I went on a date night with my husband a bit ago and I learned something new. Not about him, of course. Although, there are still moments when I do and those are pieces of information I savor. No, I learned about a new species.
I went on a date night and discovered a new species!
How and when does that ever happen?
Perhaps my great to the trillionth grandfather was Christopher Columbus. Or perhaps I need to get out more. Or read more. Or…
Let’s just skip the possibilities, they are too endless.
We’ll get to what I discovered, but first and much more importantly, what did I wear?
I wore jeans. I wanted to get dressed up, but I didn’t have it in me that night. So, I just wore what I had worn all day. The dress is the Free People Mamounia Dress. I purchased mine from Nordstrom Rack for $50 (the link goes to a different store). I broke my rule for one piece of jewelry by piling on a bunch of bracelets and necklaces. I was exhausted on this day and nothing keeps one awake quite like the jingling of jewelry on one’s wrists.
Or gives one quite as big of a headache.
I ate a granola bar before we left. ‘Cause I was starving. I knew I would turn into a beast if I did not eat something before we left.
The Jenni Beast was not the new species I discovered. Besides, she was discovered long ago. You can tame her with food. Compliments. And clothes. This is important information to have if you ever see her in the wild. She is quite destructive.
We went to my favorite restaurant. It is outdoors and has beautiful views. The price is right (we split a bottle of wine, an appetizer, a pizza and two desserts for $63 before tip). There was live music playing in the restaurant. The food is fabulous. My favorite in town.
We ordered our beloved fries for an appetizer. They take the chef three days to make in a secret recipe.
We sat in the garden. On the beautiful landscaped slope next to me, a poppy plant was being tugged on by its roots. It scared me at first, but then it was comical as we realized it was probably a gopher having dinner. It must have been a rebel gopher, because it is illegal here in California to hurt the state flower. We can’t pick it. I assume you probably can’t eat it either. But could the gopher have gotten high from the roots? Would it be like opium? These were the questions we asked each other over dinner.
Okay, those are the questions I asked my husband. To which he replied, “No.”
Darn. I had imagined a happy, plump little gopher in his hole kicking back and deciphering the patterns of the dirt in his tunnel.
He took pictures of me happy after wine.
And contemplating a gopher high on drugs.
I did not take a picture of our barbecue chicken pizza, but it was yummy. My husband and I had a handshake over our deal when we both discovered we hate red onions on our pizza. So we shook on never ordering them on it again.
And it was heavenly.
But we did get pictures of our two pretty desserts we ordered.
Here is where I introduce a new species. You thought it was a Druggie Gopher, didn’t you?
Nope. It was indeed a Hummingbird Moth!
A Hummingbird Moth!
Now, when I took these pictures, I assumed this was a baby hummingbird. At first I thought it was some kind of bee, but it moved too fast and was not shaped like one. We determined it was the smallest hummingbird we had ever seen. Even the masculine guy at the table next to me locked eyes with me and made a pinching motion with his two fingers to indicate how tiny and adorable the cute little hummingbird was.
Or he wanted to crush my head with his fingertips. One can never be sure.
Our side of the restaurant was enthralled with the little guy. He zipped by my head and hovered in front of me for the briefest second.
As we were leaving, we saw a colony of what we thought were miniature hummingbirds flitting in and out of the flowers. They were adorable. I even got a picture of one.
It turns out hummingbirds do not like to gather nectar together. Hummingbird Moths do. I discovered these little facts here and here after I searched for “Tiny Hummingbird” on the internet. It turns out if you think you see the tiniest hummingbird you have ever seen or even a baby hummingbird (baby hummingbirds cannot fly), you are actually observing a Hummingbird Moth. There are twelve hundred varieties of the Hummingbird Moth and they live all over the world! The one in the Western half of the United States (and the one I saw) is the Snowberry Clearwing (isn’t that a lovely name?) and the Eastern side of the United Stares typically hosts the Hummingbird Clearwing. The Hummingbird Moth is also less skittish than the hummingbird and will let you get close to it.
What a cool, fascinating little creature.
I never knew these existed. Did you?
Also, I am curious. Where did you go on your last date night? Do you dress up? Or do you wear jeans?
Outfit Source List: Free People Mamounia Dress, Anthropologie Pilcro Flares (old), Bracelets from H & M (old, similar here), Anthropologie layering necklaces (old, similar here), and Lucky Brand Emmie Silver Flats.
What a fantastic place! I can not remember the last time I went on a date…isn’t that sad?! I always want to dress up, but usually am too tired, so I have a nicer non-child friendly top and some heels…nothing too fancy. The pictures of you after wine are just gorgeous! I can see why your husband likes to go on dates with you!
I am so fascinated with the hummingbird moth. I am going to have to show my boys these. They love birds and bugs. I love watching hummingbirds. My grandparents always have a feeder in the summer and they have a constant string of visitors at it, sometimes 2-3 hummingbirds at a time.
Have a great mother’s day! I saw you got those amazing sandals! I loved them, but I have enormous calves, so that would never work on me. I am hoping for a new phone for mother’s day. Mine takes horrific pictures and I would love to get a new one so I don;t have to lug my dslr around!
Thanks Alicia! You have a beautiful excuse to not have a date night. And she truly is beautiful. It is so hard to get away when the kids are little. We are fortunate my daughter is old enough to babysit if we want to go out to dinner.
I hope your boys love those Hummingbird Moths! I think they are so neat. They come out at dusk so that is when you can watch for them. I have not seen any in my own yard yet. But I am looking every evening.
You have a great Mother’s Day, too! I need to still finish shopping for my mom. I have been trapped at home for a week with a sick kiddo. I haven’t been able to get anything done. : (
I am so excited to get to wear those sandals. I love them and my husband is happy to have Mother’s Day covered. The kids made me gifts. : )
You have a beautiful Mother’s Day, too!
And a super weekend!
Jenni
I have never seen a hummingbird moth. Your oufit is adorable. Brenda from a Cozy Little house sent me over 🙂 xo Laura
Thank you so much Laura. I loved learning about that cute little creature! Thank you so much for stopping by and for commenting. I appreciate it. That was so sweet of Brenda to feature me. : )
Have a lovely weekend!
Jenni
I really enjoyed your post. What a wonderful dinner you had. You looked so pretty! I need to go on a date with my husband…it’s been forever.
Thanks for teaching me something new today. I never knew that a hummingbird moth even exists!
Brenda from Cozy Little House sent me over.
Thank you so much Gayle! Definitely time for a date night! : ). It was so impromptu and refreshing. I have been longing to go back. I just love that restaurant.
I am so glad you like the Hummingbird Moth, too. It is such a cool little creature.
Thank you do very much for stopping by and for leaving a comment. I really appreciate it.
Have a terrific weekend!
Jenni
Hi Jenni! Love the looks of your favorite restaurant – would LOVE to have a place like that with such a nice patio for dining alfresco where I live – the view is gorgeous! My favorite restaurant is a restaurant that serves Tex-Mex, old Mexico, and Southwestern style cuisine. Everything is DELICIOUS – they have a pulled pork chili relleno served with both a red chile sauce and salsa verde, and the best fish tacos I have ever had – made with seabass. They also have the BEST margaritas! They have a beautiful patio, but the view doesn’t compare to the view at your place! I live near Dallas so this is more the “concrete jungle” and the window of opportunity is rather slim for dining alfresco, sadly. I go back and forth – sometimes I dress up and sometimes I feel casual. One of the last times I went out I wore the Boteh Maxi from Anthro. I may go out tonight, and I’m feeling more blue jeans right now! The hummingbird moths – I thought the same thing when I first saw one – that it was like a baby hummingbird! They are rampant in my backyard right now! But I am starting to get hummingbirds too! Love watching both! I’ve had the hummingbird moths even flying around in my house – kinda freaked me out!
Thank you so much! : ). Mexican food is my favorite. It is actually hard to find a good restaurant here. Okay. You have my heart with margaritas. In fact, what I would give to have one right now. I had to look up the Boteh Maxi. It is stunning. That blue is gorgeous. I would definitely wear that out, too! And I love any kind of white fish. Sea bass is so good. The way you described the food made me so hungry!
You are so lucky to have the hummingbird moths in your backyard right now! I have been looking and looking for them in mine. I don’t think they like it. I might need to look up what flowers attract them. I would love for them to visit. We do get a lot of hummingbirds. They make the funniest sounds! I cannot imagine having a hummingbird moth in the house! They are so fast! That would freak me out too!
Thank you for sharing and for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate. : )
Have a fabulous weekend!
Jenni
I know what you mean about the hummingbirds! My dad used to work on F-16’s – the sound the hummingbirds make makes me think of some microscopic torpedo plane – LOL! I just LOVE to see/watch them! When we go to Colorado we always take hummingbird feeders with us and hang them at our cabin/campsite. We had like 8 feeding at one time last summer! I had never seen anything like it in my life! So cool! I wish I could capture them on camera! My significant other has, but I’m just not that good of a photographer! (or “phonographer”, as my dad used to say – he had his own dictionary!) I bet you could! You take some really good pics!
Thank you Judi! Yes, those enduring creatures are surprisingly loud. Eight hummingbird feeders would be so amazing. I would love to see that. I might have to do that on a smaller scale this summer (maybe three?). I would love to have more in my yard.
I can’t tak a good picture to save my life. My husband takes all of my pictures. I try. I really do, but it is not a skill that I possess. I attribute that to stalking my crush during photography class and not paying attention to any of the lessons! That photo I took was a fluke. I have no idea how I got the creature in a photograph. Maybe it was the wine. : )
Have a joyful weekend!
Jenni
Ooohhh, I love that dress, it’s so pretty & looks so great on you!!! Fun date night & a lovely place, great view! The hummingbird moths look so cute & neat, I never knew about them either! It’s fun to discover & learn new things!
I also love the look of paper straws, though I don’t have any, no real reason why! I always look at & admire pics on blogs of beautifully decorated & coordinated party decor & undoubtedly colored, decorated paper straws are always a component! I think I need to start searching for them on sale & stock up!
Have a wonderful, lovely Mother’s Day!!!!
🙂 rebecca
Thank you so much Rebecca. Those little eyes made the whole night better. It is always so nice to discover something positive in this world. I love hummingbirds, so a creature trying to imitate them is the cutest!
Alicia commented saying she found paper straws in the clearance aisle at the craft store. I am going to check next time I am at one because I would love to do a craft with them. So glad it was suggested yesterday.
You have a wonderful Mother’s Day, too! And have a peaceful weekend! : )
Jenni
You look beautiful Jenni! I love reading your blog, you always make me laugh. On our last date night I’m sure I wore jeans, although I can’t remember when that was (sad). I love hummingbirds, but am scared of moths so not sure how I feel about the new species you discovered. I’d rather be blissfully unaware and assume I saw a cute, tiny hummingbird. Yes, let’s go with that.
Thank you so much Cameron. I really, really appreciate that today. Date nights are hard to schedule. Besides our anniversary trip, that was the first one we have had in awhile. My husband works such crazy hours, it is just sometimes not plausible. I hope you get to go on one soon!
I like moths. The only one that creeps me out is the moth (I believe it is called the Luna Moth) that is born with no mouth and slowly starves to death during its two week lifespan. It makes me sad. You should totally imagine you are seeing the sweetest little hummingbird. They are more social than regular hummingbirds so close your eyes if it gets too close. : )
Thanks for making me smile today.
Have an amazing weekend!
Jenni
this is only the 2nd time I’ve heard about that moth and the first time was last year on a blog too! Over here from Cozy Little House where Brenda has you featured today 🙂
That is funny. I have not seen the little guys since then. I think this is the month that they are most prominent so my eyes are open. Wasn’t that so sweet of Brenda? So very nice. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read and leave a comment. I appreciate it!
Have a lovely weekend!
Jenni
Gorgeous close up photos!
That is incredibly interesting about the hummingbird moths! I would have loved to see that!
Last time we went on a date night was to see a friend in a play. I wore a skirt, tshirt, and jean jacket since it was at a small theatre. I love seeing what every one else wears and it ran the gamut from super casual to super dressy. A couple of girls were in those very wide and colorful palazzo pants. A few were in maxi dresses.
Thank you Cynthia! I wish I could see a picture of that outfit. I looked everywhere for my gaucho pants last night. But I can’t find them. I have to try to remember where the heck I could have put them. I love the new palazzo pants. I would love to try some on. They look so fun!
Have a great weekend!
Jenni
Lost gaucho pants?!! Don’t worry – they will turn up! Unless that gnome traded them for the tights you found the other day. Darn those sneaky gnomes!
Ha! I love this theory! That is exactly something they would do. I need to figure out how to negotiate. I got a raw deal.
Have sweet dreams!
Jenni
You look so beautiful and happy in these photos.
I had heard about hummingbird moths but this is the first time I’ve seen anyone post their own photos. What a cool experience. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Liana! It was a cool experience made neater by it being unexpected. I love good surprises. I hope to go there again soon, but I worry I will have too high of expectations and will be sad if I do not see a hummingbird moth.
Have a happy Saturday!
Jenni
Pretty please tell me the restaurant! I live in San Diego too and it is hard to find someplace fabulous. I promise not to steal it from you 😉
I will definitely share. I will send you an email in the morning! : ). I do not want to post it here. I don’t like anyone to know exactly where I visit locally. You can never be too safe. : ). You will love it.
Have a happy day tomorrow!
Jenni
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