How was your weekend? Feeling tired and a little broke after our recent trip to Maastricht (plus we’re saving up for the Big Trip of the year in a week’s time), Marlon and I decided to stay in all weekend long. I know, married couples are boring, they never want to go out anymore, blah blah blah. Am I just getting old, or is staying at home simply more appealing now?
Whether forced by an empty wallet or by choice, staying in can be extremely recharging and satisfying. I think the key is to mix simple pleasures with a little something special. A Masterchef Australia marathon (such a good show!) on the couch with this adorable face napping on my belly (yes, a long naptime helps!)… now that’s a prime example of a simple pleasure that doesn’t cost a thing.
So is being treated to the sight of the funniest bedhead ever…
… and using cuddles and playtime to put the work week firmly into the past (especially for Daddy).
The fun part is injecting a little something extraordinary into what would otherwise be an ordinary weekend. Just one well-chosen treat can make staying at home closer to being a pleasure than a belt-tightening measure. It could be a decadent hot chocolate or a new book to curl up with on the couch.
For us, of course, it’s food. On Saturday mornings, Marlon likes to take Tala for a walk to the Noordermarkt, giving me one precious baby-free morning a week. This weekend, he came home from the market with a large, very pregnant and very LIVE lobster, wild and not farmed, from the Netherlands’ own North Sea.
If you can get over the creepy factor of a plastic bag rustling in your fridge and can handle them without getting pinched, lobsters are the easiest luxurious dinner. Just drop in a pot, cover and wait a few minutes. We had ours with potato wedges and sweet potato fries, a lime, cilantro, garlic and butter sauce, and white wine from the grocery.
What simple joys do you enjoy during a weekend at home? And what’s your favorite way to inject something special into a stay-at-home weekend?
I LOVE lobsters! But it isn’t having the live lobster rustling in a bag in the fridge (in our case, hammering away in the cooler we would take it home in) that bothers me. It’s the whole putting this living, moving lobster in a pot of boiling water that I can’t watch. My husband had to do it, the one time we did this at home. And after seeing that this was the process involved in getting said lobster on to the plate, my daughter refused to eat it. So now we stick to buying them prepared by the pub at our grocery and eating them straightaway. I agree though, that weekends at home with baby can be a wonderful respite from a tough work week. If it saves you some money, that’s just another plus
Love those baby pics!
I can’t handle the lobster myself, but Marlon does (as he does most of our fresh seafood). We’re lucky enough to get super fresh seafood so close to home, so we do so whenever we can. We’ve had fresh lobster at home before, but it was Canadian/farmed and the difference in quality and flavor is just miles apart. I think it’s worth it, but it does depends on what you’re comfortable with!
I have to have lobsters for dinner now. I absolutely need it!
As kids we used to Summer in Maine and you would buy your lobster from someone (anyone, really) who was on the side of the road with a fishtank full of lobsters…we would take them home and have races before eating them…good times
Summering in Maine sounds so posh. And the lobster races sound like something Marlon would be totally into! Fun!