One down, six to go!

With just over six weeks to go until my 30th birthday, I've already accomplished one of my 7 in 7 goals!  Tonight, Kurt and I tried a new restaurant for our Valentine's Day dinner.  As I've mentioned before, we are creatures of habit when it comes to dining out.  It seems like we go to the same restaurants all of the time, so it was nice to try Positano, an Italian restaurant in downtown Bethesda.  Italian is my favorite "genre" of food and the food at Positano did not disappoint.  Kurt tried the gnocchi (his favorite!) and I tried the moon-shaped pasta stuffed with cheese and spinach (it had some kind of fancy Italian name that I couldn't pronounce!).  It was kind of like ravioli, but lighter.  Both were delicious and the cannoli for dessert was delectable!  My friend, Jenni, is thinking about having her rehearsal dinner at Positano, so I'm excited to try it again! 

On another note, for Valentine's Day, Kurt added a new charm and spacer to my Pandora bracelet:

Definitely a cute Valentine's Day charm, right?!  I just love it!

Hugs and Kisses

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone! 

To my two favorite Valentines, Kurt and Macey-

I love you both very, very much!

(Kurt and I on the cliffs of La Jolla during sunset)

Memories from our trip to San Diego...the much warmer and sunnier days in San Diego!

The lovely Macey pup...who couldn't help but love that face!

Can't wait to get back to the dog park once the weater gets warmer!

I hope you all have an enjoyable day!

Show Us Your Life- Valentine's Day Ideas

This week, Kelly's "Show Us Your Life" is featuring Valentine's Day ideas.  I'm not a huge Valentine's Day person, but I do like to celebrate it!  At my school, we have class parties for Valentine's Day and Halloween, so I always have some sort of celebrating to do!  Cupcakes, chocolate, cute crafts...what's not to love about Valentine's Day in an elementary school?!

Kurt and I usually give each other small gifts for Valentine's Day.  This year, I gave him his gifts early, since we've been snowed in...The Hangover DVD and a video game.  I figured it would be fun to have those things to keep us occupied during our snow days.  I am also planning another surprise for him...a homemade surprise!  Kurt LOVES, LOVES, LOVES the Jack Daniels sauce from TGI Fridays.  He's been known to ask for extra sauce in take-home containers.  I found a recipe for it online and plan to make some for him and bottle it.  I found some cute bottles at the Container Store, so I'm excited to see how it turns out!

My absolute favorite place to go for Valentine's Day (and my birthday, and our anniversary, and...) is The Melting Pot.

I have never been disappointed with a meal I've had at The Melting Pot.  The waiters and waitresses are always so friendly and really make it a dining experience.  My favorites are the Fiesta Cheese fodue, California Salad, Mojo for the meats, and the Original Chocolate fondue.  Kurt and I usually get the "Big Night Out" which is a great deal!  Reservations for Valentine's Day book up way in advance, so we usually go a few days before or after the actual day. 

(Borrowed this pic from online, but doesn't it just look so, so good?!)

If you haven't been to The Melting Pot before, it is an experience not to be missed!

Happy Valentine's Day!

7 in 7

I have just under seven weeks until I turn the big 3-0.  It really doesn't bother me to be turning 30, but it's just plain weird that it's coming up so quickly.  When I was young, I used to think, "In the year 2000, I'll turn 20.  Wow!"  Ha!  The year 2000 came and went, and even though it feels like it was just last year, I like to think that I've accomplished a lot over the past 10 years.  I met Kurt, graduated college, began teaching 5th grade, moved in with Kurt, started teaching 3rd grade, got engaged, got married, bought a house, got my Master's degree, got a dog...phew!

In honor of my last seven weeks in my 20s, I'm pledging to do seven things by March 30th.  Some will be to better myself, some will be to better my marriage, and some will be for just plain fun!  This idea came from another blogger I just started reading, who, with 2 months left until her 30th, pledged to do 30 things by 30.  I'm not that brave, ha!

Without further ado, my 7 in 7:

1.  Run a 5K.  Kurt and I just registered for the Shamrock 5K in Baltimore, which takes place the weekend before St. Patrick's Day.  I was supposed to do a 5K last weekend, but a little bit (or a lotta bit) of snow canceled that one.

2.  Read a book for pleasure.  During my "snow week" I read Dear John and loved it.  Any suggestions for another one that will keep my attention?

3.  Try a new food.  I'm a creature of habit. I need to branch out!

4.  Try a new restaurant.  See number 4 for more on this one.

5.  Finish my National Board portfolio and drink a bottle of champagne to celebrate.  It's due on March 31st, but my goal is to mail it off on Saturday, March 27th.  Wish me luck and sanity!

6.  Cook dinner for Kurt at least once per week.  Kurt always cooks dinner for us and I know how much he loves it when he comes home from work and dinner is almost ready.  He'll love this one, I'm sure!

7.  Visit a new place.  For Kurt's 30th birthday, I booked a trip to the Bahamas.  I really want to go somewhere fun and new for my 30th and to celebrate sending in my National Board portfolio (see number 5).  He's the trip-planner in our family (working in the hotel industry will do that to you!), so hopefully he will cook up something awesome!

So, there they are!  My 7 in 7.  I'll check back in periodically and let you know how I'm doing!

This dog...

...is a snow lover.

...is the leader of the pack.

...could have stayed outside all day (even in the blizzard!).

...loves to chase her frisbee (even into 4 feet deep snow drifts!).

...wants to keep playing.

...will jump right into the bathtub to get cleaned off after playing in the snow.

...is now worn out!

...is a good girl!

We sure do love our Macey pup!

Party in the Snowy State

I think my friend, Caitlin, sums up this past week the best with her rendition of

"Party in the Snowy State."

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWbuQ_FrE7M

 

She's awesome!

Family Game Night

Over here at the Bradshaw household, we had ourselves a little Family Game Night.  It wasn't your typical "game night," however.  Knowing that we will probably be snowed in for another couple of days, I took advantage of the chance to get out this afternoon and headed over to our nearby mall.  Kurt and I have both had our fill of t.v. watching and web surfing over the past five days, so I decided we needed something new...a video game (or three)! 

I stopped by Game Stop and took a look at the "Previously Owned" section.  The guy there explained to me that buying a previously owned game is a lot like renting the game.  You have up to one week to try the game, and if you don't like it, you can return it for a full refund.  Why not?!  Sounds good to me!

So, I bought a few games to keep us occupied for the next few days.  People who know me know I'm not a big "gamer" so this is a big step.  We got:

We've only tried Hasbro Family Game Night so far, and I must say, it was a lot of fun!  My new friend at Game Stop told me this has been a hot seller since it came out right before Christmas.  We played Battleship, Yahtzee, Connect Four, and Boggle.  I mostly kicked Kurt's butt (especially in Battleship...you sunk my battleship!  Haha!) but he did come around with some fancy-schmancy words in Boggle.

Can't wait to rock out with Aerosmith and go snowboarding with Shuan White tomorrow!