Hi, 2016. It's nice to see you. Let's talk Mother's Day.

[amelialourdes]

Oh, hi, LiveJournal. It's been a minute, hasn't it? Everyone's just kind of all over the place and I utilize all kinds of social media that I haven't revisited my old haunts. But I wanted to today! I really want to try to get into the habit of writing. I need to start posting on my site more and start using that. If you want to follow me over there, that's where I'll be! I'll provide the link at the bottom. For now, let's talk about Mother's Day. Every year, I try to take my mom somewhere new, somewhere nice. And we've never been to The Melting Pot before so we decided to give that a shot. There used to be one closer to us in Pasadena and we've never been there so we went to the one over in Thousand Oaks. They were open for lunch for the day, which works for my mom since we both like just going out for lunch and hanging out in the afternoon. Besides, Game of Thrones was on in the afternoon.

LET'S GET OUR CHEESE DIP ON. Baked potato dip in that melting pot.
Bread (white, wheat, and pretzel), veggies, and apples. We destroyed this.


It was followed by a salad because why not get full before the entree?
Salad greens with strawberries, feta, and caramelized pine nuts. Love.


Entree round with a coq au vin dipping pot.
Starting at the top and going clockwise:
chicken, shrimp, teriyaki, beef, and spinach ravioli in the middle.


We got two individual plates and we were stuffed. Veggies included.
The sauces? Perfect accompaniment.


The aftermath. It was just right.


This happy mom on Mother's Day.


I'm about to get all up on this chicken.


Oh, wait. There's dessert. Yes, I made room for this.
The plate was almost all devoured. It was a lot.


I mean...why would you say no? S'mores chocolate dip.


Mother and Daughter. Ready to go home to watch Game of Thrones.


The restaurant had an add-on to purchase flowers for Mom and they put them on your table. So, of course, we got to take them home and my mom loved them. My mom really, really loves flowers on special occasions so I always make sure I get them every year now.

Never been to Melting Pot before and I walked away pretty pleased. Yes, it's expensive. I think my brain temporarily short-circuited after looking at the bill because I couldn't figure out the tip to add. As we drove away from the restaurant, I realized that I had been short on the tip, and felt incredibly guilty. The little devil on my shoulder said, "It's okay. You'll never go back. Just leave." The bigger angel on my shoulder said, "Are you fucking crazy? Why would you do that to someone? CALL THEM WHEN YOU GET HOME." What did I end up doing? I called them when I got home to add to the tip. I'm not that terrible.

But I pay for the experience to dip things. I love fondue. There aren't restaurants that cater specifically to the idea of fondue and I love it. Everything tasted fresh. The chicken and steak were my favorite parts of the entree. The chocolate was fantastic. How could it not be? The girl at the front desk was adorable. Our server was really, really great. Everyone seemed discombobulated that it was lunch and not dinner since they're usually only open for dinner. We were greeted with a, "I hope you're having a great night." They were charming errors. No complaints here and my mother still talks about what a wonderful experience she had. So we're looking forward to going back! Hope other celebrants had wonderful days, as well.

I can't say with confidence that I'll post here regularly at all, but I am looking to reengage my site and considering an interview part of the site that'll feature different artists that I admire. I've purchased a lot over pop art over the years and there are some talented artists that definitely need to be featured somewhere. That's in the works! For now, visit aimeecurameng.com to see what I'm up to and my recaps from events I've been to last year. Until next time, LJ!