Our Night at Paco's Tacos

My parents came last night from Columbia to Charlotte.  It was their 32nd wedding anniversary as you know, and cause for a celebration!  Mom and Dad got in around 6:30, and we showed them the new things that we got for the house and spent some time on our patio.  We had reservations at Paco's Tacos, which was quite fitting since this was the first year in several that we haven't celebrated their anniversary in Mexico.  Paco's Tacos has a really hip atmosphere and some of the best fish, shrimp, and beef brisket soft tacos you've ever tasted.

What they didn't know is that I'd already made a stop by Paco's Tacos earlier that evening and I dropped off two framed pictures of them to decorate our dinner table, one from their wedding day (same one you saw on yesterday's post) and one taken recently.

When we were led to our table and Mom and Dad saw the framed pictures on the table, they were so surprised.  Mom was even brought to tears.  It was an awesome moment!

The waiter asked what the secret was to staying married for 32 years. Mom said "The only way to stay married is to stay married."  Makes sense to me.

Ok seriously.  The dinner was divine.  And no, I couldn't eat all of that!  Half of it is today's lunch.  :)

But man, oh man, was it GOOD.  And that margarita?  According to our waiter, it was the best one on the menu.  Top-shelf tequila mixed with freshly squeezed lime juice and Gran Marnier ... done and done.  And of course it was on the rocks with a salted rim -- my favorite way of enjoying a 'rita.

One of the reasons why I didn't finish dinner was because I knew the folks at Paco's Tacos were coming out with some special treats ... tres leches and a brownie with deep-fried ice cream. 

So yes, we left significantly stuffed, everyone loved dinner, and Mom and Dad had a great time celebrating their 32nd anniversary.  And someone has awesome leftovers in the fridge.  :)

Anniversaries All Around!

Happy 32nd anniversary to my beautiful parents, Bill and Chris!

Mom & Dad's Wedding Day, Fayetteville NC, 1979

I am so happy that you got married and had babies.  :)

Mexico

At home

New Years in Columbia, 2010

Puerto Rico

Mexico

Can't wait to celebrate with you both tonight.  We have a fun night planned for you here in Charlotte!

PS - Happy 2-month anniversary to my husband, Ian!  Here's to many more.  MUAH!

Summer's Not Over

I know fall is on the brain.  I get it.

But summer's not over ya'll.  And I need the below outfit STAT!

Summer's Not Over by april8228 featuring metal shades

Ash's Bachelorette Weekend - Part II

The house that we stayed in for Ash's bachelorette weekend in Wilmington was absolutely fabulous.  The matron of honor found this on vrbo.com and it is quite a steal.  If you're interested in checking it out, here is the listing for The Dames Inn.  Built in 1924, it boasts 5,000+ square feet and 14 rooms.

The house even had its own bar!
(Check out the fans up top too)

Huge walk-in pantry ... I was in love!

Every morning we gathered around the kitchen island and had coffee.

The sitting room

The silver metallic floral wallpaper was perfect!

The library

My pretty room!

Check out the wallpapered ceilings.

Whenever I go back to Wilmington, I will definitely be checking the availability of The Dames Inn.

Ash's Bachelorette Weekend - Part I

My friend Ashley is getting married in one month and two days.  We can't wait - we're so excited for her and Chase!  You may remember my post about their engagement shower in December, which can be found here.  So this past weekend we went to Wilmington, North Carolina to celebrate Ash's bachelorette weekend.  This is going to have to be a two-part post ... way too many pictures were taken, and the fabulous house deserves a post of its own!

So without further ado ... here's how we partied down on Friday, Saturday and Sunday:

This is before dinner Friday night.  We all got ready and then two long golf carts pulled up in front of our house to pick us up.

En route to dinner ... we had delicious sushi at Yosake on South Front Street.  Oooh, and how could I forget to mention my cocktail before dinner -- they do a St. Germain/gin/club soda cocktail that is to die for!

Taking shots and loving every minute.  Okay, maybe not so much.  Look at our faces!

The next morning we loaded up the car and headed to nearby Wrightsville Beach.  We got all 7 girls in one car along with 7 chairs, 3 large coolers, and 7 beach bags!

We did a little shopping at Monkee's after leaving the beach and then had a low-key night ... takeout Thai food on the front porch.

We threw Ash a lingerie shower,  and as part of the shower, each girl brought a wrapped pair of undies with no name on it.  Ashley had to open the packages and guess who each pair came from.

We can't forget to give a shout-out to Eddie, the scary butler that graces the foyer ... wth!?  His eyes followed you around the room (not kidding) and he made groaning sounds.  It kept us laughing all weekend.

And if you follow me on Twitter (@ALizAdventures), you know that we had a blast playing The Name Game that night.  Part of it involves a charades aspect and guess who was the worst??  Yours truly.  I am so bad at charades!

Tomorrow, I'll tell you more about this amazing house we stayed in.  If you've ever wanted a Wilmington escape, I couldn't give a better recommendation to this historic home.