Dumpling House

Today was our last day with Reuben the repair man. He said that the moisture levels are back to an acceptable level and that the mold killer he sprayed, should keep mold away from that spot, forever! Before saying goodbye, he engaged me in one final conversation. He was telling me a story about being one of the few African American kids in his high school, which led him to tell me about the time he defended a mentally disabled boy who was being picked on, which led to a lesson on how our actions and words affect others, which finally led to his words of wisdom for the day: "You just never know...You could tell a woman she has nice feet, and she may wear sandals for the rest of her life!" Hahaha. Is it weird to miss your repair man? I kinda do!

After saying farewell to Reuben, I went to climb back into bed next to this beauty...

Look at that hair! :)

Once again, we didn't have much extra time to snooze. We had to start getting ready to head to Bellevue Square to meet my mom. 

I put a new diaper on the changing table, and before I could unzip her jammies, Zoey was chompin' on it! 

Once we got to the mall, our first stop was Nordstrom. We had to exchange an outfit Zoey was given, for one in a bigger size. The 6 month pants fit her fine, but the onesie wouldn't even close over her belly (not sure what size chart the makers of that outfit used...). 

After that, we walked over to the Din Tai Fung Dumpling House for lunch. Now, I'm not even sure how to best describe this experience, but it was indeed "an experience"! I gave it 3 strikes and then it was out!

Strike 1: The lavender tea. It tasted like I was drinking a bottle of perfume, mixed with a few blades of grass!

Strike 2: When I received my Pork Chop Noodle Soup, it looked nothing like the picture. I was expecting nice, thinly sliced pieces of pork chop, and instead I got 1/3 meat, 1/3 Fat and 1/3 BONES! The noodles and broth were actually quite good, but I couldn't stomach the meat, which looked like it'd been hacked using the knife skills of Freddy Krueger! 

Strike 3: After exploring (and enjoying) juicy pork dumplings, garlic green beans and some type of chicken, noodle and cabbage dish, against my better judgement, I decided to take one last bite of the pork left floating in my bowl. CRUNCH! Don't know if it was a bone or a tiny rock, but it was immediately spit back into my spoon as I simultaneously laughed and cried! (my lovely mother also laughed until she cried; clearly laughing at me, NOT with me! Rude!)

Yuck! Din Tai Fung...more like Din Tai Fun-ky! It'll be a while before I muster up enough courage to give that place another try. And when I do, no pork chops for me! 

I envied Zoey as she got to snack on a pack of napkins!

Before leaving the mall, we stopped and enjoyed some Top Pot doughnuts. A much needed treat after that adventurous dining experience! 

Trying out her new cloth teether. 

You get it wet, ring it out, put it in a plastic bag and let it chill in the fridge or freezer for an hour. Pretty neat :)

(And yes, I am aware that you can do the same thing with a washcloth...but then it wouldn't have all of the cool shapes and colors! ;)