little black journal

Oh, this weekend was so perfectly ‘weekend-ish’, full of good food, good times with friends, and a good dose of relaxation.  I didn’t have my camera with me at all over the past couple of days, but my handy iPhone captured the highlights:

Shane and I celebrated the end of the work week Schnell-style, and met at a bar downtown for some Happy Hour action.  Penn Cove mussels, garlic fries, and frothy pints of beer – these are the reasons it’s called ‘Happy Hour’.

We spent the rest of the evening with our friends Jason and Nancy, feasting on Jason’s tasty home-baked pizzas.  This one was my favorite – olive oil, onions, avacado, arugula, mmm…

Saturday morning was my monthly book club meeting with the ladies – which means a latte and buttermilk biscuit.  I’m afraid the book is secondary, really.

We spent Saturday afternoon at my office’s summer picnic, eating burgers and putt-putting a round of mini-golf.  Turns out I am terrible at mini-golf, but Shane can putt like a pro.  Go figure.

After church this morning, Shane and I headed over the Ballard Farmer’s Market.  Seemingly endless rows of fresh produce, brightly colored flowers, and locally made specialty foods.  And mini-donuts.  Let’s not forget the mini-donuts.

And finally, an afternoon spent doing some shopping, followed by a quiet Sunday evening at home.  Did some housework, some reading, and a yoga session that I will pretend can counteract the french fries, the pizza, the buttermik biscuit, the burger, and the mini-donuts.  Right.

Wowsers, what a week.  Some good (got back into my exercise groove with back-to-back evening runs with Shane), some bad (rough day at the office and I think I officially became ‘the girl that cries at work’ this afternoon…), and all of it very, very tiring.  T.G.I.F…  I need a recharge.  Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, maybe going for a morning jog down by the lake, taking in a movie with Shane, pulling my sketchbook out after a month-long art-making hiatus, hangin’ with some girlfriends tomorrow night – Saturdays are bliss.

You know what else is bliss?  The beets coming from our garden (how’s that for a segue?!).  They are finally ripe for the pickin’ and I am in root vegetable heaven.  Tonight I sliced a couple up, sauteed them in a little olive oil, then topped them with goat cheese crumbles and toasted walnuts.  Yep, it was every bit as delicious as it sounds.  Paired with a glass of Riesling and the Giants vs. Dodgers game on TV, and I was ready to leave this week behind me and embrace the chance to take a breather and relax.  T.G.I.F. (did I already say that?).

Every once in awhile, I have one of those moments that makes me think, ‘Duuuuude, I love Seattle!’.  Exhibit A (and B):

These longer hours of daylight have made me feel like we actually have more hours in the day, so when I got home from the gym tonight, instead of crashing out on the couch and calling it a day, I popped in the door and asked Shane if he’d be up for heading out to dinner at our most favorite pizza place.  With work and work-outs and the general to-do’s of our lives, it’s rare that we spontaneously go out on a weeknight, since we both need frequent low-key evenings at home to recharge, but I felt the need to celebrate our sun-shiny evening.  And I knew a night out at Tutta Bella would be an easy sell to the husband, considering that he has never turned down an offer of pizza in the 11 years I’ve known him.  We took our table by the window and ordered a couple of our favorites – the Giovanni, topped with prosciutto and arugula, was perfection, and the salame Pino never disappoints.  But considering this is the third time we’ve eaten pizza from this place in the last two weeks, I’d say we’re now due for a pizza fast – somehow cheese, salted meats, and pizza crust aren’t part of that ‘healthier eating’ plan I’ve been working on.  Actually, I might just have to rethink that plan altogether…

On our way home, we saw hints of pink in the sky over Beacon Hill, so we decided to jet over to the bridge that overlooks downtown and Elliott Bay to catch the final remnants the sunset – and although it was chilly out there, I felt like we were getting the first little peek of the summer that’s in store for us.  And that makes me very, very happy.

After what felt like a long work week, we declared Saturday a day of relaxation and indulgence.  There are few things I love more than having the freedom to spend a Saturday any which way we please.  And so indulgence number one came in the form of a latte and a pain au chocolat from Cafe Besalu – a small bakery/cafe in Ballard known for their deliciously buttery breakfast treats.  I truly believe chocolate croissants are one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind, and this one had to have been picked out especially for me from the Big Guy himself.  So light and flaky, rich and buttery, perfectly…perfect.  Yum.

Post-pastries, we hopped back in the car, and before Shane had even pulled away from the curb, I was thinking about how nice it would be to head home, get back into my pajamas, and spend the day cozied up on the couch.  My husband, however, had other plans, and decided that since our breakfast mission had been completed, he was ready for lunch and wanted to swing by Safeco Field to check out ‘Mobile Food Chowdown’ – a one-day-only gathering of Seattle’s and Portland’s best food carts.  In his defense, he had run 8 miles earlier that morning, so I obliged, thinking I could maybe make room in my stomach for a good taco or a small slice of pizza.  Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the scene, the lines were already unbearably long for several of the carts, but Shane scored a tasty little burger from Skillet, and I waited in line for 45 minutes for an order of fries from Portland’s ‘Potato Champion’.  Yummy, but hardly worth the wait.  Ah, well, it was still a good day to be outside, and I love Pioneer Square on a clear, crisp day.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at home, reading and watching movies, basking in the laziness that was bound to follow such a decadent morning.  Then evening came, and wouldn’t you know it, Nancy, La V, and I had dinner reservations at Lark, which meant: more eating!  Yay!  We ordered plates of creamy cheeses, roasted duck leg, bacon-glazed kale, and ricotta gnudi, and ate ’till we could eat no more.  There was a point in the evening – I think it was as I was dipping my spoon into the dark chocolate mousse, served with white chocolate sorbet – when I thought, “Hmmmm…will I regret this when I’m pulling out my swimsuit for our vacation to Mexico next month?”  Then I tasted the cashew butter that had been spread on the plate right next to the chocolate, and I thought, “Nah.  Totally worth it.”  It was a perfect three-hour meal, full of good food that was only made better by the company of my lovely friends.

And so Saturday Splurge-Fest came to a close.  And once again, all was right with the world.