Annapolis.

What a wonderful weekend. It’s Sunday night, and I’m relaxing with some freshly sliced cantaloupe, watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians and casually reading a few paragraphs from Elin Hilderbrand’s new book on the commercial breaks. The kitchen is fairly clean and I have the Beach Wood Yankee Candle burning on the coffee table.

I think this is the happiest weekend that I’ve had in awhile. And I don’t think that’s because this weekend was exceptionally marvelous, but rather I think I’ve been a little down in the dumps recently. I’ve been mean and cranky and anxious and critical and really just not much fun. But M and I laid our cards out on the table this week, and I think being honest about our feelings and our situation really helped me to find some perspective. It felt easier to be happy and pleasant and fun this weekend, for which I am very, very grateful.

So what did we do? I cooked us dinner on Friday night after M arrived in DC, and we opened a fantastic bottle of red that M bought me for my birthday. We also used the fancy aerator he bought me, and our dinner on my small wood table felt much more spectacular with pretty decanter on the table. We then watched “The Blind Side” in bed, and I was shocked to find out that M had never seen it before! I didn’t think there was a sports movie that he hadn’t seen. I just love Sandra Bullock in that movie. In my next life, I will have a Southern accent.

Saturday morning we woke up early, ate our favorite bagels and drove about 50 minutes east to Annapolis. We checked into a bayside hotel and set out to explore the town. We saw the best things, from an olive oil and vinegar taproom to the Navy Museum at the Naval Academy to spicy eggrolls at a local bar. Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our sailboat ride. I had never been on a real sailboat with a crew manning the sails, and it was so much fun to be out on the water in the late afternoon with a cold beer.

After sailing, we took a water taxi over to The Chart House for a seafood dinner and some very yummy cocktails. Delicious. We were back in the hotel by eleven, and because I’m so lame we just ended up watching TV and finishing our bottle of champagne in the room, but it was lots of fun anyway.

Today we did some outlet shopping on our way out (where M bought three pairs of shoes!) and drove back to my apartment. We relaxed and ate hamburgers and ice cream for dinner before he had to head back to Pittsburgh. I’m so sad that he’s gone, but I’m so glad we had such a positive weekend together, and I can’t wait to see him again on Friday.

This week should be pretty slow again at work, and I don’t have too many other plans. I’m aiming to get back on track with cooking and going to the gym and getting to sleep early.

I hope all of you are finding a way to stay out of this insane heat (106???) and we’ll talk soon!

To happy weekends,

Lia