Firenze (AKA Florence)

October 15, 2015October 15, 20151 Comment

We caught a train from Venice to Florence and checked into Hotel Spadei- down the street from the duomo and brand new, this was the most modern & updated place we stayed during our trip. And it had robes which make a hotel top notch in my book. They also had a little spiral staircase up to the top with a viewing room of Florence, which was a nice touch. Some how, we once again ended up with the only room a balcony. Not complaining.

We kicked off the afternoon with a quick bite to eat then explored the Boboli Gardens, behind the Pitti Palace, which were designed for the Medici family. Not nearly as beautiful as Versailles, but expansive. We started at the lowest point and worked our way up, ending at Belvedere Fortress which had a panoramic view of the city on one side, and olive trees and estates on the other. After the long walk/hike we were able to hang out at an awesome restaurant at the fortress that had a pop-up/outdoor club feel. It felt so strange in such a historic place, but we really enjoyed it.

That night we ate at Coquinarius (recommended by a friend) and had one of my favorite dishes of the trips. My stomach is growling just thinking about it!! Pear ravioli. Buttery and perfectly cooked, with just the right amount of cheese. The owner was very knowledgeable on wine and made great suggestions from the area. (At this point in the trip we were still ordering bottles of wine, instead of cheap house wine.) After dinner, we checked out a local brewery, Mostodolce, which was very cool, but the beer was just meh. If the beer isn’t on par somewhere, trust me, Dan is quick to point out what they did wrong. I loved that the walls were plastered with drawings and the cozy vibe was really nice.

We spent the next morning at the Uffizi (I finally learned how to pronounce it) surrounded by madonnas. There had to be dozens. Maybe hundreds. The word Uffizi means offices in Italian, which was the building’s original purpose. The amount of art the Medici family collected is amazing. I can’t imagine living in that time, going in for a meeting, and walking past works by Botticelli and Michelangelo. Stunning! The place is enormous… we thought we had reached the end only to continue on and on. We rushed through the last bit because it started to become overwhelming. And we were hungry for some pizza. So we found a cute patio at Trattoria Garibaldi then followed it up with some gelato at Perche No. Mine had fresh cherries in it. Dan’s was stracciatella…which is what he ordered every time. Boring.

That night was another amazing meal at Il Santo Bevitore. It was pretty busy, but they were able to squeeze us in. While we were waiting, we sat along the river and watched the sun set and it was so cliche and magical. Then the restaurant itself was romantic and THEN the duomo was stunning at night, the white reflecting the moonlight. Such a solid date night. We attempted to take a good photo, but weren’t successful. You’ll see.

Then we were in bed, to wake up bright and early for our Cinque Terre trip the next day!

36 Hours in Venice

October 2, 2015October 2, 20152 Comments

Oh Venice, you were just amazing. This was Dan’s favorite city of the trip and because he was so excited, it made me more excited about seeing the city for the 2nd time. He even wanted to wake up early to explore! Considering he’s a dude who loves his sleep, this was a big surprise.

We flew into Venice in the early afternoon and took the longgg ride on the Vaporetto (AKA Venice’s water bus) from the airport to our hotel, near St. Mark’s square. We somehow ended up in a room with a canal view and our own private balcony. Luck was with us. And then we ventured off for our first bout of exploring, with a requisite stop at St. Mark’s Square to see all the pigeons and then further on, some good seafood at a new spot called Local. Sidenote- make dinner reservations in Venice!! I had tried before we left but every one I spoke with was on holiday while we were there (like most of Italy- Agh to live in Europe) and I gave up. Luckily we found a place. Our server at Local was awesome and recommended a bacaro for a good beer selection for after dinner- Bacaro Risorto. Locals were spilling out into the streets with a drink in hand and the bartenders were surprisingly knowledgeable on beer. We tried several collaborations between Sierra Nevada and an Italian brewery outside Padua, Crak. It really topped of the night.

The next morning we went to Ca’ d’Oro- I’ve always found the gothic style to be a just stunning. As beautiful as it was on the outside, and while the museum was nice, I wouldn’t recommend it if you have limited time.

Afterwards, we went on a free walking tour. The stories of the history of Venice were great, but what I really loved was hearing about everyday life in Venice. Living in a place that isn’t easy to get to and has limited supplies, a place that floods every year, and what do they do with their trash?! Life styles are much different without cars 🙂 After the tour, we tried some cicchetti (Venetian tapas) at a local place near the Rialto bridge and the owner was just the friendliest.

With daylight left to burn, we hoped on the water bus to Burano. Famous for lace making, I was in it for the colorful houses. I kept thinking… wouldn’t it be odd if people from all over the world kept taking pictures of your home? I still took pictures… but at least felt a little bad about it 🙂 We also stopped into a grocery store where they poured wine out of a keg for 2 euro. You were supposed to bring your own jug. Whoops. Luckily they had a spare, giant, water bottle hanging around for us.

Once we were back in Venice, we did like the Venetians and had an aperitif. Everyone typically stands either in, or outside, the bars, so we joined. Spritzes are really popular drinks but after we tried one, we decided to stick with wine. Then we headed on to dinner to try some risotto- according to our walking tour guide, it’s their best dish outside seafood. And yes, it was delicious. He also warned that the pizza in Venice isn’t as great as the rest of Italy since they aren’t allowed to have wood burning ovens! News to us.

And then some last minute walking around before our train to Florence… Those doorbells! And that light on the canal! Insert lots of emojis with heart eyes. Mm, love mornings.

Over all, we didn’t do many can’t miss, traditionally touristy things. And it was fantastic. I think if you’re in a place that makes you ohh and ahh just by walking around, it can be great to just stroll and take it all in. I say that having already done some of the touristy things and really enjoying them 😉 ha! I do think Venice gets a bad wrap- people think it’s only tourists and just packed to the gills. Which is kind of true if you stay in the main areas. But if you manage to get off a bit, it’s magical! Oh and we loved the pharmacy with the counter of actual Venice residents- when we visited it was around 52,000.

20 Hours in Istanbul

September 22, 2015September 22, 20151 Comment

After a lot of research over a couple months, the best deal I could find on a flight was with Turkish Airways. They all flew direct from Houston to Istanbul which was several hours past Italy, but several hundred dollars cheaper. One of the options had a 20 hour layover in Istanbul and since Dan and I wanted to visit anyway, it worked out! Unfortunately, we got there too late to do pretty much any of the touristy things. We still managed to take advantage of our brief adventure and enjoyed our one night in Istanbul.

I knew I wanted to stay in the middle of everything and not waste time on getting around, so we picked Cheers Hostel, just a few blocks away from the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia (or Aya Sofya). Baggage claim took quite a while and caused us to miss entrance to both 😦 Luckily, you can look at the outside at any hour! And we were just really excited to finally be there after the 12 hour flight. I’ve always thought that the best way to see a city is to walk it (with the exception of Houston- don’t try). Unfortunately, Dan twisted his ankle a couple days before we left, so he was still mending- I’ll spare you the photos of his bruised, swollen ankle, but it was pretty bad. After debating a taxi, we still ended up walking quite a ways, across the bridge and over into the younger, more modern side of town where we had dinner. Below the road part of the bridge, there are dozens of restaurants, I’m assuming overpriced for location, but maybe still good? We took a pass. But it was neat to see locals fishing was the side- when you walk on the lower part, there are a ton of fishing lines dropping down next to you into the water.

: Blue Mosque

: Hagia Sophia

: Clearly we need

: a selfie stick.

We ate at Karakoy Lokantasi, which was fantastic. I was in love with the turquoise tile covering the walls of the entire place. It was definitely a good meal to kick off 2 solid weeks of eating. They had a tiny balcony that people took turns leaning out of to take a smoke.

After dinner we perused the street shops where I bought some turkish towels (yay!! these were SO much more affordable than the ones I had been wanting online) and we tried the local liquor, Yeni Raki. I kind of had to force that down… I’m not the biggest fan. I also HAD to try a turkish kebab. Even though we just dinner. Don’t judge, they are one of my absolute favorite foods. Apparently I should have done more research on where to find a good one, because the one we tried was kind of a let down

The next morning we had just enough time to go into the blue mosque before we had to leave to catch our flight. SO glad it ended up working out- I know that there is no way to see everything in a city when you have limited time traveling (even if you live there for several years!) but this was one thing I didn’t want to miss. It was just beautiful. Women have to have their heads covered, hence my scarf.

Istanbul is such an interesting city- the history behind it is unbelievable. In terms of visiting, just because it is so conservative, but they also have this huge nightlife scene. Chances are good we won’t make it back, but I’m glad we had the opportunity to stop by 🙂

Ciao!

August 21, 2015Leave a comment

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust

Dan and I leave for Italy TONIGHT! It will be his first visit and it’s going to be awesome seeing everything with him by my side. Plus we’ll be celebrating our one year anniversary! I’m a little in shock that it’s here and also crazy excited to just be there already, relaxing and enjoying an extended vacation. We start the remodel almost as soon as we get home, so preparing for that and a 2 week trip has been a little stressful. Okay, a lot stressful. But definitely the good kind of stress, thinking of all the fun things coming up. And also my own fault… ☺ Dan knows we are going to Italy, and I think he knows which cities, but that’s about it. HA. Lots of surprises in store for him! I, on the other hand, have a big spreadsheet with a tab for each city with ideas on what to do. Type A at its’ best. Or worst if you hate plans? I promise to still be spontaneous and not let a spreadsheet dictate the entire trip. And we are way open to suggestions if you have any! SO if you’re curious, here’s the itinerary:

Houston>>Istanbul>>Venice>>Florence>>Cinque Terre>>Arezzo>>Amalfi Coast>>Rome>>Houston

I think Dan is most looking forward to Venice, and it’s a toss-up for me between just hanging in the middle of nowhere in Tuscany, and swimming in the Blue Grotto in Capri.

Unfortunately, Dan twisted his ankle this week while playing basketball. It’s bruised all the way around and so, so swollen. It’s such terrible timing but he’s been trying to just keep it propped up with ice on it as much as possible. Fingers crossed it’ll be healed enough by the time we get there, but we may renting a Vespa in every city if not. Thus getting to live out my Lizzie McGuire dreams.

And if you’re wondering about Barley, he’ll be staying with his grandparents out in Georgetown, enjoying time away from the city ☺ Big thanks to them for watching our favorite pup. I only cried a tiny bit after leaving him. Dan says to think of it as doggie summer camp.

Ciao for now!

**photos from the best Box family vaca in 2013**

The Boxes Take Music City

August 17, 20153 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, we went on a vacation with my family to Nashville! My mom has gotten really into genealogy, so they spent the week doing research in the area and visiting family, and Dan and I met up with them for a long weekend. And let me say, they don’t call it music city for nothing. Even some of the boutiques had bands playing! I liked to think of it as my personal serenade.

My parents rented a cute, old house for the week right off 12th South (which was an awesome neighborhood- more below) and it ended up being a few houses down from where my cousin lived when she first moved to Nashville! Small world- I love those coincidences.

We flew in Thursday night and feasted on Southern cooking at its’ finest at Monell’s. The whole meal is served family style, potentially sharing with others if your party isn’t large enough to fill the table! Plus, it was in a beautiful historic home- with a neon sign in the front window 😉

FRIDAY

Brunch at Marche! We waited almost an hour for a table, which was a little crazy for a Friday, but I’d say it was worth it. My savory crepes were delightful, the coffee just right, and my almond croissant too yummy (they were out of the chocolate croissants… why are they always out of the chocolate ones?!).

We peeked around East Nashville for a hot second and went into Woodland Wine Merchant, which was definitely the coolest liquor store I’ve ever been in (or “Purveyor of Uncommon Wine, Spirits & Beer” as they call it). The branding is crazy adorable, also.

Next up was a visit to The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s home. It has been incredibly well maintained and the grounds were beautiful. We did quite a bit of walking to see it all. The audio tour was also fantastic, and we all learned a lot listening to that.

My mom had read about a neat vintage shop (I guess that’s what you’d call it?!) called Old Made Good that we stopped at next. They take old items and put a twist on them- no photos allowed in the shop, but the floors were covered in pink glitter. My dad absolutely despises glitter (3 girls on drill team will do that to you) so it was funny to see his reaction. Some of the funniest pieces were old paintings with a surprise update added. It reminded me of this clip from The Last Man on Earth (does anyone watch that show other than Dan and I?!). Seriously couldn’t stop laughing for DAYS over this. Oh, and BUNNIES!

We ate dinner at The Pharmacy, which I could easily see myself hanging out at on a regular basis if I were a Nashvillian (?). Cold beer, perfectly shaded biergarten, and some seriously tasty burgers. I had the stroganoff burger and now my mouth is watering. Don’t you hate it when you find something so great and can’t get it anywhere else?? Not that I should be eating stroganoff burgers on the regular…

I just really adore this guy. I actually smile every time I see him smile.

That night, the young ones ventured down the street to check out some local joints. We tried The Flipside, Embers Ski Lodge, and 12 South Taproom & Grill. Dan hit it off with a man at the bar (who apparently is the head of a big music association and has an impressive resume) who recommended we go see some live music at Station Inn. This venue has been around forever and I’m SO glad we went. The band was very talented and I think most of them had been playing their entire lives. I especially loved the banjo player, who absolutely killed it.

SATURDAY

We had brunch at Pinewood Social which is the coolest concept. There is a swimming pool. At the restaurant. And a bowling ally. And just really neat places to hang out. I didn’t want to creep anyone out by taking a picture of the pool (and thus people in their swimwear), but it is just the most genius idea for hot climates. You can reserve lounge chairs and have all your drinks brought out to you, just like a country club. The design of the place was also AWESOME and I couldn’t stop looking at everything. Especially the stork wallpaper.

We shopped for a while before heading over Tennessee Brew Works, which was probably Dan’s favorite part of the trip (surprise, surprise). The layout of the space was great- double-decker patio and a plenty of tables upstairs, with plexiglass overlooking the brewery. Considering my love of basil, it’s no surprise that I really enjoyed their basil farmhouse ale. Dan, can you please make lots of beer with herbs?!

Our twins!!!

My mom planned the entire trip with pretty much no help (thanks mom :)), but my one contribution was picking dinner- Rolf & Daughters. Maaaybe one of my favorite restaurants I’ve been too. Is that too extreme? I loved everything about it. Rose? check. In an old warehouse with twinkly lights? check. Super fresh ingredients? check.

Considering we were in Nashville, we couldn’t miss out on visiting Broadway. However, visiting Broadway with an under 21-year-old is a little tricky. We did manage one spot where we somehow devoured curly fries… after our large dinner. Healthy. Tara, Dan, and I stuck around to hear some more music and check out Robert’s Western World before we headed home. Broadway was fairly similar to 6th street in Austin, with a country twist, and if you’re into bachelorette parties, it’s your spot! Glad we saw it, but not even close to my favorite part of Nashville.

SUNDAY

We couldn’t leave with some Tennessee barbeque. I’m really picky about my beef (hello, Texas), so I generally order pork outside my home state. Edley’s is pretty famous in Nashville and definitely hit the spot.

We spent the afternoon touring another plantation- Belle Meade. If you get married here, you are lucky. It was gorgeous. The family history was also really interesting, as they were the premiere thoroughbred stud farm. Several famous race horses can trace their lineage back to horses owned by this family (think Seabiscuit and American Pharaoh). We also got to see one of my cousins and his adorable family! Unfortunately, no pics 😦

Thanks mom & dad for a great trip!! I can officially add Nashville to my very short list of places I’d live outside TX.

Dallas Days

July 21, 2015July 21, 2015Leave a comment

I’ve gotten to head home and visit my family twice over the last month, which has been great!! When I moved to Houston, I kind of resigned myself to never living in the same city as my parents again, so visiting lots help make that feel a little less depressing. I was able to see best friends from high school, celebrate at a baby & wedding shower, shop for house things with my mom & sisters, and explore Dallas a bit. Having grown up in the suburbs, Dallas always feels new and now that Tara has lived in Deep Ellum for the last year, it’s fun going with an actual local 😉

Some pictures from the weekends, even though I slacked a bit:

^^ Laura & Alex’s wedding shower at my parent’s and Ash’s Baby shower

^^Barley hated every second of learning to swim.

Lunch with mom’s at Celebrity Cafe

^^He’s gotten huge. To scale: Dan is 6′ 4″.

Dinner in Ft. Worth (whoops, not Dallas) for Tara’s birthday

^^ My parents treated us to a really fun night out at Trinity Groves, which lots of great restaurant concepts. We tried LUCK (Local Urban Craft Kitchen) for dinner, which only serves beers from DFW, and Off Site Kitchen for games & drinks.

Barley had a great time too 🙂

Beach Getaway- Cancun Edition

July 16, 2015July 16, 20152 Comments

I would never consider myself a “beach person” due to the whole pale skin/not the best swimmer thing, but being on the water and relaxing to the sound of waves is incredible. Luckily, our in-laws are super generous and treated us to a little weekend getaway to Cancun over the 4th of July at Villa del Palmar:) So grateful to have parents on both sides who love hanging out with us. It was 3 days of doing mostly nothing but hang pool/beach side with pina coladas and it was perfect. Oh and we ate a lot too. We had to make the all inclusive worth it 😉 Preface: Dan uses beach vacas as an excuse to wear only tanks and my eyebrows get even curlier in the humidity. See documentation below.

DAY UNO: Isla Mujeres

The beach here is just stunning. And we had to kick off our first day of vacation with a beer before we could explore further.

The island had some fun shops we checked out. I was on the hunt for a good hat and found a great deal- much better than the one I loved at J. Crew:) Dan’s mom was on the hunt for a giant thing of vanilla, which was surprisingly harder to find than expected. At least the giant version for a good price! I really enjoyed just walking around and seeing the murals/ every day life on the island.

Definitely our favorite stop ^^ It was a father/son studio with amazing wood work. We got a bowl, which is going to look great on our *future* island filled with fruit and Dan’s parents got a cutting board. The wood comes from Mexico and is incredibly heavy. It’s so tough that the artist uses a chain saw to do his work! Impressive. The dad invited us to sit down for a drink and we made a new friend in his dog. Just the friendliest family all around. Dan’s parents got his number and told him they’d treat him to a steak dinner if he were ever in Austin 🙂

We also found a really great, tiny, B&B on the rocky side of the island to hang out at for a bit. The owner was a bit of a jerk but the view couldn’t be beat. I also had the BEST mojito of my life. Dan and I have always struggled to make a good mojito on our own (hint: just use crystal light mojito mix- less calories, tastes great, so easy, even if it is cheating). But this was made using coconut water and mmmm yum.

DAY all the others 🙂

After we got back to the resort, we stayed put the rest of the trip and I did a lot of the above ^^^ Would highly recommend The Signature of All Things which is written by the same author of Eat, Pray, Love. It got me through the whole trip (I’m a bit of a speed reader) and has so many stories within the story as it follows the dad’s life, and his daughter’s. It’s about a botanist in the 1800’s, but I promise, it’s much more intriguing than it sounds.

Dan built a killer sand castle and we spent loads of time throwing the frisbee. At one point, I ran into the ocean to try and make the catch, but hit a patch of rocks and face planted. Dan proceeded to leap over me in pursuit. His priorities: frisbee > wife. I guess it did keep us pretty entertained all weekend.

Every day it seemed someone joined us! Dan’s aunt and sister both arrived after we did and made it all the merrier. For the 4th of July, we saw an “American” rock band who played covers of all the classics. With fire dancers. They were actually really great musicians, but the lead singer tried to do our national anthem and totally butchered the lyrics. I was giggling the whole way through, which was probably very unpatriotic of me. But she was straight up making up lyrics- when you grow up in Mexico and not in America, I guess that makes sense. AND we pressured Dan into singing karaoke! He picked Better Together by Jack Johnson and dedicated it to me and it may have been the highlight of the trip 🙂 BTW- that last photo was the view from our shower. So cool.

Has anyone ever noticed that the air traffic control tower in Cancun has a Corona ad on it? Hope they aren’t drinking any beers up there! Until next time, Mexico!

Land of Beer and Beautiful Weather (at least sometimes…)- Portland!

July 2, 2015July 3, 20151 Comment

Wow, I’m WAY behind. Work has been crazy between traveling (to Midland- most exciting city ever ;)) and us moving floors and just lots of projects. Trying to play catch up now! And this post deleted mid-writing so forgive me if it’s not very detailed, because I just got a little tired of it.

A few weekends ago, we flew up to Portland for a family visit. My brother-in-law grew up there and was our official tour guide! Considering I’m such a huge planner, you will be shocked to discover- I did no planning. NONE. I looked at one Thrillist article about Portland breweries and that was it. Weird for me, but also kind of nice to just go with the flow. The main point of visiting was to hang out with family anyways, so any activities were just extra.

Y’all, the weather was beyond unbelievable. Having visited in January, I know it wasn’t the norm, but man was it good. I swear, we’ve been the luckiest lately! First NYC, then Portland. Fingers crossed this continues. We spent the evenings just hanging on the back porch of Rob’s parent’s house, in their beautiful backyard, surrounded by raspberries bushes. Which I ate handfuls of. The summers there are like something out of a dream. Mostly because that could never be a reality in Houston. If we try to sit outside, we get covered in mosquitoes and start sweating within 3 minutes.

We got into town fairly early, so we headed to Portland Brewing Co. for dinner. They make Pyramid, if you’ve tried that! It was the first of many breweries. The fish and chips were great! Then after the kiddos went to bed, we walked over to Laurel Public House. They have a few locations in Portland. Heavy on IPA’s so not my favorite ever.

The next morning, we drove up to Mt. Hood to see some snow. They had a dry winter, so while there was snow, there was’t much. However, people were still skiing! We got to see Timberline Lodge, which was beautiful with really nice woodwork inside. This is where the exterior shots of the lodge in The Shining were filmed.

After that, we drove on to Hood River for lunch at Full Sail. Their Amber is one of the best and there was a nice view of the river. We also tried out Double Mountain Brewery. The service was fantastic and they had a Red Ale called the Engineer just for Dan 🙂 Plus, we hit a couple great fruit stands. The cherries… and blueberries… and everything, so yum and fresh. I could have spent days in Hood River.

To take a break from beer, we visited Cathedral Ridge Winery. The wine was great, but even better was sharing a bottle while laying in the grass and enjoying the scenery. Man, I really loved it.

On the way back into town, we stopped at Multnomah Falls. This is a can’t miss when in Oregon. Beautiful!

Saturday morning, we went to the Rhododendron Gardens which were stunning. The kids (and adults) loved feeding the ducks and geese. I was legitimately more scared of the geese than the babes were. I’m a huge chicken. But they were mean!!

We had lunch at Widmer Brothers. Their hefe is one of my all time favorites. The brewery scene is SO different in Portland. Pretty much all of them serve food and it’s actually very good. We spent the afternoon brewery hopping in the Pearl District.

Deschutes- Packed! But great. The actual brewery is in Bend, which we hope to visit sometime.
Fat Head’s- A crowd favorite. Lots of fun beers, like blueberry, which was surprisingly tasty and not at all syrupy. If you ever visit, try to branch out of the norm. Dan’s mom picked her flight, to the boy’s skepticism, and it ended up being the best. Tons of options!
10 Barrel Brewing- I liked the interior and the beer but it wasn’t super special.
Rogue- We sat on the patio and tried some pretty interesting beers. For example, Beard Beer, made from yeast in one of the brewer’s beards. Weird, yes. But it tasted good. They also have several local influences, like Marionberry and Voodoo Doughnut beer. Loved it.
Cascade- On the way back, we stopped here for their sour beers. And I’m sorry, but I’m just not a sour fan. Yuck. Not sure how this is becoming popular, but I guess some people like it!
Forewarning: Dan and I take a picture in front of every brewery we visit… it’s the only time he willingly takes photos with me so I take advantage.

That evening, we soaked up the weather while Rob grilled. We also had to soak up being around our niece and nephew!! We most likely won’t see them until November, and when you’re that age you change so much. I’m going to miss them so much. We’ll miss you too Rob & Jenny 😉 Ugh just look at these cute faces.

That night, we went out with Dan’s parents in Nob Hill (a bartender had told us it was cool), just because we could because we are kid-less. Gotta take advantage while we can! Will have to explore that neighborhood more the next time around.

Thanks Rob & family for showing us a great time in Portland! We truly had a blast and hope to visit again soon.

Memorial Day Weekend in the Hill Country

May 29, 20151 Comment

After a bridal shower in Houston, we were off for Memorial Day weekend! Barley was clearly stoked.

We got in fairly late Saturday night and met up with Dan’s parents at Cultures Bar. Pretty typical bar/grill with a good beer selection and ice cold mugs. Bonus points for icy mugs. Dan needed a cold one after how intensely he had to concentrate, driving through all the rain! Dan’s mom had made dinner reservations at The Nest, which was just divine. It’s in an adorable old home, a few blocks off Main Street with the perfect amount of lighting and the most affable servers. We had a French grandma who was a hoot! Not to mention the quality of the food, which all of us agreed was top notch. Dan and I both had seafood (scallops and shrimp) while his Dad had the filet and his mom tried the quail. We finished the night with a chocolate martini, because when you’re with Ann, chocolate is a requirement 🙂

We stopped by House Wine on the way back to the hotel and they let Barley come in and hang out. He loved it, of course.

Sunday morning, the sun came out and we were all surprised at what a beautiful day it was! Luckily, El Milagro has a charming patio with a fountain where we ate breakfast and enjoyed the weather. Note: only 1 breakfast taco is necessary. Barley mostly enjoyed chasing the birds and debating drinking the fountain water.

Later on, we met up with some of my best friends from home for lunch at Fredericksburg Herb Farm in their Farm Haus Bistro. The cutest, with a big garden in front! I was also shocked at how affordable it was too! The weekend was definitely full of good food at new places. You can stay in the most precious cottages on the farm too. Maybe next time 🙂

Afterwards, we just had to hit up some wineries… because when in Fredericksburg this is a must. First up was Hilmy Cellars. I had been wanting to go back because of the good wine, but mostly for the cute wine dogs 🙂 No sighting of them that day, but JB made friends with the rooster out on their gorgeous patio and we had a guinea sighting! A view of vineyards makes for excellent scenery.

Then we were on to Grape Creek to meet back up with Dan’s rents. They have been wine club members there for a while and I have to agree that it’s the most beautiful winery in Fredericksburg. Best to just buy a bottle (or 2) and sit and enjoy. The live music wasn’t too shabby either!

Barley’s face!! Derp.

We headed on to Johnson City that evening and had dinner at Pecan Street Brewing. Not that there are many other options in the small town, birthplace of LBJ with a population of 1,700. We were seated in the front and scarfed down our brick oven pizza. Then, I saw a sign in the back pointing to games & dancing! Through the door it was a totally different restaurant. Garage doors pulled up to let in the warm air, a big band playing country classics, and locals two-stepping across the dance floor. They also had a huge loft with pool tables, shuffleboard, and folding chairs galore. Even though the boys got fairly competitive at the shuffleboard table, it was a blast. Dan even swept me around the room while they played the last song of the night and it was the best. Just have to get a few beers in him to get him dancing 😉

The next morning we visited some re-sale/vintage shops where Joanna Gaines gets some of the things she uses on Fixer Upper! They were pretty awesome and I could definitely see the potential of a lot of the pieces. My favorite was a wooden trough, but it was $300, which was a little expensive for a centerpiece. Dan’s mom was able to find some awesome doors to use as a countertop on their kitchen island, and gorgeous sliding barn doors! Successful trip for them!

A Very Full-Bellied Weekend in NYC Part II

April 24, 20151 Comment

SATURDAY

We managed to get up a litttle bit earlier. Definitely needed my coffee so I had “coffee that doesn’t suck” as we made our way south to cross the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a fairly long walk from Kim’s all the way to Brooklyn, but the weather was so amazing, it felt like I was in heaven. And walking across the bridge is pretty awesome, even when crowded with fellow tourists. It’s such an iconic structure and when you look behind you as you cross, all of Manhattan is splayed out before you.

Once we got across, we grabbed a pizza from Juliana’s and headed down to the park under the bridge to have a picnic. Green grass + blue skies + views + pizza = oh yes. We walked along the coast (is it called that?) to get to the subway and they had soccer fields and basketball courts out on top of the piers. I can only imagine getting to play on that as a kid. The subway stops are a little farther apart in Brooklyn so we got to see some really cute neighborhoods as we walked, which I loved. Every time I’m in NYC, I pick another place I’d like to live and I think Dan and I decided on Brooklyn this trip. I wish we could have spent so much more time exploring.

Next stop was Brooklyn Brewery, because we can’t go anywhere without a brewery visit these days. The line was long and our throats were parched, but once we were inside with a cold one, all was right again. The tour here was also one of the best we’ve been on, with a lot of insight into the founders and why they started brewing, as well as their link to Brooklyn. I can only hear about how beer is made so many times. It was also interesting that the branding is by the same guy who did “I heart NY”. Oh, and apparently NYC wins water quality awards? Drink from the tap people. I also found an IPA I liked!!! Hallelujah, my beer palate is finally developing. It was the Gold IPA and is only served at the brewery, so that’s a bummer. After the brewery, we grabbed a bite at Spritzenhaus, which was rocking. Great hot dogs and a huge beer selection.

Then it was time to head back into Manhattan for a show!! We had bought discounted tickets at TKTS that morning for Matilda and I couldn’t wait. It was SO GOOD. The kids in the show were so talented. The girl who played Matilda was only 8! We saw her on the street afterwards, walking with her parents 🙂 Too cute. It followed the movie fairly well, but obviously not everything translates between a movie and the stage. It was also a musical, and that part was fantastic. We loved Miss Trunchbull the most- they actually cast a man and dressed him up like a woman and he was hilarious. So perfect because Miss Trunchbull is supposed to manly to begin with. We stopped by a low key bar, Tom & Jerry’s, while we waited for Kim, and then had another late dinner at Blue Ribbon’s Fried Chicken It’s prettty embarrassing how much we ate over the weekend.

6th row!

SUNDAY

More good food- we brunched at Sarabeth’s Tribeca, which is just about the prettiest place ever. From the giant fresh flowers to the white everything, I loved it all. And the food was good too 🙂 To work it off, we rented bikes and did the loop around Central Park, which is about 7 miles. I love seeing all the nature in the middle of such a big city. The blooms were beautiful!