HOTY Awards

Brian started off 2008 a strong contender for the Husband Of The Year (HOTY) Award. Early on in January, he stepped up his parenting and effectively became a single dad for the week that I was sick. Then, for my Birthday he arranged a gathering of close friends for a fun evening on the Patio at NXNW, followed by a romantic dinner the next day at my favorite sushi bar, complete with baby sitter. A strong start in and of itself. Then on Friday Brian surprised me with plans for a romantic mini-break in Houston! You might be thinking that Houston is NOT the place to go for a romantic getaway, but you'd be dead wrong.
On Saturday morning we packed up the car and headed to Houston where we stopped off at the Grandparents' house to drop off Trent. Then Brian's dad chauffeured us downtown to our hotel, the Magnolia, rated Houston's #1 romantic hotel. Our room was gorgeous. Very modern with a king sized bed with crisp white linens and a down comforter, Granite counter tops in the bathroom and a large garden tub.
We started off with a quick orientation of the hotel amenities then indulged in the rooftop hot tub and pool. There were a few people out there partying and hanging out in the hot tub so we joined in the conversation and spent a good hour or so socializing. Next we headed down for the free happy hour where we sat and talked as I sipped my wine and Brian drank his beer. After happy hour we went back to our room and got ready for dinner, then went down to the milk and cookie buffet to pick up bedtime milk and cookies for when we got back.
Brian's dad had made reservations for us at Sambuca. Houston's #1 date spot according to City Search. They were not wrong, either. It was awesome. The ambiance was perfect. Dimly lit and cozy with a live jazz band serenading the diners. We spent a short while at the bar as we waited for our table. The bartender let me sample several wines before I chose one, which I thought was wonderful customer service. Our time at the bar was briefly interrupted by a drunk guy who engaged me in conversation and within 2 minutes revealed he was a racist, satan worshipper! Thankfully I was rescued by the hostess when our table was ready.
We had one of the best seats in the house, right near the stage. The music volume was perfectly balanced so that we could hold a conversation, but loud enough that nobody else can hear you. The food was amazing. We started off with some Begniets stuffed with proscuito and mozzarella, a very unlikely combination, but they were so good! Imagine the sweetness of a begniet combined with the saltiness of proscuito and complimented with the creaminess of mozzerella. For main course Brian had a steak which came with mashed potato croquettes and I had the Seafood Infusion. The Seafood Infusion was a fish lover's delight. It was a tower of different seafood on a bed of roasted potatoes. It had Mahi mahi, scallop fritter, portabella mushroom stuffed with crab meat, and a fillet of sashimi-grade tuna cooked rare. All of my favourite seafood in one meal, cooked to absolute perfection. We lingered over dinner and listened to the band. We only momentarily thought about what Trent was doing, and for one evening enjoyed being not somebody's parents, but just us.
The next morning we slept late (late for us is past 8am) and got up to a leisurely breakfast at a restaurant just a block away from our hotel. Then we took a stroll around downtown Houston before returning back to reality and back to parenthood.
The moral of this story: The destination is not important in a romantic weekend; The company is the only thing that matters.

So a great big THANK YOU goes out to all the supporting players involved in the surprise and execution of this weekend, you know who you are! And most of all, a great big THANK YOU to my amazing HOTY husband, who's thoughtfulness goes beyond anything I could have imagined or hoped for.