Icing on the Cake

Last night I went to a great restaurant with a friend.  It was in Plaza Midwood which is an area I would not normally traverse alone, up some sketch metal stairs, but once inside, Soul was awesome.  It was warm and cozy with an eclectic decor that made it feel very European.  It also probably helped that the wait staff were dressed like urban Londoners who want to look like hippies.  But anyway, it was a treat.

We had bruschetta with fried goat cheese on top to start.  I got a lamb pita with tzatziki sauce and Eric had a sushi which contained white tuna, salmon and avocado wrapped in fried seaweed (I guess they call that tempura?).  Anyway, I NEVER eat sushi, but he insisted I try a bite, and even though my brain was screaming "You're eating raw fish!!!" and thus making me fight a gag reflex, I got it down.  So, it is official: I have tried sushi.  But I have not changed my mind about it. lol

For dessert Eric had espresso ice cream and we split a chocolate cupcake with a creamy icing studded with blueberries and strawberries - it was pretty much amazing.

While we ate, I couldn't help but admire the way Eric appreciates food.  He talks about it the way I would describe a beautiful sight or a perfect book.  I swear, the way  he talked about the sushi as the most wonderful combination to ever enter his mouth, it made me actually want to try it. lol  It was his colorful words, no doubt, that convinced me...But either way, it's just nice to find that sort of appreciation of the simple things.  He did, however, make me feel very picky.  Which I'm not...well, compared to my mother. 

Eric, who is a photographer/videographer also showed me some ways I can manipulate the aperture and iso on my camera to get different qualities in a photo.  I used some of those techniques this morning.

Sunset from my front yard.

I had to wake up about 30 minutes earlier than usual for an 8 a.m. dentist appointment - I thought I had a cavity, but apparently not, since my dentist said my teeth are so perfect they are probably fake (she has a strange sense of humor) - but anyway, because I woke up early, I looked out the window and the sky was unbelievable.  Gorgeous purple, orange and pink hues extended in fluffy ribbons from the skyline up into the dome of the atmosphere.  It was fabulous - and I used my new camera techniques to capture it.

On top of a beautiful morning and good news from the dentist, the icing on the cake was that I'm going to have two front page story's in Sunday's south Charlotte neighbor's section this week - one is the centerpiece about a guy who has worked to recover from a motorcycle accident, and the other is a column I wrote about my grandparents 70-year-long romance (in honor of their 67th wedding anniversary). 

That piece is one I really enjoyed writing and my editor says I may be able to do a semi-regular column about anniversary stories.  Yeah! 

My grandparents on their wedding day in 1944.

So, it is a good day in Lauren Land.