Virginia Vines
The rest of our trip involved wine – lots of swirling, sipping, and savoring in the beautiful Virginia countryside.
We stopped at four wineries on the drive up to Charlottesville on Friday.
Delfosse was our first stop and by far my favorite in terms of flavor. The owner is french and many of the reds were full-bodied and the whites slightly sweet.
We bought a bottle of Chardonnay, which was a big surprise seeing as we’re generally red people.
Our next stop was Pippin Hill, where there is a brand new, gorgeous porch, tasting room, and farm-to-table restaurant.
The view was fantastic. This would be perfect for a wedding!!
While the wine was nothing too special, the food was outstanding.
We shared the prawns with chorizo and cilantro crema.
and an organic turkey burger with sour cherry preserves and melted Camembert with handmade parmesan fries.
And we actually made some friends in the tasting room who kindly asked the waiter to split their desserts so that we could have a taste! We tried the Meyer lemon and olive oil cake with a sweet wine and rosemary syrup, and a petit verdot cupcake! Every single thing was delicious!
After lunch we worked up the energy to continue on to Veritas.
Our last stop was Pollak, where there a charming pond and a big porch.
We did a mini chocolate pairing with two of the wines – a dark chocolate with Cabernet Franc and raspberries inside (paired with the Cabernet)
and a white chocolate with Mille Fleurs (brandy style port), pear, and pineapple inside.
This was one of the best food-wine flavor pairings I’ve ever tasted. One bite of this chocolate with a sip of the Mille Fleurs was out of this world!
I was exhausted after this day and was so excited to get to Kath’s house and drink water beer – Kanz’s home-brewed all-but-the kitchen-sink beer was tasty!
But the best part was the three handmade pizzas that came out of the oven – variations of whole wheat dough with homemade tomato sauce, green peppers, jalapenos, cheddar, gouda, pepperoni, and mushrooms.
Heavenly.
Read MoreDouble Pizza
Why are Wednesdays soooo long? I go into Wednesdays feeling great and come out feeling like a big ball of stress. I had some issues with a report I was preparing at work and had to stay late to make last minute changes. I didn’t have much time to fit in exercise before a meeting I had this evening, so I skipped spinning and quickly biked in my apartment gym. It’s amazing how much better exercise can make you feel!
It turns out my partners board meeting had pizza, so I enjoyed two slices and a garlic cheese ball. Man this stuff is good, but not as good as Brixx. I sure do love that you can get gourmet toppings on pizza these days. Did you know that I didn’t like pizza until college? I’ve been making up for lost time ever since.
Two weeks before Easter break means lots of referrals, testing, and more IEP meetings. Gotta go prep and get a good night’s sleep.
Thanks for reading:)
Read MoreBirthday Brixx
What better way to celebrate a birthday than with pizza and beer? We went to an old favorite, Brixx pizza, to celebrate my Mom’s birthday. NC beers were on special, so I ordered the Weeping Willow Wit. Tasted just like summer! We had a balmy night, so we sat outside on the patio. This, the night shots.
I ordered the pimento cheese pizza and exchanged slices with my Mom and Matt. Mine was super cheesy and the bacon was awesome!
Matt had the thai chicken pizza (which I had two weeks ago) and my mom had a pesto and artichoke pizza. Loved them all. Brixx is the best.
Sadly, there was no cake, but since we all had multiple pieces this weekend, we weren’t too sad.
It’s late and there’s work to be done tomorrow. G’night!
Read MoreCasserole Wipe Out
Despite the cold temps and brutal wind, I had a fun-filled Monday. I took advantage of my day off and met my Mom for some shopping. We mostly just looked around, but I did come home with a new bra and a cheapy Target watch. I’ve always been into watches and tend to acquire them when I see funky and inexpensive ones. I also helped my Mom find a pair of skinny jeans! Well, they probably aren’t the kind you are imagining, but they were labeled as such and had a much straighter leg than most women’s jeans in department stores.
We took a lunch break at Brixx Pizza and had the most wonderful Thai chicken pizza with goat cheese, peanut sauce, pistachios, and red peppers. I’ve got to go to Brixx more often – I forgot how awesome the pizzas are!
It was just me and the tv this evening, so I stopped by Whole Foods for dinner. The hot bar items over spinach is def. one of the best dinners around.
The good news is that I loved every minute of this. My favorite items were the cheesy squash casserole, curry chicken, and honey sweet potatoes. The bad news is that I slipped on a little bit of casserole that had been spilled on the floor and wiped out beside the hot bar. I hit my knee, but was more just surprised to suddenly be on the floor. Falling down at this age is weird!
I’m off to read and then sleep!!
Read MoreFat Tuesday Calzone
Calzones for dinner! Gosh, I love this meal!
I picked up a few slices of Applegate chorizo when I was at the deli counter and it was heavenly in between tomato sauce and mozzarella. And the WF wheat dough has grown on me. Twas sooo satisfying to eat this guy.
So I didn’t really know it was Fat Tuesday until today. I’m just not with it these days. The family I babysit for had a King’s Cake fresh from a bakery and I had a sliver after lunch. Apparently, there were some neat events that went on in Durham, so I wish I had paid more attention. Growing up, I usually gave something up for Lent, and although I haven’t participated in a couple of years, I was actually brainstorming about things that could be eliminated from my life these days. Most of the things that came to mind were actually more mental – procrastinating in the mornings, ignoring my alarm on my days off, dreading post-work work-outs, and leaving the TV on in the background (even if I’m not watching). Like resolutions though, these changes would be pretty difficult to track and enforce. Still, it’s a nice exercise to think about eliminating negative behaviors, things, or mentalities that might make life better.
What would you give up?
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Welcome to TBT!
I've created this blog because I'm in a bit of a quarter life crisis. Since graduating from college in 2008 and earning an advanced degree in school psychology in May, I still don't know what career path to follow. All I know is that time is moving way too fast and I find myself living only for the weekends. Bear with me as I attempt to reclaim my twenties by finding pleasure and balance in the work week and incorporating my passions of food, fashion, fitness, and fun into everyday life. 
She said what?