3rd Annual

This weekend was the 3rd annual wine and cheese party. A friend of mine started this while she was in vet school and the tradition has since continued. The first party was a ton of fun, and not quite as classy as you would think of when you hear, "wine and cheese party." In fact, there wasn't much cheese beyond the basic cheese cubes you find at Kroger. Of course, none of us really knew wine very well, if at all, but it was a good reason to drink a lot.

After my friend graduated, she went to work in a clinic in Pittsburgh. This was a good reason to visit her and, again, drink a lot. There is a market strip in downtown Pittsburgh that has wonderful little shops, where we got fresh pasta, fruits and vegetables, awesome breads and cheeses from all around the world. Both the choices of cheese and wine really brought the 2nd annual party to a new level.

This year we were all looking forward to the annual bash. My friend's college roommate is still in vet school at Michigan State, so she drove down to Novi early Saturday morning to meet JP and me. We carpooled down and made pretty good time (under 5 hrs.) despite the strong winds. After visiting for a while and helping with the spread, we got ready for her expected 40 guests. Again, everyone had a great time and the wine and food was delicious. It was an interesting mix of people -- high school friends, college friends, co-workers, her boyfriend's friends and parents -- but everyone mingled and got to know everyone else. It wasn't filled with the drunkeness of last year, but there were still A LOT of empty wine bottles the next morning. Tons of fun and looking forward to next year!