A recap!

Lovely weekend with Doyce here in NYC. He arrived bright and early Friday morning, and after I headed off to work and he took part in a conference call, he met me for lunch and then sat and watched some Doctor Who in my office on his laptop while I finished some stuff up. We headed out a little early and kicked back at home before a delicious dinner at Stove, around the corner from my apartment. Doyce commented on the simple names of so many of the restaurants I've taken him to in Astoria -- Stove, Cup, "The Pizza Place," "The Diner"...

After dinner, we watched "Smoking Aces" on demand, and were floored by the huge, amazing cast of characters -- big actors in blink-and-you'll-miss-'em parts, like Ben Affleck, Matthew Fox, and Jason Bateman. In all, not quite the heist movie I was thinking it might be -- more Tarantino-esque, but still with a nice twist I only half figured out in advance.

Saturday we had some french toast for breakfast, then grabbed the bus out to the airport to pick up a car, leaving us the afternoon to get ready and head up to Garrison to my cousin's Architecture Digest-worthy house for an engagement party.

Which was great fun, seeing family and enjoying good food, drinks, and conversation. My mom made a beautiful toast, wishing us all the best and nearly bringing me to tears. I also had the chance to talk to some of my cousins about my work situation, and I believe I'm coming closer to a specific decision about the future, although I'm still waiting on a few more meetings.

My friends (most of my and Doyce's bridal party) helped us load the car up with the generous gifts we received, and then I drove us all home, a car load of sleeping party guests and me on the Palisades. Easy-peasy, right up until the traffic to get to the George Washington Bridge. And yes, if you know the area, you too may be wondering why we crossed the Hudson River twice in each direction -- let's just say with the full-size car we rented, I was glad to have the wider, easier roads to drive on than the twisting, winding, tiny Taconic parkway.

Sunday, we hosted a geektastic brunch at home with bagels, eggs, bacon, donuts, fruit, banana nut bread, and just all manner of deliciousity. After our guests left, Doyce and I were able to really enjoy a quiet afternoon together -- not trying to run around and do a lot of things, or see everyone we could squeeze into a trip, just hanging out together. (And writing thank you cards!) We didn't even need to be in the same room. It was nice, and gave me a great glimpse into our life ahead.

Now... another week of work.