River Fun

We spent a beautiful Memorial Day afternoon tubing down Richmond's James River. There were a few rapids, and a lot of paddling. (I did some strenuous math to figure out that since we went about 3 miles in 3 hours, we were flying down that river at 1 mph!) I managed to not topple out of my tube and I got a tan. Dustin loved it- he would be floating down the river every day if he didn't have dental school.

For Katelyn and Amber

Congratulations to my two little (twin) sisters! They graduated from high school Monday night (both in the top 10 of their class) and are on their way to BYU in the fall. I love you girls!

 

May Vacation

It's not yet summer, but this was the only week that Dustin and I had off of school together (until I graduate in December). We wanted to spend it somewhere warm and sunny, so we went South.

Last year we visited Charleston and found Folly Beach. We couldn't get the waves and sand out of our minds and I had been craving a particular fish taco shop ever since, so we went back. We stayed one night in Charleston just to spend the day on Folly and eat fish tacos- twice!

From the Folly Pier. 

Downtown district historic Charleston.

Note the progression of skin tone from ghostly pale (or vampire-ish as my sister described us) to slightly tan. Yes, we used sunscreen and still got a tan. Sunblock is your friend.

Next we spent some time in Historic Savannah. We consulted Trip Advisor and signed up for a highly rated walking tour with "Savannah Dan". He guided us around the streets and squares of downtown Savannah for an afternoon- it was informative and fun! Trip Advisor came through.

That house is famous for something... I just can't quite remember what!

With our tour guide Savannah Dan. He was a large and funny man.

Paula Deen's restaurant The Lady and Sons. Savannah is obsessed with her. I'm not much of a fan so we didn't eat there, but I had to take a picture of course! 

After tiring of the city, we drove out to Tybee Beach for an afternoon. This is where they filmed The Last Song. Yes, I saw that movie- Miley Cyrus and all. And yes, I liked it. A quaint little town and a pretty, wide beach.

Our last few nights were spent on Hilton Head Island. It was our favorite part of the trip. Mostly we slept and swam and read sitting on the beach or by the pool. Can't forget all the awesome fresh seafood and Southern fare. A whole week of no cooking! It was unbelievably relaxing.

Sitting on the beach. I thought that my sunglasses would hide the fact that I had my eyes closed for this shot. You caught me.

My pink toes by the pool.

In front of our resort- I already miss those palm trees. 

Decapitated

This is how I found my beautiful Gerbera Daisies this morning. Severed at the neck and soon to be dead. And I know exactly who did it. The homeowners association hired painters who have been touching up the paint on the exterior of our townhouse for the last few days... popping up in random windows and doorways, invading my privacy, and trampling through my garden. Even propping ladders up in front of my front door for hours on end, making me feel like a hostage in my own home. (All this after power washing the house several days ago and practically taking out my herb garden in the process.)

I can deal with strange men peering through my bedroom window (because I can close the curtains) and climbing around in my front bushes (because I can lock my door) but I really don't appreciate them ruining my newly potted plants. It's quite obvious they knocked the whole pot right over... because they didn't even bother to clean up the carnage! Since I'm too timid to march out there and speak my mind (which would probably be useless since they don't appear to speak very much English), I'm complaining to you. I can only hope that the fellows creeping around outside will at least leave my poor vegetables alone.

Garden Girl

I guess it was inevitable that when I started seriously cooking I would eventually take an interest in gardening. One naturally inspires the other. There's satisfaction that comes from making a meal from scratch- from a pile of raw ingredients. And once you surround yourself with loads of fresh grown foods you start to get the itch to actually make a meal all on your own- from the ground up! This spring I actually got around to it. Or rather, I finally convinced my dad to come visit and teach me what he knows. We spent Saturday building my mini garden and shopping for all the beautiful plants I would fill it with. I was more excited to pick out vegetables, flowers, and herbs than I was to spend my birthday money on a pile of new clothes! (I get giddy grocery shopping as well. Don't get me started on the farmers market!)

So now, thanks to my Dad, I have a garden patch filled with tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, and jalapenos. I also started several pots of herbs. And already since Saturday, several more. I'm an herb addict. (Fresh herbs are sooo expensive in stores, so I figure I'll save a significant amount of money this way.) Will anything grow? Best case, come summer I will have an endless supply of salsa! Worst case, I realize I'm better suited to preparing produce rather than raising it. Already though, I'm loving the much improved look of our previously bleak (and weed-wrecked) backyard.

P.S. I really am going to try to be better about posting (and photographing) about our lives. At least I finally took a picture of something other than food (oh wait- it's future food). Well, at least it's a step!

Catching Up

It's only been 3 months since I posted anything. So here's a quick catch up...

We managed to get one snapshot of the MCV Winter Ball in February-

My Birthday in March- I went out to lunch with friends...

And had a birthday dinner with my family (minus 3-the twins were in Utah and my brother in Ukraine) at Tarrant's Cafe (I highly recommend it!):

And I baked my own birthday cake and I'm not ashamed! It's the only time of year I don't feel guilty about making something loaded with coconut (which Dustin hates). Surprisingly, he loved and adored that cake. Gobbled it right up!

Then spring break! Outer Banks, NC. 18 adults and 14 kids in one very big house. I forgot to take a picture of that. The weather was pretty crummy but the company was fun! He we are bundled up in the adorable town of Manteo:

Christmas Part 2

Our Christmas continues... The whole Davis family:

 

All of us at Cafe Yumm... I was meant for Oregon. Eugene is an organic hippy town and I fit right in!  So much delicious healthy food everywhere!

The Monday after Christmas we flew back to D.C. to spend some time with my family. My little sister Brooke, the sweetest girl in the world...! (Sorry Brooke, I'm too lazy to edit the red eye!)

Round 2 of presents! We couldn't take all our gifts on with us, but I can't complain about 2 days of Christmas!

 We stayed several nights with my family on the Eastern shore of Maryland. We visited Assateague Island (the Maryland half of Chinquoteague) and got up close with the wild horses...

It was beautiful but it was COLD. The lovely Atlantic...

Of course, my one request: that we dine on Maryland crab! Even with the help of my mallet skills (I have none) it took Dustin twice as long as everyone else (who were too wimpy to try crustacean) to finish his dinner. Such a stubborn tasty crab!

And that concludes our Holiday rendezvous. So sad it's over!