After a marvelous weekend celebrating Mark’s and my 5^th anniversary, I didn’t dread the workweek too terribly. Mondays become Tuesdays soon enough, and today was a balmy, yet beautiful, sunny day.

When I returned home from work Friday evening, Mark had my gift on the table, along with some beautiful pink roses.

Since wood is the traditional 5^th anniversary gift and neither of us needs more stuff, I really wanted us to exchange homemade gifts.

Mark surprised me with a beautiful shadow box: pictures and ticket stubs from our honeymoon in Las Vegas, mementos from Mardi Gras parades, adorable photos of our sweet fur-child, Iggy, and more pictures/tickets from our most recent trips to Vegas/Seattle and Disney World! I absolutely love it and will never doubt his artistic abilities. 🙂

I made a wooden plaque with the image of St. Joseph Chapel (on our alma mater’s campus, and also where we were married) on an “M.” It was tricky cutting out the photo—but I think it turned out pretty well.

Mark made delicious Caprese salad with shrimp and grits. We shared a bottle of wine and stayed in for the night.

Saturday we ran some errands before heading downtown for our special dinner at NoJa.

It was quite warm inside (the windows were wide open, but there was little breeze), so a few fruit flies decided to join us.

My martini, a French Tickler, was pretty good—though it was a little sweet for my taste.

Mark began with a spinach salad (with an amazing bacon dressing, shallots, and Maytag blue cheese) and I chose the delectably-creamy, saffron-infused, butternut squash soup. Looking back, the appetizers were the stars of the show.

Though all of the entrées sounded fantastic, we both opted for local seafood. Mark chose the panko-crusted redfish, topped with a miso-soy glaze and served with sesame-crusted potatoes and braised carrots and baby cabbage.

I chose the chef’s special catch, also redfish, which was pan-seared, with a saffron-apricot sauce, sous-vide potatoes, and the same carrot/cabbage side.

Both dishes were cooked perfectly, but neither of us was blown away. While Chef Diggs is clearly talented, we expected a bit more for a $34 entrée.

If we return, we’d probably go for drinks and small plates (the scallop appetizer sounded delightful). I’m disappointed our expectations weren’t quite met, but it’s exactly what I feared since we’ve heard so much hype about the place.

Maybe a different choice—like the duck I almost selected—would’ve had that wow factor. The atmosphere was also a little stuffy (literally and figuratively)—very “Old Mobile.”

All in all, the food was flavorful, elegant, fresh, and filling—just overpriced when there’s equally impressive food throughout the area at a significantly lower cost. Having said all that, I wish NoJa much success—and I hope the restaurant is a lasting fixture in Mobile.

We slept late Sunday and bought a new blender—the Ninja (on which I cut myself twice!)—before having red beans and rice at my parents’ house. More delicious food! After dinner with them, we relaxed and prepared for the workweek.

Happy Monday, and I hope everybody finds a little something marvelous in their day.