Yesterday - Mother's Day- was sunny and beautiful, but a bit windy and only in the 60's (I wore long sleeves! Brrr!). I would gladly trade today's weather for a little wind, though!
Josh's mom likes to organize what she calls "FFF" time - it stands for "Forced Family Fun". Since I loooove planning things and I looooove picnics, Josh and I tossed around the idea of doing an FFF picnic for a while. Mother's Day seemed like a great time to do it, and we decided to do it at Arrington Vineyards. At first, I had all these ideas in my head of making all homemade picnic food, etc. And I would still love to do that, someday. But with the Yard Sale being the day before, and Josh's exams being the day before that (he ended the semester with a 4.0, by the way), cooking was the last thing on our minds. Next time!
We assigned the drinks and wine to Josh's siblings, and he and I bought all the food. I went out to get everything while he showered and got ready. I can throw myself together in about 10 minutes, which is why he never fails to be better looking than me! I just want to be the pretty one for one day, dangit! ;) I went to whole foods first and bought an assortment of cheeses, crackers, fig preserves (put a dollop on top of your cheese and cracker - you have not LIVED until you tried it), their in-store made pimento cheese spread (delicious!), pasta and veggie salad, creole mustard, pesto, mini-cupcakes and a birthday cake for Josh's brother, who had a birthday a couple days beforehand. I'm trying to remember the cheeses I got, because they were excellent - a habanero cheddar, a goat's milk cheddar, a goat's milk gouda, a smoked cheddar, and a type of blue cheese that was phenomenal. I can't remember the name, but it was orange, like a cheddar (and tasted similar to a cheddar), except with the blue veins in it. The Bip informed me that no one would eat that one except me, but let me tell you, it allllllll was eaten, with only a little help from me.
Then I stopped at Kroger and got an assortment of breads and some sliced cheeses (cheddar, swiss, gouda) and thick cut deli meats (honey roasted turkey, bourbon honey ham and bourbon chicken), and some canned pears (more on that in a minute).
We loaded up the truck with a picnic basket and bags full of food and a few quilts. I had never been to Arrington Vineyards before, but it was beautiful. It is owned by Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn fame, if I am not mistaken.
The fig preserves on the cheese was an absolute HIT. Almost the whole jar was eaten. Josh made sandwiches for him and his brother that consisted of the chicken, gouda, mustard, pesto and pears, and it was a hit as well. The pimento cheese was also well-received. And the raspberry wine... oh my lawwwd! It was nothing short of phenomenal. It was so nice for everyone to be together for a few hours, enjoying wine and food and weather and each other's company. I think everyone had a good time! And I feel especially proud that although everything was store-bought, we did have some special ingredients that upped the 'gourmet' factor a bit - that was important to me. And it all looked so homey surrounded by the quilts we brought. It was a lovely time!
I am apprehensive about posting pics of the Bip's family ON THE INTERNETS without their permission, so I won't post them all here, but there are a couple that I just have to share.
This is Josh, his brother, his mom and his sister.
What a good-looking family! And you have to admit that the quilt adds a lot, too! Great picnic quilt!
And here is Josh's bro and myself - obviously we were feeling the wine pretty good by this point:
We were tuckered out when we got home (and I had a rocking sunburn on my face), so we decided to just rest our eyes for a while. We were on top of the bedcovers with just light blankets over us, just going to rest a minute. I really didn't even think I'd fall asleep. It was about 5:15 p.m. Then I woke up at 12:30.... a.m.! The dogs were on the bed with us (because we had thought we were just going to rest, you see?) and they had not stirred and probably didn't want to because they knew they'd end up sleeping in the laundry room otherwise. I was cold, so I got up to pull the covers back and the Bip woke up and asked what I was doing. I said I was getting under the covers. He sleepily asked why I hadn't been under the covers. I said "Well, I hadn't planned on sleeping this long, I thought we were just going to rest." Startled, he came fully awake and asked in amazement, "Are we still napping?!" It was so funny. He got up to read for a while, but I went straight back to sleep and continued to sleep until 6:30 am. Thirteen hours of sleep! I had no idea I was even that tired, but it did my body good. I feel so good today, and I am in the greatest mood you ever did see.
To end this post, here are my sweeties curled up on the picnic blankets this morning.
I think my sweet Julio knew it was Mother's Day yesterday, because he gave me all the snuggles and cuddles that he usually gives to his Poppa. :)
All in all, it was a wonderful weekend... hope yours was beautiful, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment