Shew-ee. Running late today. But, SPRING BREAK. We had a really nice weekend. I kicked off Friday at one of my favorite stops ever, indulging myself in a long chat with the fabulous ladies at Simply Selma's. I love it that they carry products from Santa Maria Novella and I can think about Annie and her love of them while I'm there. After that it was stocking up for our little getaway (hello, wine) and some shots for my 365 before picking Callum up from practice after school. My beaming boy made it past the first round of cuts for the school's baseball team, so that deserved a celebration dinner at a new local burger joint. We'd been wanting to try 80/20 Burger Bar for weeks now, but our last attempts were met with looooooong waits. We snuck in early and snagged a seat right away. Totally worth it. Yummy, upscale burgers, great cocktails and awesome atmosphere. We'll go back.

After a trip to the lumber store (surprise!) Neel and Callum worked on our back fence. Part of the reason Neel went with a DeWalt drill was to use the drill bits he inherited from my grandad and that makes me beyond happy. Seeing him and Callum working together on our yard made me happy too. Lucy, who couldn't go out while the fence was down, was less than happy! We're reinforcing our side fence, and we decided to paint it gray like the back fence. Neel has a great vision, and it's nice to see it coming together...even on cold winter days. We got Callum kitted out with new cleats and some new baseballs, and of course he had to try them out, despite the fact that it was 40º with a stiff wind (I sat in the car.). I will say this many times in the coming months, but I love baseball.

And after that it was grilling pizzas (yummy, but we're still working the kinks out), lunch Sunday at Callum's favorite restaurant (local wing joint...not a salad in sight) and a pick-me-up at the mall (where I snagged this in my quest for a facial refresher). We ended the evening with the second in our favorite movie series ever, Oceans 12. I swear Erin and I can quote these to each other ad nauseum, as can my family. God help us if we're ever all in a car together.

And now it's SPRING BREAK. Just in the nick of time. If I needed more proof that my kid was awesome (humblebrag), he suited up in blazer and tie this morning to spend the day shadowing a friend of ours who is a circuit court judge. And they made him leave his phone at the door. This is a travesty, given he just learned to play solitaire and reminded me how mind-numbingly addicting Free Cell can be. Harumph. Tomorrow we leave for a bit and SPL is going off line for the week. Thinks may look a bit wonky around here. Never fear. We'll be back up and running Friday with a full update.

Finally, thank you again and again for your wonderful comments, tweets, texts and emails about my workshop at the end of the month. I'm terrible at shameless self-promotion, so this is all very shymaking, but it really is a dream come true for me. Now we just need enough people to sign up for the class to be a go! Have a great week, my dears! XO

1. I think I'm beyond thrilled to announce a Food Photography Workshop that I'll be co-teaching with my beloved friend and and teacher Jackie at the end of the month. If you're local and have any interest in food photography, we'll be teaching a full-day workshop at MOCA (where I took my first photography classes) in Virginia Beach. Lunch is included, as is a ton of valuable information and FUN. It's a dream come true of mine, to be able to do this, and I'm so excited to share the news with all of you.

2. I think I'm ready for these meds to kick in any minute now. I'm still coughing like I belong in the sanitarium, and last night my friend Marianne called me and said "Hi...oh." when I answered. Voiceless, pretty much. That's me. Some of us, ahem, might not be complaining. Well, I'm complaining. I'm irritable and whiny and complainy. Ready to feel my way to full health again.

3. I think it's time to stop complaining. Baseball has started up again, and that fact alone brings such joy to our house. Callum has had tryouts all week at school, and they'll continue after next week. It's his first time playing on a school team, and he's thrilled. He comes home excited each night, and that makes me excited.

4. I think I have a pleasant day planned for today. A meeting with some of my favorite ladies this morning, some fun shopping and a visit to my favorite baker this afternoon. And, what's that? It's Friday? Yes. I'm ready. What pleasantness do you lovely people have in store for the weekend? We'll hit a big box hardware store for sure, and I think a sporting goods store too. Surely there should be some diamond shopping mixed in there somewhere, yes?

5. I think it's time we got away for a bit. Next week is Callum's spring break and we've managed to snag a couple of days at the mountain where he and Neel had his fateful ski trip a few weeks ago. We all decided it was for the best that I come along just in case someone else gets dinged, and we were lucky enough to find a condo available for a night or two right on the mountain. One that allows dogs no less! Miss Violet has a yen to feel the snow crunch between her toes. I'm ready for the break and a different view and to breathe some fresh mountain air. Doesn't even matter that I don't ski. I think posting will be light here next week, although I'll be here Monday and likely Friday too, but other than that I think I'll focus on some rest and renewal. We could all use some around this time of year, don't you think?

weekend recap, march 4 edition

Five things, march 1 edition