Surprises Abounded

This weekend was the beau's birthday. I wanted to make sure he felt as special as possible, so I planned the ultimate surprise weekend. He had no idea what to expect, and I tried to keep in the dark as much as possible. It was a smashing success, and my only regret is that we didn't take enough pictures. The holiday weekend went something like this:

FRIDAY:
- Told the beau to dress up.- Picked him up at 6:30
- Took him for some appetizers and a drink at one of my favorite Charlotte establishments, Savor Cafe.
- Kept him guessing with false clues as we pulled into Ovens Auditorium to see Wicked. I had heard great things about the show, but nothing could have prepared me for how amazing it actually was. I want to go see it again like right now.
SATURDAY:
- Told the beau to pack a heavy coat, scarf, bathing suit, towel, boots and a spoon, and I would be at his apartment at 7:30.
- Made our way to Crowder Mountain State Park for a full morning of hiking, at which point he realized that his bag of advised gear was simply a ruse.
- It took us about an hour to hike up the "strenuous" path. When we started it was damp, gray and cloudy, but by the time we reached the top, the weather was gorgeous, and the views were breathtaking.
- We completed a devotion at the summit and worked our way back down.
- We refueled with lunch at Zaxby's (we truly never get tired of it), then went our separate ways, so he could rest, and I could say goodbye to B's grandmother who passed away last week. It was a bittersweet celebration for a truly wonderful woman.


- Saturday night I had him dress up once again, and we jammed to Mika as we headed up to the Lake Norman Cottage for a wine tasting and dinner. If you live in or around Charlotte, you must try out this place. For $20 a person we enjoyed perfect weather by the marina, five wines, two appetizers, an entree and dessert. We both loved it. We finished the evening by the lake with a stroll along the marina and wonderful conversation with our feet in the water.
- We reluctantly headed toward home (once our wine buzz died down, of course) where we went and saw Robin Hood. Actually, I didn't see any of it since I quickly nodded off to sleep in the theater. Whoops! The beau loved it, though.

SUNDAY:
- I spent Sunday morning working at church, which is always so rejuvenating for my spirit.
- After church I finished the cheesecake whose tragic tale is detailed in the last post, enjoyed a pre-beach (St. Thomas tomorrow!) pedicure with my mom and Sis and did some present wrapping since Sunday was his actual birthday.
- By the time the beau arrived at my condo Sunday afternoon he was dubious about anything I told him. I had told him so many lies, he didn't know if what I said we were doing was actually what we were doing. We went to church together, which is rarity since I work most of the services, and then we went to dinner.
- The original plan was to dine at Soul Gastro Lounge and go dancing afterward, but word of both plans reached the beau before the appointed time, so I did some quick thinking to adapt the evening.
- Instead we headed to NoDa and tried the Crepe Cellar with some friends. I'm not crazy about crepes, but this restaurant changed my mind. Everything we had was delicious, and we literally rolled out of there.
- While the original plan had been dancing, I think the combination of spoiled surprised and full bellies deterred the desire, so instead, the beau and I called it a night, and headed back to my house for birthday cheesecake (we managed to find one empty corner in our tummies) and an MTV True Life marathon. I felt bad that the night had ended so underwhelmingly, but he assured me that it was perfect.

MONDAY:
- The plan for yesterday involved the pool and margaritas, but Mother Nature had other plans.
- We experienced near-torrential rain here yesterday, so the beau and I made the best of it and puttered around World Market, Hobby Lobby and Old Time Pottery, where we both scored some great finds.
- We spent some time crashing on the couch, that quickly turned to snoozing with the weather beating down outside.
- By late afternoon it was time for our final birthday weekend stop... a cookout in the Birthday Beau's honor at my parents' house.

The weekend was perfect, and seeing the smile on the beau's face just made it all worth it! Now if only I could get my bag for St. Thomas to zip, we'd really be in business!