the weekend + committing to...

happy monday, friends. are you excited for a new week? i am, but i can't believe we're mid-way through november already -- where is the time going? i feel like 2010 is flying by; it seems like every time we get to this point in a month, i'm like, "where did the past 15 days go?" (maybe it's a getting-older thing.) anyway, even though i am apparently shocked at time passing, i am looking forward to the next month and a half -- i have a wedding to go to this weekend, then next weekend is thanksgiving, and soon after that comes christmas and new year's.

and speaking of holidays and the like, i had a great time this past weekend celebrating my friend chris' 40th birthday and my friend steph's 30th. we started chris' birthday on friday with dinner and wine downtown, then ended it at a trendy bar, also downtown, that was filled with the most young people i've seen in sarasota in one place in awhile.

steph's birthday, on saturday, was a potluck, and we had it at my friend t.'s new home. the weather was beautiful, so t. opened up the entire house and we spent most of the night on her lanai, eating and drinking and playing catchphrase, the most fun -- and most funny -- game in the entire world. seriously, have a couple of glasses of wine and then play this game with your friends; you'll laugh so hard you cry.

sunday was a day of relaxing, mostly; i slept way in, then cleaned a bit and ran some errands. oh, and my lovely friend k. gave me the most beautiful vintage coach bag that she found while thrift shopping -- all buttery leather and roomy pockets.  i've been looking for a great brown leather bag lately -- the kind that looks better as it ages, and as you bang it around -- and she found it for me! thanks, k. you're the best!

oh, and i did make the salted caramel banana pudding pie, but i didn't turn out quite as i'd hoped. i don't want to talk about it yet. but i will soon, and i'll let you know when i post the entire story -- which, in retrospect, is actually quite funny -- over here.

so that was the weekend, and now here are my commitments for this week. share yours, too, please?

+ take advantage of my gym membership. it's dark by the time i get home from work, and i'm too nervous to exercise outside by myself when it's like that. so: gym again! yay! (sub-commitment: pack gym clothes to take with me to work the nights before the days that i go.)
+ go pescetarian again. lately the only chicken i've been eating is the fried variety, and i don't need that. i'm not going to go full pesc until after thanksgiving, and i know that's hypocritical, but i love turkey at thanksgiving, and this is really the only time i eat it in mass quantity, so i'm going to allow myself the treat.
+ finish my current book, even though i don't really love it. but if i finish it, then i get to move on to something i know will be good, so there's motivation right there. i dislike leaving books unread -- i know some people have no problem with this, but i guess i always like to know how a novel turns out.
+ make a list of the to-dos i need to get accomplished this week, because i work better when i have something tangible on which to check things off. plus, i secretly -- or maybe not so secretly, considering this blog feature! -- like making lists.
+ try out this savory oatmeal and a new scone recipe i've had bookmarked for awhile.
+ focus on my friendships. i've felt a little burned in the friend department lately, but i am lucky to be surrounded by a group of real, true pals who i would trust with my life and who never let me down. so i'm committing to them -- for this week and for always.

see you back here tomorrow! xoxo

lovely photo by pia