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!

New Year's Resolutions

I know that New Year's Resolutions have a bad rap.  It's fun to 'set goals' on New Year's Day, and then laugh about giving up in just a few weeks time.  The guy on the radio last week was joking that he'd already blown it, in 3 days.  But I think the fresh new year is a good time to refocus and think ahead about things you want to accomplish over the next year.  So many times during the holidays, we let our good habits go because of the busy schedules we all have, the parties we go to, and whatever other excuses we come up with.  So I like to take the new year and quiet January to set the tone for a good, productive year.  Here are a few of the things I've been thinking about as we adjust to writing 2013.

Use what I have - and get rid of what I don't use.
I'm sure like many of you, I tend to have my favorite sweater, platter, coffee mug, whatever it is.  And I have countless others that just sit in the cabinet or closet and collect dust.  So I really want to try to shake it up a bit - pull out that pretty platter from the back corner, or try to wear the clothes I have in my closet.  And then, if I decide I really don't want or use the items, get rid of them!

Don't worry mom, I won't get rid of anything without asking you first.

Clean out!
I think this is on the list every year, or all the time.  It's amazing how quickly we can accumulate things...and I want to clean out and get rid of things we don't use.  It's been too long since we've had a major clean out, or GROS session...and we need to go it again.  This goes with the first item on my list, of course.  I already turn my hangers around at the beginning of the season to see what I wear and what I don't (when you wear and wash something, it goes back into the closet with a hanger facing the right way.  This way it's easier to see what you haven't worn after a few weeks), but that doesn't mean I'm good at getting rid of the items that I haven't worn after 6 months...I just need to put it in the Goodwill pile when I know I'm not going to wear it.

Try new things.
This is something I feel like we're pretty good at, but I want to be sure to keep it up.  Just a couple of weekends ago we went to Pho 75 in Arlington to try that for the first time.  It was delicious, and we can't wait to go back - and try other new things!

Be healthier.
Eat more veggies, less junk.  Cook more meals on the weekends rather than going out.  Drink more water.  Drink less alcohol.  Eat good breakfasts.  Remember to take vitamins, and not just when I'm getting sick.  Eat dinner earlier, and not so much chocolate after dinner.  Just try to be generally healthier overall.

Move more.
This is always something I think can all work on...moving more.  Both in terms of exercising and during everyday activities.  Get up and walk around the office every so often.  Take the stairs out of the metro instead of the escalator.  Get off the metro a stop early and walk (when it's not so cold and windy, lets be realistic here).  Take Cady for longer walks when we go out.  And then the exercise thing...getting home after 6:30-7pm in the evenings makes finding time for exercise challenging - especially when I want to get dinner started so we're not eating so late (see last item).  I feel like so many evenings by the time I'm home, dinner's made and eaten, it's practically bedtime!  But 30 minutes on the treadmill a couple of days during the week plus being sure to work out on the weekends needs to happen - I want to get that back into my schedule.  I always feel better when I exercise regularly.

Read more books. 
Between all of the social medias and blogs I read, plus magazine subscriptions, I haven't read a book in a long time.  And, really since The Help, I haven't gotten into one I like nearly as much as that one.  I have a big stack that I have recommendations for, and I want to actually read them!  I just need to start one.  Do you have any good books I should add to the list?

Find a good work/life balance.
With the familiarity and flexibility of the old job, I felt like I had a good balance.  I worked longer days so I could have most Fridays off, at least from March through about November, and could manage my schedule how I needed to.  With the new job, I have a lot to learn.  And our schedules seem much more rigid, 8:30-5:30, 5 days a week.  And I think I'm going to be a lot busier day to day, plus traveling a decent amount.  It's going to take some adjusting and diligence on my part to ensure I have a good balance.

Spend good time with good friends.
We are very lucky to have so many friends, both in the DC area and around the world.  I feel that we do a pretty good job of visiting people, seeing RVA friends when in town, and getting together with different couples and groups of friends here.  But I want to make a point to get together with people we really enjoy being around but don't get to see very often.  We have already had dinner with my old roommate who we went all of 2012 without seeing!  And we have plans to see one of M's college friends, wife and little girl this weekend while we are in RVA - we haven't seen them in over a year either!  A few months ago, I decided to try to see a different friend in Richmond each time we were in town - it's so tough with the quick trips and trying to see both parents - but we've done pretty good so far, I want to be sure to keep it up!

Break Cady of the bad habit of barking at the tv.
This seems ridiculous (and it is) and hilarious...to those who don't live with it.  My dog watches tv.  She doesn't just calmly sit on the couch and stare towards the television.  No.  She actively watches tv, specifically the commercials.  And she recognizes when there are dogs on the tv.  And then she flies off the couch barking at those dogs.  Or cows, goats, horses.  You have NO idea how many commercials have animals.  Until you spend an evening with Cady.  She will even be in the other room or upstairs and hear the music of a commercial with an animal and go racing in to bark.  We have to keep a baby gate in front of the tv to keep her off the tv stand.  So we've been working on a new method to attempt to break her of this.  And we're determined.  Time out.  It sounds absurd, I know.  But we've done it with other things and it's worked.  So we have an old leash tied to the leg of the table behind the couch.  Any time she barks, we scold with "no bark!" and clip her in for a few minutes.  We've definitely noticed an improvement...but we have a ways to go.

There are a few other things I'm working on this year, such as actually putting clean clothes away, keeping my piles cleaned up around the house, returning items I don't want during the return period, and trying new recipes.  And getting back to blogging more regularly.

Did you make any 'resolutions' or goals for this year?  How are you doing so far?  Even if you feel like you've 'blown it' or fallen off the wagon, you can always get back on.  You don't have to wait until January 1, 2014, or the beginning of the next month, or the all too familiar "I'll start Monday."  Every little bit along the way can make a big change in your life, and you have to start somewhere!

Thanksgiving in Richmond

One of my favorite holidays of the year is Thanksgiving, and I can't believe it has already come and gone.  Time this year is just flying by.  As we do every year, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Richmond.  We split time with both parents, and then my mom hosts my aunt, uncle cousins and kids for the big dinner on Thursday.

The delicious turkey and cousin Jason's creative and beautiful turkey plate

The calm before the storm dinner!

Cheers to another wonderful meal!

Makes me hungry again just looking at it!

When cousin Kristin and husband Steve showed up wearing their favorite sports jerseys for the big Skins-Dallas game that afternoon, Dad dug in the back of his dresser for this beauty.  I proudly wore it all day - Go Skins!

After all of the delicious food, it was time for dessert!  Including the ice cream turkey.

I made MK's delicious pumpkin spiced cannoli dip - it was a huge hit!

Quick family photo op

You can't forget cutie Pearly Sue, my parents sweet dog.

Cady was definitely tuckered out after the big day chasing kids, playing ball, and catching any food before it hit the floor (or Pearl got it).  She slept for days after Thanksgiving!

There's so much to be thankful for this year...I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

And before we know it, it'll be Christmas!

Night out in Richmond

A couple of weeks ago, while MB had lots of work projects here in DC to do, I headed down to visit with the parents for the weekend.  Saturday night we headed out on the town to check out some new (to us) places.

We started out at Barrel Thief at the corner of Patterson and Libbie.  This small wine store is also a cafe with some tables in the back.  They have a nice wine list, as well as options to pick a bottle off their shelves.  We had a couple of glasses and some snacks - the plum bruschetta was wonderful!

Then we drove across town to Church Hill for dinner at The Roosevelt.  

We were a little early for our reservation, so went to the bar and ordered some cocktails.  The place is not very big, and it was packed.  They had quite an impressive fancy cocktail list. Mom had her (current) favorite, a dark and stormy while I tried the Seersucker.  It was amazing!  Marker's Mark with sweet tea syrup and a halved lemon that was grilled and frozen.  

Yum.  We ordered a Virginia favorite, the Linden Hardscrabble, for dinner.  The menu was very interesting with creative combinations.  We all had a hard time choosing!  Mom and I shared the beet and watermelon salad, which was fantastic and light.  I had the pork shoulder special with grits and grilled peaches.  Everyone at our table just about licked their plates.  We finished by sharing the foie gras pound cake and ice cream.  

Everything we had was just delicious, and the prices were very reasonable.  I can't wait to go back, and next time take M with us.  I'm sure he'd flip over things like the crispy pig head terrine and foie gras pound cake!  

Richmond wedding celebration

A couple of weeks ago, we headed home to Richmond to celebrate the wedding of a dear friend of mine from high school.  It is so wonderful to see Carrie and Josh together and as happy as can be.

The gorgeous wedding took place at Willow Oaks Country Club.  

Here comes the bride!

The new Dr. and Mrs!

Carrie was absolutely stunning and Josh just beamed when she walked down the aisle with her dad and through the whole ceremony.

The evening was beautiful, and we all enjoyed posing for pictures with the cute props that she had set up out on the terrace.

It was so fun to catch up with some good high school friends who I just don't get to see often enough!

Us with the happy couple!

I couldn't be more thrilled for the happy couple.  It was so special for us all to celebrate this important day, we wouldn't have missed it for the world.  

Congratulations Carrie and Josh!!

Ghostprint Gallery

Last week, I was in Richmond for dinner with my parents to celebrate my dad's birthday.  Richmond has a very vibrant art scene, and my mom loves going to the galleries and taking art classes.  There are lots of galleries that have sprung up on Broad Street, and mom knows the owners of a lot of them.  They have an event on the first Friday of the month where the galleries all have an open house, a lot of times to showcase a new exhibition.  A couple of them have started having artist preview receptions the night before.

Ghostprint Gallery is the one we visited for their artist preview with Juan Perdiguero.  He was there for preview, and was very interesting to talk with.  He is from Madrid, Spain, and also teaches an art class at SUNY, so he splits his time between the 2 places.  This collection is called Perros Indalo.  He studied and photographed the dogs in Spain during an international artists residency he participated in.

The artwork was amazing.  Juan explained to us how he created these gorgeous pieces.  The backgrounds were part of the photograph that he took, just blown up really large to focus on one aspect of the background.  So he first puts the photo paper on the canvas to highlight the background - the one below was the center of a flower that was in the original photograph. 

So then he takes ink and makes the outline and full shape of the dog.  Then, this is the amazing part.  He uses paper towels to rub and remove the ink to make the dogs face.  So it starts completely dark, and he ends up with these incredibly detailed pieces.  The eyes were beautiful - and the expressions that the dogs have!  We were joking that one was waiting for food, and one was probably getting his back scratched, and another wanted to play...

While these pictures are cool, they really don't show the beauty as seeing them in person did.  The one below is my favorite - I just love the expression and his ears!

My parents love dogs as much as I do, and we really fell in love with this artist and his work.  I hope you've enjoyed a little piece of the exhibit!  This show is on display until May 26 at the gallery - if you're in Richmond, go see it!


All of the photographs are from the Ghostprint Gallery website.