The Windy City

Greg's best friend and his wife moved to Chicago last summer.  We love Scott and Kathleen, and we knew that we had to make a trip out to visit them!  We had a wonderful time!  We had Chicago-style pizza (twice!), we had cocktails at The Signature Room, we visited the Lincoln Park Zoo, we walked through some adorable neighborhoods, we went to a Cubs game, we had drinks at the Cubby Bear by Wrigley, we went on an architectural tour of Chicago by boat, we had some delicious caramel corn, we walked by the lake, we saw Northwestern's law school, went shopping on Michigan Avenue, and we ate many delicious meals!  It was so nice spending time with Scott and Kathleen, and we are already looking forward to their visit to Durham next spring!

Chicago-style pizza.  YUM! 

This place had the most beautiful views of the city!  

Kathleen and I in Lincoln Park

The whole crew!

Wrigley Field

Infront of Wrigley

Downtown before the architectural tour

Walking around the lake

At brunch on Sunday

At brunch on Sunday

Visiting Alabama

Towards the end of July, I went home to visit my family and go to my cousin's wedding.  It was a really nice long weekend in AL.  I got to spend a ton of time with my sweet nephew, which was so much fun!  Justin, Mom and I went to check out the Children's Hands-On Museum in Tuscaloosa.  We ate some great food in Tuscaloosa.  We went up to Birmingham for my cousin's wedding, and I got to spend some quality time with my brothers and their significant others.  Overall, I'd say it was a great trip!  I really enjoyed the visit home, although it felt a little short (as always).  Here's some pictures... Enjoy!

Justin and Mom picked me up from the airport

Mom and Justin at CHOM

Justin being a total cutie at CHOM

I loved the quality time with Justin!

The formal shot of our family at the wedding

This could be one of my all-time favorites of our family.  We are silly.

4th of July

We were able to drive down to visit Greg's parents over the 4th of July because we found out that Greg's office would be closed on July 4th and 5th.  We were really excited about making this trip because we were finally going to meet our new niece, Molly!  We drove down after Greg got off of work on July 3rd, and it went smoothly.  We actually made really good time and got there before midnight.  Unfortunately, it rained the entire time that we were there!

It was so nice to spend time with Greg's family.  We went and saw a movie, grilled out, Greg and his dad played golf, and we all enjoyed just hanging out.  I was glad that we were able to go to church on Sunday at Ralph's church before we headed home.  Traffic was awful when we were driving home, but I think we both expected that.  I'm so happy that we made the trip down, and I can't wait to see Miss Molly again!

Greg and Molly!  She is the cutest! 

Greg's mom, Molly, and Bailey.  Molly loves her Nana!

We sat in traffic forever on our way home!  I saw this rainbow while we were stuck outside of Greensboro, NC and thought it was pretty.  You can't see it very well, but I was excited about it so I took a picture- ha!

Memorial Day Visitors!

Mom and Dad came to visit us over Memorial day weekend.  It was SO nice to see them and show them around Durham.  I feel like this is a common theme... We love having people come visit Durham, so that we can show them why we love it so much!  We had a really great  visit!

They arrived late Friday night, so we basically just said hello and went to bed.

Saturday morning we got up to go to the Farmer's Market and Mom decided she'd join us.  We had to get a good amount of stuff that week, and so I feel like Mom got the whole experience!  We also got breakfast from the food trucks, and it was delicious!  We weren't able to spend as much time as we wanted at the market that morning because Greg and I had to take the dogs to a vet appointment at 10am.  After Greg and I got home with the dogs, we decided to take Mom and Dad to Greg's favorite local brewery, Triable Brewing Company, for a tour.  The experience was a lot of fun, it was interesting to hear about the brewing process, and of course, it was fun to sample all the beers.

Triangle Brewing Company 

Dad and Greg were clearly excited about the Brewery Tour

 Mom and I during the Brewery Tour

Saturday night, we had to take them over to Lily's Pizza.  We take everyone who comes to visit us to eat here because it's our favorite local pizza place.  After dinner, I wanted to take Mom and Dad over to check out the new fondue place that opened downtown, and I thought it would be a fun to do chocolate fondue for dessert.  It was delicious!

Sunday, we got up and went to church.  We had lunch at the house, and then headed over to Duke Gardens for the afternoon.  It was fun to walk around and spend some time outside.  We took it easy that night, ate at home, and just hung out together that night.

Greg, Penni, and I at Duke Gardens

Monday, Mom and I went shopping while Greg and dad hung out at the house grilling lunch.  On our way home, we stopped at Harris Teeter to figure out what we wanted to do for dinner.  We ended up getting steaks, shrimp, zucchini, squash, corn, and baked potatoes.  It was so much food, but it was all delicious!

We are so happy that Mom and Dad were able to come up and visit!  We look forward to when they make another trip!

Durham Farmer's Market

Greg and I have been enjoying the Durham Farmer's Market a lot this year.  We started thinking about buying local once he started his job.  The reason it got in our head was because we had found a CSA that was going to be a perfect match for us.  The CSA let you 'shop' online to build your perfect week's worth of food (all locally farmed), and then you'd pick it up.  It also allowed you to cancel a week if you were going to be out of town, or if you missed the cancel by date, you could send you share that week to a local charity.  What is it that people say?  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  ha!  Well, after we paid to join, the guy in charge sent out an email saying that everyone was going to be refunded and they were not going to be able to do the CSA this year.  Boo!  

Since we had already committed to spending a certain amount per week on our CSA share, we decided to just take that money to the Farmer's Market every week and buy as much of our produce as possible there.  Now, I really look forward to getting up on Saturday morning and heading over to the Farmer's Market to shop.  I love the idea of supporting local farmers, and of course eating locally grown and farmed food is the best.  

You guys, I know that some people think it's ridiculous to spend extra money for local food, but I promise you... It is totally worth it.  The eggs that I get from the Farmer's Market are amazing, they have more flavor and they are much creamier.  The strawberries that we have been getting this season are out of this world delicious!  The best strawberries I have ever eaten.

Another perk of going to the Farmer's Market is that the local food trucks show up.  YUM!  I love getting a yummy breakfast from the food trucks!

I encourage you to seek out your local market, and give it a try.  Just take some cash with you, and buy what you think looks good.  You'll be supporting your local economy, and you'll be cooking with fresh, whole foods.  

Here's what we got one week... Eggs, strawberries, kale, sweet potatoes, asparagus, romaine lettuce, and mixed lettuces.

I was SO excited about these strawberries the first week they were at market!

Here's a shot of the food trucks lined up one week.  Yum!

Bark in the Park

The week after we got back from our trip to DC, Greg's friend at the Bulls called to let him know that they were having Bark in the Park that week.  We decided to go because when we went 2 years ago, we really enjoyed it.  I mean, our dogs act crazy initially because there are so many other dogs there, but then they get adjusted and end up relaxing.  Last time we went, I didn't pack water and a bowl for them to drink out of, and so we had to buy a bottle of water at the park for the dogs which was not ideal! 

It's actually a pretty cool event, if you have a minor league (or major) baseball team near you, then check out their promotions schedule to see if they do a Bark in the Park.  They had a bunch of local dog daycares, and vets set up with tents and information.  The company that makes the "thundershirt" is actually based in Durham, so they had a booth also.  Penni got a toy from the thundershirt people that she is obsessed with.  Overall, we had a really good time, and it was so nice having this event in April instead of July so that the dogs (and humans) didn't get so hot!

Penni checking out the other dogs

Hershee watching the game- ha!

Here's a family picture

Merry Christmas to Greg! Day 3

Sunday was the last day of our trip to DC.  We didn't have any major plans except going to the baseball game that afternoon.  When we got up, we talked with Jordan and decided to go do brunch at a place down the road from her apartment.  It was delicious!  Greg got belgium waffles with fruit, Jordan had a delicious fruit crisp, and I had a breakfast sandwich.  

After brunch, we loaded up the car so that we would be ready to head home after the baseball game.  Then we walked over to the stadium.  On our way, we decided to stop at a newly opened restaurant/brewery, Gordon Biersch.  Greg had one of their beers, and Jordan and I had sangria!  It was a nice stop before the game, especially since we had nicer/better drinks for less than we would be paying at the stadium!  

The game was fun!  The Braves played really well, so it was nice to watch them beat up on the Nationals!  We had good seats, and the weather was amazing!  The game was the perfect ending to our adventure in DC.  

This is the cafe where we had brunch

Jordan and I at Gordon Biersch before the Braves v. Nationals game

Greg's beer at Gordon Biersch before the game

Here's a panoramic shot of the stadium from our seats!

Here's an awful picture of Greg and I from the game.  I can't believe I'm actually posting it on the blog.  

Merry Christmas to Greg! Day 2

Saturday morning, we got up and talked about what we wanted to do for the day.  I really wanted to try and get by the zoo, we also talked about walking to see all the memorials and the cherry blossoms, and then we talked about going over to Ford's Theater.  We didn't do a good job of planning ahead or thinking about reserving tickets.

Well, we got ready and headed to the Metro to get over to Ford's Theater.  We stopped at Starbucks to get caffeinated before we headed to the theater.  By the time we got there, the tours were all done and the theater was closed to visitors.  I was kind of bummed because I knew that Greg was kind of looking forward to doing that.  We then headed over to the Washington Monument, reflecting pool, Lincoln Memorial, MLK Jr. Memorial, and we just looked across the water at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.  I am so glad that we walked to see all of them, but it was a TON of walking.

Also, it was the Cherry Blossom weekend.  Unfortunately, most of the cherry blossoms had already reached their peak and had begun losing their flowers.  There were still some pretty ones, so I'm glad that we got to see those.

When we got close to the mall again, we thought about checking out the Holocaust Museum, but the line was ridiculously long!  By this point, we were hungry and tired, so we made our way to a cute bar with patio seating for happy hour.  We enjoyed just sitting and chatting with Jordan!

We headed back to the apartment to relax for a while before we went to dinner.  We did dinner over at We The Pizza, which is a restaurant started by a former Top Chef contestant.  It was pretty good.  Between the three of us, we tried mushroom, hawaiian, pepperoni, and white pizza.  The white pizza was my favorite!

After dinner, we were all pretty dead tired, so we just headed home to hang out.  We didn't even end up staying up late at all!  Greg and I were asleep by 10:30!

Jordan and I at the Washington Monument

Greg and I at the Washington Monument

Greg and I infront of the Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial

MLK Jr. Memorial

They have MLK Jr. quotes on this wall surrounding the statue.  It's pretty cool.  This is one of the quotes that I like the most. 

Here's a picture of one of the prettier cherry blossoms

The Jefferson Memorial.

Merry Christmas to Greg! Day 1

This year, my gift to Greg for Christmas was a trip to Washington DC.  He had never been before, so I started squirreling money away back in October for this trip.  I made a little book for him to open on Christmas morning, that had pictures of the monuments, memorials, and big DC landmarks.  The final page of the booklet I had printed a copy of the Braves baseball schedule, and circled the dates that they were playing the Nationals in DC.  He was excited!

He looks ridiculous with the baseball cap and the toboggan on, but he had just opened those.  Here he is reading the little booklet that I made for him about our trip to DC.

We drove up Thursday night after work.  The drive was long because we kept running into night construction.  We were so glad when we finally arrived at my friend, Jordan's, apartment.  We are so thankful that she let us crash at her place for the weekend, and it was also wonderful getting to spend time with her!

This is the view of the Washington Monument from Jordan's apartment

Friday morning, it was raining and so we just took it easy.  We slept in, and took our time getting ready and by mid-day we were out and about!  We stopped by the Library of Congress, and then walked past the Capitol to meet up with friends that we had just found out were also in town! We met up with the Slighs and then headed over to the Museum of Natural History.  We didn't spend a ton of time there, but then we went to the Museum of American history.  I thought that the American History museum was much more interesting than the Natural History Museum.  We spent quite a bit of time looking around, and going through all the exhibits.  I loved the Star Spangled Banner, and all the dresses from the First Ladies.  After we finished up at the Museums we headed over to Pennsylvania Avenue to look at the White House, which was honestly, a total let down.  I hate that we couldn't schedule a tour.

The Library of Congress

The Capitol

Kermit the Frog at the Museum of American History

The White House

We were really worn out, and our friend had texted us that he was a sport bar watching the Masters... So, of course we headed that way.  We hung out for a bit, had a snack and drinks, and then took the Metro back to Jordan's apartment.

Friday night we went to game 1 of the Nationals v. Braves series.  We didn't dress for the weather at the game, the wind was blowing and it was much colder than we had anticipated!  The Braves weren't playing as well as we thought they should be, and I was freezing, so we left after the 7th inning.  Umm, that was the wrong move for sure.  On the walk back to the apartment, I joked with Greg that they would probably come back and win it.  Well, they did and we missed it.  Greg was majorly disappointed, but he didn't hold it against me for too long.

Walking into National Park

Our seats were great!  I just wish that it had been slightly warmer, or less windy