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Brunch! I forgot to say I had the loveliest brunch on Sunday (before John and I took off for Chicago), with my dad, Stacey, Cooper, and Nathan. At Campiello, turns out a very nice brunch spot. Not that I specifically knew that when I made the res, but I sure do now, and I would recommend it highly. For less than $20/person, you will feast (feast!) on warm blueberry-streusel muffins, eggs (I opted for a shrimp frittata, delicious), and family-style platters of crispy bacon & sausages, thick waffles, fresh fruit, creamy chicken-artichoke penne, roasted potatoes & peppers, champagne, and coffee. Yeah, “try to make a meal,” as my mom’s grandmother used to say. Lord. (I also forgot to mention that the plane could hardly take off, due to the weight of some passenger’s stomach. Uff.)

Oh, also meant to mention that John and I atoned for Friday’s viewing of Atonement with a Saturday viewing of Starting Out in the Evening. Now that is a movie, much better. We were able to sneak in a mini-date thanks to Cory& Suz hosting Nathan for Kids Movie Night at Shubert Theater, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix now showing! After our movie, under the guise of picking up Nathan, John and I were invited to sip wine and chat (yay!) in front of a roaring fire with Cory & Suz while the kids stayed really quiet so we’d forget about them and let them stay up too late. Which would have worked beautifully if we were younger parents and could actually stay up later than our children… Alas, we all had our sorry butts in bed by 11 p.m., wondering how on earth we’re going to properly ring in 2008. Lame!

And oh, also after the fact (apparently the theme of this entire posting, ha), my mom’s recipe for Spiced Cranberry Relish Mold. Perfect for Thanksgiving, of course, but lovely at Christmas too because it is absolutely, festively gorgeous. And the sweet-spicy combo is a tangy foil for uber-rich holiday foods. Enjoy! (Recipe posted in comments, below.)