Wednesday Date Night: Friendship, Mediterranean food, and seeing Gravity
In which I discuss how I traveled to space and cried...
all on an average Wednesday.
all on an average Wednesday.
I took this photo yesterday morning, at 9 a.m., as we pulled away from our house to take Justin to work. Just trying to capture as much fall beauty as I can! Sometimes in Colorado we get to enjoy weeks of it. Other times, a quick strong wind or an early snow blows all the leaves off the trees before we get to fully enjoy them.
The morning light was so pretty yesterday.
After dropping off Justin, I met my friend Angela and her two little girls for lunch at Chik-fil-A. Though we mused that we spent more time wrangling our kids and getting them settled than we did actually socializing, it was a much needed lunch date for both of us. Angela is now one of my oldest friends, and we have the type of friendship where we could go months, maybe years, without seeing each other, only to pick up right where we left off. We have this unspoken agreement not to feel bad about being out of touch for long periods of time. That's a great type of friendship to have during this season of life, the season of raising little ones.
Anyway, while catching up, I was excited to tell Angela that we actually had a DATE NIGHT planned yesterday. {A real friend, especially one with kids, gets really happy for you at such news.} I can't remember the last time we had a date night. We were in need.
We dropped the kids {all three of them!} off at our Pastor's house. His daughters are the best babysitters, just another way this family is a blessing to us. They were even okay that it was a school night. Eisley & Violet adore them.
To save time, we stayed nearby and went to Taziki's Mediterranean Grill. This is a new restaurant to Denver, one of those "half-served" sort of places where you place your order and pay, get a number, take a seat, and they bring you your meal.
Here's what we have to say about Taziki's:
The food was really very good. Pretty much all their entrees were under $10. Wednesday nights were 1/2 price bottles of wine so we split a bottle of Pinot Grigio and felt like we got a great deal. Based on the food alone, as well as the price points, we'd absolutely go back. That is, despite the service...
We found the service lacking. I can't remember a single employee making eye contact with us. I could go into more detail, but I won't bother. We were unimpressed with their staff, but not to the point where we felt slighted or turned off from the restaurant altogether. I'd go back again just for the food, but maybe hoping that the employees aren't such zombies next time?
{Does that even look good? I'm never sure about food photos. Sometimes food shows up on Instagram and you're not sure if it's someone's dinner...before--or after--eating it, you know? We can't all have food stylists for our Instagrams, can we?}
Anyway, I had the beef tenderloin with horseradish sauce. Justin chose the herb roasted pork chops and it came with the most delicious tomato chutney aioli. Both entrees came with fresh Greek salads that were entrees in themselves. We were left completely happy with the food; the best part about Mediterranean cuisine is that you never feel gross after eating it, as you would after eating a smothered Mexican meal or a greasy burger.
After eating, we headed across the street to see the movie Gravity starring Sandra Bullock.
Here are my thoughts on Gravity:
- Sandra Bullock WILL be nominated for this, and I hope she wins. Wow. This movie was basically a solo performance {a refreshing thing right now, amongst all these many productions in which Hollywood tries to cram as many A-listers together as possible, hoping to make more money}, and she carried it. Excellent performance.
- This movie is just 90 minutes, which makes it the perfect movie for parents of little ones to see. Whenever we pick a movie over 2 hours, like so many are these days, I worry about asking too much of our babysitters, especially since we usually like to grab a bite to eat too. A fantastic film, only 90 minutes? What more could a mother of a 3-month-old ask for?
- If they ever allow space travel for regular people like myself...there is no way you're ever convincing me to go up there. Apparently, from what I've read about this movie, this movie is not so unrealistic. It's a real possibility, becoming detached in space. Terrifying.
- Wednesday night is the best time to see a movie. There were about 5 other people in the theatre, and guess what? Not a single one was a popcorn-rustler, a bring-your-own-candy-individually-wrapped-in-cellophane eater, an I-must-say-aloud-what-I'm-thinking-throughout-the-entire-movie lady, OR a gross-loud-coughing-I'm-so-sick-I-should-be-quarantined man! This sort of polite movie experience hasn't happened for me in years, yet it did last night. I am so easily distracted that seeing movies in public can be a real problem for me. The movie Gravity has several long, incredibly quiet scenes too, so this was a big deal.
- This is one movie I'm so glad to have seen in a theater, and in 3D. When you get home you can give your 3D glasses to your kids and then even they are happy you got a night out!
- Here I'd thought being in space would be like swimming. At one point, I wondered why Sandra Bullock's character didn't just doggie-paddle her way over to that space station. It doesn't work like that. How terrifying to be in outer space and not even be able to control which direction you float!
- This movie was perfectly executed. I read somewhere that it took them years of waiting around for technology to advance to where it needed to be just to make this movie. Cool.
- Again, I'm never going into space. I dislike space for the same reason I dislike the ocean. I'm the opposite of a claustrophobic, I'm agoraphobic. Large, open spaces terrify me.
- What I knew about this movie beforehand was this: Sandra Bullock is lost in space. Already seems hopeless, doesn't it? The entire movie was a perfect balance of ups and downs. It's so, so very hopeless. I think I developed a stomach ulcer from the stress of just watching this movie.
- At the same time, seeing it in 3D especially, it's such a treat to get to see the world from outer space. It's a breathtaking view! It makes you think about God, creation, life. We are so small, and yet so precious. There was a part where you hear a baby cry {trying not to give away spoilers} and it brought me to tears.
- There is no need for me to ever. ever. ever. travel into space. BUT, if I did want to, I sort of feel like I already crossed that off the bucket list last night just by seeing Gravity.
- All that to say: it was really good, if you have a chance to see it in the theatres, DO. If you don't have the chance to see it in the theatres, DO anyway.
I took this brilliant photo with my cell phone in the parking lot at Chick-fil-A.
Cheers,
Heather
2 comments
I was so viscerally pulled in to that movie that at one point I reached forward and was trying to grab something with one of the characters. I remember my mouth dropping open, my hands flying over my face. I haven't been so bewitched by movie magic in years. I kept thinking about it for days. I hope Sandra gets the nom, too.
ReplyDeleteGlad to have found your blog. And so glad to have someone to chat with about the movie. First time I saw it in 3-D. Then we were traveling, and passed an IMax theater in Okla. So we pulled in and saw it again in IMAX AND 3D. It was a fantastic experience. I was ducking and diving space debris. The other very gentle thing I liked (being Lutheran) was the quiet way Sandra Bullock went from hanging onto nothing for hope to whispering quiet prayers. I look forward to reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you have to say for yourself?