a weekend in alexandria

now, how much do i love alexandria, va?

THIS MUCH:

as much as ollie loves shoes

as much as coffee loves cream and sugar

as much as mandi loves locally grown apples at harris teeter

as much as we'd all love economic recovery

as much as the sky loves a pending sunset.

alexandria was so much fun

but all play and no work makes jessie a dull girl!

my mom and i moved phil and mandi into their apartment at potomac yards

and we drank beer while moving

and we went to harris teeter the following morning for food

(my mom and i got healthy food for the ride home!)

we got a delicious salad from the salad bar and apple slices and strawberries

and i finally tried Rachel's cottage cheese, berry verbena.

it was absolutely scrumptious.

back to long island yesterday,

i moved my mom and sister upstairs

and i finally have my own room - pics to follow when it's done!

story of my weekend.

albany.

 

indian ladder farms in latham

emily <3s cider!

spectacular views.

 

 emily and rob, enjoying the view

 breathtaking.

Unfortunately, my camera died after I took these gorgeous photos! Emily and Rob took me out to Lark Street on Saturday night and we went to a little bistro called Justin's. It was a cozy, intimate little place with jazz on Saturday nights. We missed the jazz- they were just setting up when we were there. The three of us sampled a cheese plate with brie, apples, and bread. Oh, my goodness- the fruit was so fresh and the cheese was too! Emily convinced me to try the toasted bread with brie, apple slices, and spicy mustard. Wow. Just WOW. Let's just say I've never had mustard like that - the seeds were still in it and it was SO good and tangy. I had the Mexican salad with a glass of Reisling, and it was a nice dinner. Afterwards we walked down to the Wine Bar and Bistro on Lark, and it was just the cutest little place! It was in a basement of one of the buildings and it looked just like a little European hangout. The wine selection was really diverse and I sampled the German Reisling that they had offered. It was delicious and it was the perfect way to cap off a great night! That day, we sampled apple cider doughnuts from Indian Head Farms, and those would have gone really well with a white wine if I wanted to be really gluttonous... :)

All in all, it was an educational, fun, enjoyable weekend spent in Albany, and I really felt like fall was truly here!

 

i <3 my friends.

Fall is Here!

Today I woke up at 6:30 AM to bring my favorite vet, Mandi, to work. We headed out at 7 AM, stopped at 7-11 for coffees (mine pumpkin spice, of course), and hopped in the HOV lane on the L.I.E. We FLEW past all of the traffic and we managed to reach Exit 37 by 8 AM. As we passed Christopher Morley Park, we saw a bunch of tents and tables and flowers, and a sign that said "Farmers Market TODAY". So naturally, curiosity got the best of us and we had time to kill, so we turned around and visited the Farmer's Market.

We saw:

 There were vendors selling seafood (complete with live crabs in a bucket), handmade natural soaps that smelled positively delicious, flowers, bread, fruit, veggies, and so much more! Mandi bought some Swiss chard from the Peconic farmers, and we both purchased apples (at $1.35/lb!) and apple cider from Orchards of Concklin in upstate Pomona (Rockland County). The apples were so crisp and refreshing. The apple cider, though, was YUMMY. It wasn't tart - it had a fullbodied flavor. 

The Nassau County Farmer's Market is definitely worth checking out. It's right off of Exit 37 on the L.I.E. at Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn. It will be held every Wednesday from 7AM-1PM until Thanksgiving. Support Long Island and upstate farmers!