Evening, friends! I hope you all had a good day. I certainly had a good one here. It was one of those days that felt extremely productive without feeling overwhelming. That always marks a good day in my book. What else makes a good day in my book? Blogging! I valued all the discussion on what makes quality content in blogs.

• Blogging: Quality Content Part One (a review of why I blog the way I do)
• Blogging: Quality Content Part Two (some perspectives on what defines “quality”)

I would love for you to give your point of view too!

Funnily enough, tonight’s post is actually a prime example of one that I would have likely skipped over before changing my blogging habits. I would have told myself “oh, it’s just another standard weekend day in the FFF house”. But why shouldn’t I recap some of our weekend fun if I enjoyed it and feel like giving you a peek into our Saturday? Why not is right. Which is why I’m here now.

After Saturday’s mother-daughter shopping time and getting other errands accomplished, we picked up the boys for some family bonding. I bet you can guess what our family bonding experience included…

 

Time in the sun at the park! Go figure.  

We have to soak up as much park time as we possibly can while the weather is so perfect for it. You can’t beat anywhere in the high 60s to low 80s for park fun. If I can get my kids outside playing and expending energy without freezing to death or stewing in my own sweat – I am there! Plus, it is so fun watching Makenzie play now. She has become quite the little adventurous one.

I have to keep a close eye on that one. I think she forgets that she is an itty bitty. Yet another way she is like her mommy – wanting to run around and explore everything.

Then Braedon sits over there taking after his daddy.

A people watcher to the extreme!

After enjoying the great outdoors for a little over an hour, the two adult units decided they needed some grub. It should come as no surprise that grub on a Saturday night involved dining out a la group deal. Groupon all the way!

This particularly deal was for a new to us restaurant called “The CooCoo’s Nest”.

It looked like a happening place with a jam packed parking lot. After being seated, I quickly ordered a Blue Moon and some water. I was craving a beer like none other on Saturday. I think long runs do that to me. Seriously!

Then, I got to work on deciding what to order. Uh-oh. The menu didn’t seem very promising. All of the food was your standard bar fare of chicken tenders, huge burgers, nachos, and the like. Nothing at all stuck out to me as sounding all that great. I eventually settled on the fish tacos. Along with a side of mango slaw, which I actually really enjoyed.

The fish tacos, on the other hand?

I should have sent them back. And I probably would have had we not used a group deal and had to get going. At least they didn’t taste as unappetizing as they look, but they certainly weren’t even close to good. I actually took at all but one piece of fish per taco and mainly ate the sweet potato fries they accidentally brought out extra (thank goodness for that mistake!) and the slaw. I also helped Peter finish off his Sweetwater 420. A dinner of beer and sweet potato fries can’t be all bad, right? That’s at least what I will tell myself. Can’t win ‘em all, I guess!

• Do you have trouble sending back food?
• Were you more adventurous or observant as a kid? As a kid, I was more observant, but I definitely like DOING now.

Oof. It was rough waking up this morning. I didn’t want the weekend to end. Did anyone else fall of the edge of the social media and blogging world with me? If so, let me catch you up with at least the happenings around here:

• The Epitome of Exciting
• Kidnapped!! <— Peter hijacked the blog!
• Self-Love Reflection: Loving the Old and New Me
• I’m Such A Tease

For those of you who were around Saturday afternoon, you may recall Peter’s mischievous ways and his hopes of surprising me. Well, they worked. Like a charm. I had NO idea.

When I originally signed off on Saturday morning’s post, I thought I would be heading to meet up with some friends to go to a parade and town festival for the day with the kids. I was frantically showering and getting ready after my run, when Peter told me I didn’t have to rush. I kept telling him “No! I have to leave in 20 minutes! I do have to rush!”

After a lot of assurance, I realized he was serious that he had taken the kids to his mom’s for the day again without me knowing. He then told me we had no plans, but he wanted me to have a relaxing day since he knows how hard I work. Works for me! I settled in on the couch right away…until a few hours later when he told me to go get dressed and plopped some tickets to go see Wicked in my lap!

I may have been just slightly excited.  

As soon as I heard Wicked was coming to the Fox Theater in Atlanta I was dying to go to the show. I love Broadway musicals. I love the story line of Wicked. I love the music of Wicked. And I loooovvveee The Fox.

It has such a charm to it. The inside is designed to look like an outdoor theater from ye olde times, complete with a starry night sky and castle turrets inside the theater.

Don’t you love my sneaky low-light pictures I nabbed before the show started? And oh, the show! I want to go back. Like…today.

I loved it just as much as I thought I would. The characters all played their roles extremely well to make for a very entertaining show. And the music blew me away! I have a feeling I will be singing “Popular” and “Defying Gravity” in my head for weeks now. I really adore the story line of the Wicked Witch not really being so wicked, but instead showing the back story of a harder childhood and her battle against other “evils”. The hype people give it comes with good reason. Even Peter enjoyed himself and this is so not his type of thing.

Don’t worry. He got his type of thing after the show.

With dinner! Dinner, you naughty little thinkers!!!

We had a couple deals to use for the 5 Seasons Brewing Company and we used them well. I love that they let us combine two deals for one meal. It meant we could each get a beer, some appetizers to share, and a meal.

We each got a beer, although we both agreed my choice of the Maibock – a “hoppy” beer with a sweeter finish – won out. I know how to pick ‘em! Strong, but sweet…like my man!

Although that beer at the 5 Seasons Brewing Company certainly stole the show, we had some good food as well. We shared a beet, arugula, goat cheese, and walnut salad…

…plus some beer-battered onion rings for appetizers.

We obviously like to keep things balanced.

Both of the appetizers were fantastic and filled me up pretty well along with the beer, but I still had dinner coming my way.

I ended up ordering the BBQ sandwich with a spicy Chipotle sauce and sweet potato fries. The meal itself was kind of “meh” on Saturday. I remember the sweet potato fries being a lot better when I went for an Atlanta blogger meet-up earlier this year. And I probably should have stuck with the portabella burger I fell in love with then as well. Live and learn!

The meal still left me quite content and I couldn’t beat the company.

Oh, wait. Not the giant, ceramic, beer-loving turtle. This guy.

He is seriously too good to me. Thanks, Peter, for giving me a Wicked awesome day.  

• Have you ever seen a musical in theater? Which one(s)? Did you love it?
• Are you easily surprised? As Peter mentioned, I am NOT. I usually figure things out…but this time I really had no idea it was coming my way Saturday.