Charming

Our best pal had an audition on Saturday, so we put off our usual Friday night plans for a night and invited by brother and his girlfriend for supper instead. I dashed home with all the ingredients for a classic paella–prawns, chorizo, mussels and chicken–and after a lightening clean up, starting chopping and sautéing. John arrived 20 minutes before our guests to play sous chef, and we welcomed them with Americanos, olives and almonds. After catching up, we sat down to supper with a bottle of Cab we'd purchased on our recent wine country expedition. John poured Sherry while I served fresh berries for dessert, and we enjoyed each other's company before saying good night.

John was up early and decided he didn't want to be without a pal, so he insisted that I start my day with him. We headed to Hollow for our favorite empanadas and caffeinated drinks, cozying up in the early morning fog. After a trip across the park to Brewcraft for beer bottles, we headed home where I pulled out my laptop, editorial calendar and latest reads while John pulled up Sibelius and worked on an arranging project. We took a mid-day break for avocado toast and tea with an episode or two of Frasier, but quickly returned to our to-do lists. After letting John take a quick cat nap, we pulled on scarves and sweaters and headed to dinner with our usual Friday night dates. After spicy lamb jalfrezi, savory chicken tikka masala and a crisp dosa with homebrewed beer, we returned to our apartment to nibble macarons and sip spirits. We were on our best behavior though, and said a (relatively) early goodnight, leaving John and I to curl up with Tiny, a documentary about teeny houses.

John was up just as early on Sunday, but instead of dragging me out of bed, he surprised me with a tray of my favorite things–hot tea, avocado toast with poached eggs and roasted fingerling potatoes. After breakfast, he returned to his manuscript paper while I cleaned house and my inbox. Between exercise, laundry, emails and flights, we had a productive day full of adulthood, with just the right amount of snuggling to break up the responsibility. We made a spicy shakshuka for supper, garnished with cilantro and served with hummus and naan; then we cozied up with The Grand Budapest Hotel and the summer fog for a quiet Sunday night in.

Tell me, what were you up to this first official summer weekend? Did you get out of town, explore the local pool or grill up your favorite foods for a barbeque, perhaps?

Image by Megan Sorel Photography, bouquet by R. Jack Balthazar, gown by Monique Lhuillier.