Day Three Hundred Forty-Nine: A Day in McKinney

We have been to McKinney but mostly just for kids' sporting events. But, on day two without the kids, Jeff and I decided to go over to just hang out. We had lunch at Sugarbacon Proper Kitchen, visted Landon Winery and Lone Star Wine Cellars, and did a little shopping in the historic dowtown area. Later, we had an appetizer dinner a Sol, picked up a few things at Trader Joe's, and browsed in Half-Price Books. It was a lovely day, and we enjoyed it very much!

Fun in McKinney

Day Three Hundred Forty-Eight: Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek

Jeff and I took advantage of all our kids being with grandparents to go out for a a fancy meal at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, which is a place we have always wanted to visit. We decided to try the seven-course tasting menu with wine pairings. The food was so delicious, and the atmosphere was very elegant without feeling stuffy or pretentious. We loved the experience!

Salmon ceviche, compressed watermelon with goat cheese,
avocado cannoli stuffed with crab, smoked foie gras,
scallop with tomato basil barley, red snapper in lobster bisque, beef tenderloin with roasted tomato and corn,
lemon panna cotta with peach sorbet, cappuccino, and
signiture green tea and milk chocolate turtles

Day Two Hundred Sixty-Nine: Trivia at Grapevine Craft Brewery

Jeff and I have been wanting to participate in a pub trivia night for a while now, and this evening we finally got our chance. We headed over to Grapevine Craft Brewery (also a First for us!) and got in on the Geeks Who Drink trivia night. I can tell you we stink at songs/artists, but otherwise we did pretty well. Most importantly, we had a wonderful time! I'm sure we'll be doing this again when we get back from our trip.

Geeks Who Drink

Day Two Hundred Thirty-Eight: New Homeschool Group and a Date with Clay

Since we moved here, we have not been involved with any homeschool groups except CC, but today some of us went to a teen/tween game day at a coffee shop in Lewisville with a local homeschool group. It's always good to meet new people, and I think the kids had a pretty good time.

I also got to go out on a date with just Clay tonight, which may have happened before, but he was sure we had never been on a date before, "just us," and I really can't remember, so we're going to count it.

Day Two Hundred Nine: Yoga with Jeff

I've been going to yoga classes for about a year and have been trying to convince my people to come to classes with me. Schedules and interests haven't really been aligned with that purpose until now. Jeff recently expressed some interest in trying out a class, and there was finally a break in the schedule to allow him to do so. It was my first yoga date, and I thought it was great!

Day One Hundred Sixty-Two: Coffee on Tap

Jeff and I were able to get away for a date tonight. And, while we did eat at a hibachi/sushi restaurant we haven't eaten at before, the experience wasn't exactly new for us, so I didn't want to count it as a First. After dinner, though, we visited a the nearby Paradise Bistro, which serves light meals, wine and beer, desserts, and specialty coffees. It was a coffee night for us, and we were intrigued by one of the offerings on the board that we had never heard of, which sounded like an incantation: Avocos Mythos Nitro. We asked about it and were further intrigued to find out it was a non-alcoholic, carbonated, cold coffee drink. We knew we needed to try it as it clearly made a better First than a new-to-us hibachi restaurant. It was interesting and somewhat reminiscent of coffee-flavored beers we've tried in the past. Or maybe it just seemed that way since they had it on tap, right alongside several draft beers.

Avocos Mythos Nitro on tap

Day One Hundred Twenty-Seven: Snickers Pie

Our family has fallen in love with Black Walnut Cafe since we moved to Flower Mound, and we are frequent visitors. The food is always good and the atmosphere is so serene, since there aren't TVs blaring from every wall. Dessert is generally a temptation we manage to avoid, but tonight, Jeff and I decided to indulge while we were out on our date. I had the Snickers Pie, which was a new and delectable treat for me.

Day One Hundred Thirteen: Mulberry Street Cantina

Jeff and I were able to sneak away for a date tonight, and we ended up in Denton after dropping Weston off at a Boy Scout campout. We had dinner at Milpa, which was a new place for us, but I felt like I couldn't do ANOTHER Mexican food restaurant as a First, so I'm not focusing on that.

After dinner, we headed over to Mulberry Street Cantina. We aren't usual patrons of actual bars, but this one had excellent reviews, and it seemed like a fun thing to do. And, it was definitely a fun place that drew in all kinds of people, including Santa Claus, which could have been a First in and of itself, since I've never run into Santa in a bar before. But, the real First for the day is that I ordered a Kahlua "neat." Previously, I've only ever had Kahlua in coffee. It was delicious!

Mulberry Street Cantina

Santa walks into a bar...

Kahlua "Neat"

Day Ninety-Two: Axe Throwing

I'm not even sure how Jeff heard about axe throwing being an up-and-coming sport, but once he knew about it, that was the activity he wanted to do for his birthday. Age restrictions dictated it be a date night activity, and tonight we finally got to slip away to Richardson to give it a shot. I can honestly say it is an activity I had never even considered doing before, mostly because I didn't even know it was a choice! We had so much fun, and Jeff even sank two bullseye shots!

Crazy Axe Lady and Involuntary Axe Catcher ready for axe-tion

Warming up

Bullseye!