Weekend Getaway + Santa’s Twin

By

We had a wonderful weekend-before-Christmas! Merry, merry time.

On Friday night we went out to Thomas’s parents’ house for his dad’s birthday dinner. Love a roaring fire!

We had apps, wine and stir fry for dinner, all made by Thomas’s aunt!

We had Paradox Pastry cheesecake for dessert! It was huge, and we were sent home with a few large slices of leftovers – yum!

Friday night cozy:

Saturday jammie time!

Saturday morning T made us jalapeno omelets! He’s done this two or three times lately with chopped pickled jalapenos and cheese. The balance of spice and tart from the pickle is outstanding!

We walked Mazen down to Matt’s with Gus, and then packed up and headed out of town for the night.

Our first stop was T’s parents (again) to drop Gus off for the night. We stopped into Pippin Hill Farm for a glass of wine and a late lunch!

After a short wait, we lucked out with one of the hot spots on the porch with a view. Pippin Hill is the happenin’ place to be on a Saturday these days!

“A quick bite” turned into quite the decadent lunch spread! We had a kale caesar, a cheese plate…

And a Tzatziki + Burrata pizza! [omg]

Our next stop took us up north – but still in the area – to a hidden gem called the Cedar Spring Inn. A friend of mine recommended it, and we couldn’t have been happier with the accommodations. Sometimes you just need a night away from home minus the 5 hours of driving, amiright?

The inn is located up by our airport just a few miles off 29. The views are beautiful, and there is a lovely outdoor pool (that is heated April – October!) and a hot tub. It was a little too cold for swimming, but we did enjoy going in their SAUNA!! You guys know I love saunas <3

We went for a short hike around the property before getting in the sauna and then settling in for the night. Must go back when it’s warm!!

The inn has five rooms, and the decor is lovely. It was built in 2003, so everything is well appointed. We were in a newer wing in the World View room. We had a balcony, gas fireplace, and big jetted bathtub. The room was very spacious too.

Our view:

We hunkered down for the night and enjoyed some wine from the complimentary service over a game of Chickapig. I am mad at Thomas for beating me about 7 times in a row. I just can’t seem to break through!

Since we had such a big, late lunch, we just picked up a few snacks for dinner. We didn’t feel like going out, and there aren’t many nice restaurants nearby. We had sushi and crab dip from Fresh Market. Dinner of champions!

We found an old DVD – Sleeping With The Enemy starring a very young Julia Roberts – in the video library and enjoyed that with leftover cheesecake in bed! #perfection

Our stay included breakfast the next morning, and innkeepers Judy and Charles were wonderful hosts.

Poached pear with raspberry coulis:

This strawberry pecan bread was amazing! I could have eaten the crispy edges all day!

We had a choice of entrees (which they made from scratch in the kitchen behind us!) and T and I both tried the Goat Cheese, Spinach + Red Pepper Baked Eggs. They were SO good that I got the recipe from Judy to try to recreate soon. The goat cheese on top was perfection! Served with smoked salmon and sourdough toast.

I can’t say enough good things about this great getaway. If you’re in Virginia or DC and looking for a casual escape, this is your spot!

We hit up Whole Foods on the ride home (I loved that our drive home was only 20 minutes!). I went to the gym for a bit, play fort with Mazen, and assembled a lemon + artichoke version of my favorite Chicken and Bean Bake for dinner.

We went to ACAC Sunday evening for their annual Holiday Light Tour. This is all free for family members, and they had cookie decorating, crafts, a hot chocolate bar, and of course Santa. Mazen said it was “Santa’s twin” because we had seen a different one a week ago!

We went on a 30 minute bus ride around town to see some of the homes decorated with lights. It was a blast! (Check my Instastories this morning for a snippet of Thomas singing carols!)

Hope you guys had a great weekend. The countdown to Christmas begins!

The post Weekend Getaway + Santa’s Twin appeared first on Kath Eats Real Food.



from Kath Eats Real Food http://ift.tt/2CyACsJ

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Post-Workout Coffee Protein Shake

By
Image
Once again, I’ve partnered with Brother  to show the versatility of the  Brother P-touch Label Maker , especially when it comes to fitness and gym equipment.  As always, thank you for supporting CNC! I receive quite a few questions from readers about what I eat before, during, and after workouts, so I decide to share those with you today. It changes a little bit from workout-to-workout, but I keep a general framework in mind. BEFORE (approximately 30 minutes): I typically eat a small snack made up of mostly simple carbs since they provide quick energy. Some favorites: Half of a banana or another piece of whole fruit, a protein bar, handful of raisins, or a rice cake with jam and sometimes nut butter (it just depends how hungry I am and the timing of my workout). DURING : I typically don’t consume anything during my workouts, unless they’re longer than 90 minutes, like if I’m training for a long distance race (i.e. half marathon). In that case, I’ll take an energy gel and water ev
Read more

Lyme Disease, Protein for Women, Acid Reflux while Fasting | THRR049

By
Image
What is Healthy Weight, Acid Reflux During Fasting, Long Term Antibiotic Use – Lyme Disease, Women Over 40, Controversy Over Meat Make your health an act of rebellion. Join The Healthy Rebellion Please Subscribe and Review: Apple Podcasts | RSS   Submit your questions for the podcast here   Show Notes: News topic du jour: Leading dietary determinants identified using machine learning techniques and a healthy diet score for changes in cardiometabolic risk factors in children: a longitudinal analysis Conclusion: Diets high in seafood, rice, and red meat other than pork and low in refined grains, fried foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and wheat are leading healthy dietary factors for metabolic health in children. HDS is strongly predictive of CMR factors. 1. What is healthy weight? [10:27] Justin says: Greetings, On THRR045 Chris asked a question about fueling his gymnastics workouts and he mentioned his height and weight, 6’3” and 170 lbs. Robb commented that he (Chr
Read more

Evernote Review: Your Digital Organization Hub

By
Image
If you’re looking for a one-stop shop to organize your digital life, check out Evernote! Here’s my Evernote review and all the great features you can use to make your thoughts, notes, and files easy to find, sort, and save.  This post is sponsored by Evernote .  Raise your hand if your digital life feels cluttered. If we were in a room, almost everyone’s hand would go up, including mine!  With so much of our lives digitized these days, it’s hard not to get overwhelmed with all the information we need to save and reference. And because computers, the internet, and living in email and calendars are relatively new to humans, we as a society are still learning good systems. If I asked you to organize a paper filing cabinet, you’d probably have a few good ideas on how to do that. But if I asked you to organize a computer hard drive, many of us get stumped on the sheer volume of files and the endless ways to sort.  The good news is there are apps that make this process more intuitiv
Read more