Just Me.....Randomly....The Love Edition

* Excuse me while I gush 

Wow, I can't believe we are already 21 days into the New Year. Time marches on........Speaking of a year, me and my beau,  Mr. Mixologist spent last weekend celebrating the one year anniversary of the day we met, January 17, 2010.  We have been together for a year, neither one of us went on any more dates after our first encounter. He actually canceled a date he had scheduled for the very day we met ! I admit that I had a couple of guys that I had recently met online that I ceased communication with very quickly after meeting him. We have pretty much been inseparable since then, we moved quickly into exclusivity and it's fun to look back when I first blogged about it here.  His former blog name was Eastcoast because he is from Baltimore by way of Charleston. He was raised in Baltimore and has a strong Baltimore/East Coast accent. I am happy to report, I am still feeling butterflies when I see his name come up on my cell phone and when I hear his voice :)

I had plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day !

I didn't get MLK Day off work, but I was off the Friday before so I still got my 3 day weekend in. Thursday night, Mr. Mixologist grilled some huge steaks for dinner. They were delicious ! We enjoyed them with a nice Malbec, a Callejon del Crimen Grand Reserva which was actually a gift from a friend. It was really good & I was glad to look it up online and find that it was not expensive at all. I love wine and am learning how to pair it with different types of food. I prefer whites, he really enjoys reds because they help with digestion. I am learning to enjoy them more and more.



Friday night, we had an official "date night" to celebrate. I received a beautiful card from my beau that made my heart smile. Since we both love seafood , we went to dinner at Fish City Grille in Vintage Park. I had some Oysters as well as some stuffed Shrimp. He had some type of Shrimp Pasta. The food was pretty good and moderately priced too.  We then headed to the movies to see "The Dilemma " with Vince Vaughn & Kevin James.  Even though Vince plays virtually. the.same.exact.character. in every movie, I still think he is hilarious! LOL

Serious Aficionado's in the house !

 Saturday night we had an Event to attend that Mr. Mixologist has been excited about for months. One of his favorite haunts, Serious Cigars hosts an annual Party each year for their preferred customers. Trust me when I say,we were in line to get into the party 30 minutes early ! LOL There were over 400 people there for sure. It was really nice. Since it was Founder's Day for my sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc., I was rocking a pink sweater and my black boots.  Like most Cigar Bars, it is not that big, so they actually set up a huge tent in the parking lot and had lots of tables set up. We got there in time to get a table so we could sit with our friends. They had catered food and it was deelish, unlimited open bar with my favorite Vodka, and some pretty nice giveaways even though we didn't win anything big. It was sponsored by a couple of Cigar makers and it was really laid out nice. All of his Cigar buddies were there and it was a lot of fun. I got to meet some of the guys that I hear about all the time and their wives and girlfriends. I invited my girlfriend who we both  actually give the credit for me and Mr. Mixologist meeting last year, since she drug me out the house that night when I had every intention of chilling at home. Since we met at a Cigar Bar, it was apropos.  She was teasing us all night, telling us that she threw the party on our behalf ! LOL. We had a great time ! We left there and headed over to the Oz Bar to meet another friend, they had a band that was off the hook, playing everything from Prince, to George Benson, the Commodores, to Maze. We were getting our groove on seriously to the point that we were both sore from dancing that next day & it took us a minute to realize why we were sore ! LOL Life after 40 I swear.

See the beauty beyond the Cigar Smoke !

Sunday was a big football day and it was pretty cold, so we just recuperated from the weekend. Spent time relaxing together and reflecting. Neither of us felt like cooking so we just ordered in. I finally left my house later that night to go meet a girlfriend in from out of town for drinks. Overall it was a really chilled day and a nice end to a lovely weekend. I gave him a card in which I listed out every.single.thing. that he has exposed me to in the last year that has improved my life in some form or fashion.  It may sound cheesy, but I put everything from Shrimp and Grits, to Havarti Cheese, to Shiraz, to how to download movies/music, to his libations he mixes up, to pure castile soap ! LOL It was a really long list. I really just sat & thought about all of the little things he has shown me, shared with me and exposed me to, that have made my life better and more enjoyable. He is such a gentleman and makes me feel protected, supported and appreciated all the time. He is a wonderful listener & accepts me AS I AM. Now he is not as emotional or sentimental as I am of course, but let me tell you that he really appreciated that card, the look on his face as he read it said everything to me.

What happiness looks like :)

I warned you this was going to be a gushy post ! LOL If love is a drug, then I am definitely under the influence :)

What's going on random with you ?

Thoughts ? Comments ? Questions ?

Beautifully Complex