Summer Days

These summer days have flown by. While I'm looking forward to fall, I cannot believe it's already September. 

July and August were jam packed with family, friends, food, and fun for us. Every minute we weren't at work or doing house projects (which I still need to post about), we were finding fun in Raleigh and DC. 

After my sister finished her summer job, she came and stayed with us for a week. We devoured tasty food truck food, celebrated her birthday, and road tripped to Baltimore for a cousins' weekend. 

 In August, we spent a weekend in Baltimore seeing Justin & Laura, the newlyweds, and enjoying a cousins' weekend. It was so great to be back at some of our favorite spots with some of our favorite people.

Laura and Justin are so sweet, kind, and thoughtful. Weeks before seeing them, Laura posted about making macaroons, and I made a comment about having them during the Baltimore weekend. I never expected she would actually make them, but she did! Just for me. They were incredibly delicious.

One of our absolute favorite Baltimore spots is Woodberry Kitchen. Somehow the Chef got us brunch reservations, so we got to see and taste the best Baltimore brunch.

Another one of our Baltimore favorites is Mama's on the Half Shell. All of the cousins' and Justin and Laura went out for dinner. I stuffed myself with crab soup, crab dip, and crab cakes. Nothing is better than Maryland crabs.

...And Elisabeth tasted her first oyster!

One of the best summer afternoon activities this year, has been visiting local coffee shops for a coffee and treat. Plus, I heart latte designs.

Dinner and dessert with nurses always does my heart good. And Bittersweet in downtown Raleigh has the tastiest bites: like this salty carmel corn ice cream sandwich.

To round out the summer, we enjoyed a Labor Day weekend in DC enjoying some of our DC favorites, seeing friends, family, and attending wedding of one of the Chef's high school friends. It was a gorgeous outside ceremony and reception in their backyard despite the thunderstorm that made 150 guests run from the tent to their house. It was a beautiful night filled with laughter, and the Chef seeing old friends.

And there you have it.

Summer days might be fading, but I'll be ready for some cooler weather, pumpkin everything, and decorating our house for a new season.

the little things

Some weeks it's just the little things that make life sweet.

Monday started off great because I was put on-call and didn't end up having to go into work at all. Happy Monday to me!

Instead of working, I enjoyed an early morning lake walk with Aida and the Chef before he headed to work. I have always been a night owl, but lately, I've really been learning to love how great it feels to get up early and enjoy the entire day. Especially, when it starts with a brisk morning walk.

I have a favorite coffee spot, Sola and love getting to spend a little or long time there either by myself or with friends. I went by myself this week, and it took a while for my drink to come, so when it did they gave me a dozen hot mini-donuts. I'll take free mini-donuts any day! 

At work this week, I was talking with a co-worker about where he buys his produce, and he reminded me about the Raleigh farmers' market. I decided to go again (I haven't been in forever) and absolutely loved it. I definitely want to start shopping local more. Plus, I got all these fresh foods for less than $20! Local, fresh, and reasonable...win, win.

And as you know, I'm usually not the biggest cook in our house. I usually do really simple meals but this week, I was a little bold and tried these Chicken n' Biscuits, and while it took a while it was delicious and so worth it. 

I have been trying to live life to the fullest, trying not to worry, and enjoying the little things.

I hope you have a great weekend. I'm excited to have this weekend off and enjoy some family time!

#AJdoColorado part two

Part two of our Vail trip started Saturday morning at the Little Diner for intended breakfast that quickly turned into brunch. The food was tasty but the service was extremely disorganized and slightly unfriendly. Recommendation: despite Trip Advisor recommendations, skip this spot and opt for other breakfast options. 

We then soaked up the sun and strolled through Vail Village popping into shops and checking out the eats and found the local Starbucks for a skinny vanilla latte. 

The beauty of Vail speaks for itself.

After a morning of poking around town, we headed back to our cozy room for a little football, a nap for the Chef, and sitting by the fire catching up on blogs, for me.

In the afternoon, we headed over to the Four Seasons for a cocktail and beer, a gorgeous fireplace, and more football. The lounge overlooked this view. 

We loved an early dinner at Leonora of tapas: cheese plate, corn soup, sliders, sweet potato fries, and beets. I highly recommend this restaurant: everything was fresh, tasty, and elegant.

Sunday morning, we were both up and ready to enjoy our last morning in Vail. We loved Tavern on the Square, and it thoroughly made up for the Little Diner. I loved the muesli with fresh fruit and sunny-side up eggs. The restaurant also had an incredible view. 

After a hearty breakfast, we hit up a short trail. The scenery was beautiful, and it was so much fun getting a little exercise and fresh air before heading home.

We absolutely loved our weekend away traveling and relaxing in such a pretty place. Vail, you were such a treat.

#AJdoColorado

If you've been following me on IG (aileenpp) then you know I've had a great weekend. I had a stretch of days off of work (the upside of being a nurse!), and the Chef was going to Denver for work, so we decided to meet and enjoy a mini-weekend vacation. We thought it'd be a great opportunity to start celebrating our upcoming three year anniversary! 

I flew into Denver on Thursday afternoon and enjoyed walking the downtown area and seeing the sites and people. It was rainy and overcast but the mountains are in the background somewhere. 

Friday was extremely relaxing for me. I found the closest Pure Barre and took a class, which was great after a day of flying. It was much harder than expected: probably due to the altitude and not having taken class in five days.

Once the Chef finished with work, we packed our bags and headed for the mountains. Thankfully, we arrived before the snow and accidents happened. We arrived at the Vail Marriott and enjoyed this gorgeous view!

And our room wasn't too shabby either with our own fireplace.

We loved seeing our first snow of the season in Vail Village.

Apparently, we weren't the only ones excited about the first snow because the bar staff gave out free champagne for the first snow toast. #ChampagneJeff loved it. 

After walking through the crisp night, we enjoyed dinner at the Swiss Chalet. The restaurant had the perfect Alpine atmosphere, and we indulged in the cheese fondue which was the best part of the meal. I highly recommend going there for drinks and fondue but skip dinner: it was mediocre for the price.

More on our Vail weekend to come tomorrow. 

Linking up with Shami, LeeAnn, and Sarah

back in Birmingham

Last Wednesday, I flew to Birmingham, home of my alma mater, for my friend Emily's wedding. I decided to leave a couple of days early, so I could enjoy being back in Birmingham and spending time with some of my Samford besties. 

Mallory picked me up from the airport, and I was starving so we headed to lunch at O'Carr's. It's seriously the best chic lunch spot. They have the best chicken salad I've ever tasted with crackers and fruit. I ate this whole plate. If you ever go, you have to order the chicken salad.

After our tasty meal, we recharged with a cup of coffee at O'Henry's Coffee. I absolutely love that place and wish there was one in Raleigh. Then we jumped in Mallory's massive car and headed to T-town to see Amy, who just started law school.

We saw her beautiful apartment, chatted, and headed to dinner at a cute Italian spot: DePalma's where we shared a bottle of wine and pastas.

Afterwards, Amy and Mallory introduced me to my now favorite dessert place: Steel City Pops. Popsicles really? Yes, they are the most amazing dessert. I got the coconut (on this stop), and it was creamy, had coconut flakes, and was so good I almost bought a second one for the ride home. 

I can't believe it was eight years ago this weekend that we all moved into Samford to start our freshman year of college. Time has flown by, and I'm so thankful to have these girls as my best friends for so many years. It's always so much fun being back in Birmingham and seeing them.

Linking up with Jessica, Ashley, Chelsea, and Ashley

family weekend

I have been living for the weekends (that I don't work) lately. We've been having so much fun with family and friends this summer. This past weekend was no different; my brother and SIL came to Raleigh for the first time, and we loved having them here. I cannot wait for them to come back!

1. We tried Pop-up Ice Cream in downtown Raleigh, and the peanut butter chocolate ice cream was unbelievably delicious. I highly recommend you stopping by if you're in the area.

2. We took them to Sitti Saturday night for a Lebanese dinner. My SIL got the Sitti tasting that looked amazing which I'll probably get next time. The Kafta Kabob was delicious as well.

3. After a weekend of stuffing ourselves, I finally convinced myself I had to hit up the gym. And then I felt much better. Like I always do afterwards.

4. We couldn't pass up taking my brother and SIL to Cowfish. I love going to dinner with them because they love to try anything. We got a tasting of everything at Cowfish this time: sliders, sushi, and burgushi.

5. Saturday afternoon, our apartment had a pool party: complete with a DJ, prizes, and food. It was fun, and I hope we meet more neighbors like we did at our last apartment.

Linking up with Shami and LeeAnn

A Wino Weekend

This past weekend was an absolute blast. Our friends, Laura and Justin came into town to spend a wino weekend with us. Justin and I met at Hopkins and became friends and then we quickly started a supper club trying out different Baltimore eats with our significant others. 

Our first night we took them to Cowfish. I know they thought it was a little odd, but they trusted us and left saying it was amazing. 

I highly recommend the ahi tuna nachos as an appetizer, the green monster burger, and the neon dion sushi roll. We rolled out of Cowfish and onto Vivace for dessert. 

Saturday, we started our wine trail beginning at The Vineyards at Southpoint. We enjoyed the tasting; however it was slightly disappointing that they don't grow all of their own grapes and only had a tiny vineyard for show. 

We loved the wine slushies. They were so refreshing as we sat outside on a deck overlooking a pond. 

Our  second stop was Cloer Family Vineyards, and we loved this place. It was exactly what we were looking for in a winery. It's a new family run and owned vineyard with a great tasting after which we bought two bottles and sat outside enjoying their vineyard, the neighbor cows, and a quiet pond. 

We loved spending the afternoon chatting about Justin and Laura's upcoming destination wedding. We're so excited to be on the invite list and cannot wait to get our tan and party on in Key West come April 2014.

Our two favorite bottles were the Matador and Isobella's Blush in case you head to Cloer soon.

I'm already looking forward to our next vineyard wine tasting with Justin and Laura. It's just the best enjoying a glass of wine, fabulous company, and a gorgeous afternoon outside.

After our delicious wine tasting, the Chef cooked this meal for our guests. He really does such a great job in the kitchen preparing and cooking for me. It's so nice having a husband who cooks! 

One thing I love about going to restaurants with Justin is that he always orders dessert. Since we didn't make any dessert to go with the Chef's gourmet meal, we went to Yard House for drinks and dessert. From the sampler, Justin and Laura raved about the apple pie, so I'll have to try it there next time.

Who knew a s'more brownie would be this big? We didn't. And we couldn't finish it either. The melting marshmallows were my favorite. 

We had such a great weekend spending time with the newly engaged couple. It was so much fun to hear about their upcoming wedding, hear Laura's ridiculous school stories, gossip with Justin about my old job, and just get to be with people we love.

We cannot wait for our next weekend together!

And after a weekend full of wine drinking, you'd think I would be tired of it right? ...no.

Sunday evening, I met three of my friends for our kindly named group the "knitting club". It started because one of us was going to learn to knit from another, but it's quickly turned into a drinks, appetizer eating, and chatting time.

For our second meeting of the "knitting club," we picked West End Wine Bar, which offered tapas and wine. It was delicious, and we'll be looking for a new spot for our next meeting. Any suggestions?

It was such a fabulous weekend full of fun and friends, just the way I like it.