Hello friends! I hope this Monday finds you healthy and happy. I trust you all had a lovey Mother's Day. I know I did. In my last post I mentioned that I had a trip coming up over the weekend. I would like to share a little of it with you. I count this weekend among the best I have ever had. My daughter, Miranda and I took off work Friday and headed down to Tampa. I had purchased tickets for Broadway's Beauty And The Beast for Miranda for Christmas and promised her we would go for the night. She suggested two nights and that sounded even better! We been patiently waited for that weekend to arrive and now it's over. I don't know about you, but I always get a little bummed after an event is over after looking forward to it for so long. But, I had such a lovely time with my favorite girl! We started the day with a quick trip by my doctor's office to go over some recent labs. After that, we headed to Tampa. First stop when we got there was Ikea!
This is the closest Ikea to my home and at 3 hours away, I don't get there often! I love it when I do get to visit though! I purchased a few things and will share them soon.
After we left Ikea, we went to check into our hotel. We stayed at The Barrymore, which is right next to the Straz Performing Arts Center where the show was playing.
After unloading and settling into our room, we decided to walk to a local restaurant that I had read about online. It had been featured on Triple D (Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives) and I have always wanted to eat at a place that had been featured on the show. It was just a short walk and we found it quite easily. It was pretty easy to spot.....
I ordered soft corn tacos with carnitas (pork). They were yummy...though not the best I've had.
After we ate, we stopped by a local pizza place I had eaten at last year, and picked up 4 slices of pizza for our supper later that evening. We had decided we just wanted to relax in our room. We were on the 8th floor and had a nice view out our window. We had a nice relaxing evening talking and watching TV.
The next morning, we were pretty lazy. We spent the morning in our room and then got ready and went to lunch in our hotel before the show started at 2 o'clock. We took pictures with the art piece in front of our hotel on the way over to the Straz Center. That's it in the background. It was nice to be able to walk over and not have to find a parking spot.
I took a couple photos of Miranda on the way over. She was wanting a new profile photo for her blog, Miranda Writes.
Here's the one she chose. Isn't she a beauty? Not only is she beautiful, but she is intelligent, brave, & adventurous, just to name a few of her best qualities. She is planning to move abroad over the summer to teach English as a second language. How amazing is that! I couldn't be more proud and excited for her, even though I will miss her tremendously! I am super excited about traveling over there to visit though! I already have a plan in the works...:)
Anywho, that was a squirrel! Sorry I got off topic. Here we are in front of one of the posters. Miranda is a great selfie taker...:)
Once inside, I went straight to the merchandise booth to purchase a Christmas ornament, I wasn't crazy about the two they offered, so I bought a key chain to turn into an ornament. I did the same thing when I saw Phantom of the Opera. We had great seats in Orchestra 1. That's the section just in front of the orchestra pit and we were in the second row. No photography is allowed to be taken inside the theater...sorry! How I wish I could have taken pictures of the show.
 |
| Source |
Here's a photo I got online of Morsani Hall where the show was.
 |
| Source |
Here are a couple photos from the Internet. There is just no way to capture the beauty of the sets and costumes!
 |
| Source |
If you have never been to a Broadway show, I highly recommend going if you get the chance. Both Miranda and I love them and would go often if we could. I have seen Lion King (on Broadway), Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, and Beauty and the Beast. The last three were all seen at the Straz Center in Tampa.
 |
| Source |
Here's the key chain I bought to turn into an ornament, along with my ticket stub (which will be deposited into my Stubs jar), and the hotel room key. The lady who checked me in asked what I was in town for and when I told her the show, she gave us these room keys as a souvenir...:)
After the show, we walked back to our room and changed clothes and headed out to the Cheesecake Factory for supper. We had to wait about 30 minutes to get in, but it was worth the wait. I had the most delicious Shepherd's Pie I have ever eaten! Miranda had a mushroom burger.
We only ate about half of our meal so we could have dessert. We split a piece of chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake. It was topped with toasted walnuts, whipped cream, and chocolate chips. It was amazingly delicious!
After we finished dinner, we did a little shopping. I was shopping for gifts but Miranda bought me these gorgeous sandals I have been wanting for a while. They were my Mother's Day gift...:) I love the feathers!
We finished out shopping and headed back to the hotel for our last night. We fell asleep pretty early and woke up early to get on the road. We had a big Mother's Day/birthday dinner celebration at Mama and Daddy's to get back for. It was a truly spectacular weekend from start to finish and one I will never forget. I will be back to share my Ikea finds soon! I hope you have a lovely evening and week. Until next time.....
