I am absolutely shocked.
Jay and I are actually getting money BACK from our taxes. And a fairly decent amount, too! I was sure (like, would have bet money on it) that we were going to end up owing a ton of money this year, between all of the different job situations I had, plus freelance + blog stuff. Thankfully, Jay and I balanced each other out quite well this year and we got lucky.
Now, hopefully, we can put our return toward some new siding that we’ve been wanting to replace ever since our kitchen remodel. It needs to be done…bad.
So once we got the good tax news, we headed out for a celebratory brunch.
Truth be told, we were going to go to brunch anyway, but it was more fun to be able to make it a celebratory one. 
Our brunch spot of choice for today was a new one for us…sort of. We’ve both been to the Iron Gate Café several times, but neither of us had ever tried it for brunch. I wound up having a conversation with one of my clients last week, and she happened to mention the fact that Iron Gate makes a killer brunch, so we decided to go check it out.
There was about a twenty-minute wait (not too bad) so we took that time to peruse the menu and figure out our order. As soon as we got seated, we ordered some coffee.
And I probably had about 3 cups…it happened to be one of those “oh, I see you’re getting empty, let me refill that for you” sort of deals. Jay and I always laugh whenever that happens, because we say that it totally throws off our coffee-cream-sugar ratio. Anyone else with us on that one?
For brunch, I really didn’t venture too far out of my comfort zone, and ended up getting the egg white veggie omelet, made with peppers, tomatoes, grilled onions, sausage, and cheese. I requested just a tiny bit of provolone (as always), and they pulled through.
My omelet came complete with home fries and toast, but I opted to substitute some of their grilled corn bread for the toast. Best.decision.ever.
That grilled corn bread was absolutely amazing. I’m assuming the fact that it was grilled with plenty of butter probably had something to do with it, but I try to ignore that part.
Jay’s brunch item of choice was one of the most unique brunch items I’ve ever seen, known as the John Denver: 2 scrambled eggs + bacon layered over corn bread and topped with a pepper jack hollandaise.
The picture really doesn’t do it justice (the boy just wanted to eat, couldn’t blame him), but that was one incredibly delicious dish. Like nothing we’d ever seen before!
*****
The rest of the afternoon has been spent working on some housework and more blog-related tasks. Slowly but surely, I’m making my way through those recipe pages, and I’m happy to report that the Breakfast Page is now complete, with sub –categories and all!
I realized as I was going through all of the recipes that there were some older ones that I had totally forgotten to add, so you may end up coming across a few newbies.
It’s now almost 6-1/2 hours since we ate brunch and Jay and I are just finally starting to get hungry for some dinner. Apparently Iron Gate Café not only makes a delicious brunch, but a rather filling one at that. I have a feeling dinner tonight is going to be super simple, because we’re both feeling super lazy at the moment.
We’ll see what happens.
I always order egg-white omelets when I go out to brunch..they are so filling and delicious!
Yum, homemade grilled corn bread is one of my favorite things! Looks like a nice Sunday (and I’m sure the taxes surprise made it extra nice)!
It all looks so delicious! …..Now, I’m craving eggs for supper! Mmmmm!
HOORAY for money back on the taxes- that is *super* exciting! That would be some awesome news to get! I’m crossing my fingers that we don’t owe any money either, that would be a HUGE bummer. Money back would go into the nursery for Baby Spinach and Sprinkles!
Baby Spinach and Sprinkles! I love it! :)
A pepper jack hollandaise sounds like the bomb! Unfortunately, with bikini season coming up quickly… it’s not on ‘my menu’. ;)
I love brunch, but have to admit I have not had it in a long time.
Congrats on getting your money back in taxes. I’ve already used some of mine on a new pair of workout shoes. Simple pleasures.
Jay’s breakfast looks awesome! Sign me up for pepper jack hollandaise!
I was hoping it would be chicken and waffles! I have always wanted to try that – possibly doing so soon as I’ve found a place where I live that actually has it :)
Grilled corn bread sounds amazing! I love when big brunches carry you through the entire day.
Have a wonderful lazy evening!
Oh wow … I think I would have just ordered a huge plate of that cornbread! Yum!!
And I love what you said about Jay just wanting to eat his food. Our poor husbands. They have to always wait an extra 30 seconds for us to get a good shot of our meals! ;)
Haha, I know…luckily, Jay has gotten pretty used to it by now, but sometimes he’s like “REALLY?!?” ;)
I’m drooling over the idea of grilled cornbread! Wow.
And congrats on the tax return – always a big relief!
I love brunch! I used to be a waffles or pancakes kinda girl, but now I always go for some type of egg dish! I also love when a parfait is an option!
I did my taxes today too. Yay for getting money back! I think I’m putting my refund towards a new camera because I desperately need one.
Jay’s brunch pick sounds amazing. I love eggs Benedict so that sounds like it would be up my alley.
I’d be so stoked on getting money back from taxes, and then would go and spend it all right away after I got it back :) I usually get egg white omelettes when out for brunch/breakfast because you can make it pretty darn healthy and I know I’ll like it. I lovelove when the waiter keeps refilling my coffee cup, they know I like that coffee!
The brunch food looks delicious!! What a nice treat. :)
What is it about having eggs cooked by someone else that makes them taste even better? As I don’t have an egg poacher at home (I’m on the lookout for one), that’s been my go-to order lately! I love it when restaurants serve brunchy foods at all times of the day like Le Pain Quotidien!
Oooh that egg-white omelet looks yumm!
I love when my boyfriend orders something on the heavier side and I get something healthy. I can try a bit (or five) of his decadent dish while still eating something relatively healthy.
Hooray for getting tax monies back!
when I saw your WE ARE GETTING MONEY BACK!!! on FB I cheered for you :-)
I dont think I am…but maybe!!!
That brunch looks awesome! :) What a great way to celebrate!