Despite kicking things off with a slight cold, it really feels as if this has been a near-perfect weekend. I got very nearly everything I wanted out of it. How often does that happen? I had a glorious start to my Friday with an amazing hike with my friend Tracy. Isn't that Spanish Moss something else? It had been a couple weeks since we'd had lunch, so we had a lot to catch up on. The miles sped by. After that, it really felt like Friday, you know? I'm trying to get in a rhythm of doing the grocery shopping on Fridays so we don't have that chore over the weekends, but this cold has me wiped out, so I didn't quite make it this week. Ah well, something to strive for. Friday night we resurrected our pizza ritual and finally (FINALLY!) caught up on all the Project Runways we'd missed. I feel so much better now. Who wants to talk about it?

Saturday was my favorite kind of fall day: cool and rainy. Cal stayed home to do homework while Neel and I went to run errands (grocery store), including, da...da...dum! Buy a bathroom! We picked up paint, a vanity, a toilet and all the faucets and such. Of course I woke Neel up early(ish) to get dressed in case our bathroom guys showed and they didn't, but there you are. Neel had asked me to pick out paint chips that mirrored our kitchen backsplash which has lots of shades of seaglass greens. And then he picked gray. I'm down with that. After all those errands, the only place I wanted to be was on the sofa, under the covers, and, as it turns out, that was exactly where Violet and Lucy wanted me to be too. I had one pup on my lap and one draped across my legs. Not a bad place to be.

We made Neel's special marianated steak for dinner Saturday night. (Dinner on Sunday night is an entirely different phenomenon. It's called Football Sunday, and I'm sure you can imagine what manner of food we're eating on Sundays. Take a guess.) When I was growing up, Saturday night dinner was such a special thing. We're trying to do that here too, but Saturdays can be so busy. This Saturday was nice. Great food, thanks to Neel's secret marinade. Callum lit all the candles at the table, and the windows were open so that we could hear the rain falling. Nice night.

Neel did a lot of cooking this weekend! He made a great bagle breakfast Sunday morning, and while Cal powered through the rest of his homework we cleaned the house and rearranged a bit both inside and out. Seems I'm happiest cleaning when I'm also moving things around. Go figure. We watched Harry Potter #1 this afternoon, which always feels like fall to me. Every so often we get in the mood to watch the series front to back, top to bottom, and it always seems to happen in the fall and winter. I'm ready. More snuggles. Bring it on. Bring on the cookies too. Nestle Toll House. Easiest baking in the world. Ain't nothing finer.

What's everbody's week like? I have another busy one, but that's okay. Seriously, I feel like I haven't drawn breath since school started, but we're getting there. It's good stuff I've got going on, so that makes it okay.

Hey gang! How was your weekend? I'm so glad to have Neel and Callum home, but I'll be the first to admit that it was fun to have a little time to myself! I started Friday with a walk on the beach, along the Atlantic. I should really do this more, and I'm making a commitment to myself to get out there more often this year. If you can bear the iPhone photos, I'll have a post about my walk later this week, so I won't say anymore here, except that it felt really, really, really good. Friday night we went to a local political event. For the most part, living in a battleground state = unfun, but this was really nice, and when you can support people whose work you actually believe in, well that feels good. Plus, I got to talk houses with one of my favorite architects (like I know so many), and that made me really, really happy. There may be a post about this evening coming soon too. No politics though, I promise. Aren't we getting enough of that everywhere else?

But my floor! My bathroom guys came early on Saturday (as I suspected they would), so I wasn't really alone that day. But I was dressed and ready for them! Neel and Callum texted me from the road and pictures from the game. They got real close to see batting practice, and even though the Phillies lost, Ryan Howard, one of Cal's favorite players hit his 300th homerun! That was pretty cool! And thanks to all of you did anti-rain dance! (I'm looking at you, Liz.) Thankfully, the rain held off until the guys walked from the ballpark to the car. Then it poured.

I had a great time Saturday night chatting on the front porch with my friend Catherine. It was the perfect night for a glass of wine and a long girl-talk. I haven't seen her in ages. We needed it.

However. There are definite downsides to having Neel and Callum gone, aside from the obvious. There is no one to do my dishes. And no one to make my coffee in the morning. When I took a shower Sunday morning my shampoo didn't lather the way it normally does, and I realized that I'd used my body wash instead. So. Off to Borjo, our local coffee house to fill me up. And before anyone freaks out, yes, I can make my own coffee. It just seems silly to make a pot when I only drink a cup. And besides, Borjo has spiced caramel latte. 'Nuff said.

We got an unexpected call from our neighbors who were out of town this weekend. Charlie-the-Pug is one of those neighbors. He didn't make the call, but he was in a bit of a dog sitting pickle and needed an early pick-up. Charlie was staying with a friend, a Dachshund named Bailey who'd been mauled the night before by another dog. Poor Bailey is okay, but she needed some quiet time. I picked Charlie up and brought him home, and he's a total crack up. He hopped in the driver's seat without a thought, and was so happy to be back home. What would we do without these guys, you know?

Before coming home, Callum and Neel made several special stops in Pennsylvania. One was at the Charcoal Pit, a restaurant Neel used to go to when he was Callum's age, and another was at Neel's old school. We try to make this stop every time we head to Eastern PA. They took lots of pictures, so look for a guest post about that too. I'm making lots of promises today, aren't I?

Then I took some pictures, and your suggestions were so amazing and gave me so many great ideas. Guess what! I'll have a full recap of my decision and a recipe too! That comes tomorrow. Woo-hoo! My floor is in, my guys are home and it feels like fall. Does it feel like fall where you are too?

monday mash up, october 1

monday mash up, september 24