Baltimore & Home

We decided to cut our Baltimore trip a day short, and finished up with a bit of a grand finale there.

In the morning we discovered this funky little cafe/lounge called Teavolve near our hotel. We had breakfast paninis, mimosas and sangria - with the most amazing tomato bisque I've ever had. I'm serious - it was the best. I'm contemplating driving back down there to get it.

After breakfast we made a "quick" trip to the wine store near our hotel which was hyped to be amazing... and it was awesome. The sales lady invited us to a wine tasting that was happening in 30 minutes so we spent the next 2 hours learning how to pair food and wine on our first tasting event.

Afterwards, we went over to Federal hill and walked around a bit (though there wasn't much there due to the current economic conditions - all the little boutiques had closed!) We did however see this clever place; had I been hungry (the breakfast and wine/food filled me up!), I would have eaten there just for the fabu facade.

The we grabbed some snacks and hit the road. I spent the evening by the chimnea roasting marshmallows with my sister Julie and the dogs. Julie even stayed over so we all had homemade waffles on the patio the next morning!

Baltimore Day 2

On our second day of vacation in Baltimore, we started the day off great with a sweet treat from Starbucks, then walked to the Aquarium for a few hours. While it wasn't as big as either of us remembered, it was still tons of fun. We especially liked the Jellyfish exhibit and dolphin show.

Immediately when we got out of the aquarium, it started to pour... not just rain, but the kind of torrential down pour that could soak through an umbrella. We made a run for it with one of those fold-up pocket umbrellas, beelining it for the car (a few blocks away) that had our larger golf umbrella. A few hours later, we were over in Fell's point for some lunch, window shopping, and the best authentic Italian gelato I've had since we were in Italy last year.

We wrapped up the evening with a hilariously fun dueling piano bar and two buckets of beers in the Power Plant Live complex. All in all, it was an exhausting and awesome day.

Baltimore, Day 1

Bo and I decided to go to Baltimore for our first anniversary trip. We're staying at a hotel in the Inner Harbor, so Thursday was all about that area. After we got down here, we went and had a drink at a pub called 'James Joyce' near our hotel, then walked to all the shops around the main portion of the harbor.

For dinner, we went to Roy's - I had Mahi Mahi and Bo had the Hibatchi style Salmon. Both were incredible. As if that were'nt enough, we also had the most fabulous dessert: a chocolate suffle (with a hot fudgy insides, ala mode). It was AMAZING (see below).

After a nice after dinner walk, we ended up back at the James Joyce pub, which had some great live music via a guy with an accoustic guitar. We really liked this place, and quickly realized that all of the bartenders were actually Irish- or had extremely good cover accents and names (Colin and Seamus). We watched the end of the Cleaveland / Orlando game and went home quite ready for our plush hotel bed.

Summertime Floral

Its almost summertime, and my gardens are in full swing this year!

Our First Anniversary!

While Bo had to work for our first anniversary weekend (boo!) we still made some time for each other that evening... and enjoyed our wedding cake! We'll be going away to Baltimore next weekend for a relaxing getaway for the two of us to really celebrate.

It feels like forever ago that we were in Italy- but it really doesn't feel like a whole year has passed since our wedding. This blog has actually helped me track the time - and all of the projects we've done since the wedding.

A Window to a New World

We've basically finished putting in our transom...with the exception of some cosmetics (our house # and finishing the molding). It is beautiful - adding lighting and since its a working transom, in the summer, we'll have some additional venting into an otherwise stuffy house!

The Busy Life

No, I did not fall off the face of the planet... May has just been a super busy month for me! Here's a recap to catch you all up:

1. I started a new job - same company, but now I'm in the HR department as the Communications Manager. Basically I get to talk for a living, how perfect is that for me? :)

2. The new job = new training, so I spent one week in leadership training. The training was quite enjoyable; the only bummer was that it was away from home. It was the most I had travelled since January, and even then I didn't have to get on a plane, so I can live with that!

3. We've got a few new house projects we've finished... I'll post the details of them soon. Projects A & B involve some new lighting and Project & C involves the great outdoors...

4. I just got back from visiting my friend K whose getting married in two months. I'm the solo bridesmaid and am getting so excited for her. She's doing a bbq style party - very intimate and relaxed. Its going to be so much fun to celebrate their wedding, I can't wait! (Plus i get to buy new shoes. yay!)

5. Last week I started to get back into my exercise routine a bit (see #4- i only have 2 months before K's wedding! yikes!) and have started running again. Ideally, the hubby and I would like to run the broad street run next year - its 10 miles, so i have a ways to go with my endurance.

6. Lastly, I think I may be allergic to soy milk. I was drinking a 1/2 gallon every week up until a few weeks ago, and now after just 8 ounces, my stomach starts twisting and turning and it is PAINFUL. I have tried everything; this morning was a last ditched attempt to save my enjoyment by taking Beano with it - and it did help a smidge, but not enough for me to keep drinking it. Now i have to find a way to get rid of at least one unopened container in my fridge. Anyone else drink Silk Milk?

Tom's Shoes Will Soon Be Mine

Thanks to some quality AT&T cellphone marketing, I just discovered "Tom's Shoes". They manufacture and sell canvas and vegan style footware, and every time you buy one pair of shoes, Tom's shoes will give a pair to a child in need around the world. They have given away 140,000 pairs of shoes since 2006 according to the website (http://www.tomsshoes.com/).


Including shipping, they cost me $47.50 after I was able to find a coupon online for $5 off. So they were expensive, but going along with my charitable donation / month, and tying that into new shoes, I'm really excited about this one!


I have been looking for a navy pair of shoes (I really could have used them today with my navy sweater!) so while some of the other red and yellow ones were more fun, these simple ones fit my need. I can't wait until they arrive in the mail!!