Every couple of weeks on Theresa’s Reviews, I feature my week in review to give insight into my family’s favorite local businesses and activities we do in our daily life. Since this past week was Spring Break, Easter, and an 8th birthday celebration, it had the potential to be a busy week, but we decided on a staycation to keep things simple.

Our Spring Break Week In Review

For my daughter’s 8th birthday, we traveled to the Tyson’s Corner American Girl store. The drive was only about an hour each way, which was manageable, and this meant we didn’t need a hotel for the simple birthday celebration.

We made it home that evening to enjoy a delicious, chocolatey cake. Our local Harris Teeter bakery has been doing such an amazing job with cakes lately. Check out the incredible custom cannoli cheesecake my husband ordered for my birthday this year on my Instagram page. With a short notice this week, the bakery continued to impress us. On this cake, small chocolate chips lined the exterior of the cake so every bite would explode with a rich chocolatey taste.

Watching my daughter make her wish for her eighth birthday was the best moment. I can’t believe how much time has passed, how much she’s grown, and how far she still has to go. Although parenting at any age has its struggles, she continues to impress me every day.

This week was also Easter. My daughters adored their Easter baskets, which were filled with the softest stuffed animals and a few chocolatey treats. We spent the evening at their grandmother’s house where we enjoyed a feast of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, ham, and bratwurst.

She truly outdid herself with the selection of food! Not only did the Easter meal taste incredible and last for days, but it was also a huge relief that she planned our Easter celebration since the birthday celebration the day before had been hectic.

To end the week, we enjoyed a rare kid-free night out to a fantastic Italian restaurant called Facci Italian Restaurant. Previously I featured this restaurant in 12 Best Local Maryland Dishes for the homemade soft noodles and delicious sauce in the Pappardelle Bolognese. This time, my husband and I decided to try some new dishes with the half-priced appetizer deal. The Coconut Shrimp had a delicious crispy breading and a tasty orange marmalade dipping sauce.

With the Calamari, you get a generous portion of the best parts of the calamari, if you prefer the rings over tentacles. Not only was there plenty for us to share, but the two different types of dipping sauce were both appealing. While the marinara is a classic, the other dipping sauce has a unique flavor.

If you eat at Facci, order a pizza from the wood burning oven. Since the pizza is cooked at 1000+ degrees, it has a perfectly crispy crust. You also get top ingredients with the imported organic Caputo flour and imported tomatoes from the San Marzano region. Our favorite to order is the Romina with Italian fennel sausage, wood-fired red and yellow peppers, and onions.

To get around this week, I drove the 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander. From driving on the busy northern Virginia beltway with five passengers to filling the trunk with several gigantic shopping bags from the American Girl store, this compact sports utility vehicle worked well for our nearby travels. With SiriusXM radio, heated seats, and a heated steering wheel, the long drive was comfortable for a chilly spring break.

Another feature that made the drive easier was that the 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander is made with safety in mind. With a multi-view camera system, read cross traffic alert, blind spot warning, lane departure warning, forward collision mitigation, and lane change assist, you can trust that your vehicle is working to keep your family safe.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also want to read about our best staycation we had on a snowy weekend last month.

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Let’s Chat!

What was your favorite part of spring break? Share in the comments!

Disclosure: I received a free item, but it in no way influenced my opinion.