This past weekend Jerry and I got away...just the two of us...for a little bit of downtime. I can say for sure that long uninterrupted conversations were probably my favorite part! Tied for second place would be not having to be on anyone else's schedule...ie wake schedule, nap schedule, feeding schedule, potty schedule or bedtime schedule! It was really nice!! It definitely helped to know that the girls were being well taken care of, just a few miles from us, at their grandparents. Thanks Memmy and Paw!!
Here is how we spent most of our time (with no diaper bags in tow)! After dropping off the girls, we went shopping! Then we had a late dessert/coffee at Cantina Laredo...can you say Mexican Brownie?!? We love it! We slept in and visited our favorite part of Dallas, historic Oak Cliff, where we ate lunch at Hattie's in the Bishop Arts District. We also drove by our old house...a 1922 bungalow that we renovated together...in what seems like a lifetime ago, but actually everything pre-kid seems that way!
We then headed out to another historic place, Winnsboro, in East Texas! Winnsboro proved to be a really enjoyable town. We stayed at Thee Hubbell House, a beautiful Bed & Breakfast. We love staying at B & B's and have stayed at least a dozen of them over the years. In our book, B & B's get ranked in two categories...they are either repeaters or non-repeaters...and unfortunately this was a non-repeater. I won't go into all the details, but they include a LOUD barking dog (somewhere nearby) and a train whose tracks must have brought it right through the house at dawn!! The B & B didn't ruin our experience though...fortunately Winnsboro had much more to offer...including some great shops and restaurants. I love that Jerry enjoys a great antique store as much as I do! He is the best antiquing partner a gal could ask for. Besides wandering in and out of countless antique and junk shops, we also visited Ladles to Linens which is a small town's version of Williams-Sonoma as far as we could tell.
It was there that I found these two fun breakfast making gadgets! How could our life be complete without the ability to make girly shaped pancakes and eggs?!? You can tell the girls weren't far from my mind. 
After all our shopping we returned for a 6PM nap...glorious! Later we dined at LouViney Winery and Bistro (they served Wijitos...think Mojito but with white wine...yummy!), enjoyed dessert and coffee at a local bakery and even listened to a bit of live music. 
We really decided to push the envelope and go to a 9:20 movie...gasp...way past our bedtime! Jerry said we'd just hop on over to Sulphur Springs for the show...he knows E. Texas like the back of his hand...so I thought great, we'll be there in no time. Then I see a road sign that says...Sulphur Springs...23 miles! 23 miles to the nearest movie theatre...not a cruel joke...just a sad reality. Getting home at midnight is unheard of for us these days! Then the barking dog...that beast of an animal is just lucky its still alive! So you may be wondering what movie is worth driving 23 miles to see. Untraceable was our pick of the night. Scary stuff people! It was made scarier by the fact that we returned to this huge old house where we were the only guests (others must have heard about the dog and freight train), only to find every door (all four) completely unlocked. Jerry laughed at me as I quickly locked them all and checked every room, bathroom, and closet in the place to make sure we really were alone! I'm not really sure what I'd have done if I'd found someone! Glad I didn't find anybody! I guess it was about 2 AM when Jerry turned the space heater fan on HIGH to drain out the loud dog who by this point and encouraged other neighborhood dogs to chime in...that allowed us to sleep until 7AM when the freight train with horns ablazing barrelled through the house!That was okay though...by that point we had really enjoyed ourselves and were more than ready to squeeze the other loves of our lives...Miss Lily Grace and Jade Amelia. We returned to our most important job, that of parenting, with renewed vigor for the task. I am convinced though that we are better parents when we take care of our marriage relationship. Taking time for "us" and being reminded of why we loved each other in the first place...before the pitter patter of little feet entered our house! It only takes a few hours of being away to miss and appreciate their little voices, laughs, and coos...and therefore squeeze them a little tighter when we return.
