Like an Olive Garden Commercial, but Cool

Seth and I decided Easter weekend was the perfect time to make a trip up to Boise to see some friends. My wonderful "animated" friend, Heidi and her witty husband, Paul were generous enough to less us crash at their place. Because of our trip up there last year, Heidi and Paul have also become friends with Seth's childhood friend, Cory, whom we also had the pleasure of hanging out with during this eventful weekend. Got all that?

Friday evening we all met together at Heidi and Paul's house where we were graced with the culinary genius that is Chef Paul. He made some amazing lasagna and avocado salad after which his apprentice (aka aspiring pastry chef), Heidi served up some deliciously rich brownies with whipped cream. Yes, it was as tasty as it looks.

Saturday morning Seth and I got up early (despite staying up way past our 9:00 pm bedtime) and headed out to do some fly-fishing on the Boise River. If you haven't already heard about the awesomeness that ensued, click here. As if we didn't already have enough reason to love Boise!

When we got back from fishing, Chef Paul cooked up another masterpiece for breakfast. I'm not exactly sure what you'd call this... a bit of a quiche of sorts. But who cares? It was so good!

So after breakfast Cory came over and Seth and I went with him to the Home Depot because he needed to get a saw to hack apart some tungsten. Don't ask. And in case you're wondering, the employees at Home Depot not only know about saws, but good medical t.v. shows as well. Did you see the one where the guy got his hand chopped off by the street sign when he tried to save that little girl? It was bloody but totally awesome.

After our successful trip to Home Depot we all jumped in the car and headed over to Caldwell for a tour of the wine country. It was incredibly beautiful there with rolling hills full of fruit orchards and grape vines. You'd think I would have taken some pictures, but somehow.... no.

We were all pretty hungry by the time we got back to Boise so we stopped into Heidi and Paul's favorite Thai restaurant, Siam. We got to try several dishes including Pad Woonsen with Tofu, Spicy Noodles with Beef, Combination Fried Rice, Cha Gior, Sweet & Sour Chicken and Heidi got a Som Tum (Papaya Salad) which we were all too wussy to try. I recommend the Cha Gior. Mmmm. (Uh... still no pictures). Oh, this is the place with the magical retro-active fortune cookies.

So we all head on back to Heidi and Paul's house after dinner and just hang out for a little while. Seth and I had never seen Cory's house so we went over there for a bit to check it out. We weren't surprised to find the place filled with dead hobos. Ok ok, it was nice and clean and was filled with the wonderful smells of his Indian roommate cooking dinner. Hard life, Cory. Hard life. A little disappointed there weren't any hobos though. Just being honest.

Somehow Seth and I made it back to Heidi and Paul's house in the dark without getting lost. I was even driving because you all know how cold this weekend was and the driver's seat in Blackie is the only one with a butt warmer. To our delight Heidi had made a fabulous cherry topped cheesecake which was waiting for us on the kitchen table when we got back. I told you she was an aspiring pastry chef. Again we stayed up way past our bedtime chatting and it was wonderful.

In the morning we were surprised and thrilled that the Easter bunny had found us all the way in Boise. Ok, it was Heidi and Paul but the baskets they gave us were so adorable and fun! We found them filled with various candy, tea selections and a jar of Mango jam made in Swaziland! I totally forgot about taking a picture of them until we'd already eaten half of the goods, but you get the gist.

 

After breakfast we talked for a bit more and then it was time to head home. We're always sad to leave Boise and our amazing friends and hope to get to see them all again soon. Thanks again guys, you're the greatest!