Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Weekend review

WARNING: I may be a bit heavy on the posting today, because I have lots to talk about!

Hi everyone! Wow...I can't believe it's basically been four days since I've blogged AND since I went on Google Reader! The 453 unread posts on my Reader is a little intimidating...so I will be a little behind on my reading/commenting this week!

Our weekend with Jenn and Ryan was so much fun! Remember how I was a little stressed about cleaning on Friday afternoon? Well, when I got home from work, I discovered that Mr. Smith had cleaned. Everything. Both bathrooms, vacuumed, guest towels laundered and put out neatly in the guest bathroom, kitchen cleaned, everything dusted. Have I mentioned lately how much I love him? It was such a relief! I did some dishes and further cleaned up the kitchen, plus cooked dinner and dessert so that everything was ready when our guests arrived.

Jenn and Ryan were married in April, 2008. Mr. Smith and I were so happy to serve as their best man/maid of honor! They were all set to return the favor at our November wedding...and then Ryan got deployed a month before our wedding. Jenn was my matron of honor - and absolutely THE BEST! - but we were so sad that Ryan wasn't able to make it to the wedding and stand up with Matt. Especially because Ryan is the reason Mr. Smith and I met in the first place! Ryan and Mr. Smith went to EOD school together in Destin, Florida (when Mr. Smith was still in the Army, natch). After graduation, Ryan was transferred to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, and Mr. Smith ended up at Fort McNair in Washington DC. About three months later, I graduated from the University of Michigan with my masters...and moved to DC for a job. My connection with Ryan was, of course, Jenn. She and I were/are grad school BFFs. When Ryan realized that one of his best friends was living down the road from one of Jenn's best friends, he decided to set us up - as friends.

I was initially hesitant - like, a lot - because I didn't really feel like getting involved with someone in the military at all - let alone someone whose job is to play with explosives. But...when I heard from Mr. Smith, we made dinner plans. That dinner ended up being about 4 hours long....and needless to say, we didn't stay just "friends" for very long!

Well, that was a bit of a sidetrack, huh? Anyway...that is the background with Jenn and Ryan. We had not seen Ryan since their April wedding, so naturally it was so wonderful being able to spend some time together -in person!

We had a very nice, low-key, relaxing weekend. On Saturday morning, we went to the winter farmer's market and picked up a few things for the weekend. Ryan is a major foodie/cook, so we took him to a few of the gourmet/hippie/organic grocery stores in town to enjoy the food and wine selection he often misses out on, living in a military town. (note: Jenn and Ryan are now living in Clarksville, Tennessee - Ryan is now stationed at Fort Campbell)

Saturday evening for V day, we cooked a great dinner! We started off with champagne, of course. Ryan made espresso-rubbed steaks and I made some carrots and butternut squash risotto. Yum! We downed a great bottle of wine, too.

On Sunday, we went out for brunch at one of our favorite Bloomington spots - Farm Bloomington. If you live anywhere around/near Bloomington, eat here! It's delish!

After some window (and actual) shopping, we went back home and just kind of...hung out. Like I said, we really didn't do much this weekend! I made chili for dinner and we watched a couple of movies. They left to go home yesterday and I of course was so sad to see them go.
Here are a couple of photos for your viewing pleasure! The first is of the four of us having dessert and drinks after Jenn and Ryan's wedding. We look TIRED! But I absolutely love this photo. The second is of Jenn and I before my wedding - enjoying some champagne, of course! I love this photo as well...just love it!


awesome photo taken by Lisa!
I hope everyone had a great weekend and Valentine's Day - it's been so much fun reading about what all of you did!

4 comments:

Lisa said...

Um, hello. I think I deserve a photo credit for that great picture of you and Jenn!

Shaina said...

You are totally right! I shall edit asap.

Tickled Pink And Green said...

Love that last picture...it could be an ad in a bridal magazine! And is that Winona Ryder next to you?! ;-)

DallasJenn said...

We had such a fabulous weekend! I'm super jealous of your little neighborhood farmer's market. Ryan LOVES his shallots! I'm inviting myself back up to your place sometime this summer so I can check it out with yummy summer stuff.