Fun and productive weekend highlights

Sometimes we spend our weekends having fun. Sometimes we spend our weekends doing productive things. But my favorite weekends are when we have fun AND do productive things. That was the kind of weekend we just had, and it was great!

I had a relaxing Sat morning drinking coffee and flipping back and forth between "Sell This House" and "My Big Amazing Renovation" (shows Spouse would rather not watch) while he was at his personal trainer appointment. After I showered, fed and walked the dog, and ran the dishwasher, Spouse came home and we went to lunch before doing a little shopping. We bought an old, dark-stained oak chest of drawers from an antiques and collectibles shop for our bathroom.
This will give us easier access to all of Spouse's health and beauty products. Although I'm usually not a big fan of oak furniture, this piece is stained dark and really coordinates nicely with the wainscoting and vanity.

I changed the sheets on our bed and then put on the new king size duvet and bedskirt we bought last summer, right after the addition started. Its amethyst in color, with a bronze border, and looks really nice with the area rug in our room. Since I still loved the queen size comforter set we used to have on our old bed, we decided to swap out a lesser quality comforter set upstairs with the one from our bedroom, which included taking the mattresses off the beds to change out the bedskirts. Definitely a 2-person job. Next I put up some temporary (paper) shades in the bathroom and closet windows so Spouse would finally start using those areas. Despite the fact that no one is looking in our windows, and even if they were they wouldn't be able to see us from the street on the 2nd floor, he feels every window should have a covering. I am temporarily obliging him while the stain glasses panels are being made.

Next we went to the storage unit and finally brought Big Ella home to live in her new garage. We'd been planning to do this for 2 weekends, but were unable due to my being sick one weekend and the film festival and rain the following weekend. She fits beautifully in her safe and dry home, with plenty of extra room for storage.

Our friend and neighbor Jared went with us to a glass blowing exhibit at Deb Appleby's studio. Then we had cocktails and a great dinner at Rigby's. I had pumpkin risotto with wild mushrooms, Spouse had beef stroganoff, and Jared had pasta bolognese. It was a really enjoyable night.

Sun morning Spouse & I had breakfast, then did a little more shopping at Wal-Mart and our fabulous Dollar Store. On the way home we stopped at the stained glass studio to get an update on our window inserts. They'd ordered a specific glass color they needed and had been told it was on back-order. Then when the supplier was ready to ship it there was some problem with having it delivered. The long and the short of it is that it will be at least another month before the window inserts are ready.

Once home, Spouse & I sorted through all of his health and beauty products, which had been temporarily stored in laundry baskets when the addition project began. Some stuff went into the trash, while the keepers were placed in clear, rectangular, plastic containers (from the Dollar Store) and then into the drawers of the new chest. We propped a vintage etched glass mirror on top to see if we like it before mounting it over the chest. Then I placed clean towels and new rugs (from Wal-Mart) in the guest bath, in preparation for our Thanksgiving houseguests. I washed some dishes and wiped off the counters before going to Five Guys for burgers and fries. Spouse was in the mood for cheeseburgers and I was in the mood not to cook them or clean up afterward.

And while all of this was going on, our yard guy Ray powerwashed the exterior of the house, our bikes, and all the porch furniture from both porches. What a difference! Its unbelievable how dirty the exterior of the house got from the neighbor's construction last year, the street reconstruction earlier this year, and our addition. But it looks clean and beautiful now.

So that was our fun and productive weekend. What did YOU do?

Crush du Jour: Pascal Elbe

Weekend highlights

Mike & Clark and Ron & James arrived Fri evening and the 6 of us went out to dinner and then picked up some supplies at the grocery and liquor stores. We talked and laughed and got caught up on each others' lives until 11:30 when we reluctantly put our tired selves to bed.

Sat morning I baked a sausage/egg/cheese casserole for breakfast while Spouse was at his personal trainer appointment. We had the casserole along with zucchini bread Clark had made and orange/cranberry scones that James had made and talked until early afternoon. It was rainy and yucky outside but a few of the guys decided to do some shopping. I stayed home to upload my photos and write about the week's addition progress. That afternoon we had cocktails and snacks, then went to dinner at Eden in Rehoboth Beach, which everyone really liked. I had an amazing entree of seared scallops with linguini and butternut squash cream sauce. Since it was Autumn Jazz Festival there was a jazz combo playing. When we got home we watched "Drop Dead Gorgeous" which everyone really enjoyed, and "Boy's Life 5" shorts, which were somewhat enjoyable.

Sun morning we had coffee, zucchini bread and scones to tide us over until brunch. We had an 11am reservation for Rigby's Sun Jazz Brunch, featuring local songstress Holly Lane. I had shrimp and grits, and all 6 of us had the curried acorn squash soup which was amazing! Everyone really enjoyed the food and entertainment. Ron & James left for home directly from brunch, and Mike & Clark left shortly after we returned home. I spent the afternoon reading the film synopsis and marking the films I want to see at next month's Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival while Spouse napped and computed. Later we had delicious turkey and vegetable soup at Steven & Thad's and visited with them for a while. It was the perfect way to wind up a lovely weekend with friends!

Crush du Jour: Butch Grand

Weekend highlights

When the construction guys left at 4:00 on Fri I immediately yanked the vacuum out of the closet and vacuumed the 1st and 2nd floors and the stairs, in preparation for our friends' Ron & James' arrival at 5:00. When Spouse got home he dusted and used his new Bissell Steam Mop in the living room and foyer.

Once we'd showed them the addition progress, we sat in the living room with Ron & James and got caught up on all the goings on in their lives, our lives, and the lives of several common friends in VA we knew from the church we attended. Eventually we decided to have dinner at Shag since it was a gorgeous evening and Shag has that great outdoor dining courtyard. Shortly after our food arrived a belly dancing performance began. Yeah, you read that correctly: belly dancing. You can imagine how surprised we were! And just our luck, our table was right next to the performance space so the belly dancers kept coming over to our table, hoping to titillate us. Little did they know they were barking up the wrong tree. But eventually one of the really persistent dancers pulled Ron & James up and onto the dance floor with her!

Spouse & I made sure to keep a fork or glass in our hands so they'd leave us alone. It was an unexpected but fun addition to our dining experience. After dinner we went for a lovely walk on the boardwalk, then returned home to talk and laugh some more until we simply had to go to bed.

Sat morning Spouse went to his personal trainer appointment while Ron, James and I talked over breakfast. James had brought homemade cranberry orange scones that were absolutely delicious, Ron kindly selected a mango and some nice, ripe peaches from a produce stand along the way, and I supplied the hazelnut coffee. We had a lovely, relaxing morning. Later, after Spouse returned home, we had lunch and then went to the beach. On a scale of 1-10, the weather was at least an 11. It wasn't too hot or humid and we got occasional breaks from the sun so we didn't feel like we were roasting. There was a pleasant breeze coming off the ocean, and we felt like we could have stayed there all day. Back at home we all showered and had cocktails on the screened porch, then went to Rigby's for more cocktails and dinner. For dessert we had Annie's Bannanies, and walked on the boardwalk again.

Sun morning we had coffee on the screened porch and we could feel a significant change in the weather. It was very humid and much warmer. Eventually we walked to the Blue Plate Diner for brunch, then browsed the antique market and a photo gallery on Second St before returning home. Ron & James packed their things and we wished them a safe trip back to VA. I read some emails while Spouse took a nap. Then Spouse & I returned to the beach where we met up with Rick & Nick and Jason. It was hot and humid but at least there was a breeze. As they say, "A bad day at the beach is better than a good day at work".

Once back at home, Spouse & I showered and then met Steven & Thad at the theatre to see "Julie & Julia", based on the books written by Julie Powell and Julia Child. We LOVED it. If you're a foodie, you'll love it. If you're a blogger, you'll love it. If you have ever experienced deep love and/or friendship, you'll love it. And Meryl Streep is absolutely AMAZING as Julia Child. The voice, the body movements - it was all there. It was a very sweet and wonderfully made film. Afterward, the 4 of us had Mexican food for dinner at La Tonalteca since there are no French restaurants near us. The food and the company were great.

It was a full and wonderful weekend!

Crush du Jour: John Driscoll