Three Year Anniversary!

Joseph and I celebrated three years of wedded bliss on March 24th. We hadn't really talked about doing anything so I was shocked when he called to tell me he had a surprise for me. The only thing I needed to do was...well, everything! Haha! That sounds worse than it is. Just keep reading...

He had school all day that day but thought his professor was going to let them out early and when he got to class, the guy changed his mind. Bummer! So he didn't have time to finalize any plans he had made, other than finding a babysitter for Jonathan which just so happened to be my fabulous sister-in-law, Kristie. He told me he wanted to take me to a nice dinner in Dallas and spend the night in a hotel and gave me an idea of what he was wanting to spend on the room. I got on Facebook and asked friends to give me an idea of where was cool to eat. I've never lived in Dallas like many of my friends so I had no clue where to begin. Thankfully, many people came through. In fact, I got so many suggestions I had a hard time deciding but finally landed on Dallas Fish Market. Cool - one task down, one to go.

The problem I was coming across for the hotel was everyone was either booked or too expensive. I was running out of time because I had to leave to teach my hip hop class at 5:00 and it was already 4:30! Needless to say, I was flustered and called Joseph telling him maybe we should just cancel because I wasn't able to nail anything down. I didn't want to bail on our celebration but it seemed the odds were against us. It was pouring down rain, I had my class until 6:45 and it takes me 30 minutes to get home so by the time I got home it was around 7:30 and I still needed to take a shower, Jonathan was a mess and needed a bath, blah blah blah, etc. etc. etc. Everything a mother worries about. Joseph just said (in his laid back way), "Ok babe. Whatever you want." which upset me because I got all girl-like and thought he didn't care. I know...I can be stupid! He was the one who wanted to surprise me!

Ok, fast forward two hours. I'm driving home from the gym and thinking we're just going to spend our anniversary at home on this wet and chilly evening when I walk through the door and Joseph, completely dressed and looking fine, tells me to take a shower. He's bathed Jonathan (HALLELUJAH!) and was going to take him out to Kristie's while I got ready. Then he told me to pack a bag for the night. I asked him where we were staying since I had zero luck finding anything (I pride myself on my Google skills) and he said it was a surprise. The little stinker was pulling it off! I was so excited!

We wound up eating at the Dallas Fish Market which was fabulous! Our waiter was amazing and so nice and attentive. As he brought us the check, he thanked us for coming in and I said, "No. Thank you. You've helped make our anniversary memorable." and he couldn't believe we hadn't told him. He brought us a complimentary dessert, Lavender Creme Brulee which was one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth. Oh my goodness! If I could make this, I'd be one happy lady! I need to get the recipe somehow. Dallas Fish Market might be one of our new celebratory restaurants. It's expensive but when it's only once or twice a year, it's not too bad. Plus, they change their menu with each season which I love. Seriously, if you can make it, GO!

After dinner, we got in the car and Joseph asked me to input the hotel address in my iPhone GPS. As we were driving looking for it, a little icon popped up on my screen telling me where we were going - the HOTEL ADOLPHUS! Oh my goodness I was so excited! The funniest thing about Joseph picking this hotel is:

1. He told me after dinner, "I hope you like this hotel. It seemed pretty cool online but you never know with the Internet. I guess we'll just have to find out." (We've had some disappointments) :)

2. Once I found out we were going, I yelled, "Shut up! Are we staying at the Adolphus?!" My reaction caused Joseph to think this must be a pretty cool hotel. Glad I could ease his worries.

I studied the Adolphus in college since Hospitality Management was my major. The Hotel Adolphus was built by Adolphus Busch in 1912. It has been ranked ever since as one of the top hotels in the country for it's service and food by the Zagat Survey. It's seriously one of the coolest places. Not only are the rooms super cute and cozy, but right when you walk in you notice all these old antiques that are throughout the hotel lobby. The first thing I noticed was this amazingly old looking wall clock and I pointed it out to Joseph. After we checked in, the front desk manager asked if we'd ever stayed there. He told us to take a look around and gave us the history of the antiquese. I took pictures. :)

Overall, this was an anniversary to remember. Joseph is constantly surprising me and I love him even more than I did the day we got married. In the words of his Granddad, "I love you more than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow." Thank you Joseph for putting up with me! I love you with everything I have.

The bride and groom :)
This table is right when you walk in. The front desk clerk told us it was carved from one piece of teak wood and worth $2 million! Unfortunately this picture does zero justice. Trust me when I say it's absolutely beautiful. Uh yeah, I just touched a $2 million piece of furniture. No big deal.

This is the clock I noticed right a way. Turns out, it was owned by Louis XV. Apparently I have an eye for these things...haha! I'm ridiculous!

And this bowl is over 400 years old and was owned by a Chinese dictator. He used it as a fish bowl. That's the difference between him and me. I wouldn't have allowed anything near this bowl and he's got goldfish pooping in it.