Surprise!

The new house- we will call it that until there is no more old house and the old house is sold- has come with lots of surprises.

It has marble counters! Thats fancy, maybe a little too fancy- because even though it has marble, it doesnt mean it is new, or even great. It means a lot of TLC, and we inherited the lack of care on many of the surfaces. I tried 9 of the 146 different ways to clean marble that the internet “guaranteed” would work, to no avail. And, surprise! Having a professional do it was a quote for $4000, so this will be tabled.

Beyond the counter tops, there was also a surprise error code on our dishwasher! Who does one call for these things? Max the appliance guy.

After getting it to work (once), the second time, and all my attempts of a fix also failed, so we did a family trip to Lowe’s and decided a kitchenaid would be in our future, and paid Max to install it, because it is better to pay him (a local business guy) than Lowes to do the install, plus I was determined that our time with Max would end on a positive note.

Then we went on the theme and surprised Mercy with a sleepover! Ok, it wasnt really a surprise, but I am trying to build a theme here as we had Mercy’s cousin, Everly, stay the night with us and come to the baseball game. This was the first time we made it to the end of the game, and the real surprise? Overtime! Why pay for 9 innings of baseball when you can have 11?

We really did have fun, and if you know mercy, you know she doesnt smile this big very often- Everly is a great guest and we enjoyed the night; plus, it was fireworks night, and they did a (surprisingly) great display!

The next morning Every joined us for church, and they were surprised to be asked to carry the cross for the Children’s church time; also, Rosie and I both had our separate volunteer duties as well.

Are we done with the surprises? Oh no. This year, for the very first time, I surprised Taylor with an overnight trip to the Fearrington House to celebrate our 16 year anniversary.

It took a bit of work to prepare for:

1. The PGA tournament was in town this weekend, so that boinked any efforts within Greensboro.
2. It was our first night out with a babysitter that wasnt family, so that took preparation.
3. Taylor was supposed to volunteer for church on Sunday, so I had to sneakily get our out of that (Thanks Zach for helping!)
4. Rosies friend was supposed to join us for church while her mom had a shift at work to pick up.
5. Do I pack Taylors bag for her and say “get in the car”, or tell her early and allow her time to pack? I went with the latter, and thankful for it.

But, we havent been on a trip this year as we have been consumed with selling the old house, and it was important to still make time, so I bit the bullet and made it happen. The short answer? It was awesome and we will definitely be back, but we will do it a bit differently next time.

The reason for this place was because I thought it was important for Taylor to have a massage- it is something she wouldnt get for herself, and she has been kicking butt in her job burning the midnight oil, and she deserved it.

The room was great, and way bigger than I expected, but there was a reason. I thought I got the cheapest room (as we always do), but way back in July, I thought it might be a good idea to bump up to a better room, so we did. And, it was worth it for a single night; and I splurged for the $20 strawberries and charcuterie.

We had dinner at the restaurant because I didnt really want to research restaurants in Pittsboro, NC. And, surprise! It may have been the best meal Taylor and I have ever eaten, it was so delicious.

The menu was custom printed to say “Happy Anniversary Mr and Mrs Logan”, ha! What a fancy touch.

The server looked like the actor Sean Penn and did an excellent job. He told me to relax and just be myself; I told him he didnt want me to be myself in that environment, and he said “within reason.”

We sat for 2 hours as small portions came. I had the seafood up and down, and the image above was from the blackened Mahi- somehow a complete black crust, but it did not taste charred whatsoever- it was a complete mystery how something can be cooked like charcoal, but taste absolutely delicious and moist. Im still wondering how they did it, but this was the best piece of fish I have ever had in my life.

After a couple hours rest, surprise! Its time to eat again. Then, stroll around the property, get a couples massage, and head home.

We will definitely go back and do a few things different:

1. Bring a bottle of wine from home. Save some money.
2. Eat in Pittsboro. There are some good restaurants not too far away, as the restaurant on property may have been the most expensive meal in our marriage. Happy anniversary Taylor!
3. Get a smaller room.
4. Skip the massage (it was good, but not for every time).

While preparing for the trip, I rationalized the room upgrade, the dinner, and the massage in isolation. But when putting them all together, the bill was pretty steep. But, we enjoyed it, and learned what to do better for next time.