Improvising

I had a blast this weekend and managed to spend more time hanging out and having fun on the east side of the state than I actually spent driving.  That was thanks to no major slow downs and a pretty major case of lead foot.  It's one of my (potentially) fatal flaws.

cheese-beer soup. garnished with popcorn.

It was my cousins' (the tall one and my favorite) birthdays.  After a morning of facials, manis, and pedis, we felt refreshed and ready to take on the world.  Or in our case, a nice lunch/dinner.  What does one call a mid-afternoon meal?

The meal was at a downtown restaurant in an old steam plant.  We snacked on yummy appetizers, enjoyed some great entrees, and even got a free dessert (thanks to their birthdays).  There was even free parking.  (I've included a smattering of pictures from the meal throughout this post.)

restaurant atrium from our table.

I also got to catch up with some good friends while I was in town.  I tried a really delicious martini, a cucumber cosmo, at a fun hole-in-the-wall bar.  The only bummer of the evening was the unnecessarily loud live music going on.  I would've enjoyed being able to hear each other.

I did have a couple miscues this weekend.  But luckily I adapt well.

some of the plant machinery.

First of all, I managed to not pack any underwear or socks.  This is probably a good reason not to put off packing until the last minute.  Unsurprisingly, I broke the shopping ban.  I'm not at all sorry about it either.  Clean underwear are pretty much a necessity.

The WOW dessert--we dug in before I took the picture.

Secondly, the cap came off my driver's side windshield wiper.  This coincided with one of the rainiest drives across the state that I've ever made.  I got smart on my return trip though.  Instead of buying a new wiper (the obvious, common sense choice), I used a safety pin to secure the squeegee part of the wiper in place thus saving me precious time and dollar bills.

I actually made the trip in record time.  And without any speeding tickets.

More of the restaurant.

I'm calling this weekend an all-around win.