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My extended weekend in Maryland was beautiful. The weather was abnormally warm with a nice breeze down by the water. I got to catch up with all my girlfriends, get my hair cut, do a little shopping and spend some quality time with mom.

I got there Thursday afternoon and had a late lunch at the Mexican Café in Annapolis with my wonderful friend, Jen. The Mexican Café is less than a mile from my mother’s house. The place is tiny with less than 10 tables inside and about 8 tables outside on a deck built on top of the cement parking lot. It is an old building with faded pink, yellow and green paint. It is one of the only places with a patio in that part of Annapolis, so it is always packed. I have many memories of this place. In the summer, you can order your Margaritas while you wait for a table, literally, in the parking lot. From what I remember the Margaritas are horrible. Everyone knows they are horrible, but still the idea of waiting in the parking lot on the side of the road with Margaritas in hand, just sounds like a great idea on a hot summer evening. We did not have Margaritas at this particular lunch, but it was good to catch up with Jen and enjoy the view of 7-11 and traffic on Forrest Drive.

After the Mexican Café, Mom went home and I went downtown Annapolis to walk around and see what is new. It is a place that is ever changing, but the staples of my childhood are always there. The Hat Store where I had my first job still sits at the bottom of Main Street. There are still teenagers huddled around the cement benches outside the Market House where I was sitting when my mom caught me smoking a cigarette in 10th grade. I even recognized some of the people working in the shops from when I worked there 10 years ago. My favorite part of the Annapolis scenery were the May Baskets. I had almost forgotten how every shop on Main Street would hang them the first week of May. We would walk up and down the streets admiring and choosing our favorites. Here are some of my favorites:

Thursday night, Mom and I made mini pizzas using my Pampered Chef recipe and watched my little brother on Ugly Betty. My mom had friends calling at every commercial break and I got text messages from friends who were watching. It was fun to get to see it together.

Friday I went to get my hair done at Bubbles and my Mom tagged along to hang out in the salon. Everyone in the salon was asking how Christian was doing and I had to tell the same story about 15 times as more people would walk by and recognize me. I didn’t mind at all. It is great how excited they are for him. My stylist, Jamie, worked her magic to give me a new hot look. I kept my bangs and have some fun new reds mixed in.

Friday evening I got to spend some quality time with my girlies, Stephanie and Sarah. We met at Stephanie’s new house that I had not seen before. I got to meet her boyfriend’s baby, Angel, who is 2. I just had to take a photo of the baby monitor on Steph’s dresser. My friends are moving in to a new stage of life, which is a little scary, but fun. We ended up having a wonderful time, dancing the night away at Mosaic, a new club downtown Baltimore. It was a much needed girl’s night out for all of us who rarely get together.

Saturday, Mom and I spent the day together. We went to look at condos in Annapolis and had lunch at a new restaurant on West Street. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the restaraunt. It was so nice outside that they had the entire front open to the street.

Saturday night, mom and I went to see the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra at Maryland Hall. I spent most of my childhood taking ballet classes in the Maryland Hall building. The memories flooded back as soon as I walked in the front door. The smell of chalk envoked images of myslef and my friends running up and down the stairs from the vending machine to the classroom in between class and rehearsals. The building is almost exactly as I remember it. The paint is chipping off the banisters and the concrete floor is discolored in the exact way that I recall it. As we walked up the stairs to the third floor, there hung a picture of the Artistic Director of the Ballet Company for all the years I studied there. He passed away a few years ago, but the painting was exactly his likeness as I remember it. The orchestra was nice, but we left at intermission so that I could to visit my friend, Jill, who had recently bought a house. The house was beautiful and spacious. It was great to see her and my other friend, Candace who is her roommate. The three of us danced together all through highschool. Jill and I danced together since we were six. It was nice to catch up and reminisce.

I really appreciate Annapolis so much more now that I have moved away. There is no where like it that I have found. It was so nice to go home.