Knowing that we would have plenty of willing babysitters while in Michigan, I put Brandon on notice that I would like him to plan a date while we were home. Brandon, knowing that Grandpa and Bibi were dying for a sleepover with Jonah, went above and beyond and planned a whole night away! Way to go Brandon.
Now, Brandon has been away from Jonah during my many travels around the country visiting new nieces and nephews...but this was my first night away from Jonah... :(
We all survived.
We started off the evening wandering around World Market. I found (and fell in love with) a couch that would be perfect to replace to the old hide-a-bed in our living room. (*My mom used to say I could find something I wanted in any store I walked into....probably true). I have been wanting a new couch, and this one had almost all the criteria I was looking for: low, deep, squishy back pillows, microfiber fabric, and it comes in grey. Plus it's a sectional, and the "L" part can go on either end. Cool! I say almost, because the price was not right. Yikes, furniture is expensive. This might be a "maybe someday" purchase. We spent a good amount of time "testing out" the sofa while we chatted...we got a few funny looks.
After World Market, it was on to dinner. Brandon found a cute little place in Lansing called The Soup Spoon Cafe. It was a fun, quirky cafe with a casual atmosphere and great food. Good find, B! We shared a soup flight (sample of four soups) and beer cheddar dip with bread and crackers for an appetizer. For our entrees, Brandon had lamb sliders, and I went with the BLT + Avocado. Brandon, obviously, took a break from the Paleo lifestyle for the evening, choosing this place over his first choice - an authentic Ethiopian restaurant that didn't sound so appealing to me...is that love or what?
Next stop - man after my own heart, I tell you - was the MSU Dairy Store for ice cream!!
MSU has an ag college, and the dairy store is an outgrowth of that. They make and package their own cheeses and ice cream. Ice cream right on campus...I can get behind that! At the ice cream shop, in addition to 'regular' ice cream flavors, they have a flavor honoring each of the schools in the Big Ten. I was going to get the Iowa flavor, until I saw what it was: shockingly yellow Banana Choc-Eye Chunk. We went with Death by Chocolate and Purdue Tracks (moose tracks) instead. While we ate, we walked around campus, and Brandon showed me where he did research the summer before our senior year at Hope. We laughed to think that that was SEVEN years ago. Where does the time go?
Brandon's evening was made complete when we got to watch the Tigers play on TV back at the hotel. They don't broadcast many Tigers' games in Iowa. Bummer that they couldn't pull out the win.
This morning we slept as late as we wanted to (!!), and then ate a leisurely breakfast before heading back to MSU to walk in the botanical gardens. We had a tense moment after parking the car when we got a little turned around (somebody doesn't like being lost...). But we eventually found what we were looking for.
I had to laugh when Brandon stopped to look at this bus map to try and get our bearings. As he was studying the map, I noticed the sign behind him, to the right:
If you can't read it, it says "W. L. Beal Botanical Gardens" - we were closer than we thought!
We enjoyed a stroll through the gardens, which were a little on the sad side - not much rain this summer. Then we made our last stop: The Curious Book Shop, mid-Michigan's largest used book store:
Now, Brandon has been away from Jonah during my many travels around the country visiting new nieces and nephews...but this was my first night away from Jonah... :(
We all survived.
 |
| Childless for the next 20 hours! |
After World Market, it was on to dinner. Brandon found a cute little place in Lansing called The Soup Spoon Cafe. It was a fun, quirky cafe with a casual atmosphere and great food. Good find, B! We shared a soup flight (sample of four soups) and beer cheddar dip with bread and crackers for an appetizer. For our entrees, Brandon had lamb sliders, and I went with the BLT + Avocado. Brandon, obviously, took a break from the Paleo lifestyle for the evening, choosing this place over his first choice - an authentic Ethiopian restaurant that didn't sound so appealing to me...is that love or what?
Next stop - man after my own heart, I tell you - was the MSU Dairy Store for ice cream!!
Brandon's evening was made complete when we got to watch the Tigers play on TV back at the hotel. They don't broadcast many Tigers' games in Iowa. Bummer that they couldn't pull out the win.
This morning we slept as late as we wanted to (!!), and then ate a leisurely breakfast before heading back to MSU to walk in the botanical gardens. We had a tense moment after parking the car when we got a little turned around (somebody doesn't like being lost...). But we eventually found what we were looking for.
I had to laugh when Brandon stopped to look at this bus map to try and get our bearings. As he was studying the map, I noticed the sign behind him, to the right:
If you can't read it, it says "W. L. Beal Botanical Gardens" - we were closer than we thought!
We enjoyed a stroll through the gardens, which were a little on the sad side - not much rain this summer. Then we made our last stop: The Curious Book Shop, mid-Michigan's largest used book store:
Brandon was on cloud nine. I think he could have stayed there for hours. After we'd been there about 40 minutes, Brandon was looking for a specific book, and I mentioned that it might be on one of the other two floors. To which he responded: "There's three floors?!" But alas, we couldn't stay all day. We were both anxious to get back and see Jonah.
Grandpa and Bibi tell us they had a wonderful evening - and asked when they could do it again! I'd say it was a success. Thanks to Grandpa and Bibi for making this evening away possible!!
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