Date Night Downtown

From the time I wake up in the morning till my head hits my pillow at night I feel like I am go go go all the time.  Between two jobs, seeing the family, meetings for Sokol and trying (usually in vain) to keep up with the housework its no wonder that I constantly feel like taking a nap.  Mix in an equally busy significant other and you have a recipe for a relationship devoid of date time. This makes for a very cranky Lauren. 

However, Adam is wonderful and suggested a date night when he was downtown for work.  I jumped at the chance for some time alone with my man., of course I did need to run an errand in there....

My Aunt Pat is turning 70 and I was put in charge of finding a gift from the Classen Clan. Que silence here because I was stumped at what to get my Aunt.  Of course so was my father which probably accounts for him handing the task over to yours truly.  NEVER FEAR though, as we all know I am very, very comfortable in a retail setting.  Especially when I am spending my Dad's money (a luxury I don't get often as a big kid).

So our mission is to find a wonderful gift for my mom's oldest sister, who by the way probably has everything! At first Dad and I kicked around the idea of getting her a nice wine and cheese set to enjoy in the spring time out on her deck, but lets be honest she is a Knop female, its genetic that all females in the Knop line love a good glass of wine with some cheese and crackers on a quiet evening, thus she was going to have the instruments for this activity.  So with NO idea  what I was looking for and dad's credit card I headed to my favorite place.

I never had a true appreciation for this store as a child.  In fact a trip to any location, most notably the Michigan avenue store, would elicit moans and groans from all four of the Classen children. Every time my Mom would laugh and tell us that "Someday you will love to come here"...Yep once again she was right.

Glass and silver intermixed with bright splotches of color set against a white background...ah true bliss. With so many beautiful things to see I almost didn't notice the nice sales clerk who had come up to escort me through the purchase process.  Poor guy, I was too distracted to listen to his suggestions. I had seen what I knew was the perfect gift and my mind was quickly running through all the accessories needed and wrapping options.  I was in a whirlwind of shopping bliss.I am sure that I looked like one of the Cathy comic strips.  You know the ones where she is piling stuff on top of a sales associate while brainstorming what else shes needs? In the midst of my frenzy Adam walked into the store and promptly started laughing at me. This slowed my frenzy enough to actually make my purchase and put back all of the things I found for myself. 
Including these absolutely adorable mini martini glasses - I will someday be able to bring these home.  I already have a girls night based around these. 

So at this point I am sure you are wondering what I did get for my Aunt... well its elegant, simple, and perfect! If I do say so myself.  So here it is. A glass fondue pot.  Perfect for cheese or chocolate fondue!  I have visions of my Aunt and Uncle enjoying this on their deck this summer with all of the berries that they have in their garden. Added to this was a set of glass plates and chocolate sauce mix.

Alright so we are about an hour into date night at this point and a hot drink sounds really good. So Adam and I are off in search of a coffee shop, shouldn't be too hard, we are downtown afterall.  Yep, turns out everything closes early on Michigan Avenue on a Wednesday evening.  Luckily in the middle of my mental meltdown I am reminded that we are supposed to go to dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant OH Fusion. 

Adam and I stumbled upon this wonderful BYOB sushi restaurant via Groupon.  I love Groupon because it has allowed us to try so many wonderful things in the city for a low price that our wallets love.   They have a multitude of different rolls that are a fusion of Asian and Euro-American ingredients.  With low prices, wonderful tastes and great service, Adam is constantly hearing my suggestion for a sushi dinner when he is up by me.  Oh and I was a lucky girl because Adam even got me a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to pair with all the little shrimp and fishy rolls!

We stayed out late talking, laughing and catching up on some couple time. It was so nice to be able to take the time and spend time just being with each other even if we did have to run an errand in there. 

A Beautiful Morning in November

Do you ever look out the window at the weather and wonder if it is an indication of what kind of day its going to be? Or what your mood is going to be on that day? I know I do...every morning. Growing up in Arizona meant waking up to startling sunny days almost year round, which certainly explains my bordering on annoying cheerful disposition in the morning.

So today as I peered out of my garden unit window at a startling little patch of blue sky above the backyard fence, I knew that it was going to be a beautiful day. And for that I am thankful. Thankful that today is just as beautiful as it was last year when my Mother made her graceful exit from this world.

Alright, so I know that when someone passes it should be a dark rainy day, or in the sterile environment of a hospital. But this was never a scene my Mother found comforting for either her or the family that she knew she would be leaving behind. And so when we first started to accept the idea that this was going to really happen my Mother became determined to make sure that she orchestrated every detail of what she wanted to happen, and yes this included telling us how she wished to die. As usual she got what she wanted; a beautiful fall day, snuggled in a freshly made bed, surrounded by her children and holding her husbands hand. For those of you who were apart of my Mother's life this should come as no surprise.

On this beautiful morning in November I have spend a little time reflecting on the last year. For me it has been a rough year. A year full of lost faith, a violent fear of the unknown, changing relationships with those I love, lost friendships, constant abuse from people I once trusted and respected, and a sense of always wandering around aimlessly. All of this has been very unsettling for me, and it has taken me exactly 364 days to figure out why. My cheerleader is gone. My Mother is the reason I have the confidence that others tell me they miss. She always believed in whatever I was doing, often when even I didn't. But today for the first time looking out my window I felt peaceful, and I could really feel her next to me, cheering. Cheering for all that my siblings and I have accomplished in the last year and everything that we will accomplish in the year ahead.

Yes I miss her, but no more than I do any other day of the week. Rather for the first time in a long time I sent up a quick prayer of thanks this morning. Thanks for my family making it through a rough year, each of us with different scrapes and hurts, but none the less making it through the year in one piece. Because as mom would say:

Honey, everything's coming up roses and daffodils! Everything's coming up sunshine and Santa Claus!
Everything's gonna be bright lights and lollipops!
Everything's coming up roses for me and for you!