I live in notes and photographs

The opening scene of Love Actually is pretty perfect. Shot at Heathrow Airport, it's a montage of people at the arrivals gate. There's something amazing about the way people light up when they see a face they recognize...and last Thursday, I got to be one of these incredibly lucky people.

Dan flew in and the second I saw him, I just lit up. It was like something out of the movies.

Thursday morning started off like this. It looked like something out of Tolkien...or Houses of the Holy.



Dan majored in film and I minored it, so movies were definitely a huge part of the agenda. This being the case, I made him a gift basket -- popcorn, soda, Junior Mints, Sour Patch Kids, Hershey Kisses with Caramel [♥ So good!] and a Guinness t-shirt to celebrate his Irish heritage and my rampant alcoholism [kidding].



We drove up to Gainesville on Saturday to spend some quality time with my sister. As you can tell from the picture, I highly recommend the spinach alfredo farfalle.



Like all ballers and/or shot-callers, my sister rocks the platinum.

While there, I fell in love with this gorgeous car. I love the classics. Most of the cars made in the 50s and 60s remind me of rocket ships, which makes a lot of sense considering the national interest in space exploration.

After lunch, we headed to the Florida Museum of Natural History where we encountered this massive mastodon. The sheer size of this thing blows my mind. I mean, the tusks could function as a water slide.



We also encountered the world's most terrifying sea creature. This thing's scarier than that singing bass...and that sucker belts out Don't Worry, Be Happy.



I love turtles. Whether they're scarfing down pizza and practicing martial arts or advocating literacy, they are awesome little creatures. There's actually a huge one that lives in our neighborhood. I named him Sampson and I help him cross the street every now and then.



We also hung out at the Harn Museum of Art, Now, techinically -- you're not supposed to take pictures inside the gallery, but if they can't see the flash, they can't catch you. The abnormally loud whirring noise my camera emits, though....



The courtyard at the Harn was gorgeous and incredibly serene. So of course, I classed it up even further by grabbing Pan the Satyr's butt.



My favorite part of the courtyard was the little pond complete with tadpoles and waterlilies. Monet comes alive. It's like Frampton Comes Alive...only not at all.



On the way home, the sky opened up and it started to rain. We're talking water of Biblical proportions here. At one point, I was actually driving 15 mph on the 408. In a town where the speed limit is seen as nothing more than a polite suggestion, this was pretty much unheard of.



Sunday night, I put my culinary skills to work and made dinner for the boys -- eggplant parmesan and Caesar salad. I curse like a sailor, I can't parallel park, I touch statues in inappropriate areas and I listen to Hootie and the Blowfish without the faintest trace of irony....but I can cook and that's gotta count for something.



Pepe really liked the eggplant and thanked me by kicking my [already damaged] ankle and leaving a massive bruise. Oh Pepe -- you're going to make some unlucky woman very bitter one day.

All in all -- it was an amazing week. I miss him like crazy, though. Little things - the way he recites lines from Ghostbusters, his 'Gatsby' smile ["...and then, his face broke into that radiant and understanding smile, as if we'd been in ecstatic cahoots on that fact all the time." The Great Gatbsy. F. Scott Fitzgerald], the way he'd kiss my shoulder when he thought I was sleeping and his Slimer impersonation which, no matter the circumstance, can always make laugh hysterically.

I can't wait until we see each other again.