Fleming Fun: Excellent Easter Weekend

Last weekend mom & dad came down to visit for Easter and for Annie's birthday celebration. They arrived late Thursday night and in true Mandel fashion-we met them with cocktails.

On Friday morning we saw Jeff off to work as I had taken the day off to hang out with the rents. I waved goodbye to Jeff in my robe with a cup of coffee. I could definitely get used to that.

Dad was still asleep so mom, ginger & I set off to Whole Foods for some coffee and breakfast and then home for a looong exercise walk around the neighborhood where she grew up which just happens to be right across the street from our hood. We definitely took a walk down memory lane as mom pointed out houses and told stories from her childhood. 3 miles later, we returned home, woke up dad and got ready to go meet Jeff for lunch.

The Hard Shell in the Slip is where Jeff had chosen for us to dine. It was delicious and the weather was nice enough for us to sit outside. After a leisurely lunch we dropped Jeff back at the office and the three of us set out for New Kent County for a visit to the new New Kent Winery.

We sampled some wine and took a tour of the property. The entire facility is made from refurbished materials and it was interesting to learn where each piece/part came from and how old it was.

When Jeff returned home from work, we made our usual Friday night visit to Corks & Kegs for a wine/beer tasting and bought several treats for dinner that night. We picked Annie up shortly thereafter and we all returned to the house for a home cooked meal. Annie inspected the house from top to bottom, of course, and 95% of the things she had to say were nice. Phew.

On Saturday morning, mom and I set off on another long exercise walk around the hood and then got ready and picked up Annie for a day of shopping for her birthday party. Stops at World Market, Kroger, Whole Foods, Ben Franklin and Trader Joes were all necessary. Annie loved seeing all the stores and even made a little boyfriend in Kroger. An older gentleman sauntered up to her and offered her a cup of coffee from "the Easter bunny." She smiled and giggled and then visited with the sweet old man while mom and I quickly gathered all we needed.

We lunched at the wine bar at Whole Foods which has wine on tap. Y'all know I loved this and so did Annie. After we had worn her out, we dropped Annie off and continued the rest of our errands. Late Saturday afternoon was spent cooking and decorating for the party next day. While we were gone the males brewed more beer. Yumm.

Around 6pm we drove downtown to make our reservation at Bistro 27. Richmonders-if you haven't been here, I highly recommend it. We had an outstanding dinner with great service. Mom said her fish dish might have been one of the best she has ever had. And that is sayin somethin.

We got a little silly on Champagne at dinner and headed to Boyer's ice cream on Patterson for dessert. Lots of laughs and reminiscing about a certain French sign in Chamonix later, we headed back to Chez Fleming for an after dinner Grappa and more cooking in preparation for the party.

6am Sunday morning came too soon and we had more prep work to do. Mom and I listened to Josh Groban (<3) while preparing fruit salad, spreading the sugary, buttery topping on the french toast casserole and more. After a quick shower and dressing in our Easter best, we picked Annie up and headed to St. Mathews Church for Easter service. While we were gone, Dad went to pick up Julian and Rene and they arrived back at the house just as we arrived home from Church.

The next few hours were spent madly putting the finishing touches on the shrimp and grits and cooking the french toast casserole, dressing the fruit salad, placing the deviled eggs and piling up the ham biscuits.

Promptly at 12:30, the first guests arrived and the next 5 hours were spent eating fattening yet delicious brunch food, drinking mango/orange, blood orange or pomegranate mimosas, and chatting it up with friends that are like family and actual family. Annie, the guest of honor, seemed to have a fabulous time and looked chic in her new outfit. Success.