5 Golden Rings

Let me preface this blog by saying I have no idea why it is highlighted white and gray. I can't make it go away...

Aaron and I recently celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. When I think back over the years, I can honestly say the time has flown. I barely remember what it felt like being a 19 year old bride, but there are things I look back on and remember warmly. For one thing, Liberty University told me I had to get a signed permission slip from my dad to allow me to move off campus, even though my reason for moving off campus was marriage. I forged it. What a ridiculous policy! Another was our first rat-hole of an apartment. It was less than 500 sq ft, but it only cost $375/month. But one of my favorite newlywed memories was the meatloaf. I remember proudly slaving over dinner one evening to make a home cooked meal that did not come out of a box or the freezer. Meatloaf. And because my husband grew up in such an anti-fat, anti-salt home, I planned to make it healthier by using ground turkey breast. Aaron came home from work to a meal cooked with love at a table set for a cocktail party... and after one bite, took the entire pan of meatloaf outside and pitched it in the trashcan (the pan, too!). He asked me if I had used cat food in it. Over the last five years, our living arrangement has improved and so have my cooking skills.

Anyway, we spent a few days in Washington DC for anniversary number 5. It was a blast!

Friday night, we went to a really nice mall and I got some Bare Minerals makeup and hair accessories while Aaron bought me a present. We then went to Macaroni Grill, which is one of my favorite chain restaurants. They take chain restaurants to a new level. The food looks elegant, the portions are not massive, and everything tastes amazing.

Saturday (anniversary day) got off to a rough start. I had researched restaurants in DC so we could stay away from chains and have nice experiences at local places. I found the perfect breakfast place. It had like 4,000  5-star reviews online. There was also supposed to be great shopping and a famous cupcake bakery in that vicinity. So, Aaron used some horribly crappy GPS program on his phone. I kid you not, we walked around for over an hour trying to find his freakin place and the GPS would randomly move our position and then send us in circles around the same block. Horrible. Finally, we were mad at the GPS and I was upset, so we got coffee from Starbucks and decided to head the area of the National Zoo and find something to do there instead. Well, wouldn't you know, the Metro was down at the two stops closest to the zoo! I was fuming at this point. Here we were-- celebrating our anniversary and everything was going wrong. Oy. Only us, I tell you.  The rest of the day went really well, though. We got off the closest Metro stop we could and then took a bus to the vicinity of the zoo. We saw a little restaurant called Ardeo Bardeo and decided to check it out. Score! This was the start to a perfect day. What made it so great? How about unlimited mimosas? Yeah, I was a little sloshed by 11am, but it was so worth it. I had this interesting and very beautiful soup (yes, my soup was beautiful). It was some concoction of rutabagas, apples, and blue cheese, and while it may sound horrible, it was incredible. I'm glad I was up for trying new things. And that was my first encounter with rutabagas ;)  I also had a croquette thing and they had incredible scones. Aaron's meal was disappointing. It was some kind of sophisticated grits dish... and it had like less than 1/2 cup of food on the plate LOL. He was not happy about that and ended up eating a decent portion of my croquette. From there, we went to the zoo and got the most awesome "show" of five lions playing with each other. I got some fantastic pictures, but I haven't had time to load them on this laptop. You can see a couple on my facebook page. After that, we went back to the hotel, changed into nice clothes, and headed out to dinner at Central.  I had my first ever lamb shank and enjoyed every last bite of it. Aaron got a burger, of course. Only my husband would go to a restaurant owned by a world renowned chef and order a burger. So cheap. My favorite part of the meal was when the chef made a special chocolate mousse with raspberry reduction for us because he heard it was our anniversary! =)  Delish! Aaron's favorite part of the meal was when the waitress told us my dad had covered the check. So if you're reading this, THANK YOU DADDY! It was such a blessing and so sweet and thoughtful of you! From the restaurant, we drove around DC and enjoyed the beautiful city lights. I wanted to take a picture of the White House at night, so we tried to drive as close to it as we could, and got tailed by the Secret Service LOL. At that point, we decided it would be better to park by the Washington Monument and walk. I'm convinced they have some kind of jamming forcefield around the White House. All of my pictures turned out blurry, even though I had the Vibration Reduction on and I tried every setting. Oh well. Then we went back to the hotel and enjoyed the rest of our evening together. 

Sunday, we came home. On our way home, on the advice of a friend we love to death but completely disagree with now (you know who you are!), we ate at Chipotle. GAG ME. Yuck. That was a seriously awful experience. The closest comparison I can make is to Moe's. Unlike Chipotle, Moe's food is actually seasoned, their chips are unlimited, and they have multiple salsas to choose from. A bag with like 15 chips and a tablespoon of salsa at Chipotle was $3.99. Not worth it. And my burrito was bland. Oh well. So, friend, we will have to take you to Moe's sometime soon. We went to a nice mall and I got some new work clothes and jewelry. We also went to Cheesecake Factory- YUMMY! Yummy, but it was too rich to finish a piece. We each only ate half. 

So, that was our anniversary experience. I am so thankful for and in love with my awesome husband. God absolutely knew what I would need and want in a husband and gave me the best. Thank You, God!