[talk: A Very Happy Thirteeth.]

As many of my readers know, the grey winter days can really drag me down.  And I find that I feel poorly about myself, about my role as a wife and mother ... I get more overwhelmed and tend to feel disconnected.

My hubby's and my 13th wedding anniversary was on November 21st ... and the week prior, I decided that I really needed to make it a priority to reconnect with him and sort-of "reboot" before the hectic Christmas season.  He was in total agreement.

Now, like most women, I love it when HE plans something.  But, if I'm honest, it's not really my hubby's strength ... it's mine.  So, without feeling like he didn't really care, or whatever, I put matters into my own hands and booked a hotel, made dinner reservations and bought movie tickets online.

So on this past Thursday afternoon, my hubby and I drove into Vancouver and headed straight to the St. Regis hotel in the heart of downtown.  

It was a perfect location - we didn't have to worry about  in the Vancouver rain because the mall was right across the street.  And my hubby and I wanted to get some of our Christmas shopping done together ... 

So we did some shopping and then headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner ...

I had made reservations at a brand new restaurant called "Black and Blue" from the Global Group of restaurants.  My hubby and I LOVE these restaurants ... Society, Glowbal, The Italian Kitchen - just to name a few -  ... and they are all excellent.  Black and Blue was their latest addition on Alberni Street and let me say - it did NOT disappoint.

It was lavish, had high quality service and the food was absolutely divine.  DEEE-VINE.

It's a steakhouse - which I thought my hubby would love - but it was trendy and sophisticated.    The atmosphere was buzzing with toe tapping music (can't go wrong with Michael Jackson remixes ...) and the menu?  You can see it HERE.  Now, this is not a place that you would hang out on a weekly basis ... this was a special occasion and it was an expensive meal.  But my hubby and I enjoyed our conversation and the food so much ... 

Did I mention the cure-house located in the centre of the restaurant?  Yup ... the meat is THAT fresh ... 

We ordered salads to start - my hubby's caesar was prepared side-table - then we ordered steak *duh* and shared the broccoli side and fried macaroni (oh my WORD ... I only ate one but it was crazy-good).  For dessert, my hubby had a sundae and I chose the Bananas Foster - again, made side-table.  Butter, brown sugar, bananas, bourbon ... and a match.

We were feeling so much better already ... you couldn't wipe the smiles off of our faces.  And we pretty much needed a wheelbarrow to carry us out ... 

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel to get into more comfy clothes and discovered that the elevator was broken. And we were on floor 5.  Ah well ... we needed to burn off a little of our dinner *smile* ... 

Then made our way to the movie theatre, to which I had purchased tickets for online.  But when we got there, they informed us that the movie wasn't playing anymore due to a glitch in the system.

Oh.

There wasn't anything else we wanted to watch ... so we headed back to the hotel - thinking we could maybe buy an in-room movie.  But alas, there was nothing we wanted to watch there either.  So we watched "The Mentalist" on tv (which we've never seen before, and kinda liked) and enjoyed the luxury of an early bedtime.

I slept like a rock.

We woke up the next morning at 8:30am (oh, WOW) and made our way to the hotel's complimentary breakfast ... which was SO good.  Plated food ... fresh omelettes, bacon, potato hash-browns ... we filled up and, packed up, and then made our way into the glorious sunshine for a morning of Christmas shopping.

WIth my very first Skinny Decaf Eggnog Latte from Starbucks in hand, we walked down Robson and stopped and tried things on, and bought gifts for family members.  It was heaven.

We headed home after lunch and even though we were only gone 24hrs, we were so excited to see our kids - and our moods were totally rejuvenated ... I am so, so thankful that we were able to do this.

During our pre-marital counselling, I remember something that Chuck Swindoll had written that we read ... He said, "... the average family has 2 weeks of vacation per year.  One week needs to be with the family, the other - just with your spouse."  He talked of the importance to regroup and  reconnect ... 

Obviously, there are many reasons why some are unable to do a full week alone ... finances, work schedules, child-care.  But one night - just one - is doable for most.  And my hubby and I realized the importance of this, more than ever.  I believe it has totally redirected our home before the frantic Christmas season, and will allow us to be a better team ... together.

So.  Yeah.  That was our anniversary. *grin*

And I wish you and yours a GREAT one today!