Surprises and Other Fun Things

Hello friends!

I had grand plans to spend my Wednesday evening at the gym, community group and writing a fitness post to share on the ol’ blog Thursday, but as plans tend to do when you get a surprise, those went out the window!

Surprise, you say?

Why yes! As I was typing my way through a slow Wednesday afternoon, I received a call from downstairs letting me know that I had a visitor at the office.

Now, if you’ve ever been in a long distance relationship, you know face-to-face time with the other person comes at a very high premium. So you can imagine my excitement that this fun guy had surprised me in Raleigh for a mid-week date!

Aside from the fact that I love surprises and extra time with my main squeeze makes me happy [cue end of mushy stuff], a highlight of our date was the spot he chose for dinner!

It’s a Laotian restaurant tucked in downtown Raleigh right on Moore Square.

The name, Bida Manda, which means Mother and Father in Lao, was chosen because the owners’ parents still live in Laos and send them authentic recipes to serve in the restaurant. Pretty cool, right?

Our waiter was a great blend of friendly and helpful (much needed with such an unfamiliar menu) while being unobtrusive. The owner, Van, even came by our table and introduced himself!

Stepping out of our food-comfort-zone was definitely rewarded! My words won’t do the creative and savory flavors justice, so I’ll just say this: order the Crispy Rice Lettuce Wrap appetizer and the Green Papaya Salad with Filet (it isn’t a salad). You won’t be sorry.

And in other news…

Outfits of the Week: I took a page out of my “favorite fall trend” post and enjoyed my favorite bubble print jeans (ahem, jeggings) for a day.