This week my husband received some love advise from a very wise doctor. This is not a direct quote:
Don't be turned off by the awful mustard yellow sign...we found our fabulous take-out restaurant!! Krua Thai Family Kitchen delivers some of the most delicious Thai food I have ever eaten. They are located right by Kidd Valley on 25th. They offer free delivery within the U-District on orders over $15. The service was awesome - they were really friendly and we had our food delivered to our door within 30 minutes. I highly recommend the yellow curry fried rice and the "cashew delight." I've been craving the fried rice ever since...and no, I'm not pregnant.
So this is my first Married and Still Dating posting which I know is long over-due but I do have a good recommendation. Scott and I try and go out every week but for several reasons we always have Eve with us. Therefore our criteria of a good place to eat is a little different. Good food is an obvious. I'm a vegetarian so that limits our choices even more. We tend to like privately owned places where the ambiance is unique and the help is nice and child-friendly. And if it's relatively close by that's a definite plus as well.
Play Area/Parent's Salvation
Greek Orthodox Church right by Vios;
A picnic lunch and pair of sunglasses are all you need for this active and romantic date. Rent a canoe or rowboat at the University of Washington Water Activities Center and row around Washington Park to little islands with trails and perfect picnic/makeout spots. Also, bring a camera for the beautiful wildlife and cute pictures for blogging!| UW Students | $4.00/hour |
|---|---|
| UW Faculty/Staff | $5.50/hour |
| UW Alumni | $7.00/hour |
| General Public | $7.50/hour |
For some reason the monorail is fascinating to me. The monorail leaves every 10 minutes for a few dollars from the Seattle Center (attached to the Center House) and goes to West lake center. Have dinner at P.F. Chang's (located in the shopping center) for the delectable Chicken Lettuce wraps ( Quickly cooked spiced chicken served with cool lettuce cups) and Fried Banana spring rolls (Six warm, crispy bites with coconut pineapple ice cream and drizzled with caramel and vanilla sauces. Delicious!). Then ride the elevator up to the Sweet Factory to get some refreshment for the monorail returning you to the Seattle Center house (which has Salt Water Taffy and frozen bananas dipped in chocolate)
Go out for dessert only . . . . anywhere!!!! For me, cupcakes is a must! Here's one of my new finds:
Sugar Rush Baking Company
Located in
Coffee to a Tea
in the West Seattle Junction
4541 California Ave SW
206 937-1495
Monday-Saturday 8a-10p, Sunday 8a-6p
This place has amazing cakes, pies AAAAAAAND cupcakes!!! Better than cupcake royale, they taste homemade. The cafe has more seating than most cafes and on some nights they have a local singer. Plus they are open til 10:00 so this makes for a good late night date after the kids are in bed (granted you have a babysitter, otherwise its illegal apparently :)
Can't afford that cruise to Alaska just yet, or don't have the time? Are the Argosy Cruises a little too expensive also (though if you have the money, this is another great date idea I'll talk about another time)? I have the perfect solution! Try a ride on a Washington State Ferry. I have been riding the ferries since I was little when my dad lived on Whidbey Island, to now, when I go just for the fun of it. I have always looked forward to the trips. One of my favorites is the local ride from downtown Seattle to Bainbridge Island. We park our car by the piers and walk on. I like to go just before it gets dark. That way, we get the best of both worlds... leaving and getting to see the beautiful city in the light, and retuning to the beauty of the city lights at night. When there is a chill in the air, you can bring on a hot chocolate or buy 
one on board. Make a night of it and get dinner somewhere on the pier; there are a lot of great places. There are also some fun places within walking distance of the docks on Bainbridge Island. Not far from the dock is a park that you can walk to and have a picnic. It really is an inexpensive adventure and a great way to get some fresh air! I always enjoy myself and feel refreshed after a ride on a ferry!!!! Just make sure you have a jacket and a rubber band for your hair, the rides are always windy, and even on a nice day it can feel chilly out on the water!
Josh and I had a fun, quick little date at Barnes and Noble after running errands the other night. We went into the store and loaded our arms with fun easy read books like interesting facts and jokes. Then we walked up to the espresso bar on the mezzanine (people take books up there with them all the time), found a table, unloaded the books, and headed over to the counter to pick out some YUMMIES. In their selection of treats, they have cookies, muffins, CHEESECAKE FACTORY CHEESECAKE, and all sorts of desirables. I went straight for the Godiva Chocolate cheesecake (which, was half the price it would have been at The Cheesecake Factory, just over $4), Josh opted for a gooey chocolate cupcake. Then we took our deserts back to our table with the books and sat and read while we ate. We went through all
sorts of books and read things to each other that we found funny. Josh enjoyed "The Darwin Awards" while I was telling him blonde jokes from a joke book. In the end, we bought "1001 Ways To Be Romantic"... which I just noticed is missing from the shelf, so Josh must have it at work with him, trying to find some ideas :-)! Shopping while you eat and date... how multi-taskerish is that?
I am going to be out of town for Valentines this year, so I came up with a fun gift to be delivered to Rob on Valentines Day. I had so much fun putting it together, I thought I'd share in case anyone else wants to make one, too! Minus the tacky red bow, I thought it turned out pretty cute.From Walgreens/Target:
I also went to Half-Price Books on Roosevelt and got a Jackie Chan VHS from their Clearance section -- everything in that section is $1-2 and they have a huge variety of books, movies, etc. (turn left as soon as you go in) Lastly, I included a Half-Price gift card since the poor guy is going to be bored while I'm gone. :)
You could do this very cheap and personalize it with some fun things. Plus you get to keep the cute container! ;)
Shhhhh.................don't tell Rob! It's a surprise!!
Here is a close-up:
Been with your spouse a little too long and think you already know everything about him or her? Or has it been not long enough and you want to know more? Or are you preparing to audition for the newly wed game and need to know some useless things about your spouse? Josh and I made up a little game that we like to play if we are together and have already told each other every FASCINATING thing we have to share or talk about. We call the game, "Would You Rather?". I am sure we aren't the first to do this, nor will we be the last. But in playing this game, we have had some good laughs, found out some interesting things about each other, and started some interesting conversations. It's not hard to play at all. Each person takes a turn coming up with a "would you rather question" such as, "Would you rather be dumb or ugly?" The only rule is that the other person HAS to answer with one of the choices you have given them, even if neither seems appealing. You can decide if each person is allowed to pass on one or more, or if there is some sort of penalty for doing so. I suggest kisses or 10 minute foot rubs for any passed questions. But decide ahead of time if you are going to do this. This game is not intended to start arguments. The nice thing about this game is that you can take it and play anywhere whenever you want 'cause it's all in your heads! Also, unless it does result in some sort of a fight, there is no clean up!!
What is Seattle without some seafood? Our favorite fish and chips, by FAR, are served at SPUDS on Alki Beach. There are a couple other Spuds in the area, but we have found that this one is the best. They serve halibut fish, but they are more expensive and really not as good as their good ole cod! Josh and I will get their "Special" to share which is 3 pieces of fish with fries, a drink, and a large tarter. Their pieces of fish are really generous, so sharing this and getting one of their yummy coleslaws fills us up quite nicely.
A bonus about the Spuds on Alki is that it is located directly across the street from Alki Beach. During the warmer months, we like to get their fish and take it across to the beach and have a picnic. Even in September, when the weather starts to chill, we would do this on my birthday, in the evening, and make a fire in one of the designated fire pits. Some of my favorite memories with my family are of this. Alki itself is a nice date spot. Besides Spuds, it also has some other small spots for eats. We are addicted to Spuds, so we haven't made it to any of these places, except Pepperdocks. After our fish, we wander over there for a nice waffle cone filled with ice cream.
