Not my mysterious final words, but a nice gesture from the hostess at Paradise Grille last night.  Our choice for a Valentine’s Day dinner included a rose bud “for each couple” with their prix fixe holiday menu.  The hostess seemed to be handing them to the female halves of the other couples seated nearby and we’d talked a bit about which of us she was going to offer the special flower to.  Smart woman – she avoided the issue (and made any bets moot) by offering us each a rose.

Dinner was fabulous in their outside patio under the stars.  Nice browsing through The Book Works afterward too.  Simply a beautiful night with the man who’s been my Valentine for five of these special days now.

A bit surprised and disappointed that the restaurant wasn’t full though.  Restaurants have been closing left and right here for the last couple of years now, but even with the weaker competitors culled from the herd things are still very tough here in North County.  We even got a last minute e-mail from a place we’ve frequented in the past on the afternoon of Valentine’s Day announcing special deals and openings for reservations that night.  Admittedly we’d most enjoyed the place under it’s prior chef, but it’s still a decent restaurant and I’m surprised they aren’t doing better.

Rain stopped for the weekend, and for the first time in too long neither Spinner nor I had any outside commitments.  We started the weekend on Friday night with Killer Pizza and (500) days of Summer, bumped it up with dinner and martinis at 333 Pacific on Saturday night.  Said martinis led to a nighttime walk on the Oceanside Pier admiring the monster surf and committing a few PDAs.  Headed up to Disneyland for a few pre-crowd E-ticket rides on Sunday morning, and then just chilled our way into a new workweek.  Life as it should be.

We spent Friday night at a local restaurant that we thought was new.  Neither of us had ever heard of Stone Brewery’s World Bistro & Gardens until it started popping up as a recommendation on the Urbanspoon app on my iPod.  The waitress said they’ve been open two years, and Spinner’s lived in Escondido for five, which just shows that despite lousy marketing you can still have an amazing restaurant.  

Good drinkies, of course, but also very good food.  The Mac & Cheese was delicious, and Spinner raved about the pork roast.  Best though was the venue.  Tough to find and literally in an industrial park, but they’ve built a wall and set up an enclosed garden for their guests that completely blocks out the Escondidoness.  Foot bridges and a pond with fake frogs and some adirondacks so you can relax a bit before or after the meal. Totally unexpected.

Zip forward to Sunday, when we brought home our newest shiney, a new Wii.  I know we’re late adopters, and we certainly can’t use the excuse that it’s for the kids, but OMG it’s so much fun.  Nothing like a little tennis in the morning before work without ever being more than a step away from the coffee.  Diego seems to think we’ve gone insane, but he learned pretty quick to get out of the way, and hasn’t stolen the controllers (yet).  Lots to explore there.  Nice to have some new in the life.