![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Dog-Free Day
Lance and I haven't really been on a date in a long time. We changed that today.
We dropped Reece off at Petsmart shortly after 9. Then we drove down to the Tacoma Dome for the Tacoma Home & Garden Show. We found parking, located the Will Call booth, and picked up the passes that my client left for me.
We were there shortly before it opened, so we had to wait outside for a bit. It was a bit chilly, but at least it was sunny. At 10, the doors opened, and we went in. And because we were part of the first 150 people in the door, we each received a $20 gift card to Windmill Gardens. It's a bit of a drive from here (in Sumner), but it looks like it's definitely worth it, and a nice idea for a day trip, since the gardens look really pretty, they have gardening classes on the weekends, a cafe and tea shop, and the town of Sumner itself looks quaint and cute.
I also got a free pair of gardening gloves that have cute lady bugs all over them.
And that was right after we walked in the door.
We located my client's booth very quickly. She had a pretty big set-up. So we walked over there and I introduced myself. We chatted for a few minutes. I offered to buy her a coffee as a thank you for the free tickets, but she declined.
We wandered around, and of course we were accosted by sales people everywhere we went, many of them trying to get us to enter drawings for free windows (oh my God...really? Isn't that what we just spent $15,000 replacing?). Starbucks was there (surprised?) passing out free samples of their berry chai infusion, which was something I have seen them advertise but felt a bit scared to try. Turns out, it's not bad. It tastes a lot like spiced cranberry punch. Plus they had coupons for a free tea latte or tea infusion at any Starbucks. So now I have 2 free drinks at Starbucks. Woohoo!
After an hour or so, the crowds started pouring in, and it was getting harder to get around. I was more interested in visiting the gourmet food vendors and the craft booths, since we're not exactly looking to do any large-scale home projects right now.
I walked out of there with 3 packages of soup mix (buy 2, get 1 free). They had samples of a couple different soups and all you do is add water. They were AMAZING. They tasted like they had been simmering all day on the stove, and such a brilliant thing to have around for a quick supper. I got corn chowder and a cheese and potato soup (both good with diced ham, which is great, since we still have plenty in the freezer) and the most labor intensive is the chicken and dumplings, which still isn't labor intensive.
I also bought a couple of trivets that double as wall hangings. I'm going to hang them on the wall in our little dining nook. The guy who was selling them also had these cool dual trivet/cutting board things that I also really liked, but were a bit spendy. He had these hilarious magnetic dry erase boards with snarky sayings on them. I so badly wanted to get one for my cubicle.
We weren't there for 2 hours...about an hour and 45 minutes or so, and the crowds and assertive vendors annoyed us enough that we decided to leave. We more than got our money's worth though, considering we only had to pay for parking and the gas to drive down there.
I remembered seeing this used bookstore just down the street from the Tacoma Dome, so we didn't go back to the car right away. I asked Lance if we could take a look at the bookstore. It was the Tacoma Book Center, and it didn't look like much from the outside. But just as you should never judge a book by its cover...
I walked in and my jaw hit the floor. It was MASSIVE!!! It was cramped in the sense that it had narrow aisles, with floor to ceiling shelves and books stuffed in every conceivable nook and cranny. I think Lance got this "oh shit" look when we walked in, because he probably figured he would have to drag me out of there kicking and screaming. But I was considerate and only made him wait about 5 minutes. Just long enough to whet my appetite and want to go back there at a time when I can spend hours. I managed to escape without buying anything. That was miraculous in and of itself.
But I will be back. Mark my words.
It was noon by this time, so we were trying to decide what to do for lunch. I wanted to eat at one of the restaurants on Tacoma's waterfront, but Lance was in the mood for pizza or pasta. So he offered up a choice between Fondi or Olive Garden. We go to Fondi more than we do Olive Garden, so I chose the latter. So we drove even a bit further south to eat at the one by Tacoma Mall. Neither of us could finish our lunch. After about half of it, we were stuffed, so we took the rest home with us. I ordered that new Four Cheese Stuffed Mezzaluna with Sausage. It was good. Not the best dish I've ever had there, but good. I wanted more ravioli than sausage, though. I ended up with more meat than pasta. Lance had the chicken fettuccine alfredo. So we can eat the rest for dinner tonight, I guess.
We headed home afterwards, making a detour to the gas station and car wash so that we could clean my car. And then we stopped by Schuck's Auto Supply to pick up some leather wipes for my car seats and some interior wipes for everything else. My car was really dusty and the backseat was covered in dog hair and paw prints. :) So now it's relatively clean, although I still need to vacuum the interior and wipe down the windows.
We're hanging out at home now and will go pick up Reece in an hour or so, but not before I make a stop at World Market. We have laundry going. Sometime tonight, I'll need to do some dusting and maybe get Lance to run the vacuum cleaner.
It's been a nice day. I badly needed to get out of the house. Very little of my time has been spent outside home or work lately, so I was going a bit stir crazy. Today has gone a long way toward restoring a bit of calm.
We dropped Reece off at Petsmart shortly after 9. Then we drove down to the Tacoma Dome for the Tacoma Home & Garden Show. We found parking, located the Will Call booth, and picked up the passes that my client left for me.
We were there shortly before it opened, so we had to wait outside for a bit. It was a bit chilly, but at least it was sunny. At 10, the doors opened, and we went in. And because we were part of the first 150 people in the door, we each received a $20 gift card to Windmill Gardens. It's a bit of a drive from here (in Sumner), but it looks like it's definitely worth it, and a nice idea for a day trip, since the gardens look really pretty, they have gardening classes on the weekends, a cafe and tea shop, and the town of Sumner itself looks quaint and cute.
I also got a free pair of gardening gloves that have cute lady bugs all over them.
And that was right after we walked in the door.
We located my client's booth very quickly. She had a pretty big set-up. So we walked over there and I introduced myself. We chatted for a few minutes. I offered to buy her a coffee as a thank you for the free tickets, but she declined.
We wandered around, and of course we were accosted by sales people everywhere we went, many of them trying to get us to enter drawings for free windows (oh my God...really? Isn't that what we just spent $15,000 replacing?). Starbucks was there (surprised?) passing out free samples of their berry chai infusion, which was something I have seen them advertise but felt a bit scared to try. Turns out, it's not bad. It tastes a lot like spiced cranberry punch. Plus they had coupons for a free tea latte or tea infusion at any Starbucks. So now I have 2 free drinks at Starbucks. Woohoo!
After an hour or so, the crowds started pouring in, and it was getting harder to get around. I was more interested in visiting the gourmet food vendors and the craft booths, since we're not exactly looking to do any large-scale home projects right now.
I walked out of there with 3 packages of soup mix (buy 2, get 1 free). They had samples of a couple different soups and all you do is add water. They were AMAZING. They tasted like they had been simmering all day on the stove, and such a brilliant thing to have around for a quick supper. I got corn chowder and a cheese and potato soup (both good with diced ham, which is great, since we still have plenty in the freezer) and the most labor intensive is the chicken and dumplings, which still isn't labor intensive.
I also bought a couple of trivets that double as wall hangings. I'm going to hang them on the wall in our little dining nook. The guy who was selling them also had these cool dual trivet/cutting board things that I also really liked, but were a bit spendy. He had these hilarious magnetic dry erase boards with snarky sayings on them. I so badly wanted to get one for my cubicle.
We weren't there for 2 hours...about an hour and 45 minutes or so, and the crowds and assertive vendors annoyed us enough that we decided to leave. We more than got our money's worth though, considering we only had to pay for parking and the gas to drive down there.
I remembered seeing this used bookstore just down the street from the Tacoma Dome, so we didn't go back to the car right away. I asked Lance if we could take a look at the bookstore. It was the Tacoma Book Center, and it didn't look like much from the outside. But just as you should never judge a book by its cover...
I walked in and my jaw hit the floor. It was MASSIVE!!! It was cramped in the sense that it had narrow aisles, with floor to ceiling shelves and books stuffed in every conceivable nook and cranny. I think Lance got this "oh shit" look when we walked in, because he probably figured he would have to drag me out of there kicking and screaming. But I was considerate and only made him wait about 5 minutes. Just long enough to whet my appetite and want to go back there at a time when I can spend hours. I managed to escape without buying anything. That was miraculous in and of itself.
But I will be back. Mark my words.
It was noon by this time, so we were trying to decide what to do for lunch. I wanted to eat at one of the restaurants on Tacoma's waterfront, but Lance was in the mood for pizza or pasta. So he offered up a choice between Fondi or Olive Garden. We go to Fondi more than we do Olive Garden, so I chose the latter. So we drove even a bit further south to eat at the one by Tacoma Mall. Neither of us could finish our lunch. After about half of it, we were stuffed, so we took the rest home with us. I ordered that new Four Cheese Stuffed Mezzaluna with Sausage. It was good. Not the best dish I've ever had there, but good. I wanted more ravioli than sausage, though. I ended up with more meat than pasta. Lance had the chicken fettuccine alfredo. So we can eat the rest for dinner tonight, I guess.
We headed home afterwards, making a detour to the gas station and car wash so that we could clean my car. And then we stopped by Schuck's Auto Supply to pick up some leather wipes for my car seats and some interior wipes for everything else. My car was really dusty and the backseat was covered in dog hair and paw prints. :) So now it's relatively clean, although I still need to vacuum the interior and wipe down the windows.
We're hanging out at home now and will go pick up Reece in an hour or so, but not before I make a stop at World Market. We have laundry going. Sometime tonight, I'll need to do some dusting and maybe get Lance to run the vacuum cleaner.
It's been a nice day. I badly needed to get out of the house. Very little of my time has been spent outside home or work lately, so I was going a bit stir crazy. Today has gone a long way toward restoring a bit of calm.