Out With The Wifey

Last night was one of few times I get to have a night off during the week. Usually I get only one night, but this week I have three(CELEBRATION!!!). With this night off from work, I decided that Whitney and I should have a date night. We hardly go out, so why not do it this time.

I wanted her to choose where we would go, but she didn't want to choose(this is how our relationship works). I gave a list of places we could go. They included J Clyde, Paramount, Jack Brown's, and The Southern Kitchen. Since we never been there before, she wanted to go to The Southern Kitchen. We have heard mixed reviews, so we wanted to see which side we would be on.

I got home first and changed into some more comfortable clothes(this just means changing shirts and shoes). She got home and completely changed clothes, and then we were off to Uptown.

Once we got into the restaurant, we had to walk to the front of place to the host stand(we entered from the back). He asked if we wanted to go to the bar because it would be quick service. We thought that would be a okay with us. We sat down at the bar and waited. And waited. It was about three to five minutes before the bartender came around. It looked like she didn't want to be there. :(

We looked around on the menu to see what we wanted. It broke my heart to see that they didn't have any beers on draft. Come on now!! This place is still fairly new, and there were no beers on draft. Anyway, I got me a Good People Brown and Whitney got some kind of strawberry cocktail(I forgot the name of it).

Once we looked around the food menu, we decided to get some of the Cajun Angels. It was an app with blackened shrimp that was wrapped in bacon with a BBQ sauce underneath. For what it was worth, I thought we would get more than what we got.

In my opinion, it was good but felt like something missing from the sauce. I know it was under Small Plates, but it was smaller than what I thought it would be.

Well our entrees should better, right? Ehhh. I got The Jackson, which was blackened shrimp with gouda grits topped with a cajun hot sauce and greens. Whitney got the Pimento Cheese Sandwich that had jalapeño honey fries.

 Just liked the appetizer, we felt like something was just missing from both of our meals. Now let it be clear that I am not saying that we did not like the food. We enjoyed it, but it felt like there was something missing from the whole experience.

Once we left there, Whitney had the idea of going to J Clyde for some dessert. YES!!! After a not so exciting dining, we know we could get some awesome beers and desserts from our favorite pub in the city.

We walked in and saw Amanda was working behind the bar. We sat in the back bar and started off with some beer. I got the Merry Widow from Fairhope, and the wifey got a tripel from Straffe Hendrik. Made both of our souls happy.

Then our dessert came around. We got the Young's Double Chocolate Stout Brownie that came with a scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Dear God!! It was soo amazing!! What did I decided to wash it down with? I got a Cappuccino Stout from Lagunitas. This was good as well.

I can say that we might not have started the night on a good foot, but it definitely ended the way it should. Will I go back to The Southern. We shall see, but it will be a while before I go back. J Clyde, on the other hand, I will see you later this week.

Favorite Ads from the Super Bowl 49

Did you watch the Super Bowl last night? What a game!! Coming down to the last play to decided a winner. No matter what, it will go down in history.  Even though the game was good, the commercials(in my opinion) were okay

In the past, there have been plenty of commercials that stole the show. I don't know if anyone else felt the same as I do or not, but I didn't see any commercials that just really got my attention. Okay, so there was a couple that did. I would like to show you which ads I enjoyed from last night game.

To start off the list, I want to show you that maybe the the Boston Tea Party could have been different if only the British had just given the Americans the chance to file their taxes for free. Watch this ad from TurboTax.





Next up, Jeff Bridges wants you be able to sleep better. Watch how Jeff can get you plenty of ZZZZ's with this commercial from Squarespace.



You remember the days when your mom used to pick you up from school right? Well what if Lindsay Lohan picked you up. This is how Esurance believes it could be like(well sort of).





Do you have haters? Are trolls ruining your life? Well Coke is trying to #MakeItHappy with this year Super Bowl Ad.





Going to McDonald's and don't have any cash? Don't worry. You can your meal with love. See what I mean here.




The last commercial I liked from last night was from Bud Lite. If you're a Pacman fan, you will love this commercial.




Now I have one more commercial. This is (Dis)Honorary Award goes to the people of Budweiser. They decided to take a stab at folks who drink craft beer(like me). See what I am talking about below.




Yes Bud, I will continue to sip and drink on some Pumpkin Peach Ale and leave your stuff alone. :-)

There were more ads I like, but I want to hear from you. Did you have any favorites from last night Super Bowl commercials. Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

28 Random Facts

I have been blogging since about April and May of last year. You have gotten to know some stuff about me and read what I am thinking, but you really don't know too much about myself. That changes today. I want to let you know some random things that some of you may or may not know. I think 28 facts will be okay(since I am 28yrs old).

1. I was born with six fingers. Yep. Six! Now the extra fingers were mainly just cartilage, so I would not have been able to use them.

2. I am the oldest of two kids in my family. My brother, Ryan, is 23yrs old.

3. I have a large collection of t-shirts. I am not kidding you. These shirts include Snoopy, Birmingham, Beer, and Wrestling themed shirts. I have more shirts than my wife has clothes in our closet.

4. Half of my family lives in Birmingham and the other half lives in Detroit.

5. I grew up a Alabama fan; however, I forever will be a UAB Blazer!!

6. I am a picky eater.

7. I have been a wrestling fan since I could even remember. I still watch it to this day. Favorite wrestler of all time would have to be The Undertaker.

8. When I watch TV, I usually watch Cooking Channel or Food Network.

9. I have never lived in a city other than Birmingham, AL. I have lived in different areas of the city, but Birmingham has always been my home since I have been alive.

10. I didn't have my first for real alcoholic drink until I was 22yrs old. Drink of choice at that point was half a bottle of Patron.

11. I wear a size 15 shoe. Yes, finding shoes has always been a problem for me.

12. Rafael is my real name. My mom got the name from a Atlanta Braves' baseball player.

13. During middle and high school, I lived in the same house with three different generations of women. My mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother all lived under one roof with me.

14. I have never in my life been in a physical fight.

15. People always say that I have a nice smile, but it's one of the things I am self-conscious about myself.

16. I didn't have a Twinkie until the made their return about a couple of years ago.

17. My last year in the marching band at UAB, I had an award named after me. It was an award my fraternity(Kappa Kappa Psi) created to honor the person that particular year who showed what it meant to be a true brother.

18. I love anything and everything Charlie Brown and Snoopy related. I watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown when I was in middle school, and then I got hooked on everything with Peanuts.

19. I can make my hand pop and crackle almost anytime I want. I have been able to do that since high school.

20. I can be a pretty shy person when I met new people.

21. I can stand country music. I mean the "my dog died, my girl left me" kind of country music.

22. I am a city boy all the way. I can't live in the country or near the woods, and I don't want to.

23. Christmas is my favorite holiday of all time. Once I hear Christmas music, I get in the mood. I just love when the holiday season comes around.

24. The person I call dad is not my biological father, but he is the only man I will ever call dad. He has taught me so much about life and how to a man.

25. I have never been fired from a job that I have worked out.

26. I used to be a ballroom dancer. I hope to one day(maybe in the near future) get back into that.

27. Even though I have a fear of heights, I want to sky dive one day.

28. I have never been on the west coast before. I know people tell me that it's fun over there, but just never had a reason to go there. Maybe I might change that this year.

Wow!! That was a lot. Now tell me one random/interesting fact about yourself.

Hope you have an awesome week!!!

We Got Married!!

Many of y'all know that I got married a little over a month ago. It was a great day in my life. Most of y'all don't know how the day went. Well, not until now. I think it's finally time to tell how the wedding day went from my side. You might want to have a drink with you because this will be a long one.

Let's start it off at 2am in the morning. That correct. 2am in the morning. I just got home. You're probably wonder why so late. Well my friend, who was also the DJ for the wedding, needed a ride back home after the rehearsal dinner. This doesn't sound bad, right? Well the dinner was in Trussville. He lived in Calera. That is roughly about an hour from my parent's house in Trussville to his place in Calera. I almost forgot to mention that it was raining as well. I had no problem with doing that for him, especially since he was doing my wedding for free.

I got home about 2pm and tried to go to sleep. That wasn't going to happen right then. Plus, I didn't want to go to sleep upstairs. What did I decide to do? Sleep downstairs on the couch and watch Lockup on MSNBC(I love that show). Now it's about three hours later, and I'm waking up. It's the big day.

I clean the place up some so the place doesn't look like I slept downstairs(which I did). I took a shower and started to get dress. I looked in the mirror once I put my tux on. I smiled so hard thinking that I will be a married man in just a few hours.

While I am waiting for everyone to come along, I turned ESPN College Gameday on the television. They were getting ready for the Baylor Kansas State game. They also was going to have a segment on the whole UAB situation. You know I had to watch that.

The first guy to come to the apartment was my friend Jess(The Ginger). He asked me if I was ready, and he could tell I was for it. Then Marable, Josh, Ryan, and Joe all came later on. We all just waited patiently and watched TV until Dustin came around to take pictures of us getting ready. Dustin is awesome at taking pictures, and I was so glad he did the whole wedding day.

Selfie!!!!

 My Brother and I looking good!!

Trying to do our best Godfather/Mafia pose.

Meanwhile over near Lakeshore, Whitney and her gals were preparing for the big day as well. I knew she was in good hands.

 Georgia and Whitney cracking up!!

Isn't Whitney just stunning?

Now it's time to head to Bartow for the first reveal. This is when I was getting butterflies in my stomach. Not because I was getting cold feet but because I was so ready to see how Whitney looked. Now Dustin needed a model to help see how to take the pictures. Of course Jess volunteered. Let's just say that he did the part right.

The guys were there waiting with me for the ladies to arrive. I was getting more and more nervous by the minute, and you could really tell.

This is why I had these guys as my groomsmen. They decided to just find a way to calm me down even if it was just for a little while.

Now after about 45mins of waiting, the ladies made it. Can you believe that the guys were on time? I would have thought that I would be making the guys late somehow.

This is it. The moment I was waiting for. I wanted to see her so bad. All guys was telling me not to try, and for the most part I did. I was able to hold it all in.

Once she got right behind me and touched my shoulder, it was over. For me to say I lost it would be an understatement. I cried some big boy tears. I will say though that it was all worth.

Now we was starting to run short on time. It was about 11:45, and we needed to be at the venue by 12:30 to do a last minute rehearsal. We took some quick group shots and started to head down for the venue. Oh yea, before I forget. I had to go back to the apartment to pick up the centerpieces for the tables. Yea, I forgot to get them before I left. Who's a champion? THIS GUY!!!

Okay. Now we are at Woodrow Hall(the venue for the wedding). My family was getting ready themselves. I am glad to know that even though the wedding parties were running late, my parents were not ready as well. Made me feel better about the day to be honest with ya.

I was doing some last minute checking of everything to make sure that we had everything set for the ceremony. When I say I was running around, I mean it. I just wanted to make sure that everything was going to go smoothly for this.

My dad looking open casket sharp.

Marable in his GQ stance.

 Megan was talking with me about some last minute business situations. She has been such a awesome friend.

The girls relaxing before the ceremony.

 Ava and Zsa Zsa might not been at the wedding, but they were there in spirit form.

Everything is set. The guest have arrived. The music is playing. We are all ready for the big moment. It's time for a wedding to happen. I know I saw Whitney earlier in the day in her dress but seeing her walk down the aisle was just breathtaking. I felt like it was all a dream. No Ralph!! It's reality.

Pastor Bryant was awesome. So glad he was able to do my wedding!!

 Whitney's Mom and Brother

 My Mom and Dad

 Here she comes!!

 So happy for her dad to trust me with his baby girl.

 We had so many people that care and love us at the wedding.

 Seal it with a kiss.

 Yea. I think we are both happy.

 The NEEEWWW Mr. and Mrs. Marion

Of course Josh would be leaving styling and profiling.

The ceremony went incredibly smooth. It took only seven minutes for everything to happen. I was so happy that Whitney and I finally became a married couple. My mom came after the ceremony was over and gave me the biggest hug in life. I could tell she was happy for me(and for herself because she finally has a daughter now).

Many things happened after the ceremony. Lots of hugs were given.

Some dancing went took place on the floor.

Can't forget about all of the pictures that were taken. I mean there were plenty of pictures taken during this time. Good bit of them were with the family.

Don't worry though. There were plenty of friends that had pictures taken with.

And of course, you had the new husband and wife taken some pictures alone.

All in all, this is a day I will never forget. I had the greatest time with family and friends and was able to tell the woman I love that I want to be with her for the rest of my life. I would not change a thing about the day. From all the laughing, crying, running, and worrying, everything happen for a reason. It was such an awesome day.

Dustin Gilmore: Photographer

Darius Reed: DJ

Dreamcakes Bakery: Wedding Cake

Woodrow Hall: Wedding Ceremony and Reception Venue

John's City Diner: Food

Thanks to those people for making the wedding day so awesome!!