I returned home for lunch after my 20 miler at 2:30. I’m surprised I wasn’t starving. When I have a long run, like a really long run, I’m not hungry once my run is complete. I’m just trucking along, showering, looking over new battle wounds on my feet and body, and hunger will hit me like a Mac truck.
Luckily for me, my wonderful husband went home after running 10 whole miles (Go Brad! :)) and made me lunch. How sweet is that?
And what a lunch it was!
Brad took the rest of my curried butternut squash soup and made it into a sauce. You should know I added 1/2 a can of light coconut soup to it several days ago. Brad added brown sugar, the juice of one lime, salt, and black pepper. He sauteed eggplant, green beans, red and green bell pepper, onion, and carrots. He added some baked sweet potatoes and chicken that he sauteed with cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. This was all served over jasmine rice with a big dollop of Greek yogurt and some flat bread (which we subbed in for naan).
This was so incredibly delicious. It totally hit the spot after running for four hours.
Notice the well-stocked wine cabinet in the back ground? I’ve been a busy girl. 😉
We spent the rest of the afternoon, all 1 1/2 hours of it doing our own things on our laptops, sprawled across the couch with Rascal. Remember how Brad had something planned for me? Well Saturday night was the night I found out what he’s been up to.
Around 5 pm, I started to get ready.
We decided to have some wine before we set out on our date. These are our new wine glasses from our wedding crystal. These just arrived a few days ago. I’m still piecing my crystal together. Slowly but surely I’ll have it all.
I know some people thumb their nose at TJ’s Charles Shaw, but I really like it. We tried this new variety of red table wine a few weeks ago and really liked it. It’s a slightly smaller bottle than your typical bottle of wine. To be honest, this bottle didn’t taste as good as the last time we tried it. Maybe it was the food pairing that made it so good last time? I don’t remember.
We got all dressed up.
Around 6 pm, we headed out to dinner. I should have known when we pulled up outside of Carrabba’s that we were double dating.
My brother Wess and his wife Jen were sitting at the bar waiting for us. Carrabba’s is y brother’s favorite place to eat, which should have been a big clue. Sometimes I block out clues because I like being surprised. 🙂
I ordered a house red once we were seated. I figured I earned my wine that morning. Not that I ever need an excuse to drink wine.
I munched on two small pieces of bread dredged in olive oil and spices before my meal came out.
I ordered the Johnny Roco Insalata, which is mixed greens with scallops, shrimp, roasted red pepper, and parmesan cheese…and olives. Olives, yuck. I always forget to say “no olives, please.” I picked around them but somehow ended up biting into one. Gross.
There are very few foods in this world that I do not like. Olives just happen to be one of them.
Dinner with Wess and Jen was so much fun! But I knew dinner wasn’t really the surprise. The surprise was spending time with my brother and whatever was to follow after dinner.
Jen and I made a trip to the restroom after dinner to compare notes. We really had no idea where we were going.
We got back in the car and headed back Uptown. We parked in our own garage and walked a couple of blocks to the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. I still didn’t know what we were going to see until we actually got inside and found our seats. I looked down and saw that the Charlotte Symphony was setting up, tuning their instruments and such. Brad and Wess had planned a night at the Charlotte Symphony! How sweet!
Wess is a very talented musician (a basoonist among many other instruments) so I know he and Jen, who are both trained music teachers really enjoyed this. I loved it too. I’ve never been to see the Charlotte Symphony, except for Pops in the Park, which is a completely different atmosphere.
The first three pieces were all very American songs, but the third I loved the most because they had a soprano soloist who was just beautiful. Besides a beautiful voice, she was wearing this gorgeous beaded gown that reminded me of a mermaid. I like to look at pretty things while I listen to pretty music. 🙂
We had a brief intermission then returned for a Russian symphony with five parts. Brad and I started to yawn and get heavy eyes, the closer it got to 10 pm. We were both exhausted from our long runs and because we have been turning in early most nights lately.
We told Wess and Jen goodbye and thanked them for coming to see us. It was so nice to spend the evening at the Charlotte Symphony and have a nice meal with my brother and his wife. We definitely do not see each other enough!
Brad was so sweet to arrange all this.
We scurried home in the cold (must get my winter coat out asap!) and got in bed to snuggle with Rascal before falling asleep.
