a walk in the park

I was terrible this summer with blogging. really terrible. things were quite busy and haven't really calmed down, but it's time to be better. 

A lot of fun things did occur along with the work, including a trip to dc to see our favorite duo casey & ashley. 

We walked around the city, sampled a lot of bars, ate some great food (including tacos!) and biked to a micro-brewery. 

And yes, biking in DC is ten-times better than NC -- there are no hills.

The main event was exploring the Theodore Roosevelt Island, which was a great walk around through some un-manicured trails to a peaceful (and shaded) memorial in the center.

Obviously, Chloe had a blast:

As did the rest of us.

The big man on campus if you will:

It's a great escape to nature and from the traditional DC stops if you are looking for something new.

xoxo

science of beer

The Museum of Life and Science in Durham hosted an after-hours event on the Science of Beer. So of course we (Ashley, Jonathan, and I) went.

There were food trucks outside but we were ready to head in for some beer...I mean science.

Once inside, it was pretty busy and we were surrounded by beer. And yes I mean beer. It was really an awesome beer tasting with some science to entertain along the way.  

Jonathan getting riled up about something:

Basically, you walk around, stop at a booth have some beer, do a little talking, and maybe learn a little science. But there was something about this event that made it even better:

THE CRAFTING STATIONS

Yes people.  The wise founders of this event incorporated some beer-related crafting booths to take a break and enjoy coozie-decorating or coaster making.  A wonderful idea that provided me with a good deal of excitement   However, they were out of coozies by the time we made our way over to that area, so that was a little disappointing.  They must have underestimated the inner crafter of beer drinkers. 

Anywho, there was also a Cabot cheese booth, which was a much needed and a delicious food element to this walk around:

Do you see how much cheese she is rocking?

The dill one was my favorite, and now I can't find it anywhere. 

Major life problems.

After drinking so very much beer, we headed over to bull city burger for some food and water.  

Yes, the water comes in mason jars, adorable but almost the norm now, and no, the burgers were not that spectacular.  They were not bad, they were in fact good.  But not great, and the fries were fine, as was the pickled platter.  Overall it was overpriced decent food.  I wouldn't go back.

To recap: yeah to Museum of Life and Science for putting on such a spectacular event, just bring more coozies next time!

xoxo

nashvegas for the win

So, we finished the core exam and needed to hit the road, so Ashley, Shira and I set out for the lovely, Nashville.  

It's actually a good eight hour drive for us and unfortunately we couldn't take that much time off, so we had a short adventure.  After getting in we set out for the main point of our adventure: 

hot chicken at Prince's. 

Hot chicken you ask? oh yeah.  basically really spicy fried chicken. No really spicy. And so delicious. 

After being overwhelmed with joy we had a fancy drink at patterson house. It was pretty awesome after a we got passed the snooty host.  The service was awesome and the drinks were delicious and fancy.  A recommended location for an intimate cocktail experience.

And who doesn't love a spherical ice cube??

We rested up and then took Nashville by storm on Sunday, starting with brunch at Mad Donna's, which was filled with delicious food and the best bloody mary bar ever.  ever, people.

Post brunch, we headed back to the center of town and to the country music hall of fame and museum.  It's not a cheap way to spend an afternoon, but a pretty excellent one. If you enjoy some bluegrass and/or country music, it's a must-see.

Some of the awesome posters from Hatch Show Print:  

And some love for Dolly, of course:

As well as a little bit of everything else:

Really, it's awesome.  You should check it out. 

After a few hours of soaking it all in, we explored the rest of Nashville, including the Historic East End with records, vintage shops, and ice cream.

Yeah, some old bike pedals, if you need them:

And of course, a butter lamb mold!!! I can't handle it.  This is our thing apparently...

Unfortunately, it was only half of a mold, so we passed it up.  I'm pretty sure we will run across another one soon enough.

Some of the fun flare of Nashvegas:

And awesome ice cream of course:

After the afternoon fun, we stumbled into a good old townie bar and happend onto some good live bluegrass.

We then headed to a fabulous bar, no. 308. 

We loved it here.  Way too much.  Five hours with great new bartender friends, two-for-one drinks, shots (i know), and some food, because that seemed like a good idea...

Oh yeah, just look at this place:

I could kind of live here.

Oh and then we decided we had to leave while we still could and headed to find some more music at the station inn.  A good old local bar where people just play some great music, in a straight-forward bar:

Monday we grabbed some coffee and hung out at Hatch Show Print before driving home. I want a job here, fyi.

Yes, it was a lovely brief getaway and introduced us to the lovely city of nashville.  

xoxo

ps. see you soon nashville, very soon please.

oh sweet savannah

You are always so lovely, even in the heat of summer.

Jonathan and i went down for the weekend. He had never been and obviously, I'm a big fan.

We drove down on Friday and stayed in the Historic District, which was perfect.  After getting settled in we strolled down by the water front, which is really just not that exciting.  It's pretty touristy and the cobblestone can be a bit cumbersome. 

We then walked around the district until Broughton, the shopping drag, and settled on Kayak Kafe for dinner and then some drinks at the hotel bar, which is always a winner. 

Saturday was full on historic district day.  We walked to Forsyth Park and explored the pup-friendly farmer's market (always a treat) and felt the heat.  We also discovered a wonderful game, but that's for another next post...

We explored the squares, and shop-filled streets, read up on the history, cooled off in the Telfair museums, visited the  Colonial Park Cemetary and had lunch at the SoHo South Cafe

lunch at that cafe.  We followed that up with some always delicious ice cream from Leopolds

After a much need siesta we headed back out for a drink at Moon River, which was just okay, and then to Jen's and Friends, because who doesn't love a ridiculous girly cocktail? Apparently no one. Really. The bar had the most surprising clinetal, very male heavy, and a sportsbar kind of male...we enjoyed some of less ridiculous varieties (read fruity as opposed to creamy/chocolaty) 

We finished up the day with dinner at Ruan Thai and a trip to the pool

Sunday was an out of town day of sorts.  We spent the morning exploring the Bonaventure Cemetary.

And then had lunch at my absoulte favorite establishment in all of Savannah: Sisters of the New South. It's seriously the best soul food, in the world. 

Then we headed out to Tybee to check out the ocean.  Unfortunately, we were not alone and literally could not find parking so after a very brief trip to the island we stopped at Fort Pulaski and explored it for a bit. We missed the canon firing (lame) because they were hosting a baseball game with a team from another fort... It was way too hot for that nonsense. 

We headed back into town and chilled out by the pool before hitting the streets.  We found a drink at Six Pence Pub, which was a funny little place, and then some dinner at Mellow Mushroom, which is just as good as it is here.  

Yes, i don't normally see the point of eating at establishments I have at home, but the limitations on vegetarian options was too annoying at that point so we went with what we new to be a winner.

We finished up the evening at the Crystal Beer Parlor for dessert and well, beer and some very friendly bartenders.  We got caught in a funny windstorm that turned into rain after we got back to the hotel, but it did help to cool the town down.

Monday we wrapped up things in Savannah by visiting the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist,  the Mickve Israel Temple, the Owens-Thomas House (which is part of the Telfair), and lunch at Clary's Cafe, which was too touristy for us. 

Then we said goodbye to Georgia and Savannah, for a while at least and headed home.  On the drive back, we did the unthinkable: we stopped at South of the Border.  I know, how could we? But the prospect of ridiculous postcards was so appealing we made the mistake.  It wasn't worth it, it's a very strange and unfortunate place.  Overall Savannah was as lovely as ever, though a bit toasty and lacking in some veggie-head friendly options.  

xoxo

and then nyc

after a quick weekend at the beach it was off to nyc to see Casi and Sus graduate with their masters from Columbia with lots of family around. 

The first night in town we headed over to il bambino for many delicious crostini and the best flourless chocolate cake of my life.  I'm not kidding. I've had my fair share of flourless chocolate cake and this is by far the most spectacular. If ever around astoria, you must try it. 

The next day we headed over to a couple museums, including of course, the NHM, because I love the dinosaurs.

After graduation there was another great lunch at gobo. Again, many small dishes, a favorite style of my family. There was this avocado tartar with a lime chili sauce that we devoured: 

And finally, graduation dinner with all the fambam was at Alta. Although there were many delicious meals throughout the trip, there is no question, this was the best. Because there were so many of us we were able to get almost everything on the menu.  My favorites: fried goat cheese with lavender honey, crispy brussel sprouts with apple, and the shrimp & chorizo skewers.  These mini creme brulees weren't too shabby either: 

so much good food. how will i ever recover?

I forgot to mention the basics that were also consumed of bagels, scallion pancakes, and italian food. 

xoxo

dc for a minute

we had a conference in dc for a few days right after the semester ended.  

so we went to founding farmers and it was pretty damn good. 

we started with a round of fancy drinks, mine of course was gin based with muddled lemon, delicious. 

then we had some serious fried green tomatoes and crostini with brie, apples, and onion jam, 

both as delectable as they look. 

 

And then there was the main course, holy moly, this is where things really got out of hand:

lobster mac and cheese, crab cakes, salmon, and scallops with butternut squash risotto. 

 

Yup. It was all as awesome. My crab cakes were the best. We voted, so it's not just me saying that. 

Oh, but of course, we had to get dessert, you know make sure we tried everything.

Red velvet cake and chocolate mousse: 

 

I don't know if you can tell but that mousse bowl was about a quart and a half in size, and was probably the best mousse i've ever consumed.  We barely touched the cake, I had one bite, leftovers were taken.

On a free afternoon Laney and I went to the Renwick where, you know, they house American crafts. It was great, and I decided that after grad school I will just move in and be the resident crafter. 

Sound like a plan? 

And of course, we had to make a stop at the NHM to see the dinosaurs

I do love dc. 

xoxo

ps.

we may have left our mark on a paper table cloth: