Winning Gets You This

We had a great date night, thanks to winning at last year's KSU Wabash Cannonball. Although it seemed a little strange staying in a hotel just 20 min. from our house and finding a babysitter for our fur baby (Thanks Matt & Heather!), it's an ideal way to get away from the daily grind.

Away from laundry, dishes, miscellaneous house projects and our ADD dog, it was just the two of us. And it was nice.

Our plan was to enjoy the Crown Center area before dinner and walk around amidst the sun shining. Welp, the lovely rain ruined it for us, so we made do with what Mother Nature provided.

First on the list was checking in, cashing in our complimentary night's stay at the Westin. Well, the hubs just so happened to forget his wedding ring (went golfing on Friday and left it in his golf bag), so he didn't have it on. We joked for the rest of the night how the front desk staff probably thought we were on a secretive affair getaway. But then again, there are tons of guys who don't wear their wedding rings (my dad is one). I don't think I would be ok with Brian not wearing his. :)

Our room was great. I know it's just a typical hotel room, but it was nice. The bed was comfortable (I'm pretty picky when it comes to this) and we had a spectacular view of Liberty Memorial.

From our balcony

I couldn't believe people were swimming. Heated pool of course, but still, it was quite nippy outside!

For the first hour, we walked around Crown Center, browsing the shops. I have actually never spent much time in Crown Center in the almost 4 years I have lived here.

Holy cow, it's a kid factory!

I can definitely see why parents bring their children here...I was drooling over every sweet smell that came out out of Chip's Chocolate Factory, Topsy's, Sheridan's, and the Crayola Cafe. It's a for sure way to keep a kid occupied...or a 27-year old sweets addict. I was craving a piece of fudge, a strawberry concrete, chocolate covered popcorn and a root beer float all at the same time. All things I can't have until Lent is over, boo.

Next, we jumped in the car to head to Liberty Memorial. We would have loved to walk, but I didn't have an umbrella, and it was pouring. Which is why we didn't even step foot out of the car. Oh well, another day.

Next stop, Jack Stack for dinner. We planned to go to Skies and utilize the amazing deal offered on Restaurant.com, but the earliest reservation available was 9:30 pm! So, we opted for Jack Stack and used a $50 gift card I recently received for being Volunteer of the Year for a marketing organization I am involved in.

I'm not as big of fan as BBQ as the hubs is, but Jack Stack is one of my favorite BBQ places when I'm in the mood for it. I love the cheesy corn. And we had the jumbo shrimp as an appetizer, which was quite delicious.

Next stop, The Cashew to watch the game. I don't know how we managed to be the only KSU fans in the entire bar, but we did. I know The Cashew is a KU bar, but seriously, I didn't think we would be surrounded by Wisconsin fans. C'mon people, you live in Kansas! Support a local team!

The game didn't end in our favor, but I'm forever proud to be a Wildcat. Pullen and Kelly deserve a lot of credit for our success this year.

Night shot from our room

Sunday, we woke up in utter darkness (gotta love thick hotel curtains) and dodged our normal 5:30 wake up call from Jake. Yes, our dog wakes up at 5:30 every single day. Even on weekends.

We finished off our stay at the Westin with a complimentary breakfast at their restaurant, The Brasserie. We had $50 to spend and we didn't even come close. Brian had the buffet while I opted for blueberry buttermilk pancakes and a strawberry fruit smoothie. Yummy! What a great way to start the day.

Lastly, we headed to the gold dome for church downtown, AKA, the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception. I love this church, I always have. The only dislike we had was that the sound wasn't great resulting in a hard to understand priest. In fact, he was screaming into his mic during the homily at some points, which didn't make it any easier.

That concludes our almost entirely free date night. Score!

Gotta love winning.

What did you do this weekend?