Spring is near

I returned from Spring Break a couple of days ago.  I took a short trip to Metro--arriving Saturday around noon, then leaving at 6 am Wednesday.  It was a good trip, very low key.

Anniversary Dinner
The highlight of the trip was our anniversary dinner, which is a group event.  We've had one every year, so far, always during my Spring Break.  Officially, my husband and I host, though so far, my in-laws have always paid the bill.  We take a group of friends to a restaurant to celebrate.  We bring cake, of the same type and made by the same people that made our wedding cake, and hot pink roses for the ladies.

It's something I look forward to every year.  My husband and I don't do much for birthdays, so the anniversary dinner is our chance to party.  Plus, it feels fitting to me: our zero year anniversary (wedding) was attended by a large group of friends--why shouldn't all our anniversaries be group events?  Also, even though I've never attended any one else's (non "big year") anniversary party, it does seem strange to me that more people don't have yearly parties.    

I also figure that it gives people something of a vested interest in our marriage, as in "If they get divorced, we won't get invited to any more parties!"  At least, one day, I hope to be financially secure enough to throw parties our friends look forward to attending every year.

As part of the party preparations, I stopped by Sprinkles, a cupcake shop, to pick up a gluten-free cupcake. They're a famous bakery chain, apparently, but I had never heard of them before this year.  I had found them by Googling "Metro gluten-free cake" or something like that.

I found their signage to be confusing:

It says "Sprinkles, Bevery Hills"--nothing about the place being a bakery, or selling cupcakes.  Nothing in the windows, either, except the circles.   So, how, exactly, is one supposed to know what this place sells?  It could be a baking supply shop, but it could also sell fashion accessories or jewelry.  A crimpled lined circle isn't exactly the international symbol for cupcake.  Bad signage is one of my pet peeves.  This one irks me.  It's also inaccurate.  Their cupcakes don't have sprinkles.  In fact, their cupcakes are apparently famous for NOT having sprinkles (just a dot in the center).

The dinner itself was fun.  I had actually never been to the restaurant we had chosen for dinner.  My husband had been there once.  It was a Thai place, and quite romantic.  We had a section reserved in the back, with fabric rose petals hanging from strings of pearls from the ceiling, carved, painted wooden flowers on the walls, and even some beaded candle holders hanging above the table.  There was a small tv on the side wall.  It seemed appropriate that it was showing the wedding of the latest winner of ABC's The Bachelor.  

My in-laws had purchased bags of candy and placed them at each person's seat as party favors.  They also gifted us a gigantic fortune cookie, about a foot across--covered in a layer of chocolate, then drizzled in chocolate, caramel, and peanuts.  (I'm a Snickers fan).

I thought our waitress was wonderful, but I felt a little sorry for her, because we were all so busy talking to one another across the table that she couldn't get in a word to ask us how things were going!

It rained, of course.  I'm thinking that if there is ever a drought, my husband and I should be called to host an anniversary dinner.  It poured the night of our rehearsal dinner--my husband arrived with his shirt drenched through, and the roof of the restaurant where we had the rehearsal dinner started leaking.  The rain had stopped the next morning, thankfully.  Every year, it's the same pattern--it's a rainy night for the anniversary dinner, but when we leave the restaurant, it's stopped raining.  I guess that's just our good fortune.  (Of course, now that I've mentioned it on the blog, I've probably jinxed it.)

I look forward to next year!

Spring
Spring is almost here.  A month ago, I was looking for plant food for my violets, and found that the garden centers around here don't open until March.  Where I'm from, the garden centers are open all year.  But I returned to University Town to find balmy 50 degree weather (I didn't need to wear a coat!), and a sign on a garden center saying "Seeds are Here!"

The days are noticeably longer, and two of my three violets are in bloom.  And Daylight Savings is Sunday. Yippee!   I love Spring.

There were high winds before I left for Spring Break.  My door mat, which I had taped down with outdoor double stick tape, blew down the walkway.  But the penny remains.