the essence

After Carolines' flight cancellation due to her weather & then her flight delay the next day due to our weather, I finally picked her up at the airport over in St. Pete around 3:00 on Tuesday afternoon. We made it to my house, only to leave about an hour later to go out for the night.

We first met Rach at 5:30 for a Mexican fiesta a Tijuana Flats. We all love Mexican food, Plus, it was "Taco Tuesday!"



We sat around until around 7, when Rach left for home & Caroline & I went to the outdoor mall across the street. I forgot it was the night they have local Christian bands playing on stage there - I saw the kid who lives across the street from me playing with his band! (That would explain why I'd heard drums inside his house the day before.



While at the mall Caroline mentioned that she's been wanting to get a tattoo. She knew exactly what she wanted & where she wanted it; I informed her that they'd actually just recently opened a tattoo shop at the mall.

We went in "just to look..."



And, an hour later Caroline came out with her tattoo! (This is what it looked like the next day)



While I have zero desire to get a tattoo (I can't commit to something that permanent, plus, PEOPLE CAN SEE THEM! It would totally ruin the aesthetic of some of my outfits) I was more than happy to chronicle Carolines' adventure.




After that little detour we went to the movie theater, or, more appropriately, the "Cinebistro." It was awesome. You're definitely paying for the experience, but, it was totally fun! They start seating you 30 minutes before show time; we were still early and had to wait in the "lounge."



Once we were inside & seated it was fantastic. The seats are huge comfy leather things with trays that swing over your lap for your food and drinks. I ordered calamari (one of my favorites).




We saw The Lincoln Lawyer - good choice, but I was so exhausted I nearly fell asleep towards the end. On our way home Caroline needed a contact case so we stopped at the drugstore and finally made it home a little after midnight. We stayed up chatting & eating key lime pie & flan until 1am.

Yesterday morning we were out of the house around 9 to drive to Orlando. First stop: Starbucks, where Caroline generously treated us to coffee and bagels.

The drive to Orlando was necessary as Caroline had to attend a conference for work over there & it gave us an easy way to visit my family.



I left with the kids around 2:45 and drove back home. Yep, I saw Caroline for less than a day. It was a very good day, though, I'm still rather amazed at everything we were able to fit in!