Food and Friends

Today kind of started as a crappy day. I went to the doctor to get my chemo bags changed and my blood tested. However, they couldn't get my blood to draw through the PICC so they had to take it intravenously. So I got stuck with a needle, and that's never fun. Also, my evil chemo-pumping blood came back low on WBC- which basically means my immune fighters are on strike, refuse to do their job, and make it very hard for me to be in public.

This kind of completely screwed up my weekend plans.

So yeah, I was pissed.

But then my personal angel came to the rescue. We all have friends that have been in our lives forever- but Elizabeth is different. Not only is she one of my oldest friends, she's one of my best friends. While I was in the hospital, she came to visit me everyday, hid eggs around my hospital room on Easter, and never looked at my sickness with pity and sadness. And that was probably the best thing ever.

Today she came out to my neck of the woods to cheer me up and listen to me whine about stupid things. The majority of the day was spent out in the sun soaking up (rather intermittent) Vitamin D. At times it was beautiful and sunny, at others it was windy and chilly.

But that's okay, I enjoyed my time outside. I think Molly did too:

After we had grow tired of the sporadic weather, we went into the "charming" town of Purcellville. Purcellville is like a teenager in the middle of an identity crisis. The South end of town is full of strip malls and Walgreens and three grocery stores. However, the North end of town, or "old town", has beautiful houses from the 1920's and eclectic antique stores. 

We spent a good amount of time on the North end of town and I showed Liz all my favorite shops. The used book shop, a consignment store, as well as a new hiking outfitters shop.

Being outside all day and shopping all afternoon sure kicked up our appetites. So we popped over to Magnolia's, an American-Italian fusion restaurant that is considered a cornerstone institution in Purcellville. It also has gorgeous patio seating, so it was a must go.

Such a beautiful place to relax and unwind.

For our appetizer, we ordered a flash-fried calamari with a red pepper aioli. The calamari was absolutely deliciously, although I was a huge fan of the sauce. 

I ordered a spinach and ricotta ravioli with some sort of tomato-and-cheese sauce. You get an A+ Magnolia's. Really just wonderfully done.  

Big-ass bacon burger and fries for Liz. 

Tiny girl, badass burger, sloppy eating- it was a thing of beauty, food porn at it's finest. 

I pretended to take a slightly more composed approach. 

Until, of course, it was all gone and then my true, ridiculous self remerged. Our palates still not completely satisfied, we ordered the most decedent dessert on the menu. You know, just to pretend we're fancy for a moment.

Honestly, I have no idea what they called this. It was a sort of triple chocolate (dark, white and milk) infusion with a berry coulis. Liz was just as confused as I:

Still, it was quite delicious and gone within a matter of minutes.

Goodbye delicious dessert. Goodbye delicious food. Goodbye what turned out to be a wonderful day. You will be missed. 

If you're in the area, I would definitely suggest Magnolia's. Great food, great atmosphere. Although, don't go out of your way for it- that's just weird.

Thanks Liz for coming and shining a light on my not-so-great day. You're a lifesaver, and the best friend and dinner partner a girl could ask for.