Best weekend in awhile.

Memorial Day weekend - typically a time for kicking off summer with burgers, boats, and being a bum.

Its winter here in SA so Memorial Day weekend wasn't all together warm and filled with burgers. But it was the best weekend I've had in a really long time.

Friday we hosted the Embassy's wine and cheese event. We opened our doors to our fellow ex pats, who in turn filled our house with wine and other delectable treats. My dinner that night consisted of wine, cheese, chorizo, cheesecake, and black pepper whole grain triscuits (have you had these? SO GOOD!). The sweet tea we served was imbibed as much as the wine - just goes to show you that its always a good idea to serve the house wine of the South! We had a fire bowl going outside, relaxing tunes on the radio, and just an overall fantastic party.

Saturday I woke up and cleaned our house with Maria. Together we washed about 50 wine glasses, 50 tea glasses, and tons of plates and forks. By 10:30, my house was sparkling. Note to self: always have parties on Friday nights when Maria can help clean up the next day!

We went to a food market that morning and bought the awesome paprika cheese someone had bought last night and some curious sausage that was oh so yummy. That afternoon we watched a rugby match at an outdoor cantina, which actually serves mexican food. It was so nice to sit outside and enjoy a beautiful fall afternoon. That evening, we had planned to go bowling but wound up eating fantastic sushi and seeing Angels and Demons, which I really enjoyed.

Sunday we ran errands and went to the gym. I went swimming for the first time since we've moved here and I had the whole pool to myself. So nice! That evening we had Geet for dinner, my favorite Indian place. Yummy. We also watched the Rescue Me season 5 episodes that mom sent us (THANK YOU!).

Monday was another lazy day with no plans. We finished up our wedding album, did a couple things around the house, made dog food, and did the grocery shopping. Monday evening Will made a fire in our borrowed fire pit and we ate outside under the stars - a delicious homegrown arugula salad (just arugula, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, shaved parmesan, and lemon juice) plus an amazing steak. It was so nice to sit outside in the cool weather by the warm fire, talking about our plans for the future while stars went shooting by. A perfect end to a perfect weekend!