Walking in Memphis

Last weekend we went to Memphis to visit with our friends Shannon and Rich. What a fun town-and more pork than I thought ever possible!

We arrived to the home of the blues on Friday and went straight to Rendevous, a local hotspot for dry-rub ribs and bbq nachos! Yes, that's right, bbq nachos-with pulled pork and dry rub seasoning along w/ bbq sauce, nachos sauce and jalapenos-the most heavenly thing I think ever invented. After Rendevous, we walked down to Beale Street-which reminded me a little of New Orleans with all of the open containers, and street performers-not quite as wild as Bourbon, but still lively and shakin'. We watched the kids doing flips down the street (seriously-these kids were pretty talented. Listened to some live music and stopped at Pat O'Briens for Hurricanes along the way (well, not me sadly).

Saturday morning we went to the Memphis Farmer's Market-more live music and cute food stalls. There was a live bluegrassy type of band playing all string instruments. I felt like running to a field, taking my shoes off and dancing. One of the musicions was a really cool elder gentleman in a barbershop type hat clanging what looked to be wooden spoons together. Awesome!

After that, we went home and cleaned up and walked over to Fino's Italian deli for some yummy sammys. Along the way, we caught some interesting sites-like a truck advertising for a single man, and a yard with astro turf as lawn.

After lunch-off to Sun Studio-where Elvis was discovered, and where several musicians have come to play-Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, U2, Liz Phair, etc. It was a short, but really cool tour-neat to see where a lot of no names first got their big breaks.

That evening we went down to the river (the mighty Mississippi) for Symphony by Sunset-an evening of symphony music (which included the theme from Star Wars), the Temptations, and a fireworks show. Shannon and Rich picked up some of Gus' world famous chicken for the evening-and I'll be damned if that wasn't some of the best fried chicken this southerner has ever had. Mmmmm!

On Sunday, Al and I headed to Graceland for a morning tour. Even saw an impersonator along the way. I'm happy to report the Graceland is just as tacky as it was a few years ago. Elvis had some interesting taste-and we're suspecting the King was a might bit kinky too, given the fur bed and some of the interesting accoutrement on display. After Graceland, we met up with Shannon and Rich-for you guessed it-more bbq at a restaurant called Central. This time, in the form of a sandwich. I thought it was very tasty-and loved their mac & cheese side.

After that, we went to Mud Island to see the scale version of the Mississippi-it's carved throughout a Park, and you can wade your way through the scale version. A cool way (literally!) to spend a hot day.

That night, Rich cooked us up a tasty dinner (and a healthy one too!) and we spent the evening relaxing by the (not so hot), hot-tub.

All in all, it was a fun weekend, and nice to get away. I dug Memphis-it's love of music and southern hospitality. No Reverend Greene this visit, but maybe next time....

Catching up

After my New Years resolution, I've managed to totally slack off on the blogging-but not without good reason. We've been busy since February-and so here's a quick recap of what's been going on....

February:

-Al and I find out that I'm pregnant!! (for those of you finding out via blog-my apologies, I tried reaching out to as many of you as possible by phone or email to share the news before blogging about it.) Our due date is October 25, which just happens to be our 4 year anniversary. We are going to find out what we are having in June. Luckily, no morning sickness, and only a little bit of naseua.

March:

-Dinner with lots of friends-it was definitely hard keeping the pregnancy a secret!

-Travel to Roanoke to give my parents the good news.

April:

-Al and I host our first "seder" with my brother, his girlfriend Elise, and our friends Paul and Erika attending. Elijah the prophet didn't show up and drink his wine, but luckily Al also refrained from drinking Elijah's wine this year.

-Al and I did our yearly GW Invitational volunteer shtick--while I didn't go to GW or row, I feel like one of the "Crew" gang, so I always try to help out at the races. Of course, this year, it was snowing in the morning before my shift. Brrr! It was not a fun 5 hours, made only worst by the fact that I couldn't enjoy cocktails afterwards to warm up!

-Al's parents came to DC and we got to share the news with them-and Al's dad, in turn, managed to announce it to practially the entire restaurant-including the water boy who didn't speak a word of English! During their stay, I came down with a miserable stomach flu, so I was mostly locked up in our room for the rest of their stay.

-Went to Richmond to celebrate my Uncle's 60th b-day. Here's a pic of me with all my boy cousins (I'm the only girl.) Also, got to tell my grandma that she's going to be a great-grandma.

-My friend Betsy from Portland came into town for a friend's bridal shower, so I got to spend a day with her. It had been a year since we had last seen each other-so lots of catching up to do. We hit the Jasper Johns exhibit in the Smithsonain, then up to Dupont Circle for lunch, then a shopping spree at Filenes, followed by drinks on the patio at a neighborhood bar, and then dinner at Zaytinya. Phew! The next morning, we hit the Eastern Market-this was before the big fire happened, so I'm glad we got a chance to go there while everything was still normal.

May:
-Al's friends we all in town for their 10 year Crew Reunion. 3 "bachelors" staying with us-all have wives/girlfriends, but all came stag, so they decided to crash with us. We had a busy weekend-a picnic, a banquet, and a Sunday brunch, filled with tons of laughing and getting to see alot of friends' babies and kiddies.

-Participated in Mags and Andy's "Yardapooloza" yard sale-Al and I only made $45, but we decided that our "wares" didn't fit the clientele's needs.

-Went to Charlottesville (Boarshead Inn) to meet my parents and grandma for Mother's Day. My grandma spent the better part of the day crying being "overcome with joy."

This weekend, we are off to see my friend Shannon and her boyfriend Rich in Memphis-so looking forward to a weekend of bbq, music, and good times with great friends.

More to come about livin' large with baby on the way....and, of course, a baby blog to come. Stay tuned!