Hey Soul Sister.....

Ain't that mister mister on the radio, stereo  
Of course I want to join your Mom and you for dinner
The way you move ain't fair you know         
The way ya'll cook is so good you know....



So, I've been putting off this post for a few days now....and for a totally lame reason: I'm having a hard time putting into words what my new found soul sister Becca means to me without sounding like a crazy, sappy, stalker; this condition is commonly known as CSS, if you were wondering.

But CSS be damned, I can't put this one off any longer! So, long story short(ish), while Bec and I both write blogs, we didn't really met because of our blogs- I actually work with Becca's wonderful mother, who became my informal mentor this year. Us teachers ate lunch together everyday and she kept saying "Oh my gosh- you sound like Becca" or "Becca would die...." AND then the long distance book club started.

See, Becca and her mom are avid readers and started pushing books on me suggesting some of the best reads I've had in my whole life (Seriously, THANK YOU for Edgar! Le sigh.) So we started chatting books, but with "Mumsy" as the middle woman....and THEN Becca started her blog- and duh we started emailing each other and well, the rest is history! (Was that enough "ands" for you? sheesh.) [Oh, gosh and with another random twist of fate, Bec's dad was one of my favorite high school science teachers! He still teaches at my alma mater and now we "work together" on our district curriculum...he will always be my teacher though!]

Anyways, Becca is an amazing woman, who is such a supportive friend, not to mention she cracks me up! She pushes me to expand my reading choices (which makes me a better writer- I hope!) and is bribing me with food and wine related races encouraging me to pick up my running game (or lack there of!) again too.

That being said, can you believe we had never met in person until this month? Becca lives and works in D.C., but when she planned a visit to spend time with family we knew a meeting was a must! Enter Mother/Daughter night! Becca and Mumsy cooked my Mum and I a wonderful vegetarian dinner of veggie lasagna and a beautiful goat cheese salad.

(that is a avocado caprese salad bite on the side-from our lovely spread of appetizers-that I forgot to photograph!)

I know the photo quality isn't fabulous....I was having some lighting issues and was far more interested in spending time with 3 of my favorite women, not fussing with my camera. Mea culpa. Something I'm not sorry for (or guilty of, whichever translation you use!) is randomly choosing the tasty Malbec in the background of the salad shot. (Not to be confused with a salad shooter!). I wanted to bring Boom-Boom Shiraz, but Publix doesn't carry it and ABC isn't open on Sundays....so I went with my favorite wine: Malbec and choose this one because I liked the purple label. See? being random is so worth it!

You know what else is worth it? Worth every little calorie? This tasty after dinner treat:

Fresh-from-the backyard blackberries marinated in red wine and sugar, served a top a short-cake cup,  and Almond D'lites. Oh my word. Heaven!

As amazing as the food and drink was, the best part about this night was gabbing until early morning (!) with my soul sister and our wonderful moms! I can't say how much I LOVE these women!

Love to all,
~the proud to have CSS because my soul sister is worthy of cause a disorder gal, Jess

PS. Can't wait to visit D.C. later this summer....stay tuned for details!