favorite book series is the Betsy~Tacy series by Maude Hart Lovelace. It's a semi-autobiographical series (similar to the Little House on the Prairie books) that starts when the author is 5 and ends with her marriage. If you never heard of them I'd really recommend them all! They even re-released the high school books recently. But if I had to choose an actual singular book, it would probably be Gone with the Wind.

Lisa asked "Have you always been a big fan of going to movies or is this something you started doing when you started dating your boyfriend?"
and
Abbie asked "What sparked your interest in movies? And because the cost of going to the movies is ridiculous are you at all getting paid for going to see them?! (Ok, so the second part of this question is a joke...kind of!)"
I've always paid attention to movies. I've always looked at weekly box office reports, love watching the Oscars, and in general always knew what movies were coming out. And while I always had a list of movies I would want to see, and didn't see most of them. But the boy loves going to movies and actually makes a point to see them. So basically I the movie love has always been there, but the actually seeing part is somewhat new. And I wish someone was paying for my all tickets! (Although honestly the boy and I do try to split the cost.) But if someone wants to sponsor me, let me know!

Suz asked "How do you find the time to fit in so many movies and books into your schedule?"
With movies, its mainly what the boy and I do together. We don't really go out a lot, instead we spend most weekends at the movie. With reading, its a similar situation in that I make time for it before other things. Although I am a quick reader, so that helps. Normally I'll read before part or sometimes on my lunch break. But if its a really good book I'll pretty much read whenever I have a chance till I finish it.

From L.A. to LA
Katie asked"Do you plan on staying in Louisiana- is it home now?"
and
Lisa asked "Do you think you'll ever move back to California?"
I think in a perfect world I would like to move back to California. But the boy would rather not live in California. I think what is most like to happen is that we'll wind up living in a different state all together to try to be "fair" to both families. But luckily, the boy still has a few years left of grad school before we need to come to any type of decision.

Amanda asked "Clearly, there's a bit of difference between L.A. and LA (which is why your blog title works, lol) - what was the biggest "culture shock" moment you had after moving, and is it still surprising to you?"
Its funny because some of the biggest culture shock moments are actually due to some pretty small issues. First there's the fact that instead of sidewalks next to the round there tend to be huge ditches. I get that they're there to collect all the rainwater, but its still a little unsettling to me. And on a similar topic, the yellow lights in Louisiana are incredibly long! Silly thing to point out, but its a noticeable difference from California, and something you might want to pay attention to if you're from Louisiana going to a different state.

Abbie asked "What do you like most about Louisiana? What do you like least?(I absolutely fell in love with Louisiana when I was there over the summer and my husband's family is from there so I guess that's where my curiosity comes from!)
I do like the food, but how can you refer to Louisiana and not mention that. But I also think something that stuck out was a bit of the "Southern Charm." For example, I can't say I've ever had a guy go out of the way to open a door for me. And over 3 years into our relationship the boy still makes a point to open almost every door for me. While its something I've gotten used to, the idea of it still shocks me a little. And the least, I'm not a big fan of the weather. Or more specifically I really hate driving in the ridiculously scary rain that Louisiana gets.

Thanks everyone for all your questions! And if there's anything else I didn't quite answer, feel free to ask me in the comments and I'll respond there!

~Shoshanah

About the Anniversary

I do feel a bit like our anniversary snuck up on my this year, and have a feeling the holidays are going to wind up doing the same thing. I didn't really plan a lot, except I knew that I wanted to see New Moon since it came out on our anniversary. But other than that I didn't make any real plans. Friday came and after work, we got ready to head out. I did actually manage a pretty nice picture, there were a few outtakes and I would have shared a shot or two, but accidentally deleted them when my camera was filling up with pictures at the end of the night.
I've been playing around with Picasa lately, and decided this picture worked best in black and white, but overall am pretty bad at editing photos. I normally just use Picassa's "I'm feeling lucky" bottom, which in general lightens up most of my pictures.

Leaving the apartment around 5:30 we headed over to the theater I wanted to go to. I hadn't bought tickets before hand, but in Baton Rouge its pretty rare that movies completely sell out, so I figured I was safe. Except we showed up at the theater and every showing of New Moon was sold out for the rest of the night. Even the other movies I would have agreed to see. (The Blind Side and Precious were sold out till after 10pm.) The restaurant I had wanted to go to was next door to this theater, but I decided I'd rather sacrifice my preferred dinner location for a chance to see Twilight so we left to had to a second theater.

The second theater luckily still had tickets for 3 showings of New Moon, the first of which was a 10:30pm. So at 6:30 we bought our tickets and had four hours to kill before the movie started.
Since my first choice restaurant wasn't an option now, we made a last minute decision and went to Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro for dinner. The service was a little slow there, but we had 4 hours to kill so I didn't really matter. I started off my meal off with a French Onion soup
and for my main course had a bowl of angel hair pasta.
It was a pretty simple dish, with just tomatoes, garlic, and oil olive, but it was just what I was looking for.

For dessert instead of ordering something at the restaurant we headed over to get frozen yogurt at Menchie's, or at least I had frozen yogurt (him not so much).
I went with mango frozen yogurt topped with white chocolate chips, pineapple, and kiwi.

After wasting another hour in the bookstore, we headed over to the theater about an hour before the movie. Not to long before the movie started some employees came in the theater for a round of Twilight trivia. But with them were a bunch of employees dressed up as characters from the movie. Most of them were hard to match up with their counterparts, but the guy who played Edward was a dead ringer. When I first saw him I had to do a double take, since I really thought Robert Pattinson might have been there. Once trivia ended the movie did start, I did enjoy it, but you'll have to wait till tomorrow to hear my full thoughts on the movie.

Overall, I thought the night worked out quite nicely, even with the lack of planning on my part. Although next year a little more planning might make the night run a little smoother overall.

Are you one to put a lot of planning into big events? Or would you rather just cross your fingers and hope it all works out the way you're hoping?

~Shoshanah

Take 2 (Or 3 or 4)

First I wanted to thank everyone for your thoughts and kind words yesterday. For everyone who liked the second picture the best, me too! That's actually one of the first pictures we ever took together, and its still my favorite one of us.

Today I thought it'd be fun to follow-up yesterday's post with a few of the so-called outtakes. You might recognize a few scenes from yesterday's post, except yesterday I showed you the final picture. Today its the first shot, or sometimes the 7th or 8th. I think one of the boy's proudest moments is from our anniversary last year when he filled up my camera with 20 or so of these types of pictures. I did have a much wider selection this time, and had a little trouble narrowing it down completely. But I hope you all enjoy!















I hope everyone's having a great weekend so far!

~Shoshanah