A weekend of good company

Friday night:

• we had a lovely dinner with "the marrieds" Haley Byer-Ettinger-Lips and Jason Lips and Ms. Rhea Byer-Ettinger at Pizza D.O.C. Toppings included asparagus and goat cheese, anchovies, and eggplant and zucchini. It was darn tasty.
• We're thinking a Noses & Lips summer camping trip is upon us.

Saturday night:

• In celebration of International Women's Day, I headed out with lovely ladies Emily, Andra, Samantha, and Cristina for a great evening of sushi and wine at Coast. Sushi was terrific and we all shared on one big plate. Dessert was absolutely divine, which is surprising for a sushi place but it really was great.
• When I came home Dave was watching "The Loved One" (1965) starring Jonathan Winters, a very young Robert Morse, and Rod Steiger. It's a hilarious Dr. Strangelove-like film about the funeral industry. I could go on in more detail, but I'll just say it's probably my new favorite movie of all time. Seriously.

Sunday night:

• Our friend Paul sent us a last minute invite to a "small dinner party" he and his roommate were having. Upon arrival we saw the cute couple David and Caleb snacking on cheese and grapes and we both assumed that maybe one or two other people would show up and the dinner party-ing would begin. Within 20 minutes, about 20 more of our friends showed up and Paul led us all into the vacant apartment next door (his landlord is way cool) where he had this elaborate table set up with intricately folded napkins and a huge variety of wine, amongst other things. We dined on garlic-and-walnut beet salad followed by this amazing Moroccan stew with shark and cod and finished off with an assortment of desserts and apertifs. It was one of the most pleasant surprises I've had in a long time...and I can confidently say it was the best dinner party of 2009, despite the fact that it's only March. Gotta love the amazing hospitality of your friends.