Sunday Spill

 I should be folding this, but I’m blogging instead.  Because I can.

This has been a terrific weekend…

My sister and I worked really late Friday night, but after we parted ways, I had a wonderful snuggle-on-the-couch-watching-awesome-television-with-pizza-and-good-beer session with Andy.  Just what the doctor ordered after a really busy week.  Andy was a champ for letting me fall asleep after only 2 episodes of our show :)

Yesterday was the first Saturday since Christmas that Andy didn’t have to work.  We celebrated by having a family date night.  We all dressed up a little and headed out for dinner at Kona Grill.  I was craving sushi and theirs rocks, plus there are plenty of other options for Andy (who wasn’t in the mood for sushi) and Grace (who will try her first sushi a little later in life).  She got to indulge in a chocolate milk before dinner while I sipped on a strawberry basil cocktail and Andy enjoyed a spiked blackberry sweet tea.  My sushi totally hit the spot and Andy loved his chicken andouille pasta.  Grace had a small cheese pizza from the kids menu and was SO well behaved throughout the entire meal.  She’s such a big girl now and it’s so fun to take her out to new places.

After dinner we headed over to Somerset Mall to pick up a pre-ordered gift for the bridal shower I’m attending next weekend, but Crate and Barrel closes at 7 on Saturday MUCH TO MY CHAGRIN!  Once I got over the fact that I’d be driving way out there again this week to get the gift, we ended up having a great time window shopping and letting Grace explore.  She felt like hot stuff pushing her stroller around the stores and we liked checking out all of the over-priced goodies :)

Before leaving the mall, we stopped into Teavana for the first time and sampled a bunch of delicious tea.  We ended up buying a quarter pound of their Youthberry White Tea and Wild Orange Blossom Herbal Tea.  The first sample we tasted was a blend of these two teas and it was amazing.  Such intense fruity/floral flavors and it’s so pretty you could set it out like potpourri!  Seriously, look at this stuff:

Youthberry White Tea – photo credit

Orange Blossom Herbal Tea – photo credit

That is the actual tea…it’s gorgeous!  We steeped a pot this afternoon before dinner and it was every bit as good as our taste test last night.  Plus, it was a fun excuse to use this teapot that has a built in basket for loose tea :)

Instead of going to church this morning, we opted to sleep in a little and watch the service on-line while drinking our coffee and watching Grace play.  I’ve been loving Sunday morning services, but once in a while it’s nice not to rush out the door and just stay home in jammies instead.

After the church service ended, I popped my Overnight Egg & Sausage Casserole (recipe coming soon!) into the oven and sliced up a bunch of fruit to take over to our friends’ house for brunch.  We had a wonderful time eating way too much delicious food, catching up and sharing what has been on our hearts.  It was a soul re-charge that left us feeling tremendously blessed and filled up.

The cherry on top of this weekend was the hour I spent tonight cozied up with Grace in my bed reading book after book after book.  She was clutching her favorite pink blanket while sucking her fingers and twirling her hair.  I was trying not to melt into a puddle of mush while watching her tiny chest rise and fall and feeling the warmth of her head against my cheek.  There aren’t enough books in the world to afford me all the time I wanted to spend with her snuggled up beside me.  It was pure bliss.

I’m grateful to God for all of the wonderful things He’s blessed me with.  The road has been winding and long at times, but this bend in the path is breathtakingly beautiful and I’m savoring every single second of it.