Monday, April 25, 2011

Cheers To A Never Ending Weekend!

This weekend was one of those that seemed to last forever.  In a good way :)  And I honestly wouldn't change a thing about it, even if I could.  It was perfect.

Friday I had lunch with the girls.  Absolutely delish gumbo, and an early dismissal from work.  You surely can't beat that! 

The Voice of Reason and I had an appointment for a mani/pedi later in the afternoon, so I headed to Lowe's to pick up some things I needed in the mean time.  And then, I appeared to have an hour with nothing to do.  NEVER FEAR!  I headed to the closest TJMaxx.  And I found the most divine gladiator sandals.  (that I am actually wearing today, and wore Friday night, and will be wearing every day b/c I love them). 

(eww...I look like I've got cankles! booo...)

I spied the Easter Bunny while I was there, and he gave me a few things to put into LW's Easter Basket, and also a thing or two to sneak into TEN's Easter Basket :-o

Friday evening TEN and I had our date night.  We decided to scrap the movie since we were having such a good time just enjoying each other's company at the restaurant.  We had a delish meal, plenty of wine and so much laughter :)  We talked about the past, and what went wrong.  We talked about the present, and how happy we are.  And we decided that we don't ever want to end up where we ended up before.  And no one pointed fingers.  We both fessed up to what we did wrong, and could have done better.  And then we bought another bottle of wine to toast us.  To toast the present.  And to toast happiness.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday morning we were up early to head to the new winery where we were going to help plant baby wine vines (as I continued to call them all day).  We had invited The Voice of Reason and Mr. Swiss to join us, so we all met and headed "up the mountain". 

I was completely surprised at what baby wine vines looked like:


Honestly they just look like dead sticks :-o


But, clearly they are NOT dead.  One of the sections that was planted last year looks like this now:


There were various other wineries there doing tastings as well:

(Mr. Swiss, TVoR & TEN)


(the winery pups taking a break from playing with the ball)

They had live music, wonderful food for lunch (shrimp, chicken kabobs, BBQ, cheeses, etc.) and great wine selections.  The weather was perfect, and we decided to stop by another winery before heading back to Smalltown, VA. 

On the way we saw an old saw mill.  We pulled over to the side of the road to investigate:




We also stopped at a shop where they sold Buffalo Meat.  But, we didn't buy any.  I think there may have been some correlation to the fact that we kept passing buffalo, and cows, and calves, and they were all still alive......

The second winery has a bocce ball court, and the guys played bocce ball while TVoR and I enjoyed our wine and took in a little bit of sun. 


At one moment I closed my eyes and listened to the laughter of my friends, and I just wanted the day to last forever.  Have you ever had one of those days?  Where you weren't expected to be anywhere?  When no one was bugging you to get back to town to do something.  When everyone knew you were off enjoying the day, and therefore they didn't call you nonstop?  It was all just so peaceful, and it was so absolutely lovely :)

As we drove back along the Parkway, TVoR and Mr. Swiss invited us to their house for a fancy Swiss supper called Raclette.  TEN and I were very curious as to what this fancy pants meal would be like, so we dropped off TVoR and Mr. Swiss and headed home to fetch Louis.  Poor muffin, his legs were crossed when we got home...he had been praying we would arrive home soon.  We rewarded him for his patience by taking him along for the fancy pants supper!


(this is the raclette grill.  there is a stone on top, and a cheese warmer below)

(that plate has the raclette cheese on it, and check out that bottle of riesling!  XL for sure)


(raclette cheese in the warming/melting dish on the lower level of the grill)


(mushrooms grilling on the stone top)


(the finished product!)

The best way I can explain raclette is as a reverse fondue.  Rather than dipping potatoes, meats, veggies, etc, IN TO the cheese/oil...you dump the cheese OVER the meats, veggies, etc.  You prepare your plate, add tasty spices (all kinds of fun things Mr. Swiss had brought back from Switzerland) and then when your raclette cheese is bubbling you dump it over everything. 

Let me simply say that I had THREE servings, and it was divine.  Louis was in a feeding frenzy because everything smelled so delicious.  He laid under the dining room table and licked our toes.  He must have been REALLY hungry :)

TEN and I are convinced that we MUST purchase a raclette grill ASAP.  It's just as fun as fondue, but much less messy!

For dessert we had Vermicelle.  "What?" you ask....Well, I can't find anything in English to explain what it is.  So, I'll just try to tell you.  Apparently it is this tasty treat with vanilla ice cream, almond paste pushed through a press that makes it look like vermicelle noodles, whipped cream and a cherry. 


The weekend must be getting close to being over, right? So many lovely things discovered and experienced. But no...not even close! It was home to rest up for Easter Sunday.  Another big day in T's world :)


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Sunday morning we decided against going to church.  I know, I know...sacrilege.  But here's the thing...my least favorite days at church are Easter and Christmas.  Why?  Because people come out of the wood work.  People that haven't been to church since Christmas show up for Easter service.  And I end up having to stand.  And considering what Jesus did for me, I realize that standing up against the wall is not a very big sacrifice.  But it irritates me.  It's very small of me, I know.  I realize this.  I'm just being honest.

So, we didn't go to church.

We had our own little Easter celebration with Jesus and the Easter Bunny.  Louis got some treats, and so did TEN.  I, however, did not.  The Easter Bunny apparently gave my Easter Basket to someone else :(  But that's okay.  It's not about the receiving, it's about the giving.  (repeat after me...)

And then we went to Easter Brunch.  And since there was a Peep in TEN's Easter Basket again this year, we decided the Peep should accompany us for the Easter festivities.  And so he did...

(we are so proud of our Peep!)

(Mimosa Peep)


(Peep at home)


(Croquet Peep)


(Cocktail Peep)


(T & TEN)


(the whole crew - CJ, BW, Ken, Barbie, Mr. Swiss, TVoR, me & TEN.  Ken's daughter is in the front :)

TEN and I wandered home yesterday evening and were both ready for some quick supper, and an early bed time.  What a wonderful weekend!

The best news is that the Knockout Rose my Mother bought me for my birthday last year is blooming!  Louis was thrilled (as you can tell), and I had to fetch my camera for a photo this morning.




I hope you all had a lovely weekend, and I can't wait to share this week with you.  So much fun on the calendar...and JUST WAIT until I tell you how we will be celebrating while watching THE ROYAL WEDDING.  Kate and Wills would be so proud!



T

20 comments:

Twenty Something Blonde said...

There are so many things I want to say to this post!!

First...your weekend sounds incredible. I am so glad you had such a wonderful, never-ending, weekend :)

Second...I'm so so happy for you and TEN. It sounds like you are on the same page and both know what you want! you make such a cute couple too...so it would be shame to waste that! A SHAME I say!

Third...your Peep journey cracked me up. Literally, i was giggling at my desk.

and fourth....I LOVE LOVE LOVE knockout rose bushes. I planted some last year and they are huge and covered in hundreds of roses right now. Literally...they are a knock out!

:)

Twenty Something Blonde said...

There are so many things I want to say to this post!!

First...your weekend sounds incredible. I am so glad you had such a wonderful, never-ending, weekend :)

Second...I'm so so happy for you and TEN. It sounds like you are on the same page and both know what you want! you make such a cute couple too...so it would be shame to waste that! A SHAME I say!

Third...your Peep journey cracked me up. Literally, i was giggling at my desk.

and fourth....I LOVE LOVE LOVE knockout rose bushes. I planted some last year and they are huge and covered in hundreds of roses right now. Literally...they are a knock out!

:)

Dee Stephens said...

My kind of weekend.. Good food, wine and friends.
So glad you and Ten talked things out. I'm sure you were/are too. The peep cracks me up!
I bet..just bet.. you have a Royal wedding watching party to go to?

MCW said...

I love the Peep! I remember this from last year. So fun.

And glad you and TEN are on the same page. It's exciting that you all both want to work and grow your relationship together! I am sure LW is happy as well!

BelleinBows said...

What an amazing weekend! I love that you and TEN connected and are so happy with one another! I've been rooting for you guys all along.

I loved your Easter dress!!!

nomo wino daph said...

I'm so glad y'all had a great weekend!! It sounds perfect!

All the wine and friends, just my kinda days:)

Thats awesome abt you & TEN. Yay!!!!!

I just left the MAXX but came out empty handed:(

An I ate so many peeps. I may d i e......

Xo

Life Through Preppy Glasses said...

weekend looked wonderful!

I love those moments when you are there, and realize you dont want them to end...the best. But at the same time its hard because those are the moments you miss

DIMH said...

I had that kind of grilled food/cheese when I was in Switzerland! It was wonderful! So jealous!

Anonymous said...

Where to begin?! I am so happy for you & TEN, it sounds like you guys are in the right place together, and that's wonderful! Love the pictures, ps, he's a hottie! ;)

Glad you had a great weekend & a Happy Easter!

xoxox

the Hard Way said...

awesome weekend!! i feel the same about ppl who come out for church holidays. so i celebrate in my own ways, too. your pics are great as usual & you two look so stinkin cute :) i'm soso glad to hear that things are going so nicely. so very glad!

Jenny DB said...

This weekend DID seem to last longer than usual. When I realized around 5pm after several games in our beer pong championships that it was only saturday and not sunday i was VERY VERY happy!!! That dress looks fabulous on you, can i start calling you LEGS? :-)

REBrown said...

We have a raclette grill and I'm too afraid to use it!

Ann said...

You have the most fabulous weekends and this one was no exception.

Tote said...

I just love to hear about your wonderful weekends! I am also very happy for you and ten. So glad you talked things out. It is good to get that out of the way and it probably needed to be said for both your sakes.
Love those peeps, they are my favorite part of Easter. Now I steel my grand kids peeps!

Have a good week!

Susan

Alexandra Bee Blog said...

That date sounds absolutely perfect! So glad you had a great weekend (we skipped church too, shhh!).

Kassie said...

Can I just say? I'm so happy you're happy. That is all. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a fantastic weekend! You had me giggling lots-- the dead stick and the peep journey! The shoes are TO.DIE.FOR. So stinkin' cute!

The Easter Bunny visited here as well! The EB only visits MB though... I explain it like I used to explain to my godsons. Since I'm besties with the Easter Bunny, it's a conflict of interest for him to bring me anything. I guess the boys (and MB) just think my legal talk makes sense!

Jess said...

Yes! Seconding the comment about being happy you're happy!! So glad that you and TEN are doing well and that everything is going so great for you!!

The Defunct Curator said...

I absolutely love raclette. I fell in love with in in Switzerland, got a grill from our Swiss friends and have been enjoying it as special occasion food, since the cheese is so expensive in America. I have some tasty raclette recipes so let me know if you'd like any in the future!

Also, love the shoes. Seems like you had a great weekend and the conversation with Ten seems like turning over a new leaf, which is always a fantastic feeling. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful weekend!!!! I LOVE weekends like that..where you can look back and just know that you will always remember those memories.

SO glad to hear about your convo with TEN. There is nothing better than being 100% honest and owning up to failures in the past and most importantly, figuring out how to make the future work. Together. :)

What a great weekend :) Love all of the pics...peeps and all. No pun intended. Get it? No? Haha...

xoxo
Jess