On Saturday, the Zippys had plans to take on the town. It was so nice to get out with Heather for an afternoon - it's just something we don't do nearly as often as we should, anymore.
Where did we go? Well, first, she picked me up at the house (all my boys stayed home, giddy at the prospect of getting the oil changed in the car... okay, maybe not really
giddy...). We had decided on
WheatFields Bakery for lunch, and it was a wonderful choice! There was just so. much. good. food, and we didn't know where to begin. Heather finally settled on shrimp & cheese fondue, and I chose a chicken salad plate (because I wanted the pastry and fresh fruit that was to come with it). While we waited for our food in the very crowded little place (a sure sign of good eats!), we browsed over the delectable desserts. We were seated
right in front of the bakery buns and pastries, and we walked over to see the cakes, mousses, cheesecakes, and cookies. Oh, I wanted one of everything!
Our food arrived, and it looked scrumptious. Heather's tealight burnt out shortly under her fondue pot, but the cheese stayed warm enough for her to dip her chunks of shrimp, veggies, and ciabatta bread cubes. My salad arrived, but... it didn't look right. Instead of a cold chicken salad plate with fruit and pastry, our waitress brought me a honey-fried chicken salad (a HUGE breast of honey-fried chicken, cut-up, and tossed over a bed of fresh greens, toasted hazelnuts, bacon, and shredded gruyere, served with a Creamy Ranch Herb Dressing). I was so hungry that I asked her to leave the salad instead of waiting for a correct one. It was so good! I typically don't like ranch dressing, but this one had a bit of a tangy kick, and it was PERFECT for blending with the sweet, honey-fried chicken (which was VERY sweet). Heather had a few bites of my salad and agreed. After our meals, we shared my pastry - a Shaggy. The 'Shaggy' was a large, fluffy croissant rolled in cinnamon-sugar and toasted almonds. It was delicious!
Even as Heather packed up the leftovers of her fondue (I didn't take my salad home, though there was half of it left), we remarked on how incredibly full we both were. We gazed some more at the desserts on our way out, only to learn a wondrous thing: they had free samples of many of the desserts at the counter! We both chose the Oregon Cherry cheesecake - a rich, pink cheesecake with swirls of cherry and a chocolate cookie crumb crust. It was the perfect amount of dessert, and we marveled that anyone could eat an actual
slice at one time.
Then we rolled out the door and over to Heather's car. Honestly, it's a miracle that we still fit into our seats. ;-)
A short, pleasant drive later found us pulling into a parking spot on the Main Street of downtown Louisville, Nebraska. I grabbed my camera, and we headed into
Coop-de-Ville for a chick-fest: a free chocolate buffet! Heather had received an invite earlier in the week from their mailing list, and that's how our entire girlie afternoon plans had begun. Of course, we were *so* full from Wheatfields that we weren't sure we could handle more chocolate... but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right?
We browsed the super-fun rooms of massive girly decor, and we giggled over cute pillows and hilarious travel mugs. We mused over Christmas decorations (yes, in February!), and we pondered martini-shaped candles and redecorating our own homes with more pink and pizzazz. Finally, we entered Cafe Poulet for a bit of the festivities. Heather helped herself to a few pieces of chocolate, and I asked permission to take a few pictures. I also ordered a Pink Hot Chocolate before sitting down with my own chocolate spread: valentine M&Ms, a krispy chocolate bar, and a fudge brownie. When my hot chocolate arrived, it was covered in whipped cream and hot pink sprinkles... and it was definitely pink!
Neither of us could finish our goodies, but we leisurely enjoyed our time chatting as we tried to finish up. I burned my tongue on my first few sips of hot chocolate, but it was still so very good. We walked all around Cafe Poulet, and we entered the tiny bathroom together (not to use, silly!) just so we could laugh over the ornately decorated toilet seat and fun girl phrases pasted all over the walls. The pipes were even covered in hot pink fur!
We left Coop-de-Ville after I paid for my hot chocolate, and we walked a block up the street to enter
Feathers. Feathers is a fun, hip, girly retail shop, and we laughed and giggled as we pored over the items in each room of the house (the shop is in a remodeled, older home). I ended up purchasing a few baby gifts while we browsed, but I resisted buying anything for myself (though the temptation was great, I promise you!). We ooooh'd and ahhhh'd over a great many things before finally stepping back out into the cold wind of Main Street and heading back to Heather's car.
There is one more shop related to the two we visited -
Art Chicks - but both of us had been there previously, so we decided to head back home (a fun place for lunch, you are required to play 'dress-up' in their costume room before sitting down for your meal). We stopped at Baker's for Heather to grab some milk, and at Hallmark for me to pick up a few cards on the way home, and then she dropped me off. It was a very nice afternoon, and I'm so glad we got away. :-)
Me and Heather in fifty years.( More pictures - beware of the pink! )And though it was a quick turn-around (which is a good thing!), we also went out together on Wednesday night. I had given Heather tickets to see
Phantom of the Opera at the
Orpheum Theatre for Hanukkah, and it was an amazing show! We arrived early, and we both dressed up. In fact, if I'd worn black slacks, we'd have been twins! (Instead, I wore a red sweater, short black skirt, black tights, and strappy black heels.) I loved the show, and I'm glad I can now say that I've seen the off-Broadway production. It was
really hard, however, not to burst out singing in so many of the songs. I resigned myself to trying to tap my heels quietly instead. ;-)
(Oh, but neither of us brought a camera to the play. Sorry!)
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gardenmama even had to LJ "nudge" me! Thank you for that, C! :-)
