Food & Drink – Heart Eyes 4 Vintage

December 29, 2022January 18, 2023

Asheville, NC – “Take 2 – and Action!”

Our last experience in Asheville was quite memorable because of the bus. THIS time Jason was like, “NOPE. No Airbnb. We aren’t paying to clean someone’s shit.” So, Hotel Indigo it is. We shall see how that goes….

We’re going for the Candlelight Christmas at The Biltmore Estate. He’s never been and I’ve only been once and we wanted to do something different for NYE. Note: if you want to be an extra in a Hallmark movie, they are filming one at the Biltmore in January!

We have reservations for dinner tomorrow at Jettie Rae’s and on Saturday at The Stable Cafe – Biltmore. I’d also like to check out the S&W Cafeteria – one of the coolest food halls in US apparently.

Depending on how much I’m freezing to death, I’d LOVE to get a Banana Split from The Hop Ice Cream place. We are most DEFINITELY getting a drink from The Times Bar.

December 22, 2022December 28, 2022

NYC 2022

Our trip was mostly a success – we had a few minor issues due to an entire day of rain on our arrival day, the venue for the concert was just too small for what was going on, and the never-ending search to find a DAMN BATHROOM in the city.

The Oculus in NYC

Ghostbusters Fire Station

The Highline

Winter Lights Powered by Genesis

Rockefeller Center & The Christmas Tree

We stopped into FAO Schwartz – not for buying anything but both of us wanted to go check out the toys and stuff. We are both still very much kids at heart I guess. BUT we had a human NYC moment that was super random and very much created a sense of “we are humans together”.

The song Sweet Carolina by Neil Diamond was playing and all of us in the store were totally into what we were looking at but when the chorus hit, EVERYONE SANG IT. And everyone did it just once, didn’t do it again on the next chorus….and I wish I could find the words to explain perfectly how it felt in that small space of time – but it was really extraordinary.

Times Square

The Great Heathen Army hat and Times Square

Central Park

Bethesda Terrace
Bow Bridge – one of the first structures built in Central Park, this is an iconic bridge that’s appeared in several TV shows and Movies: Manhattan, The Way We Were, Spiderman 3, Highlander, Keeping the Faith, When in Rome, Made of Honor, Night at the Museum, Autumn in New York, Great Expectations, Uptown Girls, Glee 5. We had the fun experience that this video ALMOST captured, I was so focused on the bridge that I missed what was happening to the right of the bridge, the laugh from Jason on the video is what clued me in that something else was also happening – sometimes I’m just in my own world.
Alice in Wonderland
Strawberry Fields

Hoboken, New Jersey

Wicked Wolf Tavern

Hoboken Waterfront Trail

Things to Know for Next Trip

Tips from video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MSL-VdS8e8

FREE NYC tours from locals – Big Apple Greeter

Free Tours By Foot

This is interesting: McGraw Hill Waterfall Enter Middle of 49th Street bet. 6th and 7th Ave but reading here see that KISS did a photoshoot here. That’s neat info.

American Folk Art Museum – free with two floors. Near Columbus Circle/Central Park.

This one is neat if you’re a fashionista – The Museum at FIT – also FREE!

Holiday Stuff – located with 10 blocks of each other – lower Manhattan

The Peninsula Hotel on 5th Ave – display in lobby free to take pics.

Hudson Yards – BONUS SCARY escalator ride – prettiest mall decorations

Brookfield Place – also has a lesser known ice skating rink

Zuccotti Park – 1 Liberty Plaza –

The park is home to three sculptures: Joie de Vivre by Mark di Suvero; Double Check, a bronze businessman sitting on a bench, by John Seward Johnson II; and Rose III by Iza Genzken.^[11]^[7]^[12]^[13]^[14] Joie de Vivre, a 70-foot-tall sculpture consisting of bright-red beams, was installed in Zuccotti Park

NYSE Christmas Tree

South Street Seaport – Check out Pier 17

Side note of interest – POPS is Privately Owned Public Spaces in NYC. This may be helpful in finding a DAMN BATHROOM in this city.

December 9, 2022

Holiday Cocktails & Recipes

https://www.joyfulhealthyeats.com/holiday-spiked-eggnog/

https://www.brit.co/christmas-party-foods-recipes/

https://www.joyfulhealthyeats.com/easy-white-christmas-margarita-pitcher-recipe/

November 29, 2022November 29, 2022

Bonny Scotland – Travel Wish List

Let’s start this list with a place that isn’t that obvious to some travelers – Oban.

This town is the “gateway to the isles” but it’s pretty amazing in it’s own right. I’ll get back to that but first, The Isle of Skye. I can’t tell you how often I DREAMT of going to this magical and far off place as a kid. I was absolutely obsessed with the Hebrides Isles and with Scotland and Ireland. Later in life, I find out that I’m 73% Irish/Scottish. Funny how that makes so much sense now. I never understood why I YEARNED for this place that I’d only ever read about.

So, yes. I’m still completely obsessed about wanting to go to this place.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/scotland-hebrides-isle-of-skye

https://www.obanview.com/

Oban Inn

No17 The Promenade

Waterfront Fishhouse Restaurant

Oban Fish & Chip Shop – bring your own alcohol as there are no corkage fees! Good to know.

Will add more later – bookmark it!

November 29, 2022

NYC in the winter is lovely – let’s go!

I really, really hate the cold and I REALLY hate cold and windy – both of which NYC is in the wintertime.

However, the holiday season in NYC is just so BIG and fun that I generally plan trips during the week after Thanksgiving. This way the decorations are still new and fresh and fun. Sometimes it’s snowy and other times it’s just cold but Rockefeller Center, all the department store window displays, the ice skating, all of it – I just LOVE IT!

I think I’ve been to Manhattan/NYC 7 times…maybe 8? I took each of my kids on separate trips there (3), twice with some friends, and I know I went by myself at least twice.

I remember the first time I went and saw Central Park, the FAO Schwartz toy store was still there on the corner, and it was snowing. It was the biggest, fattest, fluffiest snow ever and it was new so it was still white and clean and I was by myself and I remember thinking how romantic it would be to share that with someone I loved. On that trip, I’d gone to visit my friend Amanda and that was the first time I’d been to NYC and the entire experience was just amazing.

With that, I’m so stoked that we are going to NYC tomorrow. I surprised him with Meet/Great Concert tickets for Amon Amarth at the Hammerstein Ballroom for his birthday. Trust me, it’s true love over here because VIKING DEATH METAL? Umm. I might die but it’s cool – it’ll be in NYC.

SO! We’ll be staying at an airbnb in Hoboken, lord I hope this one is better than the last one! But prices were just absolutely stupid high in NYC so, Hoboken it is!

Details and tons of pics to follow – if I survive that concert!

November 14, 2022

Keep Up – It’s Holiday Season!

We have a ton of things already booked to do on the weekends for November and December.

The first weekend in November we went to a Craft Cocktail class and this past weekend was Moonlight in the Garden at the JC Ralston Arboretum.

This coming weekend is one of my faves: Raleigh Christmas Parade and the Homewood Gardens Christmas Open House for the poinsettias!

Then, Thanksgiving is the following week and we are going to Wilmington to stay with my Mom and Ray.

After that comes the first weekend in December we are in NYC for the Amon Amarth concert for Jason’s birthday.

Wikipedia describes this band as: Genre: Heavy metal, Death metal, Viking metal, Metal, Melodic death metal, Folk metal, Technical death metal Types: Melodic death metal

Swedish Melodic Death Metal at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC? Why not? (insert OMG emoji because dude.)

Second weekend in December is the Historic Oakwood Candlelight tour and we are porch hosts. More on that later.

The third weekend in December is our “downtime”, then Christmas, which I’m sure we’ll be at my Mom’s, and then New Years Eve and we will be in Asheville for that at the Biltmore Candlelight Christmas Evening.

November 9, 2022November 18, 2022

Asheville, NC – Overnight trip

It’s leaf peeping time – Asheville, North Carolina

We hadn’t been to the mountains at all this past year so I booked us an overnight stay in Asheville. I used Airbnb and found a cool looking renovated old school bus to spend the night…I dream of living a life in a van or overlander – I have some old gypsy blood in my heart or something. I’ve always found it fascinating to actually live a mobile life.

Anyway, we will talk about that bus later…let me just say that $335 for ONE NIGHT should yield a very comfortable stay that one doesn’t have to worry about stuffing towels and blankets in the cracks and over windows because the heater left to be plugged in kept blowing the converter in the bus that was supposed to supply electricity…..

Regardless of this minor (albeit irritating) issue; it was fun!

We had a great time – first time for Jason and only the 2 time for me. We missed the “peak leaf” by one week I believe but it was still so beautiful and we were lucky that Green Knob Lookout wasn’t fogged or cloudy. It was pristine, sunny and so much fun!

The Devil Is In The Details

I planned out our route so that we could do a quick little hike during the good early afternoon light because did you actually go to the mountains if you don’t do at least ONE HIKE?

We took the normal route out of Raleigh to Asheville but we had planned to hop onto the Blue Ridge Parkway outside of Marion, NC and just do a loop down to Asheville which passed the Mount Mitchell State Park.

I’m so glad we did! We found the neatest little dam at Lake Tahoma on the way to the BRP. We pulled over to take a look around and explore a bit.

Honestly, I didn’t even realize how CLOSE we were going to be to Mt. Mitchell otherwise we would have planned on adding that since I’ve never been there and neither has Jason. But by the time we got to our actually reason for going on that twisty winding road (to see the Green Knob Fire Tower) that we were pretty hungry by the time we saw we were basically at the entrance to the park.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t go on with our planned route because apparently it snowed a few days prior and our route out was closed since there was still ice on the road. We were a bit bummed because we had to backtrack and go a different direction but whatever. It was fun and we saw stuff, etc.

Green Knob Fire Tower is not accessible above the ladder – they have it locked. Not sure if it’s year-round or just when we were there. But we still climbed the steps and took some pics. Short intense hike from the Green Knob Overlook.

Future PRO TIP aka Hindsight is 20/20 – Check the weather at the actual park before committing to a route. Higher elevations and lack of ability for snow plows to get in (it’s a state park, no snow trucks!), can make having a couple route options a smart idea.

Downside to the detour, we were STARVING by the time we actually made it to Asheville and OMG IT WAS SO FUCKING CROWDED. We THOUGHT we could just stop in Wicked Weed or something and grab a bite. Dude. Not happening.

FOOD & DRINK

Future PRO TIP aka Hindsight is 20/20 – During high peak seasons like fall foliage and summer, make a reservation somewhere OR take some snacks and be okay with a long wait.

We ended up getting a table after a 30 min wait at The Twisted Laurel – we just took a chance on it since I had not read reviews, etc. Please do yourself an IMMENSE favor and get the focaccia. This was just absolutely stunning – apples, whipped ricotta, toasted pistachios, honey. Ugh. I’d eat myself sick on it. The pizza was good and the smash burger was YUM. That was our late lunch and dinner – we ended up heading out to find the Stoked bus before dark (so so glad we did!) and later went to grocery store and grabbed firewood, Firestarter, beer, and ICE CREAM. Perfect.

Breakfast next morning – was at Mayfel’s. The beignets were good but wow that sausage gravy and biscuit would sink a ship! VERY big and solid.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkD4CeYvRLz/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkCa5Hrr0NF/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkIuIGZsKLt/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkGzZuLs8YN/

https://www.romanticasheville.com/mtmitchell.htm

October 20, 2022October 20, 2022

The Merchant – Downtown Raleigh Craft Cocktail Review

Craft Cocktails are probably my favorite thing about going out – food’s great but the cocktails are generally not something I can duplicate at home. Let’s get to the fun!

The DRINKS -we managed to have a drink out of each section of the cocktail menu (with exception of Zero Proof #overachievers) and they were so fun and tasty that I felt they deserved their own post!

Large Format Cocktails

Dillinger’s Escape Plan: I mean HOW could you come here for the first time and NOT get something that looks like this?? It was perfect; light refreshing and easy to drink.

Word of caution to those that are a bit clumsy (hello self) – the drink is balanced on that metal ring and if not careful, can be tipped over. Glad that didn’t happen – would have been something to see a grown ass woman grab a straw and start drinking off the bar….only slightly kidding.

Gin, Vodka, fresh dill, cucumber = light and refreshing

Herbaceous & Refreshing Cocktails

Graveyard of the Atlantic- this one was mine – tequilaaaaaaa 😋 and that is black salt on the cucumber. Looks like caviar but it’s not.

Robust & Boozy

Death in the Afternoon – this was Jason’s and the first time I’ve tried Absinthe. It was SO good. Dangerously so – Champagne and Absinthe! 😂

Death in the Afternoon

Smooth & Citrousy

Pirate stuff AND rum? That’s J’s all day.

It’s interactive as well – I mean besides the drinking part – see the vid clip on insta – one of the ingredients is cotton candy – pour the alcohol over it and the cotton candy dissolves into the drink. Coconut Red Bull? Okay!

Smokey & Aromatic

I TRIED to love Fear and Loathing in the Carolinas – part of my ongoing attempt to develop a taste for Mezcal – but ugh. Still in progress 😶🤷🏼‍♀️

:: Robust & Boozy ::

This drink – Icon’s American Dream on the right – was most certainly my fave out of all for taste – the fresh honeycomb was a tasty and different garnish. Loved it! 🍯 🥃

I went back to the ROBUST and BOOZY category and snagged the Icons American Dream and J went off script with a Moscow Mule. That drink was most certainly my fave out of all for taste – the fresh honeycomb was a tasty and different garnish. Loved it! 🍯 🥃

Smokey & Aromatic

THIS was the most dramatic – Jason’s final choice – Smoke & Daggers

It’s interesting how wine is used in cocktails – never would have thought to do that but it’s usually very good – the presentation is legit. Check out the video on my insta.

Tip: if you reserve a table here – and I most certainly recommend that you do that considering it’s a fairly small space – they require a $10 deposit for each person.