date night

a few months ago, i mentioned that one of our close friends had recently started dating someone, and although we've hung out a couple times now in larger group settings, we finally pinned out an evening to go out, just the four of us.

we had a 7pm reservation at takashi, a japanese yakiniku restaurant which is special to us since we went on our first date here back in the summer of 2011. let it be known that it was also one block away from kevin's apartment - hmm ... anyways, armed with beers, umeshu, and cocktails, we enjoyed plate after plate of beef shank buns, grilled shio-tan, kalbi, harami, and rice-bombs (thanks hubby for always doing an amazing job of ordering for us!) as we got to know jay's girlfriend, kathy.

they sat very close throughout dinner, each putting food on the other's plate throughout the night, and holding hands the entire time! during dinner, jay said yes to pretty much anything that kathy suggested regardless of his aversion for activities other than broadway shows, golf, and tennis, so we knew THIS WAS SERIOUS. i think he even offered to go cycling with us and bought *gasp* running shoes. all jokes aside, they did seem to have a lot in common, especially their love of broadway shows.

for dessert, we had the vanilla soft-serve with the works, which includes  shiratama mochi balls, azuki, black sesame powder, and green tea syrup! although i had been feeling under the weather during the day, it was a wonderful way to spend the evening and exciting to see a young couple start their journey together ... 

best: a pop of color from my ikat purple patagonia troposphere jacket amongst a sea of blacks and grey coats during our morning commute.

worst: on-and-off mind numbing headaches for the past two weeks. sometimes even the advil and tylenol doesn't help, but hopefully we're both getting better soon.

smile: impromptu chai tea latte break with daisy on a wintry afternoon.