Halloween Weekend Shenanigans

 I wanted to do something different this year for Halloween and turns out my hand was forced anyway, so I had no choice.

Instead of the usual trick or treat event at the mall like we'd done every year before, this year posed a scheduling conflict.  Halloween fell on the perfect day this year, a Saturday.  However,  my youngest son has basketball practice on Saturdays that he just couldn't miss. So I went to work searching for an activity he could do the Friday before Halloween.  

The perfect activity popped up on  my facebook feed a week or two before Halloween and I made sure to save the info. It was a kids Halloween event at a restaurant. They promised a good time for kids of all ages. And they delivered. They had ceramic painting,  face painting,  games and prizes and a few fun activities for the littlest family members.

The event being held at a restaurant  meant food would be readily available for purchase. So we made a night of it, a mommy and son Halloween dinner date!

This Halloween weekend was chock full of things to do, so that Saturday night Hubby and I headed to an event at a Marriot hotel.

While the event wasn't all I hoped it would be, a time was still had in the most modest of ways and I won a prize.

We finished the weekend off with a bang and on a high (literally) with the best activity we had planned and it wasn't even Halloween related.

Pasta Mia Italian restaurant hosts a fun cocktail "course" every weekend and that's where we headed on Sunday afternoon. 

We got the chance to make three different cocktails, while also learning the alleged history of each cocktail. Each drink was very different and indeed, very strong.  Even after my meal, I felt like my head was floating high in the clouds. 

It was definitely a fun experience and I would jump at the chance to do it again.

A Different Kind Of Halloween

 Inevitably as the years past, my kids get older and with that, come the realization that they may no longer want to continue certain childish traditions. Like trick or treating for Halloween. 

However,  I have my youngest and he still loves the traditions that have shaped his childhood. As I geared up for Halloween this year, my biggest task was picking from a variety of activities for him to partake in. 

All the malls and a few restaurants had something going on. There were so many activities to choose from, I had a hard time narrowing it down to just one. And then reality set in.

My youngest recently joined a basketball league and practice is twice a week, with a two hour Saturday commitment.  Guess which day Halloween falls on this year.  The coveted Saturday.  All the Halloween festivities were to be held during the same time as basketball practice.  

There was just one kid event to be held on Friday. My hands were tied and the decision was made for me.  El Bambú is a restaurant that I actually like and they had a fun kids event filled with games, face painting and prizes.

So after Friday tasks were completed,  off we went to see what we could see and do what we could do. We didn't stay very long but still had a decent enough time. Son got to paint his own Mexican skull and was able to win a prize; a glove filled with candy.  Oh, and we got to eat some good food as it's a restaurant after all.

It's not the usual way we celebrate the holiday but it still got the job done. 

More Of The Same But Just Tasty

 After going on a sort of binge for my birthday,  celebrating my 46th year with more and more delicious food, I decided I didn't need to stop just because the party was over.

After all, a girl can eat and eat she shall. So eat I did.  Hubby and I share the same love language,  good food. Maybe that's not technically a love language but good food definitely feeds our soul. And trying new places is a fun pasttime. A hobby, if you will, that takes us on an exploratory culinary food journey that we enjoy. 

For lunch, we headed back to Central Market to give The Fish Market another go.  We'd been to Marellar before and enjoyed their food, so it wasn't a difficult decision to give their lunch menu a try.

The food was, no surprise,  delicious.  The staff was nice and the price was definitely a bonus. For a fairly reasonable amount of money, we got our main meal, an appetizer,  a drink and a tiny dessert. And the meal was massive, so definitely worth it. 

Hubby believes this to be one of the best fish sandwiches in San Jose.

My dish could have fed a small family of 4, so I took half of it home.

Once we start, it's hard to stop so the food journey continued with a brunch date at Entre Nous. This time we invited our friends to tag and the vibes were immaculate. 

The food was just what I wanted, a good and hearty brunch that was insanely delicious. I was expecting alot. My brunch standards are pretty high and Entre Nous met every one. 

The waffles were spectacular.  The mimosa was delightful. The fish and chips were surprisingly delicious. And I truly enjoyed everything else in between, from the truffle fries to the empanadas and the affogato. Entre Nous was a true brunch experience.