Returning the Visit

 We decided to take a quick trip down to Atlanta. It was Lexa's birthday a couple of weeks ago. Her husband, Tristan had emailed me to come down and surprise her in Atlanta. Jason and I were on board and even tried out Norfolk's newest airline, Southwest. We were both slammed at work, so magically, the flight left at 6:50 after work on Friday and we returned about 1:30 on Sunday. Once we arrived in Atlanta we embarked on the scariest cab ride I've ever been on with a fellow Greek. The guy talked non-stop and seemed to think it was necessary to make eye contact with Jason in the backseat while driving. Terrifying. Once we arrived at Erin and Walker's house we partically pulled into the driveway. I could see there was some frusteration at the house, as the party seemed to be upset that an unknown car was parking in their driveway. Erin quickly ushered Lexa inside and Jason and I paid the cabbie and snagged our luggage. I had Jason walk inside first, thinking that Lexa wouldn't recognize him immediately and then I peaked my head out from behind him.

Lexa was surprised to say the least and super excited! She didn't have a clue! That night we got to see Dusty and his roommate, Lauren, Caleb and even my sister Elise in addition to Erin, Walker, Lexa and Tristan. It was quite the reunion, as we haven't all been together since January! We enjoyed the rest of the night sitting on the porch and talking, catching up. Elise spent the night too.

The next morning, Elise took us on a mini-tour of Atlanta. She had moved to the area 9 days prior and wanted to show up her new diggs in Buckhead. We grabbed brunch in between the Highlands and Buckhead at a place called The Flying Biscuit. The food was great. I remembered how much I miss Southern cooking.

Elise's apartment was adorable. She has no pictures on the wall yet, but has at least her furniture together and is working on the details. She showered and changed and we returned to Erin's for a Low Country Boil. Jason had never experienced a Low Country Boil, so I was excited for him to interrupt his game of corn hole and have a taste!

We never made it out the entire weekend, save brunch Sunday morning. It was perfect. I loved catching up with friends and even 1 family member and having everyone get to know Jason better as well. I can't wait for the next time we are all able to gather. Jason and I might be planning a return trip to Atlanta sooner than we thought. We absolutely loved the city and were shocked to see all the tree lined streets in the highlands amidst over 5 million people. Atlanta knows how to retain its Southern charm and still get down to business.

A Visitor from Georgia

 This weekend was a blast! One of my best friends from Savannah came into town. She lives in Atlanta now and is a very successful sale rep for a ergonomic office furniture company. EEB and I are probably two of the most unlikely people you'd expect to be friends. I'm ultra conservative, and she tends to be a little more open minded. However, she's got the purest and most loyal heart of anyone you'll ever met.

This weekend was her first trip to visit me in Virginia Beach. We recently got Southwest airlines at the ORF. She flew in about 3:30 on Tuesday and my incredible boyfriend took the day off work and picked her up at the airport. They entertained themselves walking around Chicks Beach and stopping in at the Green Parrot for a bit before I got home from work.

We quickly got ready and headed out to Mermaid Winery. You may remember from before, but Mermaid's is Norfolk's very own urban winery. The service was slow, the trains were loud and had the food and company not been good, we would've been off to a bad start. After apps and a wine flight, we headed to Little Bar Bistro's Empire for dinner. Empire boasts amazing tapas dishes and a fun eclectic atmosphere. EEB told us a few ghost stories and we discussed the paranormal. Both J and EEB are believers, but I've never had an experience, so I'm not a believer yet.

Friday, I had to work from 8 to 5. It was a stressful day, so I was happy to have EEB waiting for me when I got home! We checked out Surf Rider off Great Neck for a little seafood. They had an amazing lobster special for $14.99 of which J took advantage. EEB had shrimp and I chowed down on some Mahi Mahi. After Surf Rider's we headed to Chicks for Virginia Beach's famous Orange Crush. We were only there briefly. I was tired and couldn't stop yawning from a long day at work and EEB wasn't complaining about spending a little quality time on the couch at home either. We headed back to Chick's Beach.

Saturday we ventured out to Doc Taylor's, another beach favorite. The brunch is wonderful and cheap and worth the wait. Or perhaps, you're just so hungry by the time you get seated and order, anything tastes good! I had crab benedict and  it was to die for! After brunch we walked 5 blocks to WRV, a local surf shop. I figured we were at the beach, so why not take her to a surf shore? There we went a little crazy. I bought 2 new pairs of flip flops -- one Sanuks and the other Rainbows -- a WRV teeshirt and St. Christopher's charm. St. Christopher is said to be the Saint of Travel. Surfers around the area promote this Saint to stay safe while they tackle the waves. For EEB, it meant safe travel home because she's scared of flying. After hitting the shop, we took a stroll on the boardwalk and Atlantic Avenue just to play tourist for a bit. Eventually we ended up at 22nd Raw Bar for a quick drink and later on at Harpoon Larry's for a quick snack.

We returned to Chick's Beach tired from being out in the sun and ready for a restful evening. Our friends Pat and Leanne, joined by my roommate Whiney and her boyfriend Will all readily agreed to dine with EEB, J and I at Zia Marie's. Zia's is a little Italian place about a stone's throw away from our house. The food is great and not overly priced. The atmosphere is loud and friendly.

We turned in early again, and we well rested for Sunday morning brunch at Waffletown (which also happens to be on UPromise) before heading to the Norfolk airport to say goodbye. It was so good to see her! I'm looking forward to not waiting 8 months to see my friends again. As I get older, I realize the importance of keeping the people in your life who are important to you close.

Puerto Lago

I never quite finished blogging about my trip to Ecuador. I'd like to share with you our experience in Puerto Largo. It was absolutely breath taking! Located right outside Otavalo, the lodge boasted llamas, a wonderful restaurant and views of the water. 

Jason and I spent the day walking through churches and markets in Otavalo and bargaining with the locals. At night we dined in the hotel's restaurant. It was wonderful. The weather was so strange. During the night it was cool, but would get very hot during the day. It was a lesson in bringing layers. 

Trash to Treasure: Part II

Here's the final product! We even bought a chair for $10 at the Thrift store and painted it to match!

The bottom picture is set up at Jason's house for his new desk!

This was a fun project, but cost about $100 for all the primer, paint, handles and twine. The desk was saved and therefore free. After scouring Virginia Beach antique stores for the perfect chair, we ended up finding one at the first thrift store we entered.

Our next project are jars for the kitchen with chalk labels. I cannot wait!

From Trash to Treasure

My roommates and I have a witty relationship with our landlord. We like to pick on each other and have fun. When I came home on Saturday, Tim was cleaning out the shed behind our house. Finally! I thought. . . I could move my bike from the entrance into the shed. He had a ton of junk pulled out of the shed and was just dumping it into the trash. Among all the trash was a beat up old desk.



When Tim told me he was going to trash this, I asked if I could have it. He looked at me like I was crazy. but agreed. The desk, as pictured, was extremely beat up, had tons of spider webs on it and truly looked like trash. But I saw a vision. Plus J has such a rinky little cheap looking desk in his room, I thought this might be perfect. I went out and bought primer, eggshell colored spray paint, and a finish. I had a nautical theme in mind. I envisioned a ropey looking handle and navy and white striped contact paper. The inspiration for the pulls came directly from Anthropologie. However at $14 a pop, I opted to make my own pulls. I purchased twine for about $3 and 9 pulls off an online site for under $3 each. The spray paint was roughly $4 per can. I've already gone through 1 can of primer (I actually needed 2), 6 cans of eggshell and purchased 4 more cans, plus 2 cans of finisher. Oh, and a sandpaper block, which was about $4 too. This puts me at about $96 for the project.


I made J do all the sanding and I taped the drawers and applied the primer. Primer made all the difference. The places where I didn't prime the paint didn't stick so well. . .

Right now it's still a work in progress. I'm waiting for the handles to come in so I can work on applying the twine and the desk needs another coat of paint. Stay tuned for more pictures!

Mermaid Winery, Norfolk, VA

I heard about the Mermaid Winery by chance. My beau's sister was hosting an event there and helping with the marketing. Norfolk had it's own urban winery. I couldn't be more delighted. Now I just needed a victim to drag along. My parents came in town and brought my sister. Bingo. Elise volunteered to join me in Norfolk after our visit to the Chrysler museum on Sunday afternoon.

I was delighted to find a wine flight and a cheese pairings -- one for white wine, one for red. As we tasted our five 1oz pours and munched on fruit and cheese, I took in the surroundings. There was a fabulous outdoor area for some of the cooler summer evenings. Inside was large with an industrial flare. Elise and I sat at the bar. Everything was so open, I could even see into the kitchen. Unlike most winery,  you had to pay for your tastings here, which was fine. I really didn't expect anything less from Ghent.

I will be back to this venue. I love a good wine bar and this combines a winery with a wine bar in some sense of the world. I'd like to find out more about their wine club as well. At $45 to $75 a month for a few bottles of wine, I wasn't sold yet. It would have to rival my go to party wine, Generation Green. I encourage you stop by and give it a whirl. The food is just as good as the wine!

Trout of Papallacta

We set out on a deary Thursday to travel nearly two hours to see what Papallacta had to offer. This day was supposed to be our day of relaxation after hiking up and down to waterfalls and volcanoes of Ecuador. Among the many offerings of the small town of Papallacta, hot springs and trout are two of them. We hit up the hot springs first. Not exactly what I had imagined. The hot springs appeared to be a various titled pools throughout the area featuring an array of temperatures. Some were too hot to stand, others were freezing. It was an interesting experience. If we were to do it again, I would upgrade to the private pools and bring my own towel (we were charged $12 to purchase one which is highway robbery in Ecuador).  

After wrapping up at the springs, we were famished. We hit up a local restaurant, where a full meal was offered for $5 (pictured). The trout was to die for if you didn't mind dodging a few bones. It also paired perfectly with the local Ecuadorian beer, Pilsner. A large Pilsner cost a whopping $1.25. A pleasant surprise for these spent vacationers. After lunch we went to a spa. I swear it was the most productive half hour massage I've ever had. Quite relaxing until the chopsticks at the end to signify my time was up. All in all, a great trip to Papallacta.

Home Grown

Several months ago, Jason returned home from Lowe's with a garden box. He set it up in his back yard and filled it with dirt. Shortly after we ventured out to purchase plants. We settled on blackberries, jalapenos, squash, basil, strawberries, eggplant, and 2 different types of tomatoes to fit into this 4 by 4 garden box. Of course, being new at gardening, we didn't account for the fact that plants GROW. In the coming weeks the garden battles beetles, sun, drought and over crowding. We quickly had a strawberry and blackberry crop, which was over taken by slugs and beetles and then overshadowed by the enormous growth of the squash plant. 

Today we have 18 healthy looking tomatoes on 1 of the tomato vines, 1 eggplant, a few sprouting peppers and a flourishing basil plant. The blackberries have come and gone. We never were able to get more than a few to put in our morning smoothies before dashing out the door for work. There have been discussing of adding a second garden box in the backyard, but the thoughts of mixing dirt with the carefully laid stones still lurks in the back of our minds. You see, the entire backyard has a tarp placed over the layer of earth to prevent weeds from frolicking in between the stones and creating an unsightly mess of the backyard. To us, this means the roots of the plants we chose will never venture further into the earth than the depth of the  garden box. 

With much delight, we found after a week long's trip to Ecuador that our garden had furnished a perfectly purple eggplant. The shape seemed a bit alarming at first, but it's heart shape seems to resemble the care that had been bestowed upon the 12 cubic feet of earth.

Spanish Mackerel

My fabulous roommate skirted off to a family reunion for the weekend and in her passing words indicated that my beau and I could enjoy some of her precious Spanish mackerel. The Spanish mackerel had been caught on a deep sea fishing expedition that she had taken her father on for father's day. My beau and I had been covetous of it ever since. As she and her boyfriend jetted off in a plane to see her family, I wasted no time in thawing the fish. 

We looked up a simple recipe for grilled Spanish Mackerel. We paired the fish with red Inca quinoa and roasted potatoes seasoned with Parisian spices. The flakey white fish was melt in your mouth. So good that Jason and I indulged in two filets each. 

Rockbridge Winery

A weekend trip to Rockbridge, Virginia lead us to explore the Rockbridge Winery. Breathtaking mountains and rows upon rows of grapevines enticed us to have a sit and enjoy the gorgeous scenery, glass in hand. A huge red farmhouse greeted us oozing twangy folk music. We entered the wine tasting room and were deleted to discover a white pinot noir. We made several purchases while we were there. 3 bottles of wine, a block of cheese and grape olive oil. The grape olive oil is said to be the best of all the olive oils for you. In comparison once we returned home, the calories were the same, but the saturated fat was much lower.

The wine was delicious, a fresh twist on the ordinary. I must say, we were slightly dismayed to discover the bottles could be purchased in Virginia Beach's Total Wine and More under the local section for a few dollars less. However, our disappointment vanished once the bottles vanished and we were delighted to know we could readily purchase more when desired.

Pink Mint

Every little girls wants a pretty pink bike. And while this girl is 27, she still knows she wants a pink bike. The search for the perfect bike took a while. Originally I had my heart set on a teal and white Huffy from Wal-mart for the nice prices of $88. I went to 3 stores. The bike was a limited edition and the floor models were constantly banged up. You can still check out the Huffy Ladies' Cranbrook on the site. Since the bikes were so beat up in the store, I decided to order one online and pick it up at the store. A representative that worked in the bike department told me even though the website said they store wouldn't assemble my bike, they would if the tech were there.

Well, I never got this far. Somewhere along the way, Wal-mart lost my bike from the warehouse to the store. I emailed them and asked what happened, but never got a reply, just suddenly had my credit card refunded. I was a little bummed because I'd gone through UPromise and earned extra money in my Upromise account for this purchase. I cursed Wal-mart and their bad customer service. What had happened if I'd never pursued the issue? But secretly wished the bike had arrived and debated upon ordering one again. The price was just too good to beat.

Instead, I decided to support local. I found a pink Mintcraft at the Hardware store down off 17th street at the Oceanfront. The bike cost me about $139, plus accessories. No beach cruiser is complete without a Krusie (get it? Cruiser + Koosie) or bell to warn pedestrians and other people prone to getting in your way.

The only thing that threw me off was the bike title and warranty. Who gets a warranty for a bike? I have jewelry worth more that I don't even insure. The Hardware store instructed me to register my bike with the police department and put a "secret message" in the seat of the bike that only I know in case it was stolen. I'm sitting here thinking, well, the crooks are filing off the registration number on the bike and popping the seat off already to see if anything's inside.
Any tips on what you would do? I've been leaving my bike inside for the time being.

Anthropologie Magazine

I want to feel at all times that I just stepped out of an Anthropologie Magazine. I want the whimsical colors and blend of urban with shabby chic to radiate out of my smile and and caress the aura of others. That's why the decision to purchase this bedspread was a carefully guided choice mixed with affordability and style.

I stalked the Anthropologie website for week to find a sale or a glimmer of hope to elevate me from the woefully expensive duvet I had fallen in love with. I lusted over the Georgina duvet for endless days, hunting the site for the slightest break in price. The duvet with all the given accessories, the shams, euro and dust ruffle, brought my cart total to well into the $700's. Even for a splurge this trumped my budget.

Dismayed I searched other sites. I scoured Urban Outfitters (Anthropologie's sister site), Elm Street, Pottery Barn and The Company Store but could find nothing that compared. Finally, one Tuesday came along where an item I'd overlooked posted. I overlooked the item because the site favored its poppy red companion over the muted nudes and whites. My new discovery had big bulls eye sized pinwheeled in white delicately stitched to a cream duvet. The euros were sold out and I nixed the dust ruffle, bringing my total down to $250 for the shams and duvet. A happy splurge price, considering my last bedspread lasted seven years.

A month in I'm still happy with my duvet choice and it puts a smile on my face every time I walk into my room. For immense satisfaction, hold out for what you want and what you can afford. It'll come along every time. I promise.

Catching Dinner

Every time I go fishing, I go in hopes that I'll catch something someone says, hey, that's too good not to fillet and have for dinner tonight. It never happens, but I really don't understand fishing for sport, rather than for dinner. Perhaps that's just me. Much to my pleasure, I was invited to celebrate a friend's birthday on his annual fishing trip. The trip left out of Dockside Marina, just a stone's throw away from my old stomping grounds in Lynnhaven Landing. The water was incredibly rocky and we kept getting jostled about on the boat. Out of the eleven in our group, three retired to the back of the boat to nurse their sea sickness. The tour cost $35 and lasts four hours.

Our efforts brought us a plethora of croakers (too small and bony to eat) and a couple toad fish. Luckily, our friend's lovely wife had planned a cookout, complete with burger sliders and pasta salad. Abby served white wine with fresh peaches and raspberries bobbing in the glasses while we played Taboo. All in all a wonderful way to spend a Saturday.

Memorial Day Kabobs

This Memorial Day I was lucky enough to spend with Jay's family. We sauntered over to his parent's house around three, armed with vanilla bean ice cream and frozen drinks (alcohol included). Jay was put in charge of the meat: one lamb kabob, two steak and two chicken. His mother prepped rosemary bread, sweet corn on the cob and rice to complement the skewers. Paired with Alice White merlot and followed by cigars on the ocean facing third floor porch, the meal was a wonderful cap to a fast weekend. We even got as american as warm apple pie a la mode.

Alligators in Virginia

Thursday evening my beau and I decided to get a little adventureous. Last weekend we visited the Farmer's Market. The market provides several different vendors including an organic selection, plants for purchase and our favorite, the Country Butcher Shop and Deli. At the Butcher a wide variety of exotic meats, game and seafood can be found. This trip we walked away with fresh alligator sausage (a mere $8.99/pound) and duck (frozen).

Last night we grilled the alligator sausage, and let me tell you it was perfect. The sausage is obviously seasoned and much to my pleasure, not spicy. It's difficult to liken it to another meat, but was not unpleasant in the least. However, from my research, it's not much better for you than regular sausage. The truth is, while there may be alligator in the sausage, it's typically blended with pork. Lot of potein, but even more fat, so I'd save this luxury for a calorie splurge and realize the sausage is being branded as alligator as more of a marketing technique. Alligator by itself, however, boasts a lower fat and calorie content than chicken. We paired the sausage with grilled eggplant just to shake things up a bit and enjoyed my lower cal version of a Greyhound (vodka, soda water and a splash of ruby red gratefruit juice).

The question still remains, as pointed out by a friend, where is the alligator meat from if there are not alligators in Hampton Roads?

Introducing From Tidewater to Tidewater

From Tidewater to Tidewater emcompasses the past eleven years of my life. My family moved to Tidewater Way on Skidaway Island of Savannah, Georgia when I was sixteen. Years later I found myself launched into the Tidewater Community of Hampton Roads, Virginia. The same name, but two very different places.

In my life I have had the good fortune to travel and experience new places, foods and wines and I'd like to share my experiences with you.

Welcome to From Tidewater to Tidewater.