Weekend highlights

:: Cleaned the ol' abode from top to bottom

:: Had a date night with the Mister involving happy hour at Swift Lounge and a viewing of the new Arthur movie, which I enjoyed immensely (btw, we also watched The Fighter recently, which I LOVED and highly recommend, this coming from a girl who has little tolerance for fighting...)

:: Attended a Presbyterian service with our friend Adam, something I've wanted to do for a long time now. It was a morning well spent and I'm glad I went.

Now I am packing for another week in Yosemite. Ryan has made me the equivalent of a mix CD with his very own compositions to take with me. And I am nursing a monster cold sore (TMI?) and placing all my eggs in the Abreva basket.

You, have a great week!

Homemade baked DONUTS

Last night we had dinner with old friends. On the menu:
- salsa-baked goat cheese (this one is worth its weight in gold, folks)
- an amazing salad with avocados and mango
- chicken mole served with wild rice
- margaritas
- chocolate and cinnamon-sugar donuts

Our contribution was the donuts. I used Heidi's tried & true recipe for baked donuts, and the only change I made was to use half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour. This is one of those recipes where you don't even notice the whole wheat flour. I'd say you also don't notice they were baked instead of fried. She suggests tossing the donuts in cinnamon sugar. We made half of them that way and dipped the other half in a chocolate glaze (recipe below).

Chocolate glaze for donuts:
1. Melt 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate and 3T. butter over low heat, stirring frequently.
2. Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar and 3T. milk.
3. Dunk top half of donuts in glaze and cool on wire rack. Glaze will "set" after a few minutes.

Making me smile this weekend

fresh flowers just because
(first check off my '30 new things' list)

delightful-smelling soap from France

my new favorite bevvie: ginger honey crystals,
dissolved in water, hot or cold; a little goes a long way

Misha enjoying the sun, the blossoms, and the birds

Hope you're finding beauty in your weekend too!

On cloud nine

We have a few weddings to attend this year and I am super excited about this newly wed gift combo I've pieced together out of shear inspiration:

to start the day right:
The Breakfast Book via Orangette

to end the day in style:
Mr. & Mrs. cocktail glasses set from Furbish Studio

and because you're on cloud nine:
cookie cutter cloud by Herriot Grace (recipe here)

10 years

(this below is Ryan's "woman, I'm loosing my patience" look)

Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of our first date. It was one of those dates that started early and went all day long, with stops along the way at the Boston aquarium, Logan airport to watch people arrive and depart (pre 9/11), the movies, and the grocery store for dinner ingredients. We were having so much fun - have I told you this before? - that I plumb forgot I had a date with someone else, Randall, that night. He called to tell me he was on his way as Ryan and I were cooking dinner for the first time together, and I simply said "I'm sorry - I can't go." Its because we knew, Ryan and I, we were on to something big.

And indeed we were. Still are.