back to reality

I'm back at home in my little apartment. Steve and I had a nice weekend. I should point out that when he called Friday and told me to be ready at 8am, I wasn't entirely surprised, because we had been talking about going away for a night, but we never really made a decision about it. Our anniversary is this week (four years- ridiculous!), so we thought a night away might be nice- and it was!

As I pointed out,to him, I was ready at 7:50am (like this ever happens on work days!). He picked me up and we drove west. There was, of course, a hurricane heading this way, but we didn't let that discourage us. So, off we went, with a stop at Dunkin Donuts along the way.

Steve had made a reservation at a really nice b&b called Stone Manor in Lovettsville, VA, about an hour from DC. It's out past Leesburg, very close to the WV border. We stopped at several wineries along the way, trying reds and whites and roses at each, and of course, buying a few bottles at each! When we were out there, it was really raining for a while, and quite windy. At several of the wineries, we were the only ones there and the proprietors seemed surprised to hear that we made the trip out! A tree fell and brought some power lines down with it right by the b&b, which made getting there a bit tricky! Later in the afternoon, the rain had stopped and it wasn't so bad. Two of the wineries we went to had weddings there later! For dinner, we went to a really great restaurant called Magnolia's, in an old mill. It was really great. I had the fillet mignon, it was delish. We didn't get desert, because Steve had ordered champagne and chocolate for the room, which was nice! This morning, we had an AMAZING breakfast, prepared by Beth and Spencer, the owners. They had chocolate chip pancakes, buttescotch pancakes, quiche, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, carrot cake muffins, fruit salad and loads more! We left, and went to another vineyard (at 11am, haha!) and drove by a llama farm. We stopped by the outlets in Leesburg, but I didn't buy a single thing. There was nothing that I couldn't live without.

All in all, it was a really nice weekend. It's nice to get out of the city sometimes. You don't even need to go far to enjoy yourself. I highly recommend both the b&b and Magnolia's. If you ever need a getaway, take a look at Stone Manor. The prices are so reasonable too.

I'll be honest, I was hoping he had something sparkly tucked into his pocket, but not so much. Like I said, four years this week, so it's not like we've been together five minutes or anything! We do talk about it, and I know it's coming, but I'm beginning (or maybe not exactly beginning...) to get a bit impatient. I never wanted to be one of those girls who obsessed over when a ring was coming, but sometime I feel like I am becoming that girl that I used to hate, because I don't want to be her.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it here, but Steve is in the process of buying a house. He actually closes on the house on 30 September. I have always been of the opinion that it is best (for me) to wait until marriage to live together. Again, I mean this for me personally. I think I am the only one of my friends who doesn't live with her boyfriend, and I am okay with that, this is what works for us and what is best. However, at this point, four years later, I'm not sure I want to wait at least another year, if not more, to live with him. I mean, even if we were engaged this week, it isn't like the wedding would be for another year, likely more. So, we decided that we may live together when we get engaged. I just hope that's soon.