ah, so good to be back for the first official new restaurant wednesday experience of 2015! some friends tried out naanstop a couple weeks ago (much to my dismay since i was out of town), so tonight we bring you the review of saltyard, a small-plate dining experience that is casual and ambient, luring yet not pretentious. with its globally-inspired menu and perfectly-paired beverage selection, it sounded like a flavor odyssey that we couldn’t miss.
i know facebook has this whole “year in review” thing going on, but this post? this post is going to be much more exciting! oodles of stuff happened in 2014 for me, and i am going to give you the ultra recap you never knew you needed but have been dying to read.
first things first of 2014, i started this blog! it began on a whim one dreary january morning when i was in starbucks, and it has been the best thing i have done for myself in a long time. you guys, my loyal readers, inspire me to keep it up and give you guys an insight into my world. thank you for the encouragement and loyalty!
at last! our final day of fun in dc ushered itself in on sunday morning. our flight wasn’t until the early evening, so we had plenty of time together before everything came to a close.
after getting our packing done, we headed out the door for brunch, but wait! not before i can coordinate these adorable photos on the stoop of our chinatown home! aah, i looked at them and could hardly contain myself. what a great trip because of these gems!
saturday morning came a little earlier than i would have liked, but there’s no time to lose when you’re on vacation in dc, so i rallied (can you rally at ten a.m.?) and we set out to take on the day.
we stopped at panera bread for some quick sustenance and then hopped on the blue line in chinatown to head to arlington. we plan our annual trip around the wreaths across america ceremony, and with this year being the 150th anniversary, i wasn’t going to miss it for anything.
we woke to a beautiful friday morning in chinatown, mildly rested and ready to take on the day. there was food to be eaten and things to be seen, and we weren’t going to miss any of it! we set off on foot through our neighborhood to begin our adventures.
okay, i’m a touch behind on my writing, but better late than never, right? right! i’m glad we agree. so, without further adieu, i give you the first day of last week’s fifth annual dc december trip!
we flew out of atlanta around eight p.m. thursday night to arrive in our very chilly capital city at a decent hour. the trip was quick and uneventful, just how i like my cross-country treks. well, this trek was not technically cross-country, but we certainly were no longer in the south. we freshened up and joyously retrieved our suitcases from baggage claim. i say “joyously” because one year my bag was very much left in atlanta all on its lonesome. poor little guy! delta quickly delivered him to our door the next day, though, so all was well.
a $25 cab ride later, we were at the doorsteps of our humble abode for the weekend in chinatown. nathan had found a sweet townhome for our visit on vrbo, and with six bedrooms and three bathrooms, it was perfect for our large group.
we dragged our things up the stairs, in through the doors, and pleasantly found peter and shaun inside, greeting us with drinks and food. it was actually sarah’s birthday that day, so they surprised her with a dinosaur cake; how thoughtful! he was affectionately named barnabas and kept us company most of the time we were in town. the yellow cake was thickly topped with frosting so sweet that i almost had a stomachache afterwards. but! it was nothing a little adult beverage couldn’t remedy.
we enjoyed the rest of the night as we sipped on manhattans with one another. the fun was only beginning!
my garth & me!
very quickly, folks, while i have a few minutes on my lunch break! first, vinh sent me his pictures from the weekend, so check out more snaps of our lunch at sakura.
second, look at how far we walked! the weather had been so beautiful on sunday that we traveled far on foot through this little city. vinh mapped out our trek, and thinking we had walked a modest six miles that day, we were shocked to see we had actually walked 10! be sure to check out this past sunday’s post to get up-to-date on those whereabouts.
okay, day three, it is my last day in boston, so i need to make the most of it. monday, do you think you can deliver? good! it sounds like you are up to the challenge. the day’s not getting any longer, so let’s get started!
after a solid night of sleep, the city was ours for the taking. as we strolled to the fields corner metro stop, we munched on homemade egg rolls that vinh’s mother had given us before we dashed out the door. those things were crispy and warm and gone in no time. the perfect snack to get our metabolisms going.
we grabbed our charlie tickets and stepped aboard the redline, northbound to alewife. when i take public transportation in other cities, i always wonder if i look like a tourist. was i blending in because i was being accompanied (well, more like chaperoned, let’s be honest) by a local? um, probably not, especially since i was so chatty and upbeat for a monday. something i noticed very quickly about bostonians is that while they are not necessarily rude, they aren’t really pleasant either, at least to strangers. i found that my polite “excuse me’s” and “pardon me’s” went unnoticed and seemed to not be appreciated one bit. this much is true of pedestrians and even more severe for drivers. i’m convinced no one’s blinkers work and that lane stripes are more like guidelines than actual restrictions. cars seem to have no regard for those on foot, and the reverse seems to be quite the same. there was more than just once when i thought i might be nudged into an intersection and made to fear for my life. as they say, you can take the girl out of the south, but you cannot take the southern hospitality out of the girl. okay, so maybe it isn’t an actual saying, but right here from yours truly is a first-hand testimony. tell me it counts for something!
some of my plans fell through this evening (which seemed to be continuing the weekend trend…), so when clark got back home from auburn, i easily persuaded him to go try gypsy kitchen in the buckhead atlanta area for dinner. i love going out to eat with clark because he’s always up for it and is usually interested in trying a new place with me. gypsy kitchen had opened back in mid-october, and after driving by it nearly everyday and seeing it pop up on my facebook newsfeed, it was time we see what it is all about for ourselves.
***author’s note: since our visit last fall that prompted this post, la urbana has unfortunately closed its doors. do read on, though, to hear about how we enjoyed this local joint.
we brought nrw back this week and took it to the westside of town at la urbana, a spot that came highly recommended from my coworker batkinson. now, i already have my favorite mexican place in town at bone garden cantina, so i was looking to be impressed.
la urbana opened in march of this year, and considering their peripheric location, i’m sure they were thrilled to have nine people come in for dinner. their spot took over some pizza joint that used to be there a couple years back, and they’ve certainly made it their own. the large space isn’t too crammed with tables and chairs, and i think we were all comfortable at our tables that were pushed together.
The Atypical Journey of your Typical Family of Six
@thelondonfoxx
kelsey v 