this has been the most lovely weekend!

the whole family has been gone, so i've had the house to myself since saturday morning.  saturday night i had a date night with casey, indian food, rauchenzeit with michelle and good, good conversation.  it was a luxury to come home to an empty house, spread my painting things out in the living room and play music as loud as i wanted.

last night, i had a few friends over for dinner.  i managed to recreate the pasta sauce we had on the Last Night with a certain level of accuracy, except for the fact that I had to use Hunts tomato paste as opposed to Oro Di Parma (the greatest paste ever, IMHO.)  We had wine and champagne and a cake that I baked, and it was so wonderful just to sit with good people, laughing til my sides hurt.

it was a bit of a shock this morning to walk into the kitchen and see the aftermath of my night:  a sauce-splattered oven, sink full of dishes, and a counter smeared with chocolate frosting and ringed with winemarks.  I've got quite a day of cleaning ahead of me, but for now, I'm enjoying No Reservations and my newfound lust for Anthony Bourdain's pithy voiceover commentaries.

love and kisses,

ashleigh

There is a house by the sea

And an ocean between it and me

And like the shape of a wave

The jealous sisters will sing on my grave

And I've been living to run where they led

And I've been dying to rise from their bed

And I've been sparing my neck from their chain

And they've been changing the sound of my name

And I've been swimming to them in my sleep

And I've been dreaming our love and our freedom