Sharks, Joe's and love.

Two kids in an aquarium.

It's almost the end of February, which means it's the month of love and that I am safe in updating this blog for that purpose. My manfriend and I just celebrated our 3-month this past Saturday. I'm still trying to figure out how three months has gone by with this man; it feels like we've been together forever already, but really, it has only been a blink. We've been up to a lot recently, including the Mandalay Bay aquarium, he cooked me a very lovely meal on Valentine's Day and we went out to Chicago Joe's Italian eatery for the first time downtown for our 3-month. Every moment I've spent with him thus far has been a pleasant adventure, and I look forward to making many more fond memories with him.

Rae is on a date with Rey,
touching a ray. Whoa.

Rey took me to Mandalay Bay for a date because he knows how much I enjoy sea life, sharks in particular. He even bought me a shirt against my will ... because he loves to dote on me much to my annoyance ;) It was a a great night of skipping through tunneled corridors and pressing our noses up to the glass tanks like we were on an elementary school field trip - except there wasn't a legitimate fear of cootie catching, as there was plenty of hand holding. 


We hung around the aquarium for a while until we decided to catch dinner elsewhere. Overall, it was a lovely, memorable evening, and I'm glad I get to share the memory with you :D 

Rey being a ray. Confused yet?

Jaws 3, anyone?

Walking on water ... okay, 6 inches of glass.

My man loves him some jelly.

Thinking cap.

Who knew sharks could need glasses!

It's just a flesh wound, man.

For Valentine's Day, I was spoiled at the hands of Rey. If you couldn't tell, we're food enthusiasts and thankfully for me, not only am I living with an amazing woman who knows how to cook, my very handsome manfriend cooks as well. Looks like I'm not destined to be a supermodel after all. I mean, what supermodel gets the luxury of this kind of dinner? 

Sorry Victoria's Secret. I choose calories.

He made us a delicious dinner of steak, veggies, his own mashed potatoes (that compete heavily with my mom's ... who knew that there could even be a competition!), and Alfredo noodles. Oh, and bread. AND wine. Yeah, I was spoiled. He definitely knows the way to my heart.

Just a slice of heaven.

Oh, and did I mention that during the day he had Edible Arrangements send me send me a bouquet of this deliciousness?? 

Dark chocolate and strawberries. Yeah, he's a keeper.

 Saturday the 18th rolls around and we decided to celebrate three wonderful months together at an Italian restaurant suggested to us by our friend Sybrina. It's called Chicago Joe's, located in the Fremont area on 4th Street. It's basically a brick house that has been converted into a quaint restaurant, covered in random memorabilia, Christmas lights and a romantic atmosphere. It's so cheesy it's cute. The food was excellent and the prices weren't bad. I wasn't allowed to pay for the check despite the fact that our meal was supposed to be my gift to him, so I can't tell you what the actual damage was. What I can show you, though, is our lovely meal in all of its Italian glory. 

Penne and chicken in a spicy sauce.

Mussels and cheese bread, baby.

I went with the mussels and spaghetti dish because I am a big fan of eating something that will absolutely make one's breath insanely rank on a date. He went with the penne pasta and chicken in a spicy sauce so that I wouldn't pick off of his plate. He had a beer and I had my wine. Together, we enjoyed a lush dinner on our own sides of the table before hitting up a bar at the Aliante Station Casino. There, we had fun listening to a guitar player as he serenaded us while we drank beer and So-Cos and Coke all while snapping pictures of ourselves on our phones. I'm still wondering why they didn't card us ...

We are so special.

The love of my life.

And while the next photo would be considered horrible quality by anyone else's standards, I love it. I don't know why ... I just do :) Happy Valentine's Day and 3-month, Reynaldo. I love you so, so much. Here's to many more memories together.

Oh, the quality of Blackberry.

Staying hungry for love,
Rae.