Weekend recap

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This weekend was really quite lovely.  Despite the winter blues (which are about to worsen by a lot, considering we're going to be pounded by a "potentially life-threatening" blizzard tomorrow) we got out and about and enjoyed ourselves.  Some highlights include ::

• Friday night dinner + drinks with BK at Rootstock where we sat at the bar and had help in choosing the best bottles of Greek and Spanish wine.  Not to mention all the help picking out food.  What an incredible menu - and I'm a vegetarian!
• A post dinner + drinks couple of games of Euchre with the Hinshaws.   Always delightful! And I can't believe how soon we'll all get to meet Peanut!!!
• A Saturday afternoon trip to Home Depot to cut and purchase some pieces of wood to try and recreate this.  Afterall, we do have a mirror about that size unframed...
• Saturday evening dinner + nerd games with the Chwaliszs.  Gin-soaked raisins are the best thing to bring out during winter nights like that.  
• A Sunday afternoon date which included brunch at a very cheap diner in River East (all the cool places were jam-packed), 2 attempts to go see The King's Speech (the 1st attempt put us in the very, very front which was waaaaaay too close to the screen - literally half of the screen was blacked out for me we were that close, so we high-tailed on outta there and exchanged our tickets for the next showing).  We had the best seat in the house for the 4:30 showing and absolutely loved every. single. minute.  Please go see if it you get the chance.  It's an incredibly superb film that definitely deserves the Oscar.

Speaking of thinking local...

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I was looking at things to do in the Napa area aside from the obvious, and I came across the Oxbow Public Market located in downtown Napa's Oxbow district.   

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It's been dubbed Napa's new food mecca by Food and Wine and I can't wait to check it out for myself when we are out there (in less than two months, and don't worry - I'll keep doing this).  Everything about this place is local - from the food and wine to the ice cream!  The brains behind the market is founder Steve Carlin, the man behind San Francisco's Ferry Building Market.  He took what once was a neglected downtown area and transformed it to this.  What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man.

Throughout the summer you can hit up farmer's markets on Tuesdays and Fridays.  There's a dance party every Friday, locals night on Tuesdays where area musicians can show off their talents and finally various merchant events (face painting, beers of the week, etc.).  It all sounds pretty dreamy, don't you think?

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Starting the day off right!

Ladies, this morning I read an article that brightened my day.  Do you love drinking a glass of wine or a beer (and so on) on weeknights (not to mention weekends, that's a given)?   Well researchers are now saying that light to moderate drinking may keep us from gaining too much weight.  While this may not be the green light for getting sloshed at every tick of the clock, it is a breath of fresh air to know that those high-calorie alcoholic beverages that I so love and adore aren't all that bad for me.  Because, as many of you friend of mine know, "mama loves her hooch" (hee hee hee).  But, I also don't like gaining weight!  So thanks, ABC News/Health, because now I'll have a glass of wine tonight without the pang of guilt eating me alive since I'm trying to shape up for the big day! 

* I do not normally buy into these studies, I simply use them to my advantage when I see fit. 

Photo via here