Two Years!!

It's fitting for me to post about my second wedding anniversary.....one month (to the day) late! That's just the way my life is right now I suppose. We were busy traveling on our actual anniversary this year. Since we have moved to Columbia, we have so many weekend trips planned for this year. There are so many fun cities to explore all within a 2-3 hour drive from our home! We knew our first trip would have to be to Charleston!
We absolutely LOVED it as we were told that we would! We drove into town extremely early so we could use the extra day to explore. We fell in love with all the colorful homes and these cobblestone streets!


 


While in Charleston, we stayed at the Vendue Inn. This is more of a boutique hotel than a bed and breakfast. I was a little leery of a true bed and breakfast since we would be rookies to the experience. I know they are supposed to be fun, but I'm just not really one for conversation with strangers first thing in the morning! haha! I realize a true B&B may not be like that at all, but this inn gave us exactly what we were looking for! We received cooked-to-order breakfast each morning, an afternoon manager's reception with wine and cheese, delicious flavored waters available throughout the day, AND milk and cookies at bedtime. This was ALL included in the room rate!! Did I mention that connected to the inn is the The Rooftop Bar? SOLD!


This was our quaint little guest room. It was perfect that it was blue as I love blue, our wedding colors were light and dark blue, and it was our anniversary weekend. It was meant to be! :)





This is the famous "Rainbow Row" only a couple of blocks from our hotel.




For our anniversary dinner we dined at Husk. My sister had eaten here and strongly recommended it to us for dinner. It was so tasty! We had the best fried green tomatoes I have ever put in my mouth. They were served alongside homemade pimento cheese. Below is a picture of my entree. Delicious. I had Almaco Jack, Charleston Gold Rice "Risotto", Grilled Spring Courgettes (which I learned is a fancy way to say summer squash), and Marinated Heirloom Tomatoes. Those juicy red tomatoes were the sweetest and ripest tomatoes ever. Can you tell I may have a slight obsession with tomatoes? Oh, and to top off our dinner, we ordered a skillet of Bacon Cornbread. Seriously? Cornbread made with bacon grease and bacon bits throughout? Yes!! Wow, were we full!! But I couldn't celebrate the anniversary and not order a dessert! Below is the Lemon Pie in a Jar. It was the perfect lemony custard with an espresso mouse below. YUM!





Now Husk was clearly my favorite restaurant, but I can't mention traveling and not tell you about the other amazing places where we dined in Charleston.

• Cru Cafe - We went here for lunch, and this was my 2nd favorite eatery! The combinations of food on this menu are incredible and very unique! I would definitely suggest this place for a lunch spot as it is not as intimate for a nice dinner. It's very small and crowded.....just as you would envision a little cafe. 
• Hank's Seafood Restaurant - This was Brian's favorite! We went here for dinner, and this is definitely a great location if you are looking for an upscale dinner. He loved the She Crab Soup! I must admit, it was verrrrrry creamy!
• Poogan's Porch - A great place for low country cuisine.....lunch or dinner!

During the daytime in Charleston we took the opportunity to explore the beaches as well. To the north of Charleston is Sullivan's Island and the Isle of Palms. We were told by our bellman at the Vendue that they had the best burger place and BBQ joint in all of Charleston. He also said that the beach is more secluded. It was so relaxing!! I'd say it's a pretty empty beach for the middle of June, wouldn't you? If only I owned one of these beach homes.......

 


We opted to try the burger place, Poe's Tavern. That only means we will have to return one day to try out the best BBQ. Gosh! I hate that we have to return to the beach!! ;) Poe's Tavern was a great spot! Look at the fun sign Mr. Edgar Allen's face with the raven on his head. Love it! We learned that Edgar Allen Poe was stationed at Ft. Moultire which is on Sullivan's Island back in 1827, which is why the restaurant is respectively named after him. All the burgers on the menu are a tribute to his work. Our choices: The Pit & Pendulum and The Amontillado. Ohhh how it brought my back to high school!


 


The next beach day was spent at Folly Beach, just south of Charleston's downtown. It is known for its waves and has quite the surfer vibe. This is the Folly Beach Pier which holds many town events including Shagging on the Pier! My dad is begging us to learn to Shag dance while we are here in SC. I guess we will have to return to Folly as well!





That sums up our Charleston vacation. I would call it an overall success! I can't believe Brian and I have been married for 2 years now! It feels like I was just planning our wedding last week! Time truly does fly. I'm looking forward to number 3 a.k.a. "that year when we lived in South Carolina". I can't wait to see what our future holds!

Vacation Recap Part 2

We traveled to Columbia for Brian's last stop on his interviewing tour. I roamed aimlessly around the city while he interviewed. Once he was finished we headed straight for Asheville, North Carolina, which is only about 2 hours from Columbia. I became a little obsessed with Asheville due to an article in Southern Living. It was the featured city for their weekend getaways and I saw this trip as the perfect chance to go and visit. Asheville is home to the famous Biltmore Mansion. I couldn't miss this opportunity to see the Biltmore decorated for Christmas. What a sight!

The Biltmore, America's Largest Home!

Another scenic view of The Biltmore. Do you see that large tree in the middle of home in front of the fountain? Yeah, that's about a 60-foot tall live Christmas tree! WOW! I wish I had seen it lit at night......there is always next year!

Welcome to my new home! haha! I was so giddy to be at such a beautiful place!

The day after our Biltmore excursion we toured The Grove Park Inn (listed as THE place to stay in Southern Living). It did not disappoint! Look at this view above!

This inn would be the perfect weekend getaway. It has a wonderful spa for the ladies with a great outdoor pool and hot tubs, and golf for the men. It may be a little difficult to tell in the photo, but underneath that bottom red roof is a terrace restaurant, with open air seating. It looks out over the view of the photo of us above. GORGEOUS!! I'm thinking we need to plan a trip back this coming fall or winter. Who is with me?!?

Vacation Recap Part 1

I realize the post I'm about to share may or may not be from last November. It may or may not be April now. And there may be a few Christmas lights and Christmas trees in the following photos. Humor me please. I want to share where we've been.....even if it is a few months late! I don't want to forget it one day! Brian and I had the opportunity to do a little traveling last semester to check out a few places for his residency. We traveled to San Antonio, Texas, and Columbia, South Carolina. Columbia ended up being his match for his residency next year! Yay! More on Columbia to come!

First stop, San Antonio. We stayed downtown so we could enjoy the main tourist stops, The Alamo and The Riverwalk. We tried to fit as much in as possible while we were there.

Remember The Alamo!

We also had the chance to stroll up and down the famous San Antonio Riverwalk. It is full of riverside dining and shopping. You can take a boat tour down the river and learn even more about this great city.

We loved this view with the colorful umbrellas and colorful lights!

Postcard Pretty!

While in Texas we had to make a stop and try some Texas BBQ to compare to Alabama's! We stopped at Rudy's BBQ thanks to Urbanspoon and the other world traveler in my family, my dad! If you need to find a good place to eat in city you have never traveled to before, there is a good chance my dad's been there and has a suggestion for some good grub! Rudy's was DELICIOUS! Texas is known more for brisket than it is pulled pork. We tried the brisket and the ribs and their famous Rudy's beans, not be mistaken for baked beans. Want to try Rudy's "sause" for yourself? Click here.

Wrigley

To close out our summer vatcationing adventures, I leave you with one last post from Chicago. Once our dad arrived in Chicago, we had a day of baseball planned at the historic Wrigley Field. It was a sight to see and tons-o-fun! Dad got really into the game and the history of it all. I knew he loved baseball, but we actually got to see him in true action keeping stats in his program!! He was in baseball heaven! (Sorry Dad! I had to write this so we can all read this again one day in the future and remember that moment!)
We saw the Cubs play the White Sox....city rivals! We also witnessed Ernie Banks, "Mr. Cub" lead the entire crowd in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame!" We didn't know he would be attending this day, but that was certainly a cherished moment for all in the stadium to see such a legend enjoying America's favorite pasttime!



A view of the outfield in Wrigley. These are the Wrigley Rooftops which are actually on the rooftops of buildings across the street from the field. Great view, huh?!



Me and Brian at Wrigley!



Wrigleyville, as the locals call the area around the baseball field, is full of pubs, little diners, and restaurants. It is like one giant block party! One of those surrounding restaurants is The Houndstooth Saloon. It is the official Univerisity of AL Alumni Bar in Chicago. They show all the Alabama games! It made us feel right at home!



Ladies, espcially Bama ladies.........doesn't this room give you inspiration to create your own "Bama" room? I love, love LOVE the crimson tin panels on the ceiling and that houndstooth wallpaper! Precious! I say we take over our husbands plans of creating a room full of Daniel Moore prints and recreate this instead!



Me, Whitney, and Mom at The Houndstooh Saloon. I am loving this mother/daughters pic!


Ok. Talking about Alabama is really getting me ready for football!! It's almost here!

Chicago in Review

I've finally figured out how to make my pictures easier to upload in Picasa!! I know you, as the reader, probably do not care as much as I do. But hopefully it will enhance my blog and make it more enjoyable to read! :)

Chicago.....where do I begin? My sister moved to Chicago this past month. She is no longer in Alabama and is officially in a BIG city! I'm very proud of her and excited for her for making the move, but sad that she has left Birmingham. However, we can now go visit Chicago as often as we like and visit her! Win! Win! Brian and I decided to make the 10 hour drive to help with the moving. We were promised sightseeing time in the city since Brian had never been to Chicago. We of course have tons and tons of pictures from our trip, but I'll try to capture the highlights here.

We started our sightseeing adventure by taking a train into the city. Whitney lives in a suburb called Lombard, which is about a 45 minute drive into downtown Chicago. We had a weekend pass for the train which is certainly the way to travel! It was $7/person.....all weekend.....unlimited rides!

As soon as we got into the city, we hopped on a water taxi. This is also the best way to see the city if the weather is nice. The river flows right through the middle of downtown, which led to great photo opportunities while cruising down the river.

Chicago view from the water taxi.

Michigan Ave.....shopping in Chicago.....Yes! Please!

Once off the water taxi, we walked in the scorching heat down to Millennium Park. We were headed for the Taste of Chicago, but made a quick stop at the BEAN again!

I just love this bean!

We finally made it to the Taste of Chicago. This is the biggest food festival in the United States. Read more about it here.

Oh, you don't believe that it was that crowded? See below!! People as far as you can see down the street! And we weren't even at the end of the food vendors! You could taste just about any type cuisine you wanted. What were we there for? The Chicago deep dish pizza of course!

Brian was able to taste his first piece of true Chicago Pizza from Lou Malnati's Pizza. It was delicious!

In the middle of the "Taste" (as the locals call it) we saw Buckingham Fountain. Chicago has the best parks!

After filling up on more pizza at Pizzeria Due, (Yes, we went and ate and entire pizza pie after that one slice tempted us!) we took a cab down to Navy Pier.

One of the main things I love about Chicago: You've got the city feel, then you've got the beach! All in one!

Chicago Skyline

After Navy Pier, we made our final sightseeing stop of the day, Sears Willis Tower.

A great view from the top of the tower!

At Willis Tower, they've added these new window ledges where you can literally walk out onto glass and look straight down some 1,507,235,678 feet! It is very safe, but yet very scary!! I only had one problem with the ledges......they let as many people as they wanted step out on that thing! A little too crowded for glass in my opinion!

Standing on the ledge!!

We certainly had a busy sightseeing day. We had one more day to explore in Chicago once my dad arrived. There was only one place left to see.......Wrigley Field! More to come soon!

Mesa Grill - Las Vegas

Ok. I couldn't talk about our entire Las Vegas trip without mentioning F-O-O-D!!!! I had completed tons of research and planning in advance to pick out the perfect dining locations for our vacation.

We decided to go here:

Mesa Grill in Caesar's Palace

Restaurant Owner: Bobby Flay. Love him! Bobby is known for his tex-mex/southwestern spin on food and is known for cooking with all things pepper. Chiles, Poblanos, you name it. This restaurant encompasses all of the above, plus some more! The menu also offered a unique twist on Mr. Flay's other famous creations ---- Burgers! (Wait and see below.)

Here is a peek at our dining experience at Mesa Grill

Drinks: Brian started with a traditional margarita. I tried the cactus pear margarita. How cute is that bright pink cocktail!?! They were so smooth and refreshing.

Appetizer: Goat Cheese "Queso Fundido"
Delicious melted goat cheese, with roasted peppers on top, served with blue tortilla chips.

I loved the little individual Staub ramekin that this dip was served in. You could easily tell it was freshly baked.

My pick: Yucatan Chicken Tacos
Chicken skewers with grilled red onion, served with a peanut-smoked chile barbecue sauce

This was like Tex-Mex, BBQ, and Thai tastes all in one. That may not sound like a great combo, but that sauce was so unique and flavorful!

Brian's pick: Green Chile Burger
Queso sauce, roasted poblanos, pickled red onions and a side of southwestern fries
Look at that queso dripping off the edges of that juicy hamburger patty! YUM!

Brian and me at Mesa Grill

Needless to say we had a fabulous lunch and we were so full after eating all the scrumptious food! The best part about the meal???? We didn't have to pay one penny for it! My wonderful, sweet sister surprised us a 2nd time on our trip. She took care of the bill by contacting the manager in advance! It was a great surprise to end our meal and a terrific anniversary present! Thanks again, Whitney!

Las Vegas!!

Yay! I've gotten my many, many pictures finally uploaded from Las Vegas!

Now I can share our vacation with you! Brian and I spent our 1st Anniversary in Las Vegas. It was a great decision to go ahead and *live it up and spend some $$$* before we get older and start a family. Don't worry......a family is not coming that soon! haha!

We stayed at the Aria at City Center. It is a new hotel in Vegas and it did not disappoint. We loved the hotel! Our favorite thing you ask?

Well...........

Our hotel room!!! Yes, that's our bed looking out over the strip of Las Vegas! It was perfect. The hotel was offering tons of deals to get guests to stay there since it is new, we were able to get a corner suite for a great price! I think I could have laid there and watched time go by in the city forever.

This was another view from our hotel suite. Amazing!

We couldn't resist exploring as soon as we got into town, so we headed off to the Bellagio which was right next to Aria. This is the famous blown glass ceiling in the lobby of the Bellagio. It is mesmerizing!

We also checked out the conservatory which is where I fell in love.

BLUE HYDRANGEAS!! Gorgeous!

We had blue hydrangeas in our wedding and I am slightly obsessed. That's why I'm squatting down to pose next to the flowers like a dork! Every hotel in Las Vegas had some type of hydrangea in their decor, and I was in Heaven.

We came back to sweet surprise after our first day out on the town. My sister, Whitney, had ordered us a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries as a present for our anniversary! It was such a thoughtful gift. At that moment it really felt like our second honeymoon and not just any other vacation.

This was a beautiful fountain at The Venetian.

I love America, blue hydrangeas, and of course Brian!

Gondola rides at The Venetian.

It looks like we were outside walking the streets of Venice! This has to be one of my favorite hotels. I loved just walking up and down the "streets" and window shopping.

Brian and me at The Venetian

The Wynn and Encore

One evening we ate dinner at Mon Ami Gabi. It is a little french inspired bistro famous for their *steak frites*. This was the view from our dinner table! It was so perfect and so romantic. We were able to watch several water fountain shows outside the Bellagio. This was by far my favorite dinner of the trip! (I also had a favorite lunch, but it will have it's own post later!)

After dinner, we walked allllllllllll the way down to the end of the strip to Mandalay Bay. While exploring the casino, we were offered free passes to the rooftop bar. We thought, "Rooftop bar? Great View? Free?!!?" Of course we will go! Well this was what we stepped out to after getting off the elevator on the 64th floor! Mandalay Bay is at the end of the strip, so we had a fabulous view over the entire city!

Me and Brian at Mix rooftop bar at Mandalay Bay

The Mirage. It has an erupting volcano!

At the Mirage, we went to see Beatles LOVE, a cirque de soleil show. This was the main reason we went to Vegas! Not kidding! Brian and I have both wanted to see this show for years now. My parents gave us show tickets as our anniversary present! It was a great show set to Beatles music! Go to vegas now and see this show!!!

While waiting for the show to begin, we went to the Beatles Revolution Lounge. I didn't notice until my mother-in-law pointed out that I had chosen to sit in the letter "O". Quite fitting!

Treasure Island

New York City anyone? Vegas has it ALL.

Ahhhhh, Las Vegas. Let's go back tomorrow!