Ten Years Since We Met 2016

Ten years ago, Kevin and I met for the first time in the outdoor seating area of Mudhouse coffeeshop in Charlottesville.

To celebrate our ten-year anniversary of meeting, we went about 20 minutes east to North Fork to a vineyard we'd heard good things about, the Paumanok Vineyards. We did a white wine tasting and I liked all the wines we tried, the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, 2012 Chenin Blanc, 2011 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, and 2012 Riesling. My favorite was the 2011 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, so we bought a bottle of that and sat outside with cheese and crackers.

Sitting outside by the vineyard

Yum.

 Paumanok Vineyards

The closed a little early and practically had to push us out the gate. Even the rain didn't hamper my enjoyment of the wine and the setting. But no matter, Kevin had a plan B, which that there was a relatively new whiskey and bourbon distillery with tastings. On the way there though, I saw a chocolate shop and Kevin turned around. The North Fork Chocolate Company had tasting too! Some of the chocolates are good, but don't ask for recommendations unless you want to know what not to eat, as that's how they unload the unwanted chocolate.

Here comes their next victim

In clockwise order fromt he top left: Salty Dog, Ice Cream Sundae, Bourbon, 75 Dark Organic

I loved the 75 Dark, get that.

The Salty Dog tasted like licking an actual wet dog

I also made Kevin stop so I could hug a huge tomato on the side of the road.

 Finally, we got to Long Island Spirits, which had more of Suffolk County vibe. It is perhaps sometimes a dance club? Kevin did the bourbon tasting and I alternatively sniffed or licked a little liquid from his glass because it all resembled nail polish to me.

Long Island Spirits

Bourbon tasting

State of the union: Crazy in love.

Michele Visits- April 2015

Michele made a quick trip to New York, and even though we just saw each other at Clou-a-rama I, we still had loads to discuss. We took the party back to Brooklyn, old-school. We thought we were going to the Brooklyn Museum, but it quickly turned into a choose-your-adventure type of day. We tried to choose a perfect mojito but it didn't choose us back so we ended up in a hot chocolate and marshmallow hot tub, as evidenced by this picture:

Michele and me at Chocolate Room

After our giant marshmallows, obviously we needed tiny beers. We met Michele's good friend Nina at Strong and ordered all the tiny beers that our waitress would tolerate. To punish us, she took away all our plates forcing us to eat our cheese plate like animals.

Nina and Michele at Strong Place- Michele with tiny beer

In other words, super fun, just like any time I hang out with Michele!

Things My Wife Complains About #27: Buying Her Gourmet Cupcakes

My wife complained the other day that nobody brings her cupcakes. She said this not in the tone of "nobody brings me flowers" but in the tone of "nobody brings me oxygen." You are encouraged to imagine my pregnant wife on a respirator of cupcakes, complaining.

I told her to find a place that sells the cupcakes she wanted, and the next day I went to that place. The cupcake she selected was 975 calories and cost $4.50. I used to buy pitchers of beer for less than that in graduate school. Probably, some of you are old enough to have purchased homes for that price.

The cupcake was a complaint-fest from the beginning: It was too big, too sugary, too cake-y (?). Then, when she attempted to consume the cupcake, a series of unfortunate events occurred wherein she was wearing most of the cupcake, and milk was everywhere. This, obviously, was my fault.

I didn't leap to her rescue fast enough. I focused on cleaning the couch, not helping her, and I hadn't even bothered to wipe chocolate off the milk cup. What, she asked earnestly, had I been doing? I had been reassessing the place of the cupcake in my life. It was a soul-searching moment.

Possible solutions!

1) Replace cupcakes with literally any other food item
2) Admit that I forced her to spill the cupcake and, in fact, secretly relished the experience
3) Question a pregnant woman's cravings (hard)

 

Crumb's Thin Mint Cupcake