a sunny day out

on ellie’s actual birthday, my sister kim took the back half of the day off of work to meet us for a lunch outing to celebrate miss ellie.

we met them at table at crate, a new restaurant inside crate and barrel. actually, the only restaurant inside any crate and barrel. it had opened seven days prior, so we were super excited to try it.

i was excited there was no wait as we waited for kim and the boys to arrive. we were seated inside, as they do not have seating for more than a party of four alfresco. our server was super sweet and nice, the kids were well behaved, and the food was delicious. we absolutely enjoyed all the dishes we ordered!

my most favorite dishes were actually the waffle fries with aioli and the shishito peppers. the peppers were made with a soy balsamic and dusted in chili flakes. not too spicy or hot and perfectly balanced in flavors for lovely savory bites. the waffles fries came with a couple of dipping sauces and all of them were tasty and delicious. i mean, who doesn’t like to dip?!

they don’t have a washroom in the restaurant…they only have the ones they have always had, upstairs in the furniture section. so, ellie needing to go to the bathroom several times during our sit down meal was quite the trek! we were back and forth, back and forth, back and forth – up the escalator and down {most of them were false alarms} but i am so proud of her for doing such a great job at remembering to go when she needs to! my potty trained champ!

after our meal, we decided to walk the mall {it was so beautiful out} and go wherever the kids wanted to go. we stopped at a few stores, bought a few trinkets, and called it a day. i also happen to run into my friend kim and her friend amy! that was a lovely surprise! they were there shopping at the mall and we were able to chat a bit before i left to go home with the girls!

once home, we settled in, relaxed and waited for hc to get home. we had a very chill evening, lit a candle on a cake and sang happy birthday to our dear ellie. the smitten, joyous, slightly embarrassed expression on her face while we were singing is priceless. the whole day was very relaxing…just what i wanted for us all.

my dear ellie…you are the best. celebrating you and your uniqueness makes our hearts so full. thank you for being you. we love you so much my dear girl.