10th Anniversary - Part 3

On Thursday, the day before our anniversary, we learned that our condo complex STILL hadn't gotten our A/C fixed and we were looking at temperatures in the 80's for the weekend. We joked Thursday night about getting a hotel for the weekend then we looked at each other and thought why not? After some searching online, we snagged a great deal for the Westin Hotel in Annapolis and as a bonus, it was pet friendly so Sophie could go too!

Amazingly, after living just outside Washington, DC for nearly 11 years now, we've never been to Annapolis. It's only a 45 minute drive which makes it a great place to run off to when you want to get out of town as the last minute.

The hotel was very nice and located just at the outer edge of the old part of town. A free shuttle bus from the hotel was available to take you down to the harbor or just about anywhere else nearby. We have a room at the end of the hall which included the Westin pet bed, food and water bowls and doggie placemat for Sophie. She wasn't keen on the bed at first but after walking her little butt off the first day, that changed. She liked our bed too.

The old part of town was easy to walk around and very pet friendly. Sophie was allowed in just about every shop. There was a harbor tour that let us bring her aboard and if we wanted to, we could have taken a horse-drawn carriage tour with her as well.

Jim and I on the hrabor tour.

Sophie on the harbor tour

Any restaurant with outdoor seating welcomed pets, including one place we went to in one of the many marinas that gave pets a little plate of bacon when you came in for breakfast.

Annapolis harbor

The best part of the entire weekend was just being able to relax and enjoy spending time together (all 3 of us).

10th Anniversary - part 2

So the surprise Jim had for me on Thursday was a very cute card. On the cover were two Hawaiian shirts with hats and sunglasses and two tropical drinks with umbrellas. All of it was made with real cloth or other scrapbook like materials.

On Friday we had dinner planned at Corduroy. We had an absolutely wonderful evening which included a bottle of champagne from my family, great service from Ferhat, Kat and Pinchon and of course, amazing food.

The happy couple

Crab and Squid Ink Pasta - Jim's appetizer.

Chilled English Pea Soup

Seared Sea Scallops atop mashed potatoes
with Morel Mushrooms and Chardonnay Sauce - My entree.

Roast and Confit Guinea Hen with Local Baby Leeks
and Shiitake Mushrooms - Jim's entree

Fresh Strawberries with Strawberry Sorbet and Creme Anglaise - Jim's dessert

Baked Chocolate Sabayon - my dessert

It was decadent and indulgent and the perfect way to celebrate 10 wonderful years with a wonderful husband. And on Saturday morning, we loaded up the hound in the car and drove up to Annapolis for the weekend. More on that in the next post.

Our 10th Anniversary - Part 1

Tomorrow will be our 10th Wedding Anniversary. Woot! Hard to believe we've been together that long.

Last weekend I surprised Jim with a bottle of Middleton's Rare Irish Whiskey. He was somewhat speechless for a few minutes. He'd look at the box, open his mouth to say something, look up at me, then back at the box again. He cracked it open last night and let me have a sip. Let me tell you, I am not a whiskey drinker, the stuff's usually too harsh for me but this stuff was as smooth as a baby's butt. I could drink this.
My gift from Jim has been a little surprises every night this week. Tuesday he brought home a dozen red roses. They smell so nice!
Last night he brought home some Belgian chocolates from Neuhaus. He hand picked all 16 chocolates in the box. How sweet is that? I had a mandarin orange one last night and it was fabulous. I'm going to savor these and only have one a day which is no small feat for a choco-holic.
I have no idea what my surprise will be tonight but I can't wait.

He tried to surprise me with breakfast in bed yesterday. It would have been a nice surprise except for one thing. About the same time he was coming through the bedroom door, plate in hand, someone started to jack-hammer outside our front door! I bolted upright and hollered, "Oh Shit! Scared Jim too. Needless to say, it wasn't the romantic response he was looking for. After my heart stopped pounding, I came downstairs and enjoyed a lovely breakfast with Jim (and Sophie).