What a weekend should be…

On Friday night, our friends Kevin and Mandy came over for impromptu pizza and a movie, but the best part was just sitting in the living room and talking. It’s been awhile since we’ve had friends over for an evening…we had a hard time letting them go home.

Saturday. I did one of my favorite things in the world to do: I went wedding dress shopping! One of my oldest and closest friends (my once roommate), Lisa, is getting married so I’ve been having fun helping her hunt for the perfect gown. I might be a little sad when she actually picks one because the hunt will have to end. Yesterday made me miss our wedding day. Friends flying in from across the miles. My dad there to walk me down the aisle (he was more nervous than I was, I think.) Watching all our friends and family come up to receive communion. Dancing against candlelight to Tom Waits's “Take It With Me” sung by Matthew Jones. The white chocolate Kahlua cake. Being twirled swiftly around the dance floor by my father-in-law until I thought my head might fly off my body. It was one of those dances where you can’t help but laugh the whole time. Phil Keaggy singing “Silly Love Songs”--definitely a moment I won’t forget. And running through a rainfall of deep-colored rose petals holding the hand of my brand new husband. It’s good to reflect on those memories every once in awhile. I probably do more often than a regular person.

In the afternoon, Jeremy and I headed out for a matinee. We decided on Capote, a really good movie, but pretty dark and intense. He was such a complex character, Truman Capote. Manipulative, insecure, self-obsessed, tortured and brilliant all at the same time. Harper Lee’s character was in the movie as well. I need to go read To Kill a Mockingbird now. She inspired me to come home and work on my book too.

After the movie we walked around the mall where we bought a new lamp, then bumped into Todd and Christie and my favorite member of their family, baby Elliott. I can’t imagine a cuter little person than him. I had missed all three of them. They are some of our dearest friends who we hadn’t seen in at least a month.

Jeremy and I left the mall and made our way back toward our neighborhood--to Margot café’ for a late dinner. It’s the best cozy restaurant in a two-story house that belongs in Tuscany. A glass of red wine. White bean casserole. Bread pudding and French press coffee for dessert (this time we split it.) And we talked and planned and laughed and dreamed. I was thankful for the hour wait to get our table, and the next hour to sip wine and wait for our slowly-prepared food to arrive; we were having so much fun. No computers or cell phones, no distractions, no dishes to wash. It was a perfect date.

A weekend full of good friends, great memories, delicious food, and little surprises… makes me glad that Sunday is a day for rest.