all warm and fousy

yesterday was labor day.  the last day, some shall assert (though china and other die hard “what not to wear”ers will refute), to wear white.  for the close of those fresh baked summer days is nigh and the need for darker colors to soak up the warmth of a more distant sun are upon us.  and like the flip of a switch, today i awoke to much cooler temperatures and the golden summer sun hiding behind a blanket of clouds mourning the loss of fireflies and popsicles.  but i also awoke to a freshly brewed pot of my fousin rachie’s famous stalwart coffee, proven to arouse the sleepiest of hibernators from their cave of dreams.  the sky not only mourned the immanent loss of summer, but also the departure of our dear friend and cousin, who returned today to the land of endless summers and celestial skies (texas. duh.)

hot coffee is back in business and with that comes the sweet delights of biscotti chocolate chips melting into the goodness of that piping hot hazelnut hued pool of morning beverages

but she left us with some sweet memories and that warm and fuzzy feeling that only could signify a weekend well spent.  a weekend bubbling over with life adequately celebrated. we picked up right where we left off with the conversation of souls linked through blood and, even more so, by the Blood of Christ, prayer, fabulous (and not so fab) food, dancing, laughter, sweet treats, and love and love and love.

love

and love

did i mention love?

this being the cheechmeisters first trip to d.cizzle, we scooped her up at the airport and made for the district to give her the grand delux dehan “we just moved here so we are kind of touring too” tour.  

we hit up the national gallery for some pondering of masterpieces, some security guard scoldage, and some primo-fousin photo-ops.  those never seem to be in short supply for us...

the Holy Family

nah, this wasn't posed

Be not afraid

some serious fousin ponderings on a sweeet bench

i was sort of fond of this bench...

maybe a little more than sort of fond

we miss having lianna and michelle our belle with us!

curtains ripe for the peeking around of

thank you, bubba

this is when we decided to go back to the future

the future looks bright for cheechmeister 2012 (love you, rachie!)

we hit the mall with some texas powah and waded in the fountain at the WWII memorial until again we had some (albeit less severe) reprimandage from a security guard. 

the crew

this is how we do it where i'm from

did i rock the patriotic sunglasses like there was no tomorrow?  yes.  did i have a choice?  heck no.

the best we could do under such bright conditions

did we mean to dress in patriotic colors? the world may never know

beaming with fousin joy

 bubba being cute

what's up d.c.

one of the best fousin photos to date

china looking cool as a cucumber waiting for us to finish our fountain frolic

i love barefooties

giving texas some love

fousin shadows

next up we rolled on down to georgetown so rachie could sample the delights of charmingcuteville u.s.a.  

i love bubs

also, we tried once more to taste those elusive cupcakes that have people lining up for forEVER to get them.  we settled for some window tasting and dreams of future success in this particular dessert endeavor.  

georgetown being charming

i can't helping liking a place with this many lampposts

we sealed the night off with mediocre to poor pizza (i will not stoop to go into detail for such pizza), and some not mediocre wine and dessert and fousin catch up seshing.  

cheers courage

Sunday, Resurrection day, brought us to glorious Mass together where we lifted our hearts in thanksgiving to the Lord for the gift of family and, most of all, the gift of His Love, that gives us all of these blessings.  we continued the celebration with our patented fousin brunching, joined by bubs, lili and the little bear.  

sophia's favorite phrase "more wawa?"

the little bear and me

snuggle bear enjoying the rachie dance show

little bear loves the teddy aunt china gave her

the fousins missing michelle

we capped off this fine feast of life with dessert after a texas gals heart.  rachie, my parents and i, 8 short years ago, shared a magical time in new york citay together and of course, enjoyed the sparkly sweet delights of serendipity.  when we saw that georgetown now has a serendipity, we knew it was a must on our fousin to-do list.  and girlfriends did it.  with gusto.  

serendipity: The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way

nothing like some serious dessert deliberations under beautiful sparkly chandeliers

one of china doll's favorites

i, with the jittery anticipation of a 7 year old about to have her dreams come true in the form of edible bliss, awaited our red velvet cake sundae with eagerness to do any child-at-heart proud.  homeslices at serendipity know how to deliver dessert.  they know it should come in a goblet on a plate to catch all of the goodness that slips down the side in over-flowing joy of being such a dessert.  

well hello there sweets

they know it should have a mountainous cloud of whip cream with a cherry on top so kids finally know why pretty please is so much more effective by the addition “with a cherry on top”.  they know it should have icing and red velvet and chocolate and silver spoons to deliver a well constructed combo of all the elements into one graceful bite.  

they know. and so do we.  

this is a remake of a very similar photo taken in the new york location 8 years ago

well if you insist

finally, labor day arrived to give us a break from all our laborious fousinings.  what do fousins do to get away from all the labors of a weekend fraught with goodness? why, we go to a vineyard of course.

we are fans of cheersing

i have the best of big sisters

to be swept away by the tannins and hints of oaky aged cherry plums and the smooth finish of a plate of cheesy goodness.  

like i was sayin we dig on the cheers

we gazed out into the green pastures of God’s Love and drank the wine He gave us to cheer our hearts.  it was so very lovely.  

china indulging in the aforementioned gazing

we are also big proponents of the gazing....fousins have a wide range of interests

wine teeth equals proof of a fun time

extremely enthusiastic high fiving equals further proof of a fun time

barefoot strolls in bedewed grass astride a vineyard...i don't hate it

sometimes the inner gymnast must be unleashed

mandatory fousin crazy face shot

in the end of that laborious day, we supped in reston town center. redemption, thy name is pizza.  as in we had a meal that more than made up for our first foray into the virginia pizza world.  lianna and ed welcomed our frizzy, wet heads into their cozy candle lit oasis to enjoy the first delights of fall treats in the form of lianna’s famous pumpkin bars.  and falls church welcomed us home to movies and bed to sleep the sleep of the spoiled by Love.
 

today, rachie and i braved the cold and rainy day and had ourselves some baltimore cuisine.  the crab cake on our seafood platter was straight up legit.  

good morning baltimore!

i bid a farewell to my little piece of texas and home that graced our spare oom this weekend with all her fousiny beauty and goodness.  we love and miss you rachie, and are ready for you to come back and do it all again.  probably in warmer clothes next time though.  

thank you for being totally willing to lie in the grass, rachie

i love you, fuzzy

oh how i love long weekends.  it’s already wednesday, peeps. i have to get a TB test and a drug test for work...so busy days ahead.  

i wish you all the gift of a warm and fousy week.  God is good.  His mercies are new every morning.  who else is comforted big time by that?  

i really liked this painting at the gallery

peace of Christ be with you.