WEEKEND EXPLOITS || OUR FORBIDDEN BONFIRE

^^the messiest hair you have ever seen^^

**no turtles were harmed in the making of this bonfire**

whoa, this weekend. it was a busy one! at least by mitch's and my standards. but weekends are always a bit more entertaining when one is entertaining. my brother was in town for a 48-hour period and we were hoping to keep him as occupied as possible so that he wouldn't think we were a couple of hermits ( which we are ) and so that he wouldn't notice how warm a non-air-conditioned apartment can be on a caribbean island in the middle of july ( which he did ). poor guy. you get used to it after almost eight months, I promise. 

we kicked off saturday with a batch of crêpes and a trip to marigot--this public market with all sorts of souvenirs, fresh spices, cultural sauces, and locally grown perishables for sale. we saw the smallest bananas I had ever seen and a few other fruits I couldn't even identify. we wandered around the little french mall, and since my brother has actually been to most of the countries in europe, he had fun comparing and contrasting the different shops between here and there. after successfully navigating ourselves into and out of the tricky streets, we headed home. but not before grabbing a sweet treat and a fresh baguette from sarafina's. truly the best bakery I've ever visited. back at home, we lunched and laid by the pool and later, set out for a bonfire with a couple of friends on the island. introductions were made and the fire was started. however, this was no ordinary bonfire. apparently, it is sea turtle nesting season rendering bonfires prohibited. whoops! luckily, there were no turtles in sight and we all got a few s'mores made before the flames went out. the sunset was truly magnificent ushering in a breezy and lovely night. our friends' little ones played in the sand and got their sticky s'mores fingers all over their parents, which was all-around pretty adorable from where I was standing. we even met a gorgeous golden labrador. typically, I wouldn't post a stranger's dog in the story of my life, but this pup posed so dignifiedly when I asked to take his picture that I couldn't resist. one by one, we said goodbye to friends as they headed home to tuck in their munchkins. I fixed the boys up some ginger salmon and felt oh so mature and european eating supper after 8 o'clock ( we're shameless early birds in this house ). when the stovetop was scrubbed thoroughly after a disastrously proportioned mashed potato incident and the dishes were washed, we settled in to watch the most recent fast and the furious, which I have to say, I could have lived without. but you know boys and their cars...

mitch did comment more than once that it was nice to have another man in the house to back him up on the blue household matters, but as with all guests, we had to put that brother of mine on a plane so he could get back to work on monday morning. and now, it's back to everyday life, which this week will consist of reading books, tackling some life laundry, and maybe a wee bit of baking if the oh-so-welcome cloud cover keeps. what are you guys planning to do this week? feel free to give me some ideas so I can occupy myself while the mister studies ( we're four weeks out from finals! ).

love, arielle