fifth!

Had the fifth annual wine + cheese party this weekend! So much fun, as usual! I am listing the menu here for my own record:

cheese:
irish white cheddar
gouda
goat cheese
mozzarella
parmagiano reggiano
curds
manchego (my new favorite cheese)
brie
cheesecake (cream cheese, ricotta, goat) with red peppers, chives, oregano, thyme

meats
panchetta
salami

fruits/veggies
yellow peppers
basil
tomatos
grapes
clementines

sweets
truffles
cups with coconut or raspberries & ganache
lime custard tarts with raspberries
chocolate coins

And, of course, wine. 30 bottles were empty in the morning, and we had 10 left over. WOW!

I paired down on the food a little bit which left me with less leftovers (a GOOD thing) and let me spend a little bit more $$ on the party. I think I maybe spent the usual amount, so that's good. Extravagant, but a nice holiday treat for friends. And seeing it's really the only party I have all year, my pocketbook can handle it.

eat

I think one of the reasons I run so much is that I eat so much. I'm not kidding. I love food. I live to eat.

Was talking with W the other night and he's like "yeah, I barely eat at all." I raise my eyebrows. What? How can that be, I wonder. I push further - "you don't eat?" "Not really, like today all I had was this sandwich, right now, and those wings and some of that salad earlier." And the beer we drank, of course. Maybe he just lives off beer calories?

I, on the other hand, would rather live off cheese calories. Ice cream calories. Sushi calories. MUFFIN calories, mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Muffins.

Today, I met all of those objectives. Well, I've not met the cheese calorie objective yet, but that will be done soon. Muffin in the morning. Sushi and wine for lunch (yes, I went wild and ordered a wonderful glass of Mondavi Flume Blanc to go with my sushi, yum!), and I just finished a (small, at least) bowl of ice cream. Plenty of water in between. But, I mean - think about this. Muffin. Coffee. Wine. Sushi - and miso, edamame, salad, salmon. Ice Cream. Soon to be cheese.

Not a light day, to say the least.

Which is part of the reason why I'll run 6+ miles and go swimming for an hour each day. Well, running or swimming. This is why training for the marathon saves me. It's cause I eat so damn much.

It's been a good Friday so far. And...holiday weekend, woooooooo!

wine

I had a lovely weekend drinking wine with my mom and a nice group of friends - and I came back with 8 bottles. Yikes. At least I got them all discounted - by a lot - otherwise my bank account would be hurting. Well, now I have a ton of tasty wine to drink, wheeee! JM took this pic - notice we are all sitting on color-coordinated chairs. Ha!