Summer Partying

I’m working on my hiking posts but spent the weekend partying so those will have to wait.

My friends Lauren and Rory celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary and several other special days with Sugarweek, and us friends were invited to tag along on their celebrations.

Friday evening marked the opening of a show at Zhou B Art Center, so before that 5 of us had dinner at the Honky Tonk BBQ. The ambiance is fun.

One of the few things I miss about Texas is a good brisket, and now I’ve found a local place to have it. Their food was delicious.

Fighting the food coma, we made our way to Zhou B, where the Self-Portrait Exhibition was in full swing.

Lauren and Rory were part of it, and perused the other works.

Here are a few of my snapshots.

I’m mesmerized by encaustic artists who work large.

Dan Addington’s Pereginus Cor: I am Content to Follow the Source with oil, wax, tar, collage on wood is striking and filled with texture.

Erin McClellan Zhoushi’s Untitled photography is so magical.

InJung Oh’s Untitled oil on canvas is so vibrant, and I was especially drawn to the texture and layering of Corinna Button’s Now + Then (oil and collage on canvas).

I like the multidimensionality of Robin Monique Rios’ Beyond Midnight with acrylic/liquid plastic. There are numerous other great pieces, so go see the exhibit this month.

Saturday was spent making a few trips to Belgian Chocolatier Piron, first to order mousse from last year’s birthday gift certificate and then to pick it up.

For once a party was walking distance for me, which I took full advantage of. Our friend Dean smoked a meal for us, that actually was quite a competitor to the Honky Tonk fare we had just feasted on yesterday.

Then we ate our hearts out on chocolate mousse and devil’s ganache cake.

We sampled various beers and whiskeys and had fun conversations until deep into the night.

Needless to say, not much writing was done on Sunday, so the blog will need to catch up later.

This is what summer is for, to enjoy the days and nights among friends and savor the love and joy that is in one’s life.

I am reminded almost daily how blessed I am, and how quickly things can change, so I am going to celebrate where I am, who I am with and whom I hold in my heart every single day.