Laundry Day

Alright, alright. I will update my blog. People, in the future...please be patient. Things have been busy in the life of Brionna, as you will see below.

Summer School is officially over. Hooray! Please observe the creative genius that is my fourth (and fifth) graders during our unit on Greece. Television will be the death of any future creativity in youth. I swear by that. My students cannot draw something out of their own imagination. It is either copied straight from a book, or it is a tennis shoe. Seriously. If I see another Air Force One or some other Nike/Bape designed shoe, I will vomit. But, below, I was at least pleased to not see any corporate logos or Sponge Bobs on the Grecian urns that they decorated. Well done class.
This past Sunday, the Old 97's came to good ol' Toad's Place to put on an awesome show. Later that night, Mickael got to drool over Rhett as we interviewed him for the next issue of RVA. It was actually pretty disgusting. I am not exaggerating when I say that drool was running down Mickael's chin and his palms were sweaty. I think his nipples were hard, too. He needs to get over this man crush.
So, the part of the blog that I am getting a lot of positive response to is about my food postings. I must admit, they are my favorite part, too.
Above- Chocolate Torte from Cous Cous. By the way, Cous Cous makes the most bangin' coffee, too. My cup of coffee went perfectly with the light, soft dessert.
If you are walking down the street and get a whiff of a car that smells like Bath and Body Works, or the Yankee Candle Store, tell them that they lost their auto fragrances near ADA Gallery. This person is clearly putting a spin on the massive-collection-of-keychains phase that we all went through.

Quinn, while you are out getting stung by jelly fish, I am being a lazy ass at Mickael's boss' pool. In case you can't tell, it is salt water and slate lined. I know, disgusting, right?
Me at the disgusting pool. Wondering what to eat for lunch.

Above- Lunch. Turkey sandwich w/ Cheddar cheese, Duke's Mayo, and tomatoes. Funyuns, salt and vinegar chips, and cucumbers on the side. So delicious.

The boo bear waiting for something to fall.

oishii tabemono-"delicious things to eat"

This weekend has been perfectly wonderful. Friday, Michael and I woke up and went to Black Sheep for brunch. As usual, we left full... which was fine so we did not have to spend our entire paycheck on snacks and such at the stupid movie theater. But, we did see The Dark Knight, and it was great. The Joker was very convincing and a very amusing psychotic terrorist.

Above: Sausage Gravy and biscuits and a side of smash-browns with scrambled eggs. Hand squeezed orange juice is a perfect "pick me up."

Michael's stomach is stronger than mine. His heart can take this much sugar in the morning.
Above: Challah French Toast with a layer of Nutella in the middle. The entire dish is covered in an orange glaze syrup and powdered sugar. Heaven on a plate. He could not even wait long enough for me to take this picture before he had to be all up in it.

After we saw the movie, it was almost time for another meal. The two and a half hour film was a bit long for my taste, but I survived. Since I sat through the movie like a "big girl," michael took me out to dinner at Cafe Rustica. Two of my most favorite food spots in all of Richmond in one day!

Above: The German Special for the night- meatloaf, a bratwurst, a mustard gravy with capers drizzled over mashed potatoes and a side of roasted red cabbage. Amazing. Locally grown tomatoes from Andy's Garden added a nice light touch to my hearty entree.

Above: Michael's dinner entree- pollo en pasta- very light and tasty. Cafe Rustica knows how to please...everytime!

And the grand finale- grilled pound cake with lemon curd, blueberries, and strawberries. It looks delicious, but words cannot describe how perfect this dessert is. Even though we were stuffed, we had to eat every bite.

Needless to say, we slept well Friday night. Full stomachs digesting while watching episodes of Monk and Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Perfect!

Quick trip to NOVA... part 2

Saturday afternoon, we were off to Tyler and Gwyn's baby shower. It is almost time for Logan's big debut!
Above-this cake was a triple layer vanilla cake with rasberry jam spread onto each layer. And yes, those are white chocolate shavings adorning the top of this beautiful dessert. I unfortunately could only eat a few bites because of the next picture.

Amazing Baby Shower spread at the Hines' household.

Above-shrimp cocktail, spinach and artichoke quiche, tuna/chicken salad sandwiches, wild rice salad, meatballs. Full stomachs.

Momma and Poppa Hines. Friends and family gathered in Springfield to shower these two with gifts for their baby-to-be. Gwyn, you were right...the butt paste did smell good. And we can all look forward to seeing Tyler sporting the Baby Bjorn baby carrier over his newest Schmack purchase.
Congratulations guys!!!

Afternoon Delight. Michael made me a breakfast of champions. I luv him.
Above-spinach pie, scrambled eggs, Fried potatoes, 7 grain toast, oj from a UR cup.
Perfect weekend.

Quick trip to NOVA... part 1

Of course, no trip anywhere is complete without a skate session or two. Here we are at a pool/tire graveyard/fun place to get "gnar." Whatever that means. All I got were three bug bites.

We met Quinn and Courtney at the above locale and then ventured into DC to see a group art show at Project 4. Super Sweet graphite mini-drawings that could not really be viewed without a magnifying glass. Some nice Jeff Soto pieces. (By the way, dude...send Anne some more stuff. All yo' stuff sold opening day and she wants more.)
Next, we all headed to Gravelly Point, which is a cool park behind Reagan National Airport. We watched the planes come in and spent a nice and relaxing afternoon avoiding rush hour.
Quinn and Courtney-you guys are awesome!

NWA.

For dinner, we made an appearance at the brand spankin' new Sticky Rice DC. John has done it again. It was amazingly nice inside, the food was great, and we didn't have to wait 3 hours like all the other "non-special" suckers.
Above-Godzirra roll, Amazing Fantabulous roll, and the invisible tuna sashimi.

Q and C enjoy the Vegetarian medley with udon noodles. Courtney said it was delicious. Quinn doesn't look so sure. Or else, he forgot how to smile...
All in all, it was a great Friday. How was work everyone else???

Yay! It's not raining.

My sister rules. And now she has a job. She's all grown up. I am very proud.

I need to go back to Japan. This food was amazing. And this was in a train station fast food place. Seriously. Come on America. Get your priorities straight.

The ho made me mad.

Don't worry. Mark did not eat me and Michael did not abduct me.

My FAVORITE past time. Ask my husband...he can confirm.

Purpose in life and love

I have now decided that this blog's main purpose will be to share pictures of amazing food with the occasional flick of my friends and daily spottings. With that said... Eat @ Black Sheep. Goshen and Marshall. (Top- Grillades and Grits/Sausage Gravy and Biscuits/French Toast w. Nutella... amazing)

And if that wasnt enough, Melissa brought us complimentary Banana Split Pancakes. (Yes, folks... those are chocolate chip pancakes you see)

Ok, Rhett Miller is wonderfully funny in person, and the Old 97's are coming to Toad's Place at the end of July. Let's all go and par-tay.

City Dogs (Cary and 13th). Do it. Delicious creations built on top of a foundation of the most basic hot dog. They get their liquor license Monday. And they have mikshakes. Go be a kid again.

Michael and I made Bagna Calda-baked garlic/anchovies/olive oil. Served on a Hanukkah plate. What more could you want in life?

Ladies of Richmond, don't even think about taking any of these fine specimens of man. They are all spoken for. I put this picture up so you have no excuses of "I didn't know he had a wife!!" Nice try.

Good Luck Ashley!

Yay! America.

I'll be the first to admit that there are many things to complain about when it comes to the grand U.S of A. But, I cannot deny that most of us have pretty awesome lives. At the end of the day, I have an amazing family, #1 husband, sweet-ass dog, and the most wonderful friends in the world. Yeah, I could move to another country or continent for that matter, but it seems like all I need at this point in my life is what I already have. 

I won't think too deeply about this post because I really don't like blogs that overanalyze and rant about everything. But maybe today, as Michael is out skate-boarding with the dudes, and we plan to cut loose with our friends later, I can't complain. The birthday of our country. A day off from work. A good excuse to relax. Just enjoy it for what it is.