. . . and I think that I can pull together a celebration meal and cake with foods that we have on hand. I am thinking of doing a Mexican-inspired dinner, followed by a scratch vanilla "funfetti" cake (using some of the rainbow sprinkles that I bought in January in the cake batter as well as on top of the frosting). We have a container of ice cream in the freezer, and soda pop in the pantry, if anyone in our group is interested. My daughters have chosen to go to the movies instead of a meal in a restaurant. So we will eat at home, and divert the money which would have been spent in a restaurant to cover the cost of movie tickets.
As you likely know, when you want to see a specific movie, on a specific day, tickets can be expensive. To bring the expense of the movie tickets into the price-range of what I had budgeted for a restaurant meal, I used the internet to carry out some research. I checked a variety of locations and times for the specific movie my daughters want to see. My research turned up 3 theaters within a 20-minute drive from our house, with cheaper tickets in the mid-afternoon at 2 of those theaters. The theater closest to us had the most expensive seats, with no afternoon discounts. (This one is in a mall and they likely have no trouble filling seats on a Saturday afternoon.)
For a 15-minute drive each way, (which will cost under $2 for additional gas compared to driving to the nearest theater), we can save $18 on the cost of tickets for our group. The mid-afternoon showing will finish in time to have us home for our simple birthday dinner and cake. Saves money and fits our schedule. I can't believe my little girls are now women -- they'll be 23 on Saturday! Where has the time gone?!
Anyway, those are our plans for this weekend. Anything going on in your area? Have a wonderful weekend!
