Date #8

Today we had a breakfast date, cashing in a Groupon for a place called Salsa Fiesta. The egg breakfast was okay, but this waffle…This waffle is gluten-free (and it comes with guava and agave!). Breakfast is romantic...

Date #7

This is a date we were planning for a while: the annual Mango Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens.

 

We spent the morning sampling a variety of mangoes and mango products and sweating up a storm. One of the best things we've done for ourselves in Miami is purchase the membership at the garden. It keeps us feeling like we're can be a part of nature here in this urban sinkhole. This date was a beautiful and crowded one and our last opportunity to participate as we'll be leaving Miami next year, so also a unique one.

Date #6

Post-GRE lunch at 1909 Cafe. Who doesn't want a delicious celebration salad and sandwich? Now let's just hope there are sandwiches this good wherever I end up for grad school. <3

Date #5

After a long, hot day stuck inside, the Sun finally went behind the storm clouds in the west and we were able to go to the beach. It's ridiculous how little time we spend at the beach considering we're only a few blocks away. We floated around in the nearly 90 degree water (measured at 88 last Monday) and somehow managed to cool off. We talked about our plans for the future and the tom kha gai I was making for dinner. A date we should repeat more often.

Date #4

A night of comfort. Tonight we headed to Bella Napoli, a quiet local place to get pizza and wine. It had been raining all day and we wanted a cozy spot to hide in a dark corner together. Rain filled the sky and the wind was blowing on our walk home, but we had fun with it, both umbrellas staying right side out!

Date #3

The best coming-home-from-a-long-trip date happens at a diner. A diner always has the right atmosphere for long, drawn-out conversations (the bottomless cups of coffee help, too). When I returned from the Midwest, Justin picked me up at the airport in Fort Lauderdale, late at night. We made our way down US1 and stopped at the Flashback Diner in Hallandale. I don't remember what we ate, but I remember the conversation was good and we were relaxed.

Date #2

Feeling trapped in your apartment is never a good thing and we were both going stir-crazy this afternoon. It's too hot and humid to spend a long time outside, so we headed to Lester's Diner in Fort Lauderdale to eat comfort food and just hang out in someone else's air conditioning for a while. After we relaxed, we headed to the Dania Beach pier to look for sharks and watch people fish. The man in the bait shop said they had recently seen a white nurse shark swimming under the pier, but no such luck for us. We did get to see someone catch a good-sized mackerel and were able to see schools of tiny fish below, but that was about it. We then headed toward home, stopping at the Hollywood North Beach Park boardwalk (on the intracoastal side) to try to find wading birds or manatees (and a restroom). The restroom we found, but the wildlife was nowhere to be seen today.

Date #1

Tonight we had dinner at A la Folie on Espanola Way. Justin was thinking about pot roast, so he got the crepe with beef, potatoes, sauteed onions and red wine. I was not thinking about pot roast, so I ordered one with french sausage, goat cheese and roasted red pepper. I drank the house wine and he had iced tea. I've been fantasizing about travel lately, so we talked about the places we'd like to go and the things in this world we'd like to see. After we ate, we walked to the soundscape at the New World Symphony and then to the beach, where we sat and looked at the nearly full moon and the boats on the water. We debated whether or not there was a rip current in the shallow shoreline and then walked home in sweaty 87 degree weather with lots of humidity. <3

Preface

Justin and I have already been on many dates in our 9+ years together, but tonight we had the idea of chronicling our dates and seeing how they evolve/devolve over time. There will be many repeats, but hopefully there will be some good surprises in here, too. <3