This past weekend was packed full of fun! We finally made our way to the Baltimore Aquarium which has been on the bucket list for almost 3 years now. We originally had plans to grab dinner with friends, but they had something come up last minute, so we instead we called up our friends Karen and Tyler and did something else we’ve been chatting about forever–go to Heavy Seas Brewery for a tour! Mostly they walk you around, tell you about the hopps, the vats, the way they grind the grains, allow it to ferment, carbonate it and bottle it.…
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Continue ReadingOrchid Cellars is actually a meadery and winery! In the interest of not having a bajillion categories, I file this under winery with Ciderworks, even though they’re a little less traditionally “winery”. They’re both perfect stops to make on the Antietam wine trail to add a little something different to your outing! This little baby here (actually not so little anymore) is actually one of the first reasons we ventured up to the Antietam Wine Trail at all. A friend grew up in the area and frequented Orchid Cellars with his mom, and he used to bring back all varying…
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So the other day was decreed “Tyler Day”! Or “& guest day”, as you can see above. He’s been really great recently helping out extra with the pup and supporting me when I have to work late or run around and I wanted to appreciate him in a full and lazy day! It was a pretty cold and rainy day, and so we decided to take the crazy pup to the dog park early and get it out of the way. There weren’t many people there, but he was suuuuuuuper into fetch and tuckered himself out perfectly! Then it was…
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While most of the wineries we typically go to are out toward western Virginia, occasionally we’ll make the trek up to Maryland! There’s some nice places up there too, and specifically some unique places. The Orchid Cellar Meadery is one (post to come!) and Ciderworks is another! It makes the Antietam Wine Trail perfect to do a little tasting of all your favorite alcoholic beverages! I’ll save the mead and wine for other times, but Ciderworks is one of my favorites because it’s so unique. It reminds me a little of Great Shoals actually (read the review), because it’s not made…
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After a boozy brunch for New Year’s Eve, what do you need? That’s right–a boozy brunch for New Year’s Day! Obviously. Since both Tyler and I had some friends visiting for our New Year’s Eve party, we wanted to take them to a full out brunch and try a new place! Penn Commons brunch was a brunch to rival Fuego’s! You can read the review for that, but Fuego’s has since closed and it won’t do you much good. Penn Commons might even surpass it in food. Let’s start off with location–Penn Commons is located in Chinatown, just a few…
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They opened another Founding Farmers out in Tyson’s corner, right outside the mall and we’ve had the luxury of being able to try it (1) when it first opened, (2) a second time as they were updating their service and adjusting to the layout, and (3) this weekend, now that they have their business model set up for success. My short preface is that our experiences have been wildly varied and inconsistent, sometimes for an amazing experience, and sometimes just “eh”. Founding Farmers is a farm-to-table restaurant, and for brunch has an upscale buffet available. You can order a few items…
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If you haven’t heard of Dangerously Delicious Pies, you’re missing out! They have several locations and a food truck, and what’s more they do sweet AND savory pies. They also do quiches! Before you go “huh”, let me explain! Savory pies are things like Pork BBQ, Hot Rod Potato, and my personal favorite–SMOG. Steak, Onion, Mushroom, and Gruyere! I have a recipe that I’ll share one day to make SMOG pie at home, but you still can’t beat the place that created it all! They’ve got a nice flaky crust, and if you’re a crust fan, a good ratio! For those…
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This weekend had all the plans and then they all fell through! Repeatedly. But we made it better by hiking with the pup, and going out to brunch! If you’ve never been to a Clyde’s, it’s a restaurant chain throughout the greater DC area, and they all have different themes. Their rooms are are themed as well–for example, the one we were in this past weekend was bird-themed so every painting on the wall had some sort of bird as the focus. It’s kinda fun to explore and see where you get seated. We decided to splurge and do brunch right…
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A few weekends ago, T and I made a long (45+min) trip out to Leesburg. I wanted to get my 2017 planner (yes, I realize I’m still about 3 months early, but I already have things I need to write down for next year) and I can order it online, but I can save a few bucks by picking it up in store, plus it comes with instant gratification. It’s an Emily Ley simplified planner and super expensive planner in the grand scheme of things, but as I use it almost every day and it makes me significantly less stressed in…
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You know when you spontaneously invite people to dinner to try a new restaurant and then end up playing the night away with rock band? Oh, is that just me? Haha, but that’s what this night at Rus Uz was! It was a blast, if unexpected. I wanted to try a new restaurant, since while I love Fuegos (read my original review), we went on a hot streak for a while and went almost every week for a month. So I wanted something different. And two of our friends, M & D live in Ballston, so I asked them for suggestions/if they…
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I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but around here in Virginia, we’ve finally entered real fall weather! I personally wish there was a little bit more of a transition since I’m prone to being cold, but T just loves the sweater weather that’s going on. This past weekend was a long weekend for both T and me (Columbus Day), and we packed it full of stuff as we’re ought to do. We hit up the Renaissance Fair again with some friends who had never been (check out my original review), and also hit up a few wineries with my parents who came to visit!…
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This is part two of the Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant review, focusing on the winery! Read part one here. There was just too much to throw into one post so I wanted to separate out the two to do them each justice. When you first walk into the Ashburn, VA location, you walk into the winery. There’s some cute novelty wine items in the front, including some entertaining wine pourers featuring a variety of animals, and also some zombies. All of the stoppers pour from the subjects mouths are are quite festive. They use their pourers at the bar,…
