ultra-expensive lunch...but worth it

expensive lunch ... but ...worth it thanks to this $25 coupon

I found this $25 coupon, which is good until March 31, only if the reservation is made online. I have asked Hemant (a coworker) to join me, and he loves seafood. I have never been to McCormick & Schmick's, which is located at the Plaza (which, if you visit me, you NEED to visit the Plaza), but have heard it was good. It is a fancy seafood place, but I had no idea how FANCY it was until we went. All I could say, thank goodness we dressed up a bit.

I was trying to make a friday night dinner reservation, but both weekends were booked, so we agreed on a Saturday lunch which happened yesterday. I took Hemant on the scenic route to the Plaza (103rd St -> State Line (bordering Kansas and Missouri) -> Ward Pkwy -> Plaza). Gorgeous manisons and trees and flowers are blooming in time for the spring.

The moment we sat by our table, we glanced at the menu... hmm the prices were not that expensive (averaging $10 an entree)...Hemant glanced at our printed out coupon...and said it was for dinner. Uh oh. We stared at each other and were not sure if the waiter would accept the "dinner only coupon". I pointed at the coupon at front of the waiter and he nodded. Hmm. I do not think he read it. So we went all out. Glasses of wine, appetizer, entrees, desserts. It was truly delicious and worth their prices. Then the bill came.

It was $70!!!! Definitely not a frugal lunch. I gave the coupon to the waiter and he reduced our bill to $45! Wow. We were really lucky.

I would recommend you to go to M&S Seafood restaurant, if you appreciate seafood. There is the Grill, for non-seafood lovers. And do not forget the coupon, as it expires end of this month.

Elms it is!

Few posts ago, Tawanna (my cubemate) and I were discussing about a short getaway at a spa resort and getting pampered. We did not want an expensive and overpriced getaway. We agreed on a nearby location, to where we could drive, for instance, St. Louis, Des Moines, or Omaha. KC will be even better. I looked at the Ozarks which is 3 1/2 hours away... spa resorts there did not seem satisfying (on the website) and I did not get much information.

So, I decided to ask a couple of my friends who are native Kansas City residents. They immediately say "Elms resort in Excelsior Springs, MO". They nodded with such enthusiasm I decided to check the website. In an instant I was convinced. I showed it to Tawanna and she was also convinced right away. Prices are so reasonable, especially for a spa resort. They have packages listed. After discussing, we agreed to do "Friday Night Special" where we will share a room (double beds, mind ya) for a night, along with seafood/prime rib buffet and a movie of our choice for viewing. For the spa "escape" we will do the Quick Escape package, which lasts 50 minutes and costs $110. It only consists of facial and back massage. We did an add-on, a pedicure/manicure package (Tawanna only wants to do manicure). A manicure there costs $30 while a pedicure costs $90.

Cost for me:
Friday night special package (dinner included): $169 /2 = $84.5
Spa Escape: $110
Pedicure/manicure: $90
Drive to Excelsior Springs: 94 miles (round trip), $9/2 = $4.50
-----------------------------------------
$289.00 (not including tips, taxes)

Not bad for a short weekend getaway where I can get pampered and relax. The spa resort has full of amenities I would most definitely like to take advantage of (swimming, hot tub, execrising). I have not yet decided on a pedicure though. Without it, it will save me $60. I will think about it sometimes this week and call if I change my mind.

April 6 is the official date! Here is the website http://elmsresort.com/ for you to check it out, maybe you can go also!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Hope all of you had a fun and safe St. Paddy's Day!

Good Samitarian Deed

Since I posted the recent post on Arbys, I have been getting Arbys coupons from friends. Aww. That is so sweet of you guys.

Giving coupons to someone, I think, is a good samitarian deed. I have given two coupons to two friends within two weeks times, when I would have used the coupons myself. It shows I am not greedy :-D.

A Fickle at Arbys

Arbys is my favorite fast food restaurant. Imagine how thrilled I was when one Arbys opened near my work! Before that one opened, the closest Arbys was 5 mile drive ugh. My work seems to breed a bunch of avid Arbys fans..three of us scootered over to the new Arbys with excitement. I did my usual order - Combo #2, replace soda pop with small Jamocha shake (small shake is equal to the price of the soda pop), and curly for the fries.

Beep beep (yes im making up the noise) the cash register ringed up - $6.55!!! No way jose. The combo meal is ... around 4.50ish ? I also saw "medium shake". I told the guy, no, I wanted small shake. He said, "All combos come in medium size"... wow... ok. Then I did something which is so not Pam. Yes be surprised. I accepted and paid the price!!!

Next time, I will itemize my lunch... medium roast beef, small curly fries, and small shake. Blah. This was totally my first time I had this problem. Hmm. evil new Arbys? Perhaps.

Ab Lounger

I am looking into getting an Ab Lounger. I have not decided yet if I will get one or not. I first saw one at Brian's house and tried it out. I instantly liked it, because it was less effort of doing ab execrise. We went over to Dicks' Sporting Goods store where he showed me the equipments. One was for 139 and another was for 99, I think. Hmm.

The gym has the apparatus for doing "situp" execrise with weights, and it is definitely more "burning" feeling than using the ab lounger, but it requires more work. Well, of course, situp on the groun or using weights require harder work, but results are quickly seen. With the ab lounger, I would need to do more reps and execrise longer, to see same results.

So, why not just use the gym's apparatus, as I already am paying $10 a month for the membership.. or do situps on the floor for free. Maybe. Is it convenience? I am not sure. Would I want an extra object in my home, taking a bit up more space?

I think I am starting to turn away from the idea of getting the ab lounger. Hmm.

Here's what an ab lounger looks like (taken from amazon.com):

PAM-pered

As I was discussing with my cubemate, Tawanna, at work, I told her that I feel a desire to get pampered - going to a spa resort and getting spoiled. She said yes! She wants to do that. A luxury spa resort, we in white bathrobes with cucumbers laying on our eyes...

Price? Location? Length?

Suppose it is in Florida. The cost will involve a round trip flight ticket, possibly taxi to the spa resort.

Suppose it is a weekend trip. Would that be 2 or 3 night stay? The factor impacts the cost.

Activities? Full body massage, manicure, pedicure, body sea scrub (whatever that is.. I think I just made it up) the depth of our activities again impacts the cost.

We are thinking of a weekend stay at a nearby spa resort..maybe.

Anybody got ideas of how we can research this topic further ? Locations of good spa resorts?

Feel free to comment.