The Weekend Daily: Hunger Games and such

I was really, really lucky to see an Advanced Screening of The Hunger Games on Wednesday. Two days before it came out! Two days!
I couldn't believe that I would be walking around, like a normal person, knowing I had seen The Hunger Games before most of the country. I could hardly contain myself.
Since I have seen it I have read a lot of reviews from websites and blogs, mostly positive with some criticism, but overall quite good.
I agree with most of what I have read---the movie was fantastic! Yes, it lacked some of the elements that made the book so rich, all the same---it was a strong portrayal of the book.
There were some scenes from the book that I missed seeing in the movie, but only because I think that someone watching the movie without reading the book would be confused. I think there were a lot of implications in the movie-- betting that a majority of viewers would have read the book already.
All in all--I loved it. Movies are never as good as the books, but this one came pretty darn close. Most of all, the books and the movie have encouraged reading and thoughtfulness in young people {and adults} everywhere! It's hard to deny the benefit there.
Anyhoo...here is a picture of me, in my best Katniss inspired outfit.

See that Mockingjay pin? Dan had it overnighted to me just so I could wear it to the screening! What a guy.... 

We kinda counted this as our date night too. It was great. We only had to wait in line about an hour, but it was all fun. We ate hot dogs and nachos and got some cool free swag. 

Other than that, we hung around this weekend, ran some errands, watched some TV, ate at Furr's Cafeteria {throw back time, big time!} and relaxed with this little girl....

Have you seen The Hunger Games? Whatcha think of it???

Been a Little MIA

I have been neglecting this blog. It's true. But not intentional. We have been so busy! I don't have a lot of words, {they'll come soon} but I do have a lot of pictures, for now.

Above: Dan and I love spring training. It is such a great time in Arizona! We visited a Brewers game a few weeks ago. It was a lovely day.

Above: A little wedding {!} shoes shopping, but no buying just yet.....

Above: Dan surprised me about a month ago with a trip to the San Luis Obispo, California. We love it there. On the first night we visited the very popular downtown farmer's market.

Above: The weather was kind of gloomy....{Avila Beach, CA pier}

Above: But we made the best of it!

Above: And ate a lot of meals like this....

We have been busy, but happy. Last night, we saw an advanced screening of The Hunger Games!! Only the most exciting thing to happen ever!! {just kidding, not ever, but close} Check back here on Friday for a review of the movie!

What have you been up to lately?

The Weekend Daily: Visitor Style!

This weekend, Dan's mom visited! We had a great time just going around town, shopping and eating. Riley also had a vacation of sorts---she went to Doggie Day Camp at Petsmart! {highly recommended--she loved it!}

Some photos from our weekend. Come again soon, Cathy!

Above: We found some great deals here. And some unique items too. See below:

I also picked up some really delish cranberry juice and drank the whole bottle in 1.5 days!

Riley had a little adventure herself this weekend. She went to Doggie Day Camp at PetsMart and let me tell you, this place is a Godsend! She plays all day, eats doggie ice cream and can even watch doggie themed tv shows. Best of all, she gets lots of play time with other dogs at the camp. I especially love that she gets to interact with other dogs--I want her to be well socialized and not scared/mean to other dogs she sees. Another bonus? When she gets home she is TIRED. Sleeps through the entire night! Woo hoo!

We also took a quick trip to our favorite little shaved ice spot and snapped these really flattering shots....
Just a note: If we have that slightly crazed look in our eyes it's only because it took a few shots to get us  both in the shot.

We had a great weekend! Lots of fun and time with family is always nice! Last night, as we were relaxing at home I snapped the below shot of one our beautiful Arizona sunsets.

Thursday Love: Waaaaay late.

Today is Wednesday. Tomorrow is Thurdsay, date night. Today I am posting about LAST week's Thursday date. So......Yeah.

Perhaps last week's date photos below will give you a glimpse into why I have not been posting, like at all.

Above: Dan has long been scared of eating at Village Inn. Way back in the day, he ate a VI and got sick afterward. I, on the other hand, happen to think VI is delish. So, last week, I talked him into trying it again. I meant to take a before shot of our food, but it was really good and we were really hungry, so I snapped an after shot as a testament to our new affinity for the VI.

Above: Me. at VI. Some back story here: This was not our intended date night last week. We had planned to eat at VI, yes, but we had totally different plans for after dinner. But then, Thursday rolled around and I had this school assignment that scared me pretty much to pieces. So Dan, being the loving fiance that he is agreed to eat at the VI across from my school and then head to the library with me to work on said scary assignment. I mean really. REALLY people. Beat that!

Above: We spent most of the night looking at pages like this......

And in the end.....

Above: Our table in the library looked like this.

And that was our date night! Maybe not as glamorous as others, but I am grateful to Dan for helping me and you know, it felt darn good to have that assignment off my list!