Ever have those weekends you’d happily live through again? This was one of them!

David and I were way overdue for a date night. I’m not sure when the last one we had was- maybe six months ago? I know we aren’t alone in this with the state of the world, but we decided it was time to venture out. We booked dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, Kindred, for Friday evening, secured a sitter, and I put on heels (well, wedges…) for the first time since who knows when.

I don’t even know where to begin on how amazing it felt to have a night out. First things first, Kindred was incredible with their dedication to the 50% capacity standard that North Carolina is currently working under. We had to have masks to enter, but could remove them once we got to our seats. Tables were spread out, servers were masked, and everything felt sparkling clean. It set the scene for us to be able to relax and enjoy an evening at one of my most favorite restaurants.

If you’re into quality food, Kindred is your place. Their menu is pared down a bit from normal, but still offers a delicious variety of seasonal items. We devoured the milk bread, ordered cocktails (martini for me and a bourbon barkeep’s choice for him), then perused the menu, picking several dishes to share. The winners of the night were the tomato pie and the scallops.

Since our reservations were on the early side of the evening, we weren’t quite ready to head home when we finished dinner. A friend had told me about a new spot in downtown Mooresville called 158 on Main. We decided to swing by and check it out. Upon entering we found out that it operates like a private club, but for $12 each, we could join for the year. Join we did! 

The tables were spread out nicely and they were setting up for some live music, something David and I really enjoy and had missed. Our seat was right next to the piano and we enjoyed a couple hours of cover songs before deciding we needed to head home. It was seriously one of the best nights out. It felt so good to have some one on one time just relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.

After a busy Friday, I’d usually be content just to hang around the house on a Saturday, but we had secured a double decker pontoon through our boat club and friends that were up for hanging out.

We spent the day in the sunshine! Swimming at the pool, then heading out on the lake with a spread of snacks. We had to do some serious convincing to get the kids to go down the slide for the first time, but once they went down once, they were hooked! It was such a refreshing way to spend a summer evening on the water. …though, full disclosure, I definitely ripped the bottom of my bathing suit trying to get running start to go down the slide. My butt still hurts…

Sunday was more low key. We got in a workout, restocked the fridge, printed chore charts for the week, etc. Kaitlyn wanted to help me cook dinner and while I know that always makes things take so much longer, I put a smile on my face and told her how much I would love to have her help. Honestly, she did quite a good job, if you ignore the hot water she basically ladled on herself (she’s fine). She was SO proud of her end result (shrimp pad Thai) and requested I take her picture on the porch like I always do with my food. Of course I obliged!

It’s true that when kids help cook, they enjoy the meal more. She devoured her first helping, filled up a second plate to the brim, thennnnn dropped it on the kitchen floor, shattering the plate into shards. Poor thing was in tears. I convinced her it was a rite of passage for all great chefs and didn’t let her see me sneak back into the kitchen after dinner for pimento cheese and crackers since there wasn’t enough dinner left to go around. Next time we’ll triple the recipe 😉

And so begins a new week! My stress level is still fairly high as we still are not sure of our housing situation, but a weekend like this reminded me that no matter how things turn out, we’ll be OK. So I’m starting this week with a deep breath and smile on my face.  

Share with me- what was the best part of your weekend?!