the round up

by the way, some of the random goodness that has been happening:

We finally got a Chuy's!!! Seriously, I can't even explain how happy this made me -- delicious Tex-Mex finally to be had in North Carolina. I will eat all of their flour tortillas if you let me.  Also, look at that adorable caped corgi! I love this place. 

We won a cheese ball at trivia! We were at the Pinhook in Durham for awesome trivia and came in second and won a cheese ball! Can you even believe? Best trivia winnings ever.

Casey put both dogs in a box.  And they stood their like the good pups they are.  They weren't in time out or anything, just hanging out in a box...

 

Chloe was a party animal for Halloween.  Get it?! 

Jonathan made me many a feast, including this one -- eggplant parm, delicious! 

xoxo

well, back from the break

i'm not going to even try. it's been a long time. life is busy, but good. so,

here are some pictures from today! look at me being on top of it!

Jonathan, Jen, Evan, and Tom all ran the Merge 25K this morning like crazy/impressive people.  Because what better way to celebrate 25 years of records than by running from Chapel Hill to Durham? I know. This is why I was support crew, along with Chloe of course.  They all rocked it with amazing times, despite all the hills this area brings.  Luckily, the weather was perfect, a beautiful 75 degrees today, giving me hope that spring is actually around the corner...even though we have snow predicted for Tuesday...But anywho, some pics:

Miss Chloe stealing the show, per the usual:

Miss Olive making the best face ever:

 Some of the crowd, soaking up the sun and beverages:

Hope you are enjoying the weekend and lovely weather! 

xoxo

to new adventures: tour de fat

So the biggest thing that happened this summer was Tour de Fat. 

If you are unfamiliar, Tour de Fat is an epic event hosted by New Belgium in a few cities across America every summer. It's like a carnival with beer and games and lots of bike love.

The focus of the event is presenting the city with their bike trader.  A bike trader is a badass individual who gives up their car (donated to charity) in exchange for a new bike with the commitment to live car-free for a year.

Sound familiar now? Ashley was the Durham trader last year and has been chronicling her adventures here. 

And this year, Jonathan took the leap and said goodbye to the echo and hello to a jamis.  His blog (yes he's blogging!) is here. 

So in June, New Belgium came to Durham and we celebrated the bike! 

Even Chloe made the trip:

The day's events: 

The crowd:

The stage:

Jonathan being presented:

Jonathan post presentation: 

A jumbo game of connect-four:

And just general hanging out:

 

A couple of days after the event Jonathan went and picked out his mate -- a brand new jamis from the great team at oak city cycling:

(this was his test ride - he of course, always wears a helmet!) 

Thanks New Belgium for this incredible adventure! 

xoxo

a classic

There is a place in Durham called Dame's Chicken and Waffles.  

Yes, it's like Roscoe's, but maybe, please forgive me, better. 

Let's break it down.  Chicken and Waffles is composed of two parts: the chicken and the waffle.

The chicken is chicken.  It should be fried in a skillet, with some spice, and come out with some crunch.  Dame's has the basics covered.  The chicken is tasty, good old fried chicken.

Now the waffle, the waffle is where I think you really decide who makes the best chicken and waffles. Dame's shines on this point.  Their waffles are out of this world.  I had the original, and it was delicious and so fluffy.  

We went to Dame's for Lisa's birthday, and it was amazing. It's a very straightforward setup - there are combinations of different pieces of chicken, waffles, and flavored butters. And you get a side.  

I got the basic - a chicken breast, original waffle, maple butter, and a side of mac and cheese...

Thankfully, I was also able to taste basically everything else on the menu from what everyone else ordered:

First of all, everything was crazy delicious. And so filling. I got two meals out of my dinner and was painfully full after each eating. But I need to highlight three items on the menu (in this order): the gingerbread waffle, the greens, the grits.

Apparently, Dame's excels at the g's.  This gingerbread waffle is like the fluffiest piece of gingerbread cake, and their greens are perfectly cooked with a spicy kick. And the grits are soft and creamy, as they should be but so rarely are. 

I almost shouldn't be telling you any of this.  There is already a wait for this place, but it's so good, I can't keep it to myself.

So, the next time you are in Durham, check out Dame's.  

Just be sure to wear some loose pants and leave time for digestion.

xoxo

king of the cake

Berenbaum's is a delightful bakery in Durham.  But they aren't your typical bakery. They have a stand at the farmer's market and they operate a kind-of csa. 

I know, a bakery csa?? 

So much better than the vegetable kind, let's be honest.  

And to top it all off, they operate on a sliding scale.  Crazy amazing.

Now, I don't live in durham (yet), so I don't get to partake in these treats often.  But last Saturday I made a trip to the farmer's market because i won Berenbaum's weekly facebook giveaway!!! 

Boom diggity! 

Not only was I lucky just to be the weekly winner, I was also lucky because this week's giveaway was a King Cake! Right in time for Mardi Gras.  Oh believe me, Ashley and I were dying.  

So, yes, Saturday I picked up the King Cake and it looked like this:

Just beautiful. I wanted to dig right in but I waited patiently until Sunday, because we had decided to eat it while watching the super bowl.  

(Correction: I had decided, Jonathan and Ashley were ready to eat the whole thing Saturday afternoon)

But Sunday came and we ate that King Cake and seriously people, it was the best King Cake ever.

EVER.

I've eaten a lot of King Cake in my day. I am a very experienced baby-finding-king-cake eater. And this one was so perfect. The brioche dough, the cinnamon, the pecans, the icing. 

I could eat one a week.

Oh yes, who found the baby jesus? Ashley of course. 

The irony is lost on no one.

ALSO, of course they have a blog, and of course there is a picture of us with our king cake on it. 

How precious? 

(Yes, they called Jonathan Brian by mistake, don't get confused)

But now all the king cake is gone. And I must wait until next year.  

But next year I will buy two.  I don't care what you say 

xoxo

jake-attack

jake came to visit a couple of weekends ago. He got in late thursday night and then we were off to a solid weekend of fun and eating. 

On friday we took CH by storm and headed to Breadman's for lunch and then met up with the kids for some chill time at Sutton's and then froyo of course.  We did a driving tour of campus and then had dinner with Jonathan, Megan, and Mike at Buns! Later that night we had a night of Cards Against Humanity at the Standard, of course.

Saturday was a Raleigh day.  We started with biscuits from Sunrise and then headed east and grabbed Cook Out for lunch, a first for both Jake and I. 

Cook Out is ridiculous.  I'm not sure if in a good way though.  For a five dollar combo you get a sandwich (burger, chicken sandwich, bbq, etc.) and two sides.  But what can you get for sides? Well many things, including chicken nuggets or a corn dog! They are not even pretending to get  you a vegetable. Really, look at the menu and be disturbed, a little grossed out, and entirely intrigued. 

After gorging ourselves we headed to Big Boss to meet up with Ross, Yuna, and Kelly and enjoy the Brewery tour, which was less of a tour and more of a source for cheap beer (I'm not complaining).  Cool fact, the brewmaster that gave us our tour is the same guy that created Abita Purple Haze! NBD.  He also loves the Razorbacks, check plus. 

Yes, Yuna is Razorback red in this picture:

 

The crates were made in Canada! (just like Yuna)

After spending a few hours in the tap room we went to Beasley's for dinner, where for some reason they gave us twice as many waters as we needed.  Maybe they knew we needed hydration...

Delicious veggie plates for Jonathan and I:

We finished up the day around some bars and food trucks.

Sunday began with Crepes in Carrboro, and then an afternoon in Durham. 

Followed up with lunch at Vespa, and a pilgrimage to Southern Season. We then had a chill night before Jake left early Monday morning. 

It was a lovely visit. It's clearly time for Jake to move here.

Just saying.

xoxo