Simple Splurges

Life is compiled of ups, downs, in-betweens, laugh lines, sore muscles, full tummies, sandy floormats, tired eyes, joyful moments, and
simple splurges.

And this weekend has been dotted with simple splurges!

Double ice cream scoop with four spoons ~ one spoon for Ty, one for Tanner, one for Bry, and, now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure Ty had one spoon in each hand :) Strawberry and Chocolate-Covered Banana never tasted so good! A family outing to TPT {one of my fave home decor places} the ice cream doubled as a distraction bribe, so I could take 30 minutes to search for the perfect find~ and find I did!  An adorable pitcher to hold my orange ranuncula flowers in!

An impromptu beach outing down the street {and when I say down the street, I mean 5 MINUTES AWAY}, boardshort and bikini-clad (will I always be the odd woman out?), buckets and shovels in hand, beach parking, shuffling through the sand, claiming our towels and forming our rears only feet away from the waves. For the next hour I watched my husband run back and forth with the boys, filling buckets with salty water, only to pour it in the sandcastle moat, and repeat a zillion more times!
And then they came...one, then two, and  suddenly our sloppy sandcastle was surrounded, not by seagulls, but by four little beach kids, joining in on our family fun. The fun arrow was apparently pointing down on the moment, and for the next half hour, nothing else mattered, just the six of us digging in the cold sand, making mountains out of beach magic.

Saturday night, my thoughtful hubby surprised me with a belated birthday celebration. My parents came over to get their grandson fix for the evening, and I was excited to get dressed up, spend more than 5 seconds on makeup, kick up my heels {literally} and get some us time! Opening the door, I was surprised to see my brother and sister-in-law, and dear friends Kim and Christian, standing in front of the car!
Surprise!
Dinner for two, turned into a celebratory feast for six at Salt Creek Grille. Dim lighting, a round table ideal for conversation, the best glass of Pinot Noir I've ever had, calamari, cheese plates, discussions about kids and starting small businesses, talk of getting older and the quality of where one chooses to live, french dip sandwiches, a big blue burger, garlic fries and comfortable laughter.

The weekend came to a close, on the heels of a new start.  Monday rose with the sun, its arms open in welcome. What better than coming home from work to fire up the griddle and have an indoor, winter bar-b-que, complete with hot dogs and homemade potato salad {compliments to my mom-in-law}! An intentional menu alternative to chili and baked chicken. Who said hot dogs are only for summer picnics? Driving home, watching the fog roll in from the beach direction, the orange ball dipping its toes in the ocean, I was giddy for the off-season dinner! The perfect start to a fresh week.

A week of simple splurges!