Weekend Things

Things I wanted to do this weekend but didn’t: attend the Women’s March, go to yoga, see a movie, visit my sister’s new apartment.

So, I guess you could call this weekend uneventful, but in the best way possible because sometimes you just need one of those laid back, relaxing, unplanned sort of weekends to help you feel rested and restored.

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Aside from that part where you have to sit in downtown Denver traffic, I decided a trip to the library to pick up a new book is the best way to start the weekend.  I got Exit West and after reading the description (again), I’m really excited to start it.  We made a quick pit stop at Whole Foods for dinner supplies then, back at home, a bomber to share and fish foil packs with lots o’ butter.  We love this meal and I really liked that beer!

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Had a super slow and blissfully lazy Saturday morning at home before hitting up the gym then cleaning ourselves up for lunch.  I’ve been lusting over pictures of bánh mì sandwiches from Vinh Xuong Bakery for weeks and felt like I might die if I didn’t go there on Saturday (never dramatic!) so we made it our #1 priority.  The good news is the staff is quick and friendly, the prices are crazy cheap (especially considering they make everything in house) and their Vietnamese iced coffee is DELICIOUS but neither of us were blown away by the actual sandwiches.  C’est la vie!

Ran some errands afterwards and now Joey has new slippers, I have new sunglasses and our fridge is stocked with groceries.

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When we got back home, I started on some HOT PINK burger sliders (are beets the best natural food coloring or what?!) then used the hands-off dough rising time to read, so that was basically the best.  Oh and we made this roasted squash and grains with tahini-honey meal for dinner and all I can say is OH MY GOSH TAHINI-HONEY.  So so good!  We also watched Mr. Roosevelt and it wasn’t bad, per se, it just wasn’t good.  We made it through all of SNL afterwards and not going to lie, I thought Jessica Chastain was a great host.  She really went for it and I laughed A LOT.

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If you wake up on Sunday and it looks like this outside, you must do the following: cancel all your plans (sorry movie matinee and little sister, but I’m not leaving the house), make waffles, watch a billion hours of TV, read a billion pages of your book and food prep without feeling like there are so many other things you’d rather be doing.  I literally did not step foot outside the house and the day felt like SO LONG but maybe in a good way because I felt like I had hour upon hour to lounge but also be semi-productive.

Ended the longest day ever with the SAG Awards, Shameless and the feeling that the weekend was a good one.

Weekend Things

I don’t even know how to start this post because there were so many good things this weekend.  Namely, visiting with Hannah and Josh and Mason, — who is starting to support his own head already?! — making pasta for the first time ever (!!!!) and lots of family time on Sunday.  I mean I also burnt my mouth on coffee, yucca fries and a bite of farro but shhh, let’s not talk about those things.

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I love this little baby!!!  Oh sorry, that’s probably too much yelling for a Monday morning but seriously, he’s the cutest and the best and watching him throw his little baby arms in the air, mid-nap was heart-melting.  I feel I could just gaze at him forever.  Bonus: we got to eat some delicious pizza and exchange Christmas presents with Hannah and Josh.  What time should we come over this Friday, guys? 🙂

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Some Saturday morning scenes.  Including a Greek yogurt, tahini, date, granola toast pre-eye exam and grabbing a latte from a new coffee shop with the prettiest details post-eye exam.  Guys, I’m pretty sure my eye doctor is semi-insane.  I found it half entertaining and half annoying so I’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of laughing really hard but also having to wait 15 minutes to see her and another 30 minutes for her to get through the exam.

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We took on a double grocery store trip afterwards and I’m pretty sure Joey was suffering from caffeine poisoning and didn’t even know where we were or what day it was.  He’s lucky I was in a good mood 🙂  But let’s skip over afternoon activities of lunch, reading and going to the gym to hit the most important event of the day… HOMEMADE PASTA!  Lori got us pasta attachments for Christmas and I had been reading up on how to make it all week.  Suffice it to say I was a bit excited.

We used this really detailed guide — there’s a shortened recipe at the end — and mixed the dough, then Joey kneaded it for A LONG TIME because it was sort of stiff but we got it all sorted out and the actual pasta rolling process was so dang fun!  I had to give myself a pep talk beforehand that went something like “if this turns into a giant disaster and we end up throwing it all in the trash, IT’S OKAY.”  But then it wasn’t a disaster.  And it was fun.  And we ended up with some wonderful pappardelle that we loaded with beef ragu, ricotta and parm for dinner.  I’ve never been so happy!  Also, please know we were listening to the “Italian Cooking Music” playlist on Spotify and “Mambo Italiano” was playing at the time of those pictures.

P.S. We started The Handmaid’s Tale that night and there will be more on that once we finish.

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Sunday started with breakfast at my parents’.  My mom knocked it out of the park with the food — Mom, Joey and I decided that was the best your French toast casserole has ever tasted! — and I drank coffee out of that hilarious mug, then my mom, Dad, Joey and I drove up to my brother and Nikki’s to give them their Christmas presents.  Joey was out throwing the football with Gennaro and I was inside making/putting up Valentine’s Day decorations with Belle and then when the boys came in to play Madden, Belle, Nikki and I did some crafting with this jewelry kit.  Apparently, Joey and I are the kind of psycho non-parents who think it’s a good idea to give a child something with that many beads.

We dropped my parents’ off back home around 3 PM then grabbed linner at Vital Root and finally headed home ourselves to do those adult duties of laundry and making lunch for the week.  Not going to lie, after getting our salads made, I mostly lazed about on the couch for the rest of the night.  Feels necessary to do that sometimes.

How was your weekend?