When I hop on this blog, I sometimes find that I struggle to find a topic that I want to write about. To simplify things going forward, I am considering reflecting on the weekend and sharing what I did. This is a lifestyle blog, after all. However, the issue might arise in the scenario when I work the weekends, because then the weekend wrap-up might not be so interesting. This is summer time though, so maybe things will be different and more interesting.
Since I did end up having a fun and busy weekend, I thought this would be the week to try writing about it. Keep reading so that, when you reach the end, you can leave me a comment telling me if you have had fun living through the weekend with me, or if this was a summer snooze fest for you.
Ramen and Rain: The Perfect Pair
Before the rain came, I had made plans with one of my sisters to go and get ramen together. She was spending the day in Orlando after dropping a friend off at the airport, and I was supposed to meet her after work. As the day grew cloudy, I anticipated getting ramen more and more. I believe that ramen is great to warm you up when it’s cold outside, or to prepare you for a food coma before bed. I also believe that rain is the best weather to fall asleep in, so it all ends up connecting.
My sister and I planned on going to Domu at East End Market in Orlando, because it was one of her favorite places, and she was okay with me also inviting a friend to join us. Like usual though, Domu had quite the wait when we showed up on a weekend. So to kill time, we explored the market a bit. We ended up hanging out upstairs at a newly opened place called The Neighbors, which serves as a creative space for the small businesses of the Orlando community while also serving up cocktails. It was the perfect place for us to hang out and grab drinks while we waited to get food.
Something that I found a little crazy is that we put our names in for a 90 minute wait, and we were gladly willing to wait. However, to get down from The Neighbors took us about 3 minutes, and when we showed up to claim our table at Domu, the hostess had told us that she passed us over because we took too long. While we didn’t have to wait too long after that for the next one, I thought that they kind of jumped the gun, and while I thought it was still a little crazy, I would still go back for the quality food that is served here.
Obviously I enjoyed my food, and then the night got even better because I was getting my boyfriend from the airport later that evening. He travels so often for work that it is always nice to be reunited every time he comes home.
Divine Beings Dancing, and All that Jazz
The next day I woke up early, because I had plans to get brunch with a friend. It didn’t take me long to realize that my friend was probably sleeping in or had forgotten, so I did a little shopping to buy him time. After about an hour and a half, I realized that he would not be showing up and I went back to my boyfriend’s house.
We always enjoy each other’s company, but I knew that we also had some work to do. In addition to him working on this Saturday, we had so much packing we had to do as we prepared for our move. I did some packing and the laundry while he was at work before I started to get ready for our date night.
After waiting 3 years because of the pandemic and rescheduling, my boyfriend was finally able to get tickets to go see Shen Yun. For those of you who don’t know, Shen Yun is a touring show that celebrates China’s rich cultural heritage through dance performances and symphony concerts. My boyfriend typically just refers to the show as the Chinese dancers, which isn’t too far off the mark. I would say that the show is very beautifully done, with vibrant colors and rich storytelling. There were parts that made me laugh, like the story of why monkeys now eat bananas, and other parts that made me appreciate my life, like the story of the surgeon who ended up harvesting his daughter’s organs on her birthday because of the religion they practiced.
My favorite part of the evening was that we got to go to Christini’s for dinner, even though we ended up running through the rain to get there. I had tried to get Valentine’s Day reservations at Christini’s this year, but timing didn’t work out, so I guess this past Saturday was the next best thing. In addition to being an elegant fine dining Italian restaurant with phenomenal food and service for the past 45 years, a man playing an accordian came to every table and asked what each guest wanted to hear. The hopeless romantic in my boyfriend chose “Lady and the Tramp,” while I ended up choosing a “Phantom of the Opera Medley.” Does that show the types of people we are?
From experiencing a unique show to having a dinner that melted in my mouth, I was enjoying the evening so much that getting caught in the rain couldn’t melt away the good things. But I guess that’s how life goes when you have the perfect partner by your side to weather the storm. That might be written somewhere else in the world, so as cliche as it sounds, it’s how I feel. The rain didn’t bother me, or the fact that we still had to do some more packing when we got home. I was just happy.
Packing and Hot Pot
Sunday morning came and forced me to drop my boyfriend back at the airport so he could go work his next job. That meant I had to go back to my life of doing things too, which meant more packing, some paperwork, and errands to run. My Sunday was mostly just checking off a list of things that needed to be done.
For dinner, I met up with my friend Kevin, who wanted to take me out for a birthday treat. He left the decision making to me, and I had been torn between getting hot pot or Korean barbecue. I chose hot pot, because it is the easier option as someone trying to increase my plant intake. Plus, there are so many more carb options when it comes to hot pot. We were both more than satisfied by the end; I even opted out of getting dessert because I was so full.
And that’s my weekend. Did you enjoy yours? Are you looking forward to Memorial Day weekend coming up? What is your favorite thing to do on a weekend? I would love to hear all about it in the comments below.
As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog. If you enjoyed it, be sure to let me know by liking this post, leaving a comment down below, and sharing it with your friends. And if you really want to make my day, please remember to subscribe to the blog, which means you will get updates every time I share a blog post like this one.
Love Always,
Kristi My
Kristi My Dao 