Dawn Gets Chucks!

I went to dinner with my good friends Dawn and Nina (Nine-a) tonight at Dixie's on Grand.  Nina and I got there first so we enjoyed a scrumptious Baileys and coffee drink to warm us up from this -4˚ weather.  Dixie's serves southern style food so we also shared a plate of coconut fried shrimp.

They seated us in a corner per my request so we could talk without shouting or straining to hear.  The room quickly filled with well-dressed, elderly Baptist women.  They were there welcoming their "sister" to the church.  Oh how I wanted to take their picture and ask them to tell me their story.  Their hats, their lipstick, their hair!  But, it was obviously a members-only deal.

When Dawn-Dawn (as Mia calls her) arrived, we ordered dinner. Dawn had a collection of delicious southern sides while Nina and I split the paella.  YUM!  We talked of curriculum, school structures, class sizes and learning styles for hours - all things I desperately miss having a voice in, but not enough to send me back to the trenches.

The night was winding down and Dawn kicked back a little.  That's when I noticed her shoes.  I don't think I have seen Dawn in shoes with laces more than three times in the nine years I've known her.  Usually she goes from flip flops to what I call slippers: hard sole, suede slip-ons with fur around the ankle.  But tonight she rocked an actual shoe!  Credit goes to her awesome mom, Debbie, who bought them for her for Christmas.  I LOVE THEM!