Happy birthday, Mom!

When booking tickets for Thanksgiving, I decided to extend my trip a bit to get to spend Mom's birthday with her. Lucas decided to do the same, so we are finally all together for it! It's really wonderful to have family that actually all enjoys spending time together. 

I write similar sappy things every year, but it's true every time-I am so grateful to have my mom. She has been so supportive of every major choice I've made, change I've undertaken, and experience I've gone through. She cares so deeply for her family, friends, and the world and is always trying to make it a better place. 

She loves me even when I make her listen to Christmas a cappella music...and go shopping the weekend after Thanksgiving. I take it as a compliment every time someone says we look or act alike-the cliché of growing up to be your mom is a pretty darn good one here.

I love you, Mom, and am so so happy to get to celebrate with you!

xoxoxo

Emma

When in Nashville...

One of my lovely friends Julia turned 35 this year-and wanted to do it up with a big celebration. Y'all know I always love to celebrate the people in my life, so of course I was on board for this! She decided on a girls' trip to Nashville, a place I had never been but have been hearing more and more about in recent years (especially as a bachelorette party destination, but what can you do). I had to do a slightly abbreviated trip, but it was 100% worth it!

I took an Uber directly from the airport to meet the ladies for brunch at Americano. Thank goodness I managed to schedule my flight in time for this all-important meal! I'll do a separate post, of course, on all the food I ate while in Nashville, ha.

We then made our way to Nashville Boot Co., where we all tried on a few pairs and I had to remind myself that it was unlikely I would wear them regularly.

Next up: the Bluebird Cafe. It's been famous for a long time as a small venue with some big-name performers (they stop in on occasion), but the TV show Nashville definitely played a part in upping the long lines. We got there plenty early to ensure we'd get in-a long wait, but worth it in the end. As someone who is not a fan of country music in general, I actually loved it. Not every piece was to my liking, but enough were (those that were more in the folk-bluegrass-country style) that I really enjoyed the music overall.

We went back to our home base to get ready for a night out on the town-I unfortunately had definitely not planned for it in my packing, but the ladies were able to help me out with the loan of a dress and doing my hair for me. We did the touristy thing and went to the Coyote Ugly bar-it is, shall we say, an experience-before wandering around in search of live music. I headed back a little early, as I was wiped out from my early morning flight.

The next morning I got up fairly early and went for a run around Nashville-it's such a great way to see a city, especially on such a beautiful Sunday morning. The view from the pedestrian bridge is just gorgeous.

We then cleared out of our lodging, wandered around the neighborhood a bit, and headed to lunch. Throughout the day people began to head home, whether it was driving or to the airport.

Julia, Cheryl, and I were all leaving on Monday-Cheryl and myself at an ungodly early hour and Julia after a relaxing morning-so we spent the night at Julia's hotel pick, the Opryland Hotel. It was astounding and we spent a good amount of time Sunday evening walking around the hotel itself. We were all pretty exhausted from the weekend (and I had to go to work the next day straight from the airport) so we had an early night.

What a weekend-thank you, Julia, for including me, and happy (far belated) birthday!

xoxoxo
Emma

Happy 60th Birthday, Dad!

Today is my dad's 60th birthday, and while I can't be there for the day itself, Lucas and I had a blast creating a whole surprise weekend a little early :)

I had no idea, but apparently I ordered the cake from one of the best bakeries around! LaSalle, you were great!

I picked Lucas up at the airport on Friday and we spent the afternoon eating, prepping, and avoiding running into Dad. Lunch at Tallulah's Taqueria and dessert at PVDonuts was a great way to do this!

We conspired with some of our friends (thanks Georgina, Manu, José, and Rici!) to show up at Dad's regular Friday evening haunt, GCB. It was a surprise when I walked in, since I am very rarely able to make it down on a Friday at all, let alone early enough, but Dad's reaction to Lucas was priceless, and totally worth hiding the fact that he was coming in from Denver.

After GCB, a few of us went to dinner at Lim's (our go-to!) and ate waaaay too much, but had to still have dessert! I made one combining Dad's favorite flavors-raspberry cream cheese brownies. Delicious and oh-so-rich!

Dad had to speak on a panel Saturday morning, so Lucas and I took advantage of this to clean a lot of the house and tried to play it off as one of his surprises. Naturally we also had to go to Rebelle Artisan Bagels-I think it lived up to the (my) hype! When Dad returned, we also filled him in on his next surprise-going skydiving! Obviously I would not partake in this (though Lucas did), but we all drove down to Newport to spend the afternoon there. We started with a yummy lunch at the Tavern on Broadway so they could fuel up for their dive. I, on the other hand, took the opportunity to wander around Newport.

The boys loved skydiving, but we had one more surprise up our collective sleeve-a party, of course! I told Dad I wanted to be back in time to watch the Michigan game (which wasn't untrue, but *sigh*...that game was a travesty), so we again coordinated with Georgina, Manu, and José to time it perfectly. Dad, Lucas, and I may have had a couple drinks on the porch of the Lobster Bar to both enjoy the sunset and delay our return.

We had so many lovely guests...thank you all for being a part of making this birthday so special! The party raged on until the wee hours of the morning and Dad had a blast.

The night is never complete without a group selfie!

Sunday morning we relaxed and went to breakfast at the Classic Cafe before Lucas had to make it to the airport. I hung out a few hours longer, managing to sneak in lunch and a strawberry milkshake from Three Sisters before driving back to Boston.

Had to get that family photo!

Dad, thank you for always being such a support to everyone in your life. I hope you have the most wonderful birthday; I'm so glad I got to celebrate to the extreme with you this weekend!

xoxoxo
Emma

Eating Elsewhere: Greensboro (Part 2)

The time I ate everything in Greensboro, continued...
For my birthday, I may have sort of taken over the kitchen...I might be the only person I know who prefers to cook their own birthday meal, ha!
Mom and I started the day before with a trip to the farmer's market, where we picked up fruit, vegetables, and maybe a pastry or two. I always love to explore different cities' farmer's markets (Madison is definitely a favorite if you ever have the opportunity!), and this was no different. There were a number of stands selling the plants themselves and I lamented that I couldn't take them back with me-and to be honest, probably wouldn't have been able to keep them alive even if I had. I do not have a green thumb. at. all.

There were also ridiculously beautiful-and creative chocolates!

Savory cheese croissant-beyond delicious

However, we were able to find the most important ingredient of all-rhubarb! Rhubarb custard pie is my absolute favorite dessert and it is so rarely available. Strawberry, I'm looking at you-stop trying to hog the spring stage!

We had a rhubarb pie-off consisting of a rhubarb custard (mom and me) and a rhubarb pie with meringue (Grandma and Aunt Sandy). I wanted the rest of the meal to feature seasonal veggies, so we decided to stick with the pie theme and made a galette and frittata, along with big salad and good bread. All my favorite foods!

The next day was my actual birthday-and of course the only really yucky one weather-wise. Mom, Alvan, Grandma, and I made the best of it by having a giant breakfast at Scrambled. I was pretty pumped to have vegetarian biscuits and (mushroom) gravy, but was slightly disappointed at how over-salted I felt it was. Thankfully the cheese grits lived up to my memories-I gotta get my grit fix! Next time I'll probably go back to my tried and true favorite of the OMG scramble skillet over grits (minus ham, of course).

Mom, Alvan, and I then spent quite a while just reading and writing while sipping on some delicious flavored iced coffees at Common Grounds-I had the Bill Murray, a latte with chocolate and pistachio. I hadn't simply sat and read in a long time-it felt good!

They also serve wine-but we were not yet at that point, ha!

We did our best to work up an appetite for a late lunch and headed over to Hops Burger Bar, one of our go-to spots (along with everyone else in Greensboro) and lucked out with them being weirdly empty. I got the spiciest (nutty patty) burger they had, the Diablo, with fries and a Lagunitas Sumpin' Sumpin'. Since they have an upcharge for the veggie burger, even if you don't want the bacon that comes on the burger, I asked to have it on the side so the carnivores could enjoy it.

We had to be sure to fit in one last meal the day that I left, just to make sure I couldn't fit into any of my pants upon my return, ha! We always love Freeman's Grub & Pub, but they really amped it up this time. Their focus on local and seasonal products is one of my favorite things in any restaurant and they rock it. I was a little disappointed that the only vegetarian main being offered that day was a jerk "chicken" sandwich, so the chef himself came out to ask about my preferences...I was totally overwhelmed and vague, but he did a great job! I simply requested some sort of sandwich that did not include eggplant or green peppers, and he made the most delicious black bean burger-clearly with fresh ingredients and interesting toppings. Starting with the pimento jalapeno poppers and a Bloody Mary didn't hurt either!

I really don't think I exaggerated when I talk about how much I ate-but to be honest, I had just as much fun! I've got one or two other things to feature eventually, but if you're headed to Greensboro any time soon this ought to give you a good start!

xoxoxo
Emma

Eating Elsewhere: Greensboro (Part 1)

I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but I tend to plan a big part of my trips around delicious food-and North Carolina was no different! Now, being vegetarian, I can't enjoy the BBQ or seafood, but that doesn't mean I have to miss out on all the Southern cuisine! Every time I go I have to be sure to have some cheese grits and a biscuit...and preferably as many seasonal veggies as possible, especially since they are a little ahead in their growing season! And guys, I really ate so much that I had to split this into multiple posts, otherwise it would have been unreasonably long. I'm a little ridiculous.
I was very happy I decided to take an ungodly early flight (5:30am) so we could get right down to the business of eating everything in sight. After getting a pedicure (desperately needed for this Northern gal!) we stopped by Duck Donuts, a donut shop in which you get to design your own! They fry the donut fresh to order and top it with whatever you request...I went for lemon icing, raspberry drizzle, and coconut, while Mom had chocolate icing with peanuts and coconut. I usually strongly prefer raised donuts, but these have totally won me over.

That evening, we stopped by the Bearded Goat for a little pre-dinner cocktail. While I love the classic copper Moscow Mule mug, I definitely enjoyed it being served in the cutest Deep Eddy tin!

For dinner we went to a restaurant I always enjoy-Crafted: Art of the Taco. I ventured outside my usual to try the taco salad and pimento mac&cheese, which was 100% the right choice. I could eat this salad forever.

On Saturday, after exploring Old Salem, Mom and I went into Winston-Salem for some treats. We attempted to go to Small Batch Beer Co, but it was just too crowded-and maybe I'm getting old, but also definitely too loud, ha! So we headed straight over to Foothills, where we enjoyed an excellent Carolina strawberry blonde ale. We definitely could have found some delicious food there, but Mom already had a plan in mind for that...

We attempted Small Batch again, but to no avail-next time! We then drove over to Cin Cin Burger Bar, a speakeasy-style restaurant and bar. We were told it would be quite a wait for a table, but we knew how to pass the time!

Luckily, as we were sipping on our cocktails, some people seated at the bar were called for their table so we just parked ourselves right there. Mom was insistent on the Gorgonzola fries-and she was right! I considered trying to add some "real food" but wasn't hungry enough for that and crazy boozy milkshakes...so we know what won. The intense stomachaches were totally worth it.

Now I'm craving all these foods...whoops. Happy Friday, y'all!

xoxoxo
Emma