happy birthday pal

our friend turned 30 this week. and she's beautifully round and pregnant and tired. and we are tired too. so naturally that made us the perfect double date couple to invite. i felt special that they picked us.

we lined up sitters. she picked the restaurant. everyone got ready. and off we went. i love going places with ryan. especially when it's just the two of us. it reminds me a lot of when we were first dating. when i use to be nervous around him. it's much more comfortable of course, but that excited energy is still there.

Gingham. we had never been there. i yelped it the day before and it was somewhat of a mixed bag. i didn't get too excited. murphey's law... the more excited i am the more disappointing it usually is.

it was so not disappointing.

the ambiance was fun. old farm house/ranch style restaurant. the water was in old glass milk bottles. like the kind the milk man use to bring. the cups were what you might expect to find on the kitchen table 50 years ago in a southern plantation. old rustic colors. two leather couches and a brown and white raw hide thrown over the back.

and all the servers wore gingham shirts. my mom loves gingham fabric. always has. we even have a 'beach sheet' that is yellow and white gingham. so i kinda fell in love with the place even quicker than i thought.

we started with appetizers. BLT fries. oh my goodness they were good. fries, bacon, fried kale, tomato ketchup, and a white ranch like sauce drizzled on top. and hush puppies. i didn't even know i loved hush puppies. 

i had fried chicken and potatoes. ryan had brisket. the friends had ribs and brussel sprouts. everything that hit my mouth was delicious. i would go back. i actually can't wait to go back. 

and then baskin robbins. 

{my two favorite guilty pleasure in life. this handsome husband and a hot fudge sundae}

and we talked and we chatted and we laughed. we laughed a lot. we were laughing the next morning too. 

happy birthday pal. hope your year is great <3