I decided to surprise Travis with a date night for Valentine ’s Day – a night out at White Oak Plantation with “an evening of exquisite cuisine, wine, art and entertainment.” 
Sounds fabulous, right? Well – in one word it was “interesting.” For starters parking was not very well thought out. We arrived 30 minutes early and were still deferred to the Albertson’s parking lot where we had to ride the Boogie Bus back to our destination. Not exactly my idea of an appropriate shuttle ride to a formal event…jamming out to hip-hop music with the bass so high the windows rattled in our black and white attire in a fur-lined school bus. HELLOOOOOOO! 
Okay, we got over that pretty quickly and moved on in hopes of a better experience – hmmm, still waiting! Food was sparse, drinks were warm – although I was asked for a photo op by the coke reps for their Smart Water, art was amateur…to be kind, and the entertainment stunk! My HH was so sweet focusing on “it’s the thought that counts” and being happy to just “be with you” that the night was fabulous anyway. AWE.
I did have fun dressing up for the event, though. I was inspired by my black patent peep-toed pumps that make my feet happy to take it retro, like a 50’s style pin-up girl.
I also have a beautiful strand of black glass beads that were my grandmother’s and matched perfectly! And every girl needs to wear bright red lipstick at least once! I watched a few tutorial videos on finger rolls and make-up tips then hit Icing for the silk flower accessories. I had fun even if the event itself left much to be desired!
Sounds fabulous, right? Well – in one word it was “interesting.” For starters parking was not very well thought out. We arrived 30 minutes early and were still deferred to the Albertson’s parking lot where we had to ride the Boogie Bus back to our destination. Not exactly my idea of an appropriate shuttle ride to a formal event…jamming out to hip-hop music with the bass so high the windows rattled in our black and white attire in a fur-lined school bus. HELLOOOOOOO! Okay, we got over that pretty quickly and moved on in hopes of a better experience – hmmm, still waiting! Food was sparse, drinks were warm – although I was asked for a photo op by the coke reps for their Smart Water, art was amateur…to be kind, and the entertainment stunk! My HH was so sweet focusing on “it’s the thought that counts” and being happy to just “be with you” that the night was fabulous anyway. AWE. I did have fun dressing up for the event, though. I was inspired by my black patent peep-toed pumps that make my feet happy to take it retro, like a 50’s style pin-up girl.
I also have a beautiful strand of black glass beads that were my grandmother’s and matched perfectly! And every girl needs to wear bright red lipstick at least once! I watched a few tutorial videos on finger rolls and make-up tips then hit Icing for the silk flower accessories. I had fun even if the event itself left much to be desired!
You thought our doggies were spoiled? Think again! Sugar Bear was the definition of spoiled! When I first got her I was a little worried I might have had to change her name to “Sour Bear” while I had her because she growled at me! After we got used to each other everything was fine though! She actually turned out to be quite cute! 
We introduced Mao to our 
by taking her to a Baton Rouge parade, 
the 
During the parades it’s custom to shout out “throw me somethin’ Mister!” and jump up and down with your hands in the air, the idea being the louder you are the more the float riders notice you and “throw you somethin’” – in this case, strings of 
caught several beads and cups, 
laughed over one float in particular, 
and listened to the bands…my favorite was the bagpipe brigade.
On top of being totally adorable they are EXTREMLY comfortable. Great walking around shoes or shoes for my hip hop 
I also got an adorable belt and shirt, purple of course, from Marion. Thank you Pop-Pop and Marion!!!
Teeny gave certificates to me and Travis for a foot and back rub. And I gave Travis my new favorite romance, 
measuring, 
drilling, 
and chiseling the giant pieces of timber. 
I was enjoying his efforts until it came time for the “raising” of the structure…oh my, how intimidating!! With Christina on one side of the massive frame and me on the other, Travis started directing the placement so that the joints aligned enough that he could pound them in place with a mallet. I AM SUPERWOMAN!!! Well – Samson thinks so, anyway. 
Now we can all relax because he hung my cedar swing that he surprised me with from the 
Not quite. His next venture was a “swing-in movie” – how cool is that on a beautiful clear, warm, winter night!!!! 
He has a projector he uses with his business presentations; with a quick surround sound adaptor set-up and a nice Egyptian cotton sheet, uh hum…grrrr, we had our own back yard theater. Of course his first movie choice was a 
So feeling like he was on a roll, and while the weather was cooperating, he decided to start the picket fence he wants for the back yard, 
fix the leaking pipe outside of the office, and fill in our very own personal 
WHEW, now it’s time to rest and enjoy our fabulous new paradise! I couldn’t have asked for a better Valentine’s weekend.
