When we arrived home, Corey used our NurtiBullet to make the most amazing frozen margaritas. Blended strawberries, lime, salt, tequila and fresh squeezed oranges. It's no wonder I had two.
Two days later, in spite of spending all that money on groceries, we still had "nothing" to make for dinner. After Corey arrived home, we both did a shot of our lovely agave alcohol before deciding it would be fun to eat out. One shot is enough for both of us, since we are not heavy drinkers. I declared to my mom, "If you drive, I'll buy." So we piled into the Prius, and I wedged myself in the back between two car seats, and headed out. (It was nice to have a chauffeur/DD so that Corey and I both could imbibe and still keep it legal. Mom rarely drinks, so it's not like she felt like she was missing out, for those of you who don't know mom.)
Normally when we go out to eat, we have an unofficial list of designated places that we have deemed "worthy of Fun Dollars." These places include good service, good food, and above all, a kid-friendly atmosphere. There are not too many places like that in a tourist/retirement community, but there are some. Corey and I decided that since we always go to the same places, we should shake it up a little. We had extra help from Nana (my mom) if we needed help with the kids. So we were off on an adventure to see if a new place might make the cut.
Apizza Heaven (like "a piece of heaven"...) was the restaurant of choice for this particular adventure. We have not patronized this business in almost 5 years. It was before Carrick was born that we went there with friends. We decided to give it another shot.
The place was smaller than I remembered, and jam-packed. There was one table that was vacant. They were so short staffed for a Tuesday night that it took them about 10 minutes to get the table cleared off and ready for us. After we were sat, our server came by. We were shocked to realize that it was the ex-husband of an old friend of ours. (We spent our first New Years in Sedona with him and his ex-wife and ended up crashing on their couch.) I was surprised even more by his pleasant attitude. For being so busy and short staffed, he held it together remarkably well. Not every server can handle that kind of chaos. He was also very cool with our kiddos, which I appreciate tremendously.
After an hour, our pizza was finally ready. They had totally forgotten our appetizer, so we gobbled up the warm bread and herbed butter they brought out for us. Our server apologized many times for the chaos, the forgetting and time it took for our order to arrive. He comped us our sodas (yes, we "splurged". We don't usually get sodas when we go out to eat.) The pizza ended up tasting amazing, better than I remembered it being 5 years ago. Their portions were huge too. I did not expect a large pizza to be 16".
So while it wasn't a full-on date, it was still a chance for Corey and me to get out and do something together. We had both kids and my mom with us, but the evening was memorable and fun. Lily whiled away the minutes of waiting by walking around the tiny dining room meeting and greeting everyone. They all thought she was adorable, which makes up for the occasional screams she let loose. Carrick was happy as a clam coloring and playing Angry Birds. He actually stayed at the table the entire hour we were waiting too. He did slip under for a while. He likes the feeling of being "hidden" sometimes. As long as he's not trying to run laps in the restaurant, I'm okay with him under the table.
I think we found a new place to add to our list of "Fun-Dollar-and-Family-Approved" dining places in Sedona.
Hornitos Reposado (split with Corey)-$10.00
Dinner out at Apizza Heaven- $30.00
Balance this pay cycle- $48.00
Happy Spending!
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