The sun was shining on the sea, shining with all it's might...

He did his very best to make the billows smooth and bright.
And this was odd because it was
The middle of the night.

Ricky and I both had today off. Two in a row! How nice.
He did some kayaking, which is shaping up to be one of his favorite things.
I made mussels for dinner.

I bought two pounds, and once all the slightly opened and cracked ones were discarded, I was still left with quite a few mussels. I cooked them in a a broth I made with shallots, garlic, tomatoes, fresh thyme, a teeny bit of smoked paprika, some saffron threads, butter, and Pinot Grigio. I would drink that stuff out of a mug.

They were amazing. To be honest, this was my first time using fresh mussels. I've always been a big baby and just bought frozen mussels on the half shell, and this time I bought fresh, live ones and scrubbed and de-bearded them myself. It was definitely worth it, they are so much more tender, and when they open they release this delicious ocean-y liquid into the broth.

I served them simply, garnished with parsley and with crusty bread and prosecco, which is sort of like Italian champagne I suppose.
Here's a helpful little trick: Both champagne and prosecco can lose their fizziness, but if you add a couple of raisins to the bottom of your glass or bottle, the grooves on the dried fruit will create friction, keeping your bubbly, well, bubbly.

We went through these bad boys pretty fast. Had there been a carpenter in the kitchen making dipping oil for bread with peppercorns and mustard seed, he would have been disappointed.
It totally reminded me of that scene in the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland, when the Walrus ate all the oysters.

Greedy pinniped bastard.

Dessert was a simple plate of sliced strawberries and some homemade vanilla bean whipped cream. And more prosecco.

Oh! The other day while killing time at TJ Maxx, I found that they had Caldrea products! Those that know me know how I am about good-smelling cleaners, so this was exciting. I got dish soap and counter top cleanser in Green Tea Patchouli, surface wipes in Sweet Pea, and some furniture polish made by Home and Body Co. that has the most amazing lavender fragrance. Very essential-oily.

If you live near a Starbucks, go buy these darling little cups. It's a set of nesting tea cups, and I'm in love with them.

This is how Maggie fell asleep today. She cracks me up.
I'm working at 5 am for the next few days, so I need to get to bed soon! Happy nearly Friday to those of you with regular work weeks!