These are a few of my favorite things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens...just kidding. If Jim were here I'd be singing that at the top of my lungs as he covered his ears. My girlfriend Sara came to visit this weekend. It was my 36th birthday on Friday, and the best birthday I've had in years.

Two years ago Jim had just completed his first chemo treatment when my birthday came up. Last year he'd just passed away.

This year I got to do some of my favorite things:

1. Sara came for a visit. She's one of my best friends, and I just don't get to see her that often. This was a big treat.
2. The Kohler Food & Wine Experience was this weekend.
3. We ate cupcakes, drank wine, and ate dinners and lunches out.
4. My fabulous babysitters were here with the kids while we did exclusively adult things like went to wine tastings.

We've been living here for three years and this was the first year I've ever made it to the Kohler Food & Wine Experience. http://www.destinationkohler.com/village/shops_woodlake/food_wine_experience.html

This is not some little chintzy wine tasting at the grocery store. It's sponsored by Food & Wine magazine, and there were tons of celebrity chefs and all sorts of food experts here. Friday night we had tickets to a cheese and wine tasting with a famous sommelier/author from NYC and one of the country's foremost experts on cheese. It was really cool. While we were waiting in the lobby to get in, Sara nearly fell over with excitement "Look! There's Gail Simmons!" Um...who? It's not like we just spotted Brad Pitt. Apparently she was an Editor at Food & Wine magazine and she's a judge on Bravo's Top Chef. But Sara was delighted - we were clearly in the presence of someone who represented all things good and food to Sara.

We got to see a cooking demonstration with two of the Top Chef winners. And then we got to see a demonstration by one of the Top 10 new chefs in the country. Cool.

As a true Ferguson, I believe in doing everything in excess. We don't fiddle around with half or even a portion of anything. (Unless it's a hobby, in which case you can refer to my headless angel post. ;) ) But when it comes to eating, drinking, and being merry, it's hard to top a Ferguson. This was a banner weekend for me. Sara and I had a great time. We ate and drank to our hearts' content. (Well, to mine - Sara ate markedly less than me!) We talked non-stop. The only time we stopped talking was to sleep. And we caught up on a friendship that is so very special to me.