Grown-Up Fun in Charlotte, NC!

It was "Big D's" birthday weekend and we wanted to celebrate in a fun way!  I had 3 amazing friends take on the responsibility of our children and Julia Wells cared for our pooches. Thank you SHAFFERS, WILLIAMS, and HARRIS family for loving our children and caring for them. I packed the kids stuff over a week's time, to ensure they had everything they needed, and after we loaded them onto the bus, OFF WE WENT! Yahoo!!!! A full weekend, man o'day, what in the world would we do with ALL OF THAT TIME? LOL! This is where you insert the emoticon with heart-shaped eyes.  Hehe. We enjoyed multiple trips to Starbucks, Chipolte, Cheesecake Factory, "slept in", massages, firearms fun, loads and loads and did I say LOADS of shopping?

Our first stop was to IKEA!!! We spent about 2 hours in the store and left with some accessories for Lilah's room and our new family office that is in the making.  It was a neat experience and actually our first time. We decided to leave our larger priced items and pick them up Saturday! So we went back Saturday again and bought several big pieces, but I think we are slowly returning things because we are used to good quality and we are realizing now that IKEA is fun looking and affordable, but not necessarily good quality.  After IKEA, we went to Blackstone Shooting Range.  We enjoyed a lovely/early dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and spent the rest of the evening shopping at the South Park Mall.  That mall is so nice and Darren is the greatest shopping partner E-V-E-R.

When Darren woke up, on Saturday, his birthday, he walked into a decorated bathroom.  Haha. NOT the typical place to decorate for a party, but it was the only spot I had to do it secretly as he slept.  

On Saturday, we did a ton of shopping on the outskirts and downtown areas of Charlotte.  We got to explore World Market, Marshall's, West Elm, Target, The Container Store, and many more. We walked a TON! It was just nice to have uninterrupted conversations and endless laughter.  There's nothing greater than being with your best friend.  As I have said to my girlfriends, I love my children immensely, but I am secure enough to say that my husband came first. Our marriage deserves time away.  I guess we didn't capture any other photos, but that's because rather than capturing the moments, we were busy enjoying them!

I left Charlotte with one last taste of it! We ate breakfast at the Cheesecake Factory and I brought this Banana Creme Cheesecake for the car ride home.  Believe it or not, I was so well behaved with food over this weekend.  This was only my second splurge.  The night before I had a slice of tiramisu cheesecake.  YES! TWO splurges is BAD, especially for me and my goals, but since January I haven't had ANYTHING BAD, not even a fry, a scoop of ice cream, or a slice of pizza.