Romance is in the air...

We had an amazing weekend, and one of the best parts of it is that it's a 3 day weekend (for me, but not for Roy). We kicked off Saturday by attending Roy's aunt Ruth's 50th birthday party. Ruth is a Valentine baby, so the theme of the party was, of course, all things Valentiney.




We convinced everyone to have cake before lunch, because we couldn't stay long, and once I found out it was red velvet cake, I was dying to have some. It was so good that I had 2 pieces! Then we had some lunch, and with our tummies full, we drove out to the Morey Mansion Inn for our romantic night of Victorian decadence.

As I said before, I have been admiring this house from afar for years. It proved to be even more amazing once we got there and went exploring. (I ended up taking about 400 pictures of the house and grounds, and I will be sharing some of them in future posts.) After a couple of hours of wandering around and then resting, we got ready to go to dinner at Les Rendezvous. I felt very stylish and stuff in my special ensemble.



Les Rendezvous is a French restaurant that Roy and I have gone to together a couple of times, all for special occasions (the last time we went was almost 2 years ago on the night we got engaged). The food is excellent, the prices are high (to us), and I have never left unsatisfied. We ordered a bottle of Riesling, and I really enjoyed it. I am not a wine person, so I'm always happy to find something I like.



We started off with the scampi au pernod on toast, which is what we always get for an appetizer when we go there. It is so amazing! I don't have any pictures of the scampi, because we just dove right in, like this:



Finally, I came to my senses and took tons of pictures through the rest of the meal. I had my big ass camera with its big ass lens out, and hopefully everyone thought I was a food critic. We were both transfixed by one server who was constantly playing with fire, as he prepared a spinach salad dressing tableside.



Before dinner, I had a salad with the incredibly tasty house dressing (some kind of vinaigrette), and Roy had the vichyssoise, which was also incredibly tasty. And then it was time for the main course. I had ostrich a la echalotte (ostrich in a shallot and brandy sauce), and Roy had filet mingon with bernaise sauce.



I'd never had ostrich before, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out how yummy it was. Roy's filet was amazing as well. We took our time eating and savored every morsel, and of course we saved room for dessert. I had chocolate mousse, and Roy had chocolate creme brulee.



Was it awesome? Hellz yeah!



One of the waitstaff members took this picture of us.



And we took these pictures of each other. I think they are so cute.



At this point, I was so totally stuffed, but I was cold also. So we went through the Starbucks drive thru and got a white chocolate mocha for me. It pretty much sent me over the edge, and after I drank it, I was uncomfortably full, almost to the point of nausea. We laid in the uber comfortable bed in our room and talked for awhile and then decided to go to sleep. I did not sleep well at all. I had forgotten about the train that runs through the canyon near the inn, and so I was awakened at least once every couple of hours by a train whistle. I also think the late-night coffee had a lot of do with my not sleeping well too.

We woke up early and went downstairs for breakfast. Janet, the inn's proprieter, made us pancakes and fruit.



Her dog, Lady, was so cute and totally knew it.



Janet was a very gracious host, and she spent a lot of time talking with us about the history of the Morey Mansion. I so wished my uncle Charles (who is an architect) could have been with us, because the house was truly amazing. Everywhere we looked, there were breathtaking details, stunning woodwork, and charming knick knacks. Staying there was worth every single expensive penny. It's amazing how one night out of our element really helped us reconnect, slow down, and appreciate the basics: good food, relaxation, and love.



Now we are back home with the cats, the laundry that needs to be done, the dishes that need to be washed, the homework that needs to be completed, but we are better people for having done this for ourselves. Further posts (full of pictures) will prove this, I promise.