11 Years!

Paul and I have been together for 11 years. 11 years! That's a long damn time. But the years have flown by. It definitely doesn't seem like it was 11 years ago that we met at Newby's, a little college bar, over a game of pool.

Some years, we do fancy things. But most years, we just go out to dinner. We don't go out to dinner together very often, so anywhere we go seems special. This year, we had $100 in gift cards for Babalu Tacos & Tapas in Overton Square, so we figured why not use them and get free dinner.

Babalu is a casual taco joint with a big patio, and the weather has been so nice lately. So of course we sat on the patio.

I started with a TC Tea cocktail — sweet tea vodka, mint, lemon, powdered sugar, and Sprite.

And we ordered some Tableside Guacamole to share. They make it fresh right in front of you, and they add sundried tomatoes, which really adds a yummy kick. I ordered a side of crudite for dipping, so I wouldn't be tempted to eat so many chips before my food arrived.

I won't show you what Paul ordered because it wasn't vegan. But I had the Black Bean Torta with red chimichurri, grilled red onions, arugala, and avocado. They typically use eggs as a binder in their homemade veggie burger, but since they make them to order, they can make the patties without eggs. Also, while I'm not a fan of arugala, it actually worked well here.

Paul told one of the hosts that it was our anniversary, unbeknownst to me. So I was super surprised when the server brought a sparkler to the table! I love sparklers!

We usually go to Newby's, the bar where we met, for drinks at the end of our anniversary night. But Newby's closed down last year. It's reopening soon, but it's still closed for now. So we just went home. Now we're stuffed and watching a movie. And then we'll call it a night. But it was a lovely, laidback anniversary.