It’s always a little sad to see a good weekend end, but it’s always fun to remember the things you do with the ones you love.

We had such a fun weekend with my parents visiting us this past weekend. They came in on Thursday night so Ben and I were able to make an evening of it in Rochester before we picked them up at the airport.. We very rarely go that far for a night out, so it was a fun excuse to go into a different city for a change. We had dinner here and coffee here, and both were exceptional! I am seriously obsessed with Ethiopian cuisine right now…and I’m thinking of attempting to make this tomorrow night. Although I’m almost positive it’s one of those cuisines that are best left alone…somehow those kinds of dishes never turn out quite right.

The fun thing about having visitors is that it ends up feeling like a vacation for yourself as well. We did a lot of relaxing here at the house, drinking coffee, sleeping in, and playing Candy Crush (not even joking). Mom and I went out for crepes and coffee on Friday, plus a little shopping at TJ Maxx. Her and I used to go out alot when I was still at home, so it’s always fun to have the chance for a lunch date with her!

My parents treated us to a dinner out on Saturday evening, which is always fun! We went to Agava Restaurant in Ithaca, and besides the long wait and slow service, it was a good choice. I ordered the burger (yes, you read that right) and it hit the spot. I guess sometimes you just need a good burger and fries, huh?

Here are some interesting/funny/inspiring links for your Monday perusal:

Some northerner’s sentiments exactly.

So pretty/expensive/pretty.

Song of the week.

Granola recipe from here is yum.

Dinner.

Made me laugh.

Cheers for CNN.

So inspirational.

Happy evening, friends!

What about you: what was special about your weekend?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

It’s been the most glorious winter day today…the snow has been falling ever since I woke up and everything is covered in white. I feel pretty ‘snowed in,’ although I do use that term loosely since I’m married to someone who just wants to get out and drive in this stuff whenever it starts coming down, which feels so counter-intuitive to this Southern girl. I still have the idea that everything should be shut down and cancelled and impossible to get to because it’s snowing, but I’m learning that here things can go on as normal for the most part.

We had a leisure breakfast of waffles and peach syrup before Ben dashed off to work, and it was so fun to have a mid-week breakfast date in our kitchen. Breakfast is my favorite and I always look forward to the weekends when I can make something for us both and we can sit down over coffee or hot chocolate for a cozy morning date.

I’ve used the snow day as an opportunity to be pretty cozy myself, and haven’t done too much besides some resting, reading, baking, and computer work. Sometimes you just want days like that, right?

We are hoping the weather clears up by tomorrow though, since my parents are scheduled to fly in for the weekend! I don’t know what all we will get into while they are here, but we are looking forward to spending some quality time with them and letting them experience a bit of this frigid and beautiful winter.

I’m off to make some dinner (this, since soup is the only thing acceptable for days like this!) and spend the evening cozied up with a book and my man and hot tea in front of the fireplace.

Have a beautiful and warm evening, friends!

What about you: what do you like to do on cozy, winter/rainy days?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!