Let's Give Them Something to Talk About

How about - LOVE.

It's Valentine's Day and though the day is mostly over as I type this, it's really a day about remembering to tell your loved ones they matter. It should be done everyday and while hopefully none of us needed Hallmark to tell us we should do it, being forced into it can't hurt, right?

At any rate, I'm going to take a bit of a different turn for a second and discuss one of those things that should never be discussed. Religion. Turn away now if you're afraid. See, what I think of when it comes to Valentine's Day is the fact that when people (or Facebook) asks my religious views, I respond simply "Love." It's what I believe in. Now, my view of Love is rooted in my devotion to Jesus Christ, but it is so much more than that. I don't claim to be a Christian because guess what, I don't want to be associated with that. I follow His teachings (or at least try to anyway) and LOVE all. Truly. I'm a firm believer in the "love the sinner, hate the sin" ideology. Did Jesus turn people away? No. He sat and broke bread with those in society that others were shunning, so why on earth as a faith would we not do the same? I just can't comprehend it. Do I hate the things that some people do? Yes. I hate murder, I hate hurting children, I hate war, I hate a lot of things, but guess what? I have to find a place in my heart to Love the people that commit the crimes. Not because I need to be in love with them, or I think that they deserve it, but because maybe just maybe LOVE is the answer. And maybe, just maybe, my love will help them turn toward Jesus. Who knows?

Okay, now that we've got that under our belts, let's talk about something fun. Or funny. Or just not uncomfortable.

Celebrated this day with my love last night, and we used a gift card to pay for some of our dinner. So imagine our surprise when at the end of the meal the waiter said "and since it's Valentine's Day, this is for you" and handed us a $25 gift card. What a great promotion for the restaurant. If you want a nice steak dinner, head to Fleming's. They'll treat you right. Oh, and the Fleming's potatoes are a heart attack on a plate, but so very delicious. So very delicious.

Behind that old Red Door....

If food is your porn, then The Red Door is your Spice channel. Dear God, I couldn't stop eating even though I was full, I just didn't want the food to go anywhere but my belly.

The interior is super cute, almost like a place I went in Paris, but with a San Diego vibe to it at the same time. When day turns tonight it takes on this romantic, calm, but not pretentious vibe, and it's great. We sat in a table right on the corner, so people driving by probably wondered what was happening and if that was in fact my O face.

The service was um, not always the best, our waiter seemed to get really busy and kept forgetting about us which normally we probably wouldn't care about, but we had questions and kept wanting to order other things. He did, however, keep filling my wine glass from the bottle we brought ($12 corkage) and offer his opinion on the appetizers were were debating between. He was spot on with the pork cheek app recommendation, so I won't ding them for the service being less than amazing.

The host (I totally wish I had gotten his name so I could call him out right now) was awesome, he joked around with every table as though they were his closest buddies and always seemed able to make the group laugh whether it was the elderly couple, the young couple or the people on their first date. Awesome.

For real though, make yourself a reservation and head on down for date night. Good times will be had by all.