Harrisonburg, Virginia

Sorry for the lackluster name of this blog entry but that's really all I can think of. I've driven all around this town and I've searched high and low for something to actually do during my time here. I tried to go shopping and it was the saddest thing I've ever seen. The best shops were Spencer's and Claire's. So... I decided to wind down and grab brunch and I found the best place in Harrisonburg! It's called Clementine Cafe and it's on the square in Downtown Harrisonburg.

Clementine's motto is Food + Music + Art and it makes sense... There's unique art all over the walls and they have live bands every weekend. The music ranges from DJ's to Jazz Bands and on certain nights they even have trivia! If I lived in Harrisonburg, first of all, I might die, but really if I lived here, I would be a regular at Clementine's. Their brunch was amazing and they had great drink specials. There are couches so you can lounge and there's also a balcony area with tons of seating... so you can get a birds eye view of the band! P.S. This mimosa was amazing and it was $5. Suck on that.

This is what I ordered and it was AMAZING! It was shrimp and poached eggs with grits. Probably the worst thing for me but I didn't care. I'm actually surprised that I was able to snap a picture before I ate everything in sight. Ahh so tasty. It is literally the only thing I recommend doing in "The Burg". Just go there and eat and drink and listen to music and play trivia. There's nothing else to do so get ready spend a lot of time there.

CHICAAAAGO!

Almost a year ago, 4 of my girlfriends and I braved the Windy City in the dead of winter. When we told people we were going to Chicago for New Years, almost everyone called us morons. Well, the jokes was on THEM because we had a great time.

Well, thanks to Livingsocial.com, there's a GREAT opportunity to head to Chicago again! Escape to Chicago for the weekend! Grab your man or your girlfriends for an AMAZING weekend in Chicago! Here are the deets:

• Stay at the Hard Rock Hotel on Michigan Avenue
• Two drink tickets at Base Bar
• VIP Shopping at Bloomingdales and Macy's (hellooo ladies)

Definitely read the fine print but if you're looking to visit Chicago, this is definitely a fun way to go!

You only have 4 days left to buy it so do it!!

Home Cookin'!

I've never been a good cook. Although, anyone who knows me well, knows that I really do try. But some way, some how, I will always manage to screw up a recipe. How does it happen EVERY time?? I mean, it's instructions. If I follow it from beginning to end, SURELY I'll make something delicious. Not really the case for me. And for some reason, all I want to do is cook!

Thanksgiving is coming up and let me show you what I'm going to (attempt to) make. Look at these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins! I am going to attempt to make these and bring them to Thanksgiving this year. The boyfriend will be there so I have to make him think I know what I'm doing in a kitchen. Looks fairly easy:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (yes, 1 1/4 cups)
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (Regular or mini, I like mini best) In large mixing bowl beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla and oil until smooth.

1. Mix dry ingredients together and mix into pumpkin mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.
2. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full.
3. Bake at 400 F for 16-20 minutes.

BOOYA... easy as pie. Yeah, I can't really relate to that phrase because I will certainly screw up a pie. But I really have faith that I can make these muffins. I will blog about my cooking/baking experience and I hope my muffins look like that picture. Mmm.

The next thing I'll try for our actual Thanksgiving meal is Paula Dean's Hashbrown Casserole. Amber Dale made this a few months ago and it was amazing. I gained like 5 pounds just from looking at it so beware.

Umm don't you just want to eat that right up?? Let's hope mine turns out half as good as Paula or Amber's.

Anyone have any recipes that are easy for someone as slow as me? Send em to me! It's time for me to learn!

San Antone :)

While in San Antonio, I haven’t been able to explore all that much. First of all, I’m sharing a car with a coworker. Second and most important of all, we’re opening a new property in San Antonio so we’re working really hard and by the time I want to explore, I’m exhausted. However, I’ve done two rather fun things here in SA! One of them is for my body and then other is for my sanity.

Bikram Yoga (or Hot Yoga) in San Antonio is the craze. I’ve been to both locations and they just opened one closer to where I’m staying so my coworker and I are checking it out tonight! So far, I recommend going to the Alamo Heights but I’ll let you know once I go to the new location. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a big fan of Hot Yoga. It’s pretty intense but once you get the hang of it, it’s so much fun. Don’t be afraid to try it out, even if you go by yourself. NOBODY is watching you or cares how well you do your poses. It’s actually a pretty vain form of exercise… you are encouraged to just stare at yourself in the mirror and work on your own strength.

The other place I’ve checked out here is Kona Grill. Kona is the place to be for young professionals. They have happy hour, which you’ve probably heard of, and then they have REVERSE happy hour! Regular happy hour takes place in the bar and on the patio and it’s from 3 – 7. And reverse happy hour is from 9 – 11. I’ve been there twice now and their sushi is AMAZING! There are Kona’s all over Texas so let’s just hope they expand and bring their deliciousness to Nashville!

The boyfriend is going to be here before I know it and we're going to explore this great city! We've got a few things to do and that includes the Riverwalk, Six Flags, SHOPPING (he doesn't know that), and plenty more. Our relaxing week together will likely turn into anything but that. Stay tuned!

The PERFECT Charleston Getaway!

While in Columbia for two weeks, I had a weekend off where I could do whatever I wanted. Sometimes, a certain property will need help with events that happen on the weekends… festivals, football games, etc. However, this weekend I was told I could do WHATEVER I wanted! Sooo… I drove for almost two hours to a city I called home in the summer of ’08! CHARLESTON!

I went down to see a few of my friends that live in Charleston and we did absolutely everything I wanted to do in Charleston. When I first arrived, my sweet friend Lynlea was waiting for me with a bottle of red wine that was only THREE dollars. It’s called Lucky Duck and it’s such a cute bottle… I’ve tasted better wine but you can’t beat $3 for a bottle. We drank a glass and then we poured the rest into small grape juice bottles so that we could take our $3 wine to the movies (a coke costs like $5 so this is a brilliant plan).

We saw Life As We Know It and this is a movie that I would normally make fun of but secretly love. However, in my drunken stupor, I was crying, LOL’ing, clapping, and loving life during this movie. Lynlea and Danielle both thought the movie was OKAY and I adored it?? No offense but Danielle LOVES Disney movies. Yeah, I must have just been drunk and emotional because at the time, I thought this was the cutest movie ever. Soooo that’s my movie review: See it when you’re drunk.

We went back to Lynlea and Tori’s house and STEGER came over! Right away we started playing my new favorite game that I learned from Cougar Town. It’s called “Describe two movies as if they were one to create one movie title” – that’s the official title. For example, an orange cat who goes to a baseball field to reconnect with his dead father…. GARFIELD OF DREAMS. Get it? Yeah, it took Steg a while to get it too.

We kicked off Saturday by waking up and heading to the Farmer’s Market Downtown. It's so pretty in Charleston.. so pretty that I (yet again) got distracted and didn't take any pictures when we were walking around. This beauty to the right is the only picture I took. It's so random but funny because the guy that was working this booth kept pressuring us to rub the mint leaves and then smell our fingers. It felt weird to do that. But, after he yelled at us a couple of times, we caved.

After dinner/drinks at Red's, we went downtown to Lyn's favorite place. It's where she takes alllll of her amazing guests. I don't even think it has a name it's just the Cigar and Wine Shop. The rest of the night is history. I am so thankful to have amazing friends who will take me in while I'm traveling. Loved seeing everyone in Charleston and I can't wait to come back!

Disregard the weird, old dude.

Columbia, SC!

Ok, I’ve officially learned that I know EXACTLY what I need in a hotel. WIRELESS. I at least need to have an Ethernet cord that reaches farther than 2 feet. I am blaming my lack on blogging while in Columbia on not having wireless. But DON’T WORRY, my sweet little followers, I’ll be blogging your face off at the next assignment.

To fill you in on the past two weeks, I’ve been in Columbia, SC. Thank the LORD that Pammie lives here! It’s been so great to catch up and see an old friend! We had a wine night on my first night here and then went out to dinner at this great little place called Gervais & Vine.

It’s in an area called the Vista and it’s pretty swanky. I’ve heard about the two big spots that people frequent in this town and it’s The Vista and 5 Points. Apparently 5 Points is where the college kids hang out and the Vista is where young professionals kick it. Pammie is taking me to 5 Points tonight so I’ll let you know what I think!

While I was in Columbia, I took a mini-roadtrip to visit my friends in the Low Country! Next, I’ll paint you a picture of my amazing weekend in CHARLESTON!

Everything Toledo!

If you ever find yourself in the beautiful city of Toledo, OH, you’ll soon realize that you’ll need some help determining what to do in this town. You could always watch movies and drink wine in your hotel room like yours truly, but trust me that will get old quick. Here are some things you must do if you find yourself in Toledo!

1. Go Downtown.

The Downtown Toledo area is really nice. There are restaurants for whatever type of food you’re feeling… Seafood, Mexican, Asian, American, you name it. Also, if the weather is nice, you can take a stroll around the river and possibly sit outside!

Sunday night I went to The Navy Bistro and it was amazing. I got the Mediterranean Chicken and it was so good. I really should have taken a picture but I ate it all before I even thought to take a picture. Although, I did take a picture of my view from my blackberry:

2. If you’re ready to shop, make the drive to Perrysburg and go to Levis Commons.

I thought I was in Heaven when I drove the 25 minutes to Perrysburg for dinner last week. I drove by Francesca’s, The Loft, and Venetian Nail Spa and I could barely keep my eyes on the road. I thought for one second that I was in Green Hills in Nashville and I wanted to cry I was so happy! It was not Nashville but this little area is super clean and swanky like Green Hills. I definitely recommend driving to Perrysburg if you’re looking to escape Toledo for a bit. http://www.shopleviscommons.com/

3. Head North to Canada!

That’s right – Windsor, Ontario is only 45 minutes from Toledo! I really wanted to go but I didn’t bring my passport… I won’ t make that mistake again. A lot of the kids in college go up there on the weekends because you don’t have to be 21 to booze it up. Apparently it's also kind of romantic; that's also where the kids go for date night. Here's a picture of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor (I didn't make it there so no, this isn't my picture.. but it's a pretty picture)

Welp, that's all I've got for you, kiddos. Toledo has been great and I've really enjoyed being here! However, I've gotten my next assignment. I'm heading to Columbia, SC on Monday for TWO WEEKS!