Romano's Macaroni Grill

Last night, a few friends and I headed to Romano's Macaroni Grill at Ala Moana. The initial plan was to have dinner at Shokudo, but with our last minute planning, we weren't able to get reservations. We got seated at around 6:30 and since it's been around 2 months since we've last been together as a whole, we caught up with each other. Our waiter for the day was Toni -

If you've been to Macaroni Grill before, the waiters all have their own awesome name writing skills. Toni (and I'm sure all other waiters) was able to write his name upside down for all of us to see. The last time I ate at this restaurant, our waiter incorporated his name into a drawing of his face. I really wouldn't mind working there. We ordered spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer, and for my meal, I ordered Carla's Chicken Rigatoni (or so I thought).

With the little knowledge I have of pasta (even though it's my favorite food), I failed to notice that this was not what I ordered. After eating about a sixth of this plate, my friend, Cassey, finally mentioned the awkward shape of our noodles. We deduced that we were both given the wrong plate, and quickly switched. I was slow to notice, so it was a good thing she caught on. I did have a feeling though (I was staring at her plate for a while). I had leftovers, so I was able to get a picture of what I really ordered afterward.

Cassey brought along her cute little daughter, Adi. She was too adorable. I drew a picture for her on the table with the crayons they had available. Unfortunately, I was having too much fun and wasn't able to snap a quick picture of it. But I did get one of her.

When we finished eating, the dessert menu came around. I was too full to order anything, but doesn't the Roasted Almond dessert sound like the most delicious thing ever? As soon as I turn 21, I'll be sure to save some room for it.

Afterward, we headed to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for some coffee, while the others headed to Cinnabon. I was looking for a Bank Machine to get some cash, but the shopping center so stupidly got rid of MY bank's bank machine and replaced it with a bank that absolutely no one has. Worst idea ever, Ala Moana. So to no avail, we gave up and chit-chatted for a bit before heading to the car. We walked past a window display showcasing Spongebob Squarepants and Adi wanted to say Hi, which eventually led to us stepping into the store to get her something. It was quite amusing as we were trying to find out what she really wanted. While she was occupied with the mass of toys, we checked out the cutest bags and purses. The brand is called Angry Little Girls, and if you haven't heard of it, you must take a look for yourself asap!

This was my favorite:

After rummaging through that store, we were pooped and stuffed. We headed to our cars but had to wait a while for one friend, Ana, to get her car to pick up Cassey and Adi since Ana didn't want to drive alone. While we waited, I took pictures of Adi and her new cup.

And how small she is compared to my friend Nescia's boyfriend, Art.

I really suck at taking group pictures, but I really couldn't since there was no one around to really take our picture and we couldn't really get everyone together. Or maybe it was my lack of trying, haha!

Anyway, after saying our goodbyes, we headed out, me with Nescia and Art. But before we went home, we stopped by Target to get a lock for Nescia's suitcase (she took off to the Philippines today with her mom for two weeks). After Target, we dropped Art home, then went on our way. I live four houses down from Nescia, so it's always easy to catch a ride with her if I don't have a car available.

On our way home, friends on twitter mentioned major traffic on the freeway (and mind you, this is at 10:30 at night, and in a non-traffic area), so we were advised to take a different route. Me and Nescia were being hopeful, so we decided to skip the exit for the alternate route on the Highway and stayed on route. We thought that by 10:30, it would've cleared up, but no, what a bad idea. We were stuck in traffic for about 45 minutes, just complaining about our bad choice. We were also freaking out a bit because of the fact that we were low on gas and phone battery. I was going to take a picture of the craziness that was the traffic that ensued, but figured you would only see red lights. Eventually, we got out, headed to the gas station, and headed home.

I said my goodbyes and my 'have a safe trip' and that was my night. Apparently my parents also went out and witnessed the traffic as well. It was a fun night, and I haven't had one of those in a while. It seems like everything always starts picking up near the end of summer. But I'm not complaining. Now, I need to step on it with my tests and training for nursing.

Look forward to a post about Inception tomorrow!