Friday, March 15, 2013

Weekends are Made for Fun!

Sometimes you just have a weekend that is laid back and mellow. That was this last weekend. (This one can't possibly top it!)

It began with dinner with good friends on Friday. Then Rick and I enjoyed another episode of "Slings and Arrows," a Canadian TV show shared with us by our friend Mike L. It focuses on a Shakespearean company in a Canadian town -- I think they had a couple of festival models in Shaw and Stratford. There are lots of crazy moments -- a comedy? A drama? A little bit of both!
 
Saturday my friend Kate and I headed off to Ann Arbor to celebrate her birthday.
 
First, lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Amadeus, where I have enjoyed blog meet-ups in the past. (HERE and HERE).
 
Our lunch was delightful -- potato pancake spaetzel with a wonderful salad and their delicious dill soup for me, borschst for Kate.
 
And it was a birthday -- so of course there was dessert.
 
A turtle for Kate...
 
...Apple for me!
 
Then time at Hollander's -- the ultimate in paper stores.
 
I was not a good girl. But I had a good time!
 
Then we were off to Trader Joe's, then home to make Rick a great dinner with the spoils of shopping (pushing a cart there was akin to driving on I-96 in rush hour.)
Sunday, after tea with my friend Richard to talk about his book, Rick and I headed to Flint. The ultimate goal was to pick up Greg from the airport, but we started with the movie "The Sessions" (very good), then enjoyed the Flint Institute of Arts.
 
This is a case of a city that has clearly seen better times, but you wouldn't know it from the museum.
 
It was simply glorious, from the magnificent Rubens angel in a room filled with tapestries...
 
...to Impressionists and some of my favorite painters, including Pissaro, Matisse and Mary Cassatt...
 
From this delightful painting by German Fritz Von Uhde called "Les Chiens Savants" (The Performing Dogs)...
 ...to the Chihuly ceiling.
 
All that, then dinner with Greg. Yes, a very good weekend!

24 comments:

The French Hutch said...

Yes, what a perfect weekend you had! Lunch out with a friend for a birthday celebration is alway fun. Lunch sounds and looked delicious too. Looks like a beautiful restaurant. Shopping, browsing is a wonderful treat. I would love to visit this museum. Hope you top it this weekend!

~Emily
The French Hutch

The Artful Diva said...

I definitely want to celebrate my birthday with you!

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

Wow! Glorious food, a fascinating paper store, an amazing art museum, and good company...what a truly great weekend. Thanks for sharing!

Shane Pollard said...

Jam packed fun Jeanie - It's my birthday next week and I wish I could celebrate with you too!!!
The Chihuly ceiling is outstanding, such a clever artist.
It's Saturday morning here and I'm about to go for a walk around the waterfront, hoping for some decent photos to put up next week!
Shane ♥

Travel With Lulu said...

Happy Birthday! I've always wanted to go to Ann Arbor and a Trader Joes - looks like fun! Have another great weekend :)

Jeanie said...

I was so glad to read this because it let me know you are feeling good enough to enjoy all of these great activities.
We are getting a Trader Joes here soon....I can't wait.
I'm glad you weren't a good girl at the paper store.

Anonymous said...

What a way to spend a birthday weekend. It sounds divine. I love it when you take photos of your meals in restaurants. I told my husband that I should start doing that. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, Jeanie.

Vagabonde said...

Thank you for coming to my blog. We have been gone for over 10 days and when we came back I got this horrid head cold and have felt terrible since Monday. I did all the driving from Atlanta to Nashville to Memphis to Atlanta since my husband does not drive, so it was a bit tiring and I have not been on the computer much. I read all your posts. We never had snow or ice here but when we were in Nashville on Saturday March 2nd it had snowed. It had melted by the afternoon but at least I had one morning of snow. Here today it is in the mid 70s so I think we won’t get snow this year, again.

I went to Flint in the 60s where the brother of my husband, well fiancĂ© then, lived and I liked it. I hope you feel good now – since I have had this terrible cold, sneezing, eyes tearing, rough throat and the rest, I know how it is to feel miserable, but a cold goes away quickly. I hope you can find some remedies to keep you healthy for a long time.

Angelsdoor * Penny said...

Now this is what I call a perfect weekend Jeanie! What fun you all must have had... Beautiful post!
blessings,
Penny

Friko said...

I should say!
Art, food and lovely people. What more do you want.

Make sure there’s another one just like it (or similar) in the not too distant future. We need a treat now and then.

~*~Patty S said...

Lovely to travel along with you on your weekend adventures...these look especially brilliant and fun Jeanie!

That Chihuly glass makes me swoon and the birthday lunch spot looks perfect with cakes AND paper for dessert = just my style ;)

Happy St Paddy's Day Weekend to you
oxo

~*~Patty S said...

Lovely to travel along with you on your weekend adventures...these look especially brilliant and fun Jeanie!

That Chihuly glass makes me swoon and the birthday lunch spot looks perfect with cakes AND paper for dessert = just my style ;)

Happy St Paddy's Day Weekend to you
oxo

anno said...

Looks like a weekend of favorite places! So glad you had such so many lovely opportunities ... seems to me you were overdue for some good times.

Believe it or not, I haven't been to Amadeus in more than a year! Between my friends who have gone gluten-free and a husband who prefers a dining environment with oversized chairs and a roaring fire, I just haven't had the chance to return. Sure do miss those potato pancakes and outrageous desserts!

Joanne Huffman said...

Glad you had such a delightful week-end. You deserve it.

Virginia said...

The blog commenters dilemma ! How to choose. They are all so much fun and great photos. I'll stop here and say I love the Chihuly as we have one here at our museum. Lovely post.
V

Anonymous said...

I'm all envious! What you've done and enjoyed in one day probably will take me a couple of holidays out of my city. Thanks for sharing these precious gems with us, Jeanie. And know what, i haven't seen one episode of Slings and Arrows... maybe not subscribing to the right stations. While I've admired all that you'd experienced, I love the Chihuly best. ;)

shoreacres said...

Honestly - you put up what you did in a weekend and I think, "It would take me a month to do all that!" I just don't know how you manage. I do suspect one key is that things aren't so spread out. To go to my favorite Houston museum and have lunch at my favorite restaurant would require two hours of driving.

I love the Chihuly, too, but I think the restaurant looks wonderful. I did just this morning discover there's a new Peruvian restaurant down the street from me, so that goes on the "to-do" list immediately!

Angelsdoor * Penny said...

Jeanie,
I am honored that you would like to follow along with me.. Thank you for your visit. It is always so nice to see your comments waiting for me.
blessings,
Penny

Dr. Kathy McCoy said...

Sounds like an absolutely perfect weekend! Good for you, Jeanie! That lunch looked fabulous!

PeterParis said...

Sounds like a good mixture of friends, food, shopping, culture... As you say, a nice weekend!

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

Sounds like a wonderful weekend! You included a lot of great things from family to friends to good food to shopping to taking in the arts! I am glad you had such a wonderful, fulfilling weekend. From the tone of your posts, it seems like the clouds have parted a bit and the sun is shining down on you, which makes me very happy!!

Anonymous said...

What a perfect weekend. I've been staying away from the computer more and more on the weekends and it is so wonderful to get out there and LIVE. :) I would enjoy all these things you mentioned here. Glad you had a good time...and then shared with us, of course. ;)
XOXO's

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

I was in Ann Arbor (working) for several days and wish that I had discovered Amadeus... and wish that I had known you were somewhat nearby.

I love paper and have a weakness for those gorgeous sheaves. So glad that you could add to your collection.

Bises,
Genie

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Oh, and how could I leave out Chihuly? The ceiling at the Bellagio in Vegas will take your breath away and Seattle has many installations. Several years ago there was a traveling installation (?) as I saw it in Chicago at the Botanical Gardens and then in another city (Atlanta ?) His team of artists is amazing.

Bises,
Genie

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