summer picnic

I still have a "Blogging for a Budget" post in mind, but I have had so much going on that (wisely) the food blog has been put on the back burner (!). Yesterday my friends and I celebrated the 4th by relaxing and floating down the river in rafts - it took us 6 1/2 hours to go a distance that usually takes 4 hours, but linking up to each others' rafts and carrying a raft full of ice and beer was well worth the longer trip. We all got light tans and had an incredible time, followed by a cook out where the boys showed off their grilling skills. Thank you to the men for relieving the ladies of cooking meals and paddling rafts.

Tomorrow Andrew and I resume our weekly date nights/days! He just started a new job as Director of Theatre Operations at the Nickelodeon Theatre, a local arthouse cinema here in Columbia, and the transition into long hours (for both of us) has been hectic. So tomorrow we are getting back on the right foot and heading to Riverbanks Zoo for the morning and a picnic by the river at lunch. This afternoon I made a trip to the grocery and stocked up on some good breakfast foods and a few things for tomorrow's picnic. Some tastes buzzing around in my head as I shopped: fresh, Italian, summery, sweet, salty, PICNIC!

The menu: French bread, course ground mustard, muenster and gouda cheeses, cold cuts (Pancetta, Prosciutto, Lebanon Bologna, Genoa Salami), strawberries, Black Mission figs, petite dill pickles, Nutella (!!!!), and a little something I ordered from Green's last week - Sofia Mini Blancs, which are miniature cans of sparkling white wine (with straws! Think Capri Suns for Adults).

Mmmm...I can't wait.