Weekend in Kennebunk, ME!

At the beginning of May (look at me, only 1 month behind, not 7!), I hopped on a plane and headed north.  One of my best friends Emily who lives just outside of London was in the States visiting her parents for a couple of weeks, and I basically invited myself up to crash the party for the weekend.  I was dying to see her and meet her precious bundle of joy!!  A few weeks prior, Em had asked me to be the godmother to her beautiful baby girl, and I am so thrilled.  I couldn't let a visit to the States go without seeing both of them!

The main objective of the weekend - get loads of snuggle time with this little peanut!! 

The the weather was sunny and beautiful.  It was May Day in quaint Kennebunk, so there was a parade and vendors out and everything.  

Baby girl stayed with her grandparents a few times while Em and I snuck out for some good girl time.  It was great for Grammy and Gramps to get some quality baby time, and for Em and I to do some shopping and brunching.

What's a trip to Maine without lobster?!  Saturday night we went to Nunan's, apparently the best place in town to get good lobster.  

I had the Number 3 - which determined the number and weight of the lobster I got.  Em put us all to shame when she ordered and cleaned out 2 big suckers, but I was happy with just 1 and a cup of NE Clam Chowda.  And of course my Lays potato chips and pickles.  I had to try the local beer, Shipyard, too.

 

Finished!

The rest of the weekend consisted of snuggling and giggling and reading books and enjoying this great age and being with my beautiful goddaughter!

Thank you Grammy and Gramps for sharing your weekend with me!!  I always love visiting you in Maine, look forward to next time!

RVA weekend

I love when we're in RVA for the weekend visiting parents and get to try some of the new, cool places in town.  The weekend after Thanksgiving was one of the best we've had - good food, some culture at the museum, and a new local brewery! 

Friday night, after a couple of drinks with friends at Havanna 59, we headed over to Pasture on Grace Street for dinner.  

We mostly just had a handful of  'snacks' and 'small plates' to share.  We had the pimento cheese with Ritz crackers, fried okra, Brussels sprouts, and steak tartar, as well as a few others.  Everything was delicious - and they had a great beer list with tons of local/VA craft brews to choose from.

Saturday afternoon, following morning coffee with friends and some shopping, Mom and I went to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  They were hosting a special exhibit of glass artist Dale Chihuly.  

In May 2010, the museum completed a massive expansion with beautiful gardens.  It was a gorgeous fall day, and dozens of people were enjoy the sunshine and setting.

The pieces were just amazing.  These photos don't even begin to show the mass and beauty of these displays.  If you ever get a chance to see a Chihuly exhibit, don't miss the opportunity.  Here are just a few photos I took from our afternoon at the museum.  

That evening, we made our first trip out to Hardywood Park Brewery.  The place was packed and they had a live band playing.  What a great addition to the Richmond craft beer scene!  We got a few samplers, which was great - we all got to try several different beers!  

In addition to visiting the brewery, you can find their beers in dozens of restaurants and stores around town.  Highly recommend, and looking forward to getting back to town to try some of their new releases!

Richmond is such a vibrant town with so many cool things going on and places to go.  We always enjoy getting back home to visit family and friends and explore the city!

Dinner at Daikaya

It's been a few weeks months since we had dinner at Daikaya...but I'm finally getting around to telling you about it!  The newest ramen place in town (or at least it was when we were there) is also one of the hottest places to go.  Located right next to Graffiato and across the street from the Verizon Center, it's a must try.

 Not knowing too much about ramen other than my one experience at Toki Underground, it was a bit intimidating to go to this hot new ramen shop.  But honestly, there aren't many options and everything's delicious - so you just have to go for it.  

I got the Japanese beer Sapporo and M got Sake.  There aren't many options for alcoholic beverages...but that forced us to try something new!

We got the dumplings and the 2 different ramen dishes to try both - and honestly I don't even remember which 2 we got, but they were both delicious.  

Definitely recommend going.  Even if there's a long wait, they will take your phone number and text you when a table's available - and you can just go next door for a glass of draft prosecco!

When we were there, just the first floor ramen shop was open...since then, they've opened an Izakaya on the  second floor.  According to their website, an Izakaya is "a type of restaurant that serves Japanese comfort food to accompany a wide range of drinks."  Guess we need to go back!  DC has such a diverse dining scene, it's always an adventure to try something new!