Date Night: Old Town Slidell Soda Shop

Casey popped in for lunch the other day and said, "I was thinking we could go to Slidell for date night. I have a surprise for you... I found a mom and pop book shop and a cool restaurant for us to try." I was pretty excited because books and food are totally the way to my heart. 

At 3:00 we hit the road, aiming to get there around 4:00 since the book shop closed at 5:00. Unfortunately, we got caught in traffic behind a wreck and pulled into town right at 5:00, missing the window to go to the book store. Fortunately, Casey had a backup plan, so we went to Dirt Cheap and I got two new-with-tags Target dresses for $7 each. (I'm thinking of giving them a mini-makeover... we shall see.)

After Dirt Cheap, we headed to the restaurant -- Old Town Slidell Soda Shop. It was so cute! I love a 50s themed diner, and this one was painted PINK on the inside. All the decor was super cute--I loved all the fun vintage decor touches and the arcade. The homemade ice cream was AMAZING. I sampled like 5 flavors and ultimately chose Samoa. Oh em gee. It was so good. None of the flavors were too strong and they were perfectly balanced. It was so nice to get touches of coconut in my bites--so perfectly summer!

Ice cream in hand, we explored the arcade then went outside. The Soda Shop has an adorable outside area, with picnic tables under a plant-covered pergola, a cage filled with pretty birds, two fountains, a big red barn, and... a Little Free Library that looks like a Tardis!!! (It really is bigger on the inside.)

Then we enjoyed walking around the cute downtown. We love towns that have adorable, well-kept old downtown areas. I grew up in a city that had let many of the old downtown buildings crumble, and it always made me so sad. I love living in a town that has spent the last 20 years being purposeful to keep the old downtown alive, and I love visiting other towns that do the same.