Saturday, 26 March 2011

a good start to the weekend...

...is very important! Equally important is the weekend itself, as, let's face it, it is what we are dreaming of the rest of the week while working... and, yes, I will be the one saying it, it is what keeps us going... the weekend that is... ok, I may have been slightly lost in my train of thoughts here... Anyway, the start to the weekend, the way Friday ends, is important because it brings us IN to the weekend mood and if it is good, than most likely the rest of the mini break will be good too!

I had such a good start to the weekend yesterday! The sun was shinning, rare and brilliant, the mood was already good for the working week was over (and not such a bad one either, to tell the truth...), my iPod was choosing great music as I drove away from the office and, especially also because I had been hungry for almost a week due to a wisdom tooth infection, I was looking forward to dinner! Dinner which would be at my house with a few great friends and my specialty, "pork's tenderloin with lemon sauce", accompanied by my friend's famously good mashed potatoes!  

Mmmm... and what a great diner it was! Not wanting to brag about my pork, which was perhaps the best I ever made (purely by luck... or because I forgot about it almost dangerously while cooking...) or my friend's heavenly mash, I will brag about the great company and the conversations and the perfect atmosphere created just to get us, in the most perfect way, into the weekend! And this is, without a doubt, better than shoes!

ps1. Yes, it is Saturday morning now and raining... @#$%^&**((**&

ps2. No, I will not be revealing the recipe for "pork's tenderloin with lemon sauce" anytime soon...


Monday, 14 March 2011

Mini break with friends!

Having started writing this post, I feel that it is somewhat inappropriate to talk about "better than shoes" stuff at a time when the whole world's interest is focused on last Friday's Japanese tragedy... I mean no disrespect and I do feel overwhelmed by it... But I think that, even at times like these, talking about positive things can help us cope with the sadness... So here it is, my latest "better than shoes" experience...

I am a fortunate person, I have said it before, who not only enjoys the friendship of wonderful people but who also can enjoy the luxury of escaping for a long weekend with them! And this is what happened some ten days ago, we got on a plane and headed to a mini break in London! And what a weekend that was! Even the weather, notoriously wet and gloomy in the British capitol, was on our side! Blue skies, bright sun (though admittedly a bit chilli...) and just a tiny bit of rain only on Saturday night. In other words, splendid!

Having done some preparations beforehand, my friends being great at that, we ended up having lovely meals, a great lunch at Jamie's Italian in the City on Friday and a memorable dinner on Saturday at Gordon Ramsay's Maze My mouth gets watery and my eyes misty just in the memories of the tastes, the wine, the beautiful ambience and the pleasant people! Which by the way is my overall impression every time I travel to London, I find the friendliness of the service everywhere most inviting! On top of that, a matinée of "Billy Elliot" on Saturday completed the experience!

Surely I will not deny there was some shopping... surprisingly not for shoes! I guess the enormous offer just kinda blocked me and could not choose... or simply did not feel the need for it as I was feeling, for the whole of the weekend, such immense joy being with my friends and having such a great time that I forgot my usual addiction to foot candy... don't know... what I do know is that this weekend certainly qualifies as "better than shoes" and that I have my best friends to thank for it! :)