The words of the day were "Pop would have loved this." He was a socialite at heart.

The memorial service was beautiful – full of jazz music, songs, hymns and stories.

We went to pick my grandmother up this morning and everyone was dressed to the nines

Including Hilton the Bear

Upon arrival to the church, there were touches of Pop everywhere, and jazz music danced through the air

[ME!]

We greeted my grandmother in the study and were surrounded by her beautiful paintings

Each one features the holy spirit in the form of a bird –

The service was beautiful – words spoken and music played and sung captured Pop’s essence. I was touched to remember how he would look at you, smile and nod during a church service. A secret shared between you.

Afterwards, we greeted friends from near and far over sandwiches and cookies

Uncle Mel, who turned 100 this year

Matt and I shared a duo of plates and tastes

After the service we took Gram home and the cousins met for a little exercise – in the form of Mall Walking!

We walked throughout Towson Town Center for over an hour, greeting animals in the mix

This evening, we rendezvoused at my aunt and uncles for a meal of Pop’s favorites: Fried Chicken, Mac n Cheese and Salad. 

Uncle Chris led us through a wine tasting of Australian varietals

Izzy and Winston are the cutest dogs I’ve ever seen! 

For dessert, we popped open some bubbly

And Aunt Mary Ellen’s Bread Pudding, split 2 ways with Matt

Because they doubted I’d put it on KERF, Butterfingers are GOOD!

And we toasted, to Pop

With an Armagnac from 1945 (1945?!)

Strong, but goes straight to the soul

To Pop!

Honorary toast #2 was a whiskey from 1918 – the year of Pop’s birth

Here here

Cousins

Plus family

We raise our right hands!

I have inherited back Pop’s KERF sweatshirt – will miss him so much.

Matt and I together have lost 3 grandparents this year and I cannot stress enough how wonderful it is to reunite with family during this time. My cousins came from California, New York, and even Australia. Larbs and Matt are here from Boston, my parents from North Carolina and the two of us from Charlottesville. And we were all under one roof tonight.

We’re here for my grandmother and to remember Pop together.

Even Winston

Manhattans a’plenty. Cheers to a wonderful grandfather.

My aunt and uncle put on an amazing dinner for us all

Food is always wonderful in this house

Lasagna, salad, bread, caprese salad

Same goes for dessert!

Tarts, ice cream, toppings

I had a taste of chocolate ice cream too! For variety’s sake.

Going to rest and hang with my padres.

Whatta day! I was going and going and going and then suddenly crashed when the clock struck 10.

This afternoon I ventured out of doors on a 2-mile walk up to the Gold Coast neighborhood for a special treat.

A blog reader friend manages a massage spa and treated me to a session this afternoon at Urban Oasis. This was my first real spa spa visit – I even got to wear a robe and take a fancy shower afterwards! My massage was amazing. Wish I could visit there once a month at the least! But I think the shower with many jets was my favorite part

On my walk to the spa, I stopped for a Jamba smoothie! I was pretty darn hungry (it was nearing 6PM at home) and new I had a few hours at least until dinner.

This guy was perfect – and you know I’m a sucker for granola on top so I got a splash on the side!

Of course ate it with a spoon!

After my massage, I set back to walk the 2 miles home – which went by pretty quickly. Walking in cities is so great because there is so much to SEE. In the south a 2 mile walk might have you on sidewalks in front of gas stations. Cities are much more fun.

When I was just about back to the hotel, I bumped into Heather (literally!) and we decided to turn around and get something for dinner (I was headed back to change clothes since I was in walking gear!)

Upon many recommendations, we walked another MILE back to Rick Bayless’s casual Mexican restaurant, XOCO.

Was it worth the walk? Yes it was!!

The menu was full of flava –

And when I saw a focus on local food, I knew it was a good time to try out something I rarely order in restaurants: pork!

I got the Cornitas bowl, a VERY spicy soup with slow-cooked pork, potato-masa dumplings, avocado, greens, arugula, serrano.

With lime on top, this soup was SO GOOD. Very very spicy. The pork was melty, the potato-masa cakes buttery and the greens and arugula made my night!

Because everything is better with bread, we got a side of grilled bread that totally exceed expectations!

It had a really sweet floury taste that I loved

And get this – they had sparkling water on TAP!!!

Really fun, inexpensive, flavorful dinner!

6 miles of walking plus 225 swag bags in process, I’m intoxicated by sleepiness.

Night!

One day off, 5 days about to be ON!

Mid-afternoon cereal + plum jam snack – hunger struck at 4PM!

I worked all afternoon and Matt and mom made dinner – a Teriyaki Shrimp Bowtie Salad with cabbage and peas. I pretended I was involved

I don’t have a recipe – sorry – busy day! But it involved cabbage, peas, bowtie, shrimp, carrots and a sauce made with soy sauce, honey, and spices

Lillian waited outside on the bench for dad to come home from work

Here he is!

The celebration continues – wine is yummy

On the side we had grapes and Great Harvest roll halves broiled with parm cheese

The pasta was great!! Unfortunately I didn’t have much of an appetite since I had cereal late in the afternoon, but I had enough to be a nice dinner

Just a few grapes since we had plans for popsicles after dinner!

Plus a little of this

After dinner Matt and I walked downtown to meet his uncle, aunt and cousins for Locopops!

Always wonderful to catch up with family! These guys are such a fun group -

On the pop front, I got Mango Chili!! 100% mango with a little cayenne (I think!). It tasted like mango but had the heat of spice. Yum!

Mango Chili was something Matt would have normally gotten and he got what I would have: Lavender Cream drizzled in chocolate! His was better We traded towards the end

Yummy flavors all around!

I had to leave a few minutes early to regroup with my Summiteers in a conference call and just finished. Gotta get in bed – another big city is on the horizon!

A HUGE thank you to Kendall-Jackson and the wine family for the amazing wine adventure we enjoyed tonight!

How often do you get to ride in a limo, in New York City!?

Only if you’re Chuck Bass…or Kendall Jackson!

Fun times with friends!

That ended up at the Hilton for a cocktail party –

I had a delicious small glass of red – the Summation – and the first taste anyone but the Jackson family has had of this vintage!

Tweets!

New friends –

Appetizers –

Hair Do!

I made a small plate of appetizers to munch on, but only had a few nibbles – just enough to kill my hunger

We had the pleasure of being in the company of Barbara Banke tonight – owner of KJ Wines! Quite the celebrity!

For the second half of the evening, we made our way to Capital Grill for an amazing dinner

Many delicious wines were served from the Jackson Family brand

• Cambria 2007 Katherine’s Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley
• La Crema 2007 Pinot Noir, Los Carneros
• Cambria 2007 Barbara’s Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley (My fav!)
• Kendall-Jackson Jackson Hills 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Knights Valley

Menu!

I ate half of everything I was served (give or take) to save room

Crabcake with lobster was DELISH!

Esp with lemon

LOVED the Chard with it!! Buttery but not too oaky – perfection! All of the pairings were spot on –

Tuna!!

I’m so sorry Matt missed this

Beauty

Lamb (OK, sorry Matt missed this one too – he loves lamb! This one was rare and so succulent – only could fit a few bites on my palate though!)

Despite all the delicious pours, they were just the right portion – I don’t feel too tipsy! (And didn’t drink everything)

The steak main course was great too. I’m not a huge meat eater, but I had a few bites and really enjoyed them.

The mushroom and sauce was SO dense and wonderful

OMG the flourless chocolate torte!!! Smoky dark coffee chocolate, it was all I could have hoped for in a dessert. I only ate half – to be mindful – but half was everything.

Uh oh…

I had my photo taken with Barbara Banke and Katie Jackson, the family behind KJ, La Crema and Cambria Wines, founded by Barbara and the famous Jess Jackson!

A night to remember!

I travel with one now

Ever since my mom sponsored my first trip to BlogHer in 2008, we’ve talked about doing a girls trip here again. When we found out it was in NYC, the decision was made. You don’t have to write a blog to go to BlogHer. You just have to love blogging, and they do

The swag bags were pretty fun! We did early check in – can’t wait till the conference starts tomorrow!

After check in we found a perfect little salon – Stage Nails on 8th Ave between 54 + 55 Ave.

I went for bright coral orange!! BOLD and unlike me. For the party atmosphere

AND on my fingers!! I NEVER get manicures (I’ve only had one other in my life) and went with orange fingers. I’m loving them!! Typing on this laptop is extra fun. Let’s just hope they don’t chip!

I went down to Sabrina‘s room, which is just under ours! Check out her sweet bags

We loaded up in a cab and headed to OpenSky!!

It was QUITE the happenin’ party!!

I sipped some white wine…

Played with my homies

Ate a few snacks…

Hey, there’s me!!

And me again!!

Sisters!! Pam and her sister!

And then did a tasting…of things to come to my shop. GET EXCITED!!

REALLY excited!

!!!!!

We departed OpenSky and headed to AOL’s Blogger’s Night Out for a swanky swankfest.

Finally got some "dinner" in the form of a chicken tender and corn salad that was perhaps the best fried chicken bite I’ve ever had! It was so FRESH (and it was freshly made by a cooking demo by Kitchen Daily)

Some goat cheese + honey bites

Larbs, Mom and I shared a few drinks…

Champagne, and this cocktail:

Which was delicious!

I drank it down like water though (and shared with mom)

So I decided to actually get a water – a sign I was thirsty more than I wanted alcohol!

We enjoyed a handful of realllllllly yummy mini cupcakes – vanilla, chocolate, cookie dough, PB&J, carrot cake flavors – and a bite of watermelon

Thanks for the fun party

AOL!

We walked a long [painful = heels] walk home and are cozied up for bed (3 to a room!) so we can start fresh for the conference tomorrow. Might squeeze in a run too!

Nite.

Matt and I have so much fun going to new restaurants in a new city. But we have to keep an eye on ourselves or our wallet might explode (implode?!)

We’ve declared once a week a date night to try a new place. Tonight was it!

After much debate about the fat raindrops falling from the sky upon our departure, we ended up driving. And since we were driving, we drove downtown and took advantage of the longer distance in an automobile, saving the closer restaurants for a walk / bike night.

We’ve eyed TEN multiple times and have never gone inside. Tonight we felt like something different, so modern Japanese sounded great.

Very cool swank!!

We requested lots of natural light and ended up sitting in the lounge area. It was a bit hard to eat, but the lighting was worth it

Great view! We even spotted ANDREA on her way out of work!!

Matt ordered a sake. I’ve never been a huge fan – it reminds me of vodka! Blech! HOWEVER, this sake was quite delicious with the FOOD! The spicy, salty sushi and soy sauce we had complimented it so well.

We went with 4 different items on the menu

Starting with "lightly grilled mackerel." I’d never had mackerel but I know it’s on all the "best fish" lists for omega-3s, so I decided we should try it (we have come to love sardines, herring and of course salmon). It tasted a lot like sardines – but a bit milder. And I loved the seaweed bed!

The soy sauce here was better than any I’ve ever had!!

Second we had Green Tea Soba noodles with shrimp and mushrooms. LOVED them. I love soba noodles a lot, but they are so expensive! I need to find an Asian store to get some for less.

We ordered two rolls – a Tuna + Glazed Honey roll that was sooooo smoky and delicious

anddddddddddd………

RASPBERRY ROLL!

Best. Sushi. Ever.

Some kind of white fish, avocado, raspberry and a raspberry syrup. It was INCREDIBLE!

After dinner we went for a short walk

Which led us straight to:

I had raspberry on the brain!! I never order sorbet, but raspberry was so fresh on my tongue and mind, I had to have more. I got a coconut + raspberry sorbet gelato – out of this world good. Matt got pistachio + butter pecan!

Look who’s been hiding from me all week!! He peeked out to say hello

About to embark on 2 weeks of complete [and very fun] travel madness. Up, up and away!

Our trip was supposed to end today. We came home a day early to save money on a Saturday night B&B room cost. But a giftcard + restaurant week + a free night, we decided to extend it one more day

Car snacks – a green apple that I only ate half of and rejected. It was gross.

And this CCNO bar I bought at the market this morning. It was SO good. Like cookie dough and greens in one! At only $1.50, I thought it was a pretty good bar choice made in Cville!

A 5 hour drive later (hopefully the second-to-last time we’ll have to make that in the next few months!) we were back in the Queen City. My emotions about Charlotte had definitely changed. I definitely felt homesick for Charlottesville right away, but we’ve settled back in and it is a nice place to live. It’s just missing some kind of connection for me or something. Hard to believe we’re gone in 10 days!

I was feeling really cruddy when we got home. Zero energy. Kind of sick. I think it was just 5 hours in the car. But I had one of those Amazing Grass packets and a side of SYTYCD and was revived!! I really do appreciate these packets. They don’t taste great but they are good at the same time.

Matt and I put on our fancy clothes and headed uptown in the rain

To Blue!

Blue has been a favorite of ours since we moved here. Caitlin and Kristien got us a thank you gift card when we hosted them back in June. Thank you for dinner guys!!!!!

They dining room was totally full (=restaurant week!!) so we were offered bar seating. Aside from the dark lighting, it was the perfect ambiance. We sat on a velvet couch!

I wasn’t going to drink tonight. I was planning to order sparkling water so I’d have a drink to slosh around. I’ve had a lot of alcohol in the past few days and based on my personal experience, alcohol makes me gain weight quickly. Especially 2 weeks straight of it!

However, the velvet, my romantic husband and the ambiance convinced me to partake regardless I ordered a glass of the 2006 St Francis Red Blend – a favorite Sonoma winery of ours!

Blue knows bread. These shared between us were fabulous! Warm and salty!

Our strategy tonight was light for me, heavy for him but 100% shared. He got a 3 course restaurant week selection (and because Blue’s entrees are nearing $30, this basically meant free app and dessert!) and I just ordered a simple salad.

We shared Matt’s flatbread to start. I had 2 of the doughy delight pieces with prosciutto and herbs

For entrees, he got the halibut and shared

And I got a [blurry] Mediterranean salad with quail egg and olives

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh the dessert!!! We chose a Local Peach Tart with almond gelato.

It was huge and we didn’t intend to eat it all but somehow it’s missing!

Wonderful romantic evening and I’m thrilled to be home in time to veg on the couch a bit with SYTYCD Part II!!!

Nite!

We found a house!!! I’m crazy about it, but I don’t want to jinx us. It’s historic, modern, filled with light and spacious within a half mile of downtown. CROSS YOUR FINGERS!

Yes, I mean you!

We biked all.day.long. I was totally exhausted by the end! I told Matt I was a bit hungry for a snack around 4PM and he led me straight to his watering hole:

Beer run is part store, part bar

And he LOVES it! In his defense, they do have some really awesome unique beers there.

I got the Sierra Nevada Anniversary Bock and LOVED it. Every drop of my 10 ounce glass.

He got an organic Hefe Weizen that was awesome as well.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that 10 ounces was more than enough on this empty stomach!

That said, beer makes an excellent snack!

Upon returning home from 18.5 miles of biking up and down the mountain hills of Cville, I was ready to CRASH!!

Nearly 4 hours of biking!

And by crash I mean drink wine and eat cheese

Wet hair and all

Matt and I shared a platter of cheeses and fruits. Me liked the "biscuit cookies." Seemed like something I would have had in England!

Half a glass of Reisling.

Our evening went out with a Bang!

Did you know it’s restaurant week here in Cville? And next week is restaurant week in Charlotte and we will be partaking!

Matt and I celebrated our adventures with a duo of vino. Zinfandel for me, Sauv Blan for he.

For Course I he got the Pork Tacos. I had a bite. INCREDIBLE! He proclaimed them the "best pork I’ve ever had"

I got a Beet + Chevre Salad for course I

Sesame – both seeds and oil – was involved. It was DIVINE!

Dinner for him was the Seared Tuna over Coconut Rice. Bang! loves wasabi!!

And I got the Vegetarian Purse!

A blend of mushrooms and veggies with curry (I think!?) in a phyllo pouch (a.k.a. purse) with portabello mushroom (again!) and wasabi mashed potatoes.

Ate every bite!

Course III was Banana Fritters for him. They were pillowy and amazing

And the Coconut Panna Cotta for me.

It was just OK. I’m not the biggest Panna Cotta fan.

After dinner we went to see another house. We’ve seen two REALLY cute houses, but I think they are just too small. We’d have to store our furniture (dining room table) and just don’t know if we want to do that if we can pay just a bit more to have it all set up.

We debated going out for some music, but we’re both totally exhausted and calling it a night. More things to do tomorrow!

Back at Hotel Karen!!

After that small lunch today, I was sure craving carbs this afternoon!! Karen was too! We both had small bowls of cereal upon my arrival home. Kashi Vanilla Island and Quaker Oatmeal Squares -

Then we shared a banana a few hours later before we all went to exercise

Matt, Karen and I had the gym to ourselves. SUCH FUN!!! We chatted the whole time, and I did about twice as much weight lifting as I normally would have thanks to feeling content with my company. Score! I did 40 minutes of ellipticalling and about 20 of weights.

Karen and I finished up our workouts while Matt put together dinner. The evening meal is always fancier with 3 people!

We had an AMAZING caprese salad – maters, TJ’s seasoned mozz, basil, olive oil, balsamic, salt + pepper.

A pork tenderloin in a teriyaki sauce that was OUT OF THIS WORLD GOOD because Matt cooked it down into a thick, sweet glaze. Those are chunks of garlic clove in there!

Risotto, which was more like white rice than risotto. The cook cut some corners, and we lacked parmesan cheese, wine and butter, which we now know are pretty important for good risotto!

Lotsa green beans sautéed in butter + Garlic Gold

I left some risotto and pork on my plate and licked up my veggies

We moved the table into the natural light. SUCH a difference!

A few more hours later….Karen talked me into sharing her craving for Yoforia! I have to admit, I’m feeling extra hungry today (maybe because of that small snacky lunch!?) and wanted yogurt as much to quench hunger as for the sweetness!

We got to Yoforia to see they now have Peanut Butter flavor!!! It was everything I’d hoped for.

I went PB crazy with Resee’s Pieces, choco chips and a PB cup. I got a blob of Ferrero Rocher on top (the darker color) and decided it had ZERO flavor so I scooped it off and gave it to Matt. No sense wasting calories on a flavorless bite. The peanut butter underneath more than made up for it!

Perfect summer night!

Very excited to sleep in tomorrow and have just a few things on my agenda for the next few days.

We’re going to Charlottesville on Wednesday-Saturday to hunt for a rental house. I sent a bunch of emails to set up appointments today and have a few top contenders. House hunting would be the time of my life if I weren’t nervous at the same time about finding something before someone else snatches it up! I absolutely love evaluating real estate.

I have a hankering there will be pancakes in the AM!!