Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The unplanned plan

Do you know those weekends when nothing goes as planned, and it could generally be considered a disaster?  I had one of those, except I think I would consider it a success!

To start off, my pink paradise patio plan inspired by Bloomacious.com and DIFFA 
kind of went phhhhhhhhfffffffttttt and died.  Being the anal retentive/ADD/organizational nightmare that I tend to be, I couldn't find anything remotely close to the fabric that I had envisioned, and it was entirely too late to order any.  What did I gain from running around town? A beautiful Gerbera daisy plant that brightened up the patio table all on it's own. 

My friend J. from New England breezed briefly into town, and since she was coming over I invited another good friend
 from high school and another who is starting a really interesting career blog.  You law librarians will want to check it out when it goes live.  I'll give a shout out when she's ready!

I did not serve the beloved Principessa that I was all atwitter over.  I couldn't find that, either.  In a rush because I had spent too much time obsessing over the fabric and Mr. M had a date with the golf course, I hurriedly grabbed a few bottles of La Vielle Ferme Rosé*, some rosé salami, marinated olives (all from World Market).  The fare, with the addition of my personal staple, Fromager Daffinois from The Gourmet Shop, and strawberries with homemade
whipped cream** was wünderbar for a mild day on the patio.  Obviously... we were out there for seven hours!

So, that was "disasterous" event #1... remember we're heading into Easter weekend, here.

We got to Easter Day and I realized that for the first time ever we weren't obligated to run to three sides of the state in one day with a toddler in tow. Yippee!  What's most amazing is that we didn't even realize this fact until we woke up that morning to get ready for my nephew's baptism.  There were no plans for after the baptism.  A holiday was wide open from noon on.  Pigs must have been flying out of windows or something.  Has this ever happened to anyone else?  Well, of course I had to go and ruin it by telling the Dr. and Mrs. and my brother's family that they should come by.  I mean, who passes on an opportunity to do nothing on a holiday?  And what's more, who passes on it and it magically turns into the perfect day?  Seriously.  Jr. napped for 3 hours. I worked in the pitiful plot of dirt that is calling itself a garden. My parents showed up bearing wine and champagne.  My brother and his family arrived bearing more wine and food.  Mr. M disappeared for a while and materialized with burgers for the grill.  Untraditional, yes, but quite possibly one of the best Easter gatherings ever.  Men and boys playing basketball on a Little Tykes goal, a toddler running around with a pinwheel, mothers and daughters and sisters-in-law relaxing in the sun.  I may never plan another holiday again! Yeah right, whoever bets on that one needs some serious help.

*This is a great rosé for under $10.  It'll be making some repeat appearances on our patio this spring and summer.

**Homemade whipped cream?  Yes.  I think that purchasing whipped cream is a waste of money when most of us have the necessary ingredients already.  Just take 2 cups of heavy whipping cream, add 1/4 cup of sugar, and a tablespoon of good vanilla (I actually really like the Earth Fare brand) and beat it with a whisk until it starts to peak.  You can do this with a handheld mixer, a whisk, or a stand alone mixer.  It's all good.

3 comments:

  1. Beautiful flower! Sometimes the best gatherings are the ones that are thrown together haphazardly. You are a true, graceful hostess!

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  2. thank so much for stopping by my blog. I just read your post and it made me think that I need to stop worrying that everything works itself out in the end

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  3. Definitely does not sound like a disastrous weekend at all...With young children involved, my family has learned that even with everything planned out to the "T" things can change at the last minute (usually causing un necessary stress); we tend to look forward to our the low-stress, casual, just "hanging out" events! :)

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