Saturday was a melancholy day — the one-year anniversary of the last time the girls saw their Grandma, the day we took her to tea at the Ritz.

Of course, the girls didn’t remember the date (ah, to be 8 and 6) but I did, and my mom and I decided to mark the occasion with a celebration. I tried to get a reservation for tea, but the Ritz was booked (apparently someone’s not suffering from the bad economy) so we went to the mall, instead.

We goofed around at Lush and Aveda, and Annabelle tried to explain to Sophie that Barney the dinosaur does not, in fact, reside at Barney’s.

The highlight was a Valentine lunch at a new “female friendly” (really!) steakhouse called Modern Steak. The perfect setting for some pint-sized princesses, and after lunch we conducted a lengthy photo session in the ladies room.

I wish I’d thought to shoot my holiday photo in that bathroom. Seriously. If you live in the Phoenix area, get over there to check it out. If not, you can see it in this slideshow.

I’m not sure what my mother-in-law would have thought of that photo session in the ladies room — she was a pretty polite woman — but I know she would have approved of the girls’ silly grins.