Good friends, wine, and cheese

So, when I set off to name this blog - Process Cheese - I really had no intention of actually continuing a literal cheese theme in all of my posts. I thought I'd be able to comment on and point out all the hysterical hypocrisy and phony b.s. ("cheesie-ness") that existed in this world. But after having drinks with a dear friend from high school that I haven't seen in years at a wine and cheese bar, I'm beginning to think there is more to the cheese theme. Over some cold Pinot Grigio, and a sampling of Goat Cheese and St. Nectaire, I came to realize that good friends get better with age...perhaps like a good cheese? I met my friend at Hollywood Vine, a quaint little wine shop and bar on Harrison Street in Hollywood. My girlfriend and I were inseparable in high school, lost touch for years, reconnected, then have been out of touch again for the past two years. No particular reason...just busy lives, kids, jobs, etc. Even though we live 15 minutes away from each other, getting together for a glass of wine was a monumental event. But like the good friends we are, we just picked up where we left off...wherever that was. We are the same as we were in high school, but smarter, better in some way. More confident yet facing new challenges and insecurities. We are no longer worried if a boy will ask us to prom. But we are worried if the lessons we are teaching our kids are getting through. Laser hair removal and Botox certainly came up in the conversation (both of those topics alone are totally blog-worthy and may be covered in a future post...stay tuned). It wasn't until I checked the time on my iPhone to see how much time I had left on my meter that I realized my meter ran out 40 minutes earlier. We have promised to get together 2 more times before end of summer -- aspirational yet realistic plans. Plans that I really look forward to.

Now that I am half way through my 39th year, getting closer to that milestone birthday, I really do feel that like a good wine, and some gourmet cheese, some of us girls do get better with age. So celebrate your girlfriends or any good friends by getting together for wine and cheese! (And don't forget the salami.)