Aksarben Farmer's Market 2019

This was our first time at the Aksarben Farmer's Market together. Aksarben is a neighborhood in Omaha that used to be where the horse track was. "Aksarben" is just Nebraska written backward! So cheesy! The kids loved the donuts.

Enjoying fresh donuts

Checking out the fresh veggies

Chilly and overcast but still very crowded

The Aksarben Needle

Rocky Point Farmers' Market 2016

Inspired by reading Animal Vegetable Miracle, we finally made it to our local farmers' market on Sunday.

Buying fresh fragrant basil

Kevin and Miranda walking around

Miranda and James like the animal drawings

A band!

Holding hands

Visiting Michele in Richmond, VA 2013

Kevin had a break from school last week so we took a little roadtrip to the South. We started by visiting Michele in Richmond. Michele moved back to Richmond in November, and along with her friend Susan is starting the Richmond Food Cooperative. If you live near Richmond in Virginia, you should check them out! And whether or not you live nearby you can buy their awesome shirts in support of the Coop. Anyway, we had such a good time visiting that I have the absurd problem of having too many good pictures to reasonably post in one entry.

James photo bomb in Maymont Park!

We arrived in the afternoon on Sunday. James was pretty good for the first 5 hours of the drive but then he wasn't so good for hours 6 and 7. Nonetheless, we were excited to make it from Long Island to Richmond in just 7 hours with just a few stops for sanity and food. When we got in, Michele suggested we take James to the park so that he could get some energy out after sitting in the car all day. She took us to Maymont Park, a big beautiful park with a children's zoo. We toured the whole thing and got some fresh vegetables for dinner from the vegetable garden volunteers. Michele's family was nice enough to invite us to dinner.

James loves Maymont Park

Tuesday we had lunch at a delicious sandwich shop called Chiocca's and got everything on our sandwiches from prosciutto to liverwurst and anchovies. Yum! James ate some of our sandwiches but he was mostly interested in stealing all of our potato chips and drinking out of a straw.

At Chiocca's enjoying some crazy sandwiches.

Potato chips make him thirsty.

We grabbed some coffee after lunch and then headed over to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Both the outside and the inside of the museum is lovely and impressive.

Michele and I outside the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

James is concerned that this giant lady is falling

Michele in the Eastern art section

Enjoying the interplay between the sculpture and the canvas

Tuesday night we had dinner at Michele's family's home again. Besides the company, my favorite part was the sweet tea vodkas with fresh mint from the garden Michele made each night.Yum! The weather was so nice the whole time we were there that it was very pleasant sitting outside, especially in the evening.

Sweet tea vodka on the porch. I could get used to Richmond!

Hanging out on the porch with Michele's brother and mother

Kevin used to visit one of his friends in Richmond all the time before we met, but I had never been out in Richmond before, so Kevin offered to stay in and watch James so that Michele and I could go out for drinks. I was thinking like the parody song "32" says,"It feels like one of those nights I'll have like one drink." But we went to a Cuban cigar bar and ordered mojitos and they gave me the biggest mojito I've ever seen, so really, one was plenty. 

Havana 59 Cigar Bar in Richmond

Wednesday, we finally went to Buz and Ned's. I have been dreaming about it basically since last time I went in 2006 or 2007. It held up to my expectations more or less since my BBQ roadtrip of 2012 dramatically increased my BBQ expectations. I would have liked it more saucy, but that was the only critique I had. The hush puppies, beans, and apples were divine. James strongly approved of every portion of the meal.

Kevin and I with scary portion of food at Buz and Ned's

Michele feeding James some beans

Group self-photo outside of Buz and Ned's- cute times 4!

At my suggestion we walked through the large famous Hollywood Cemetery. It's a little weird, but Kevin often checks out famous graves at cemeteries anyway, and I had my sights set on the pyramid I saw listed in the Richmond Wikipedia entry.

Pyramid to honor Confederate soldiers in the Hollywood Cemetery

After lots of exercise in the hilly cemetery, we went to Hardywood Brewery to cool off with some local beers. The main part of the brewery was closed for a law firm event. Figures. But the Brewery also had a large outside area with a farmers market. They provided some chalk as well, which was all James needed to be entertained for hours.

At Hardywood Brewery

James artistically expressing himself at the Farmer's Market

Finally, since I'd expressed an interest in getting a good view of the James River, Michele took us over to Libby Hill Park. James loved playing in the fountain until he was soaked. Water hoses and fountains are a huge passion of his.

Libby Hill Park fountain

Michele taking a photo of James who is about to use a stick to make a wish 

She made us a delicious dinner on Wednesday night. We left Thursday morning, but only because Michele was leaving for her brother Matthew's college graduation in Vermont. Otherwise, she might have had some trouble getting rid of us. We took her to the airport so that we could spend every last second with her, and we miss her already!

Girls' Weekend in Warwick 2012

So then I went back to Warwick last weekend. Yes, really. Some of my college friends and I had decided to go visit Ash months before Superstorm Sandy and the Nor'easter had caused me to live in Ash's place and my mom's for an extended time. So back I went!

Actually, I was pretty excited because I wanted to see my friends and Warwick had just given me a little taste when I'd stayed there the week before because a lot of places were still missing power. Warwick is very charming.

I was supposed to take the bus up with Christina, but sadly the storm set her family back too much this week with work and no daycare for their little one. She was very missed.  I braved the bus on my own and discovered parts of New Jersey I'd never seen before. Megan drove up with Laurie and Janice from the Virginia-DC-Maryland area (one lady from each state). Shortly after everyone arrived on Saturday afternoon we had cheese and crackers for lunch.  The wine came minutes later when we went to the Warwick winery for a tasting. I especially liked the Harvest Moon wine we tried, a white with a strong grapefruit flavor that led me to dub it "a breakfast wine." The time has come! Afterwards, we bought a bottle of their famous cider and sat to enjoy it and listen to live music.

Janice, me, Laurie, Ash, and Megan doing the wine tasting at Warwick Winery

Enjoying live music at the Winery

So we were already having a lot of fun, after our first stop, and then Ash suggested dinner at a Cuban-Latin restaurant called Coquito. I was a little dubious because I'm kind of a Cuban food expert, but it was delicioso. Especially the maduros and yuca fries. And the Coquito mojito was coconuty and amazing.

Janice and Megan at Coquito restaurant

After dinner we went to Eddie's Roadhouse for drinks. We had so much fun on Saturday night. More fun than we little old ladies are used to perhaps. We ended the night on the couch trying to regain energy by watching some truly awful CIS episodes (but only because Laurie refused to watch some truly awful SVU).

It worked! The next morning we were so energized that after Megan and Ash went hiking (the rest of us slept in) we went to brunch and then walked around the Warwick shops all day. We also went to the cute little Farmers Market.

Walking Main Street in Warwick

Walking to brunch at Le Petite Cuisine

At the Warwick Farmer's Market

Then we had a total food binge on Laurie's homemade cookies, Ash's homemade pie, and a million snacks Janice brought. I am still recovering from the horror of my weigh-in.

Ash showing us the brussel sprouts in her garden. Why weren't we eating these instead?

At Ash's place, missing Christina

I had such a wonderful time and I love these women so much that I am already dreaming about our next girls' weekend!

Saturday Morning in Southeast DC 2012

We had a quick trip to DC this weekend. We stayed with Cory and Robin who live in an up-and-coming neighborhood in the Southeast - and got to enjoy some of the best places there.  We started at Eastern Market, which somehow I missed in the 8 years I lived in the Metro area. The outside market area reminds me a lot of the Brooklyn flea market, except the food is more farmers' market than food truck. The actual Eastern Market building is very unique and beautiful. I can't believe I had never been in it before. I think this just leaves the White House on my DC-bucket list. (I've been in the backyard but not inside the building.)

  

Clous with Cory and Robin in front of the Eastern Market building

My friend Jaime joined us for the outing and after we walked around the flea market and the indoor  Eastern Market building, we grabbed some lunch at Marvelous Market nearby. I would recommend eating directly from the farmers' market instead, but James was pretty happy because he got his first squeezy-tube of smoothie-like food.

Jaime inside Eastern Market

James enjoying a fruit smoothie squeezie at Marvelous Market

Cory and Robin had a great idea to take James to the new Yards Park. It's beautiful and super kid friendly with a wading pool and a kiddie splashing fountain.  James was a little nervous about the whole thing at first and kept asking Kevin to pick him up (not with words but with his arms). Once he got into though he loved splashing around.

The Yards Park, facing towards the Anacostia River

The Yards Park, with my back to the Anacostia River

The men taking a dip in the wading pool

Trying out the kiddie fountain on the street level

Brooklyn Flea and Fort Greene 2011

While grandma babysat, Kevin and I took the opportunity to finally check out the Brooklyn Flea market. There was a lot of stuff! There were countless vendors under their own tents, and a bunch of food trucks.

View of all the tents with some historical building in the back.

In case you need animal heads for your home...

Kevin scopes out a very extensive jar collection.

You can see Kevin taking this picture behind me in the millions of mirrors.

We had lunch from the Porchetta food truck- yum.

Since the main Brooklyn Flea Market is in Fort Greene, we wanted to check out some other fun weekend stuff in Fort Greene so we went to the Farmers' Market in Fort Greene Park where we purchased the most delicious apples I have ever eaten.

Fort Greene Farmers' Market

So much deliciousness

The park is beautiful too so we took a walk around. We should bring James back to the playground when he's old enough to enjoy it.

 

Fort Greene Park

The tower in the park