Richmond Finally

Filed under Restaurants, Travel by on 28 February 2010 at 11:06 am {no comments}

Here’s why we were in Virginia.

My brother’s flight left early on Monday morning, which seems like a really long time ago now.  To make everything easier the four of us drove to Richmond and got a cheap hotel near the airport. We we’re all pretty tired, so we went and hung out at Uno’s for awhile. I had never been to an Uno’s before this, and I’ll probably never go again. We had a horrible experience there. The food was subpar to say the least. My brother’s gf ordered an appetizer sampler (seriously it was all fried, how can you mess this up), and it was cold. She sent it back and it didn’t come back any warmer. They brought Jeremy a large pizza when he ordered the personal size, which would be an error in our favor if the pizza was any good. Uno’s RIC = Epic Fail.

On Monday we dropped my brother and Heidi off at the airport and then headed back to the hotel to rest. Staying two minutes from an airport is nice.  Jeremy and I hung out for awhile deciding what to do with our limited time in Richmond. First we went St. John’s Episcopal church. 100_0440This is where John Henry gave his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech. A lovely woman in her 60’s gave us a tour which was private as it was only the two of us and her.  We learned a lot about John Henry and had a review of our Revolutionary War history.  It’s amazing what you forget from 5th grade.

In addition to the church there is of course a graveyard. One important person buried there was Edgar Allan Poe’s mother.

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After walking around for awhile, (it was so nice and warm there) we headed to Monument Drive. There were lots of monuments of important people from Richmond history. My favorite was the 100_0455Arthur Ashe monument, which really sticks out from all of the Confederate heroes. Oh Richmond!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After seeing some of Richmond, we were starving.  We looked in one of the free guidebooks for close restaurants and one of them was Buz and Ned’s Real Barbecue. 100_0473

Their blurb in the guidebook said they beat Bobby Flay in a throw down, so I was all in. When we got there it was super crowded, with men in  business suits and construction workers. It was obvious that everyone likes this place. There wasn’t a lot of seating, and it wasn’t in a fancy part of town, but I’m glad that we went. We each got pulled pork sandwiches and split a fry.

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I’m pretty sure this is a vinegar based sauce, but the sauce really wasn’t the star, it was more about how well the meat was cooked and smoked. The fries had a great blend of spices, and I’m 90% sure they had garlic salt on them. It was a great meal, and we both left satisfied. 

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Richmond is definitely not my favorite city in VA, I wish we’d had more time to spend in Charlottesville, but it was ok. After lunch we headed back to the airport and caught our flight home. It was a quick trip, but definitely worth it. 

NHWIND2010 aka Wicked Windy

Filed under Local by on 27 February 2010 at 2:43 pm {no comments}

WOW! The last few days have been an adventure. On Thursday night, New Hampshire got an enormous wind storm, plus rain of course. It had already been raining for most of the week, so there was really no place to put it.  NH is pretty much trashed right now; lots of roads are closed due to flooding, there was a huge fire, and there are trees down everywhere . This one is right around the corner, you can hardly even see the car underneath the tree.

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Friday morning there were 300,000 people without power. We were not to be excluded.  Power went out around midnight Friday morning and just came back about 30 minutes ago. Needless to say, the beef I brought for my bouef borgionne is no good. It seems most of everything in the freezer made it though.

Here are a few tips for surviving:

  1. Prepare, prepare, prepare. I was never a girl scout, but I think I would have made a good one.  When the lights started flickering on Thursday I went into action. I got all of our flashlights and our oil lantern ready. I took a quick shower and cranked up the heat.  Everything that could be charge was plugged in (except for my camera). I was thinking we’d only be without power for a few hours, otherwise I would have remembered to put the meat in the freezer.
  2. Have a Way to Get Information. My Blackberry rocked it during this storm. I was able to get lots of information and relay that to my friends who don’t have smart phones. If you don’t have a smart phone, and even if you do, you should have a radio with batteries.
  3. Stay in Bed. Really there’s nothing you can do anyway, so stay in bed and cuddle up with someone, do a little reading, or take a nap.
  4. Go out and Eat. Lastly, when all else fails find a place that’s open, go out, and enjoy a warm meal. We went to The Coat of Arms. Usually, I like this place, but my food was so greasy last night that I was less than pleased. I really should learn to send things back when they aren’t good.

People often make fun of me, because I am neurotic extremely cautious about being prepared.  I keep a blanket, and shovel in my car all winter and never leave home without a rain jacket in the summer. This time my cautiousness paid off.

Now I guess it’s time to clean the fridge.

80 Years and Going Strong

Filed under Life, Travel by on 25 February 2010 at 7:17 pm {no comments}

February 17 was my Nana’s 80th birthday.

My family in Virginia had a huge surprise party for her last weekend.  Jeremy and I flew into Richmond, got a rental car and waited for my brother and his gf to arrive. Then, the four of us, drove the 1.5 hours from Richmond to Charlottesville. Our rental car was a piece but the weather in VA couldn’t have been better. It was 50 degrees and sunny, which is way different from the weather we’ve seen in NH lately.

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All of my Nana’s kids were there, her brother, and two sisters were there plus a lot of there kids. Even her best friend from Florida came up. My Nana has 6 kids, 17 grand kids, and 4 great grand kids. The grands and great-grands alone filled up a lot of space at the party.  I think everyone had a great time.  There was tons of food, (Fried Chicken, Rolls, Mashed Potatoes w/Gravy, Mac & Cheese, Collard Greens, and Green Beans), welcome to VA. There were lots of people hanging out drinking tea and laughing, and cake which my cousin Tina made; yes I had to eat a piece and a half. So good!

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Of course there were group pictures where it’s impossible to get everyone to look at the same camera.

 

100_0428 I’m holding my cousin Leroy’s baby. She was adorable and super sweet.

 100_0434My parents, brothers, Jeremy, and I  with Nana.

 

Saturday was great. Sunday we all went out to eat after church at a buffet, I know. Worst food consumption weekend ever. I tried to make some good choices, like eating huge salad, but there’s only so much you can do.

After lunch Jeremy, my brother, his gf and I drove back to Richmond.  Two long great days. . . Richmond post tomorrow.

Cardio DVD’s & Me

Filed under Fitness by on 24 February 2010 at 2:37 pm {no comments}

I’d like to have a moment to vent about cardio DVD’s and why I dislike them. Two words -Jumping Jacks.

I am what you might call well endowed. 36 DD. So hello, jumping jacks do not work for me. They are a miserable experience. I wear 2 – 3 sports bras and  jumping jacks still SUCK! Working out in general can be tough but jumping jacks just cross the line.

One day I would like to make  a DVD with variations for girls with the big ones.

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source

Does anyone else think jumping jacks are just unnecessary?

Ahh Vacation

Filed under Baking, Sewing by on 23 February 2010 at 9:08 pm {2 comments}

The last few days have been crazy. Thursday I had to stay at school until 8. By the time I got home, I fell asleep within the hour. Friday, Jeremy and I had to get everything ready for our weekend trip to Virginia for my Nana’s birthday.  Saturday through Monday, we were in VA. This week is my February break from school, and it is a wonderful thing. I have a lot of things planned for this time (cooking, baking, sewing a new apron and of course laundry). I love being at home and doing all the things I enjoy.

After being offline for basically 5 days, I had a lot of blog reading to catch up on; so this morning I lounged in bed and had some reading time.  Once I finally decided to get up, I watched The View and ate leftover Thai for brunch. While I was enjoying The View, I created a meal plan for the week by pulling out multiple cook books. Being at home, means I can cook things that take a little longer.

  • Picci di Peppe w/Roasted Brussel sprouts and prosciutto (w/ a little help from Giada)
  • Veggie Pot Pie (Gourmet Today)
  • Veggie Burgers w/ Homemade buns
  • Boeuf Bourguignon (The Joy of Cooking)

Being able to just chill at home in the middle of the day is great. I finally ordered a new battery for my laptop. As I was calling Best Buy and watching Food Network, I heard Giada say “pepe.” I turned off my phone and paid attention.

The best meal I had in Italy last summer, was Pici de Pepe e Cacio. Basically, it’s a very specific type of Pasta (that I’ve yet to find in the States), pepper and hard cheese.

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I looked for a recipe when I got back and had trouble finding one but there it was on TV. I was so excited. While I was in Italy, I bought a bag of the Pici. It was dragged all over Italy and France, but made it back just fine.

I decided tonight was the night to eat it. Part of me was really sad to eat it, as I don’t know when I’ll be able to get more; you can basically only buy it in Siena.

I roasted some Brussels’ sprouts with Prosciutto and garlic. I picked up a loaf of rosemary and olive oil bread as well.

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It was a great meal.

I’ll be posting about the VA trip, and the wonderful barbecue I ate  at a restaurant in Richmond that beat Bobby Flay in a throw down.

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