Category: Travel

New Orleans: Girls Trip Overview

I know, I say all the time, I have the best girlfriends. Because, well…I do. Memorial Day weekend we decided to hit up New Orleans, since none of my friends have gone, and I haven’t been there in two years, since my family moved closer to me. I got there a day later than my ladies because I couldn’t take the time off work, but you can bet that I was there right after work on Friday!

A quick Snapshot of the trip:


Friday// I land, dropped off my stuff and headed straight to House of Blues to see Future ( WALAAA MAAAGIC) Then a walk to Pat O’Briens for the strongest hurricanes ever. I opted for water because I was not planning to be hungover the next day!

Saturday// Woke up and had brunch at Cafe Fleur de Lis. Huge portions, everything was DEEELICIOUS. Biscuits are amazing. AMAZING. So were the hash browns. They’re cajun so if you can’t do spice, this might kick you too hard.

Then we got picked up to go on our air boat swamp adventure. This is going to have to get it’s own post. It was SO FUN.

After that we got cleaned up, and went out for dinner. Waited over an hour in line to eat at Acme’s Oyster House. I’ve been there before it was televised and was happy with their food. But this time around, greatly disappointed. I’ll detail it later.

Then live entertainment for the night? The drag show at Tubby’s Golden Lantern. We met a couple of fabulous divas and enjoyed an entertaining show filled with gorgeous women..with balls.

Sunday// Woke up, feet hurt and just tired from being up late and walking all over we grabbed some Mickey D’s for a quick breakfast. Stopped for a foot rub. Then headed to the French Quarter for market shopping, snow cones, gator jerky, and of course no NOLA trip is complete without a trip to Cafe du Monde for iced cafe au lait and fresh hot beignets.

Headed back to the hotel on foot, got cleaned up and made our plans for the evening. We were done with cajun food and just wanted something YUMMY to eat and decided to eat at Ginger Lime, a modern sushi bar, which was by far a good choice.

Deanna and Scooby missed their ghost tour (more on that drama later), and headed to the casino for the night. Me and Vitya headed to a metal show at Siberia in St.Claudes. My first metal show, in a super sketchy part of town. We came back safe and I was barely bruised from getting thrown during some moshing and headbanging.

All in all, a super fun trip, and I look forward to yearly girls trip after the success of this one! Hope everyone is re-calibrated and ready to get back to the daily grind!

Stay tuned for break out posts about new orleans!

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Dewey Beach, Delaware

Ahh, another weekend at the beach. I need to quit until June, all this vitamin D is getting me nice and crispy, even under my big hat and and umbrella. This weekend, the little brother, the boo and I took a road trip up to Dewey Beach. We stayed in an oceanfront beach townhouse, explored the streets, the beach, and the eats! (Wow, I am rhyming?)

Eating is always on the agenda. We walked over to Sunrise Restaurant where they serve breakfast ALL DAY (my kinda place). The service was friendly, the food came out fast, and it was delicious. An awesome way to start the day. We went back there the next morning as well. NOM NOM. I love food. Definitely will go back there for beach breakfasts!

After a yummy breakfast, we went to put in our flower petal order at Windsor’s and stopped by the arts festival by the bay. It featured local artist’s work, to include paintings, and sea glass and other beach-esque stuff. If you wanted to decorate your home a-la beach this was a good place to pick up stuff. There was a magician, pony rides and a moon bounce for kids, as well as hot dogs and hamburgers being grilled. It was small, so after making a quick loop, we headed back to our weekend home to get some beach time in.

(Vitacoco should pay me)

(Brother building a sand castle)

The water was FREEZING. Freezing enough for Sean to dare my brother to fully submerge himself for $7. He did it. Because he’s a bawse. After playing in the sun and sand, everyone was HULKSMASH hungry, so we got ready to head to The Rusty Rudder for some outside eats.
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After getting stuffed, enjoying the weather and the ocean air, we took a walk back to the townhouse. We gathered our rose petals, our toasts and headed to the water’s edge.

The main event for this trip was to put flower petals out for our mom, for mothers day/one year anniversary of her death. It was a nice little ceremony in the sunset on the beach.

I had a great weekend, how about you?!

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First Beach, First BURN!

It’s that time again, traveling season. And with the warm weather, you know what that means, BEACH. Due to last minute changes, I went from planning to spend Cinco De Mayo at the Kentucky Derby, to spending all day (and forgetting to reapply sunblock) at the beach in South Carolina. Lobster red is not a good look for me.

My ride or die chick, Vitya, and I got back to the root of our nicknames and had our first road trip of the summer! Picked up our Jeep after work Friday and hit the open road. Traffic wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be and made it to Monterey Bay in 8 hours!

The forecast was kind of iffy, but thanks to Mom, the weather was PERFECT all day and we woke up to amazing sunshine and the beach waves crashing. An awesome sight to wake up to, not to mention free continental breakfast with our suite. YESSSSS. Breakfast by palm trees is definitely a win! How could you not have a good day with that kind of start?

We spent all day, reading, wading in the somewhat warm water, spotting jellyfish and fish, collecting seashells, exploring random pools of water, trying to figure out which bugs bit me and enjoying the breezy sunshine.

The rest of the day pretty much went like this…

(Hey Napoloen gimme your tots!)

Then ending the night with… a hotel fort!!!

The trip had to come to an end. So after another good, free breakfast (waffles, grits, bacon, eggs, potato wedges and juice!) we hit the open road again. And oh yeah. I got burned.


…yeah I am going to sit under an umbrella for the rest of summer. No skin cancer for me please. Where’s the SPF 110?

Thanks to the mini vacay, I am back to work, refreshed and excited for the rest of summer. Hope ya’ll had a great weekend!!!

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Cars for Cause: April 22

April 22, 2012: George Mason University, 4500 Patriot Circle Lot K Fairfax, VA 
11AM-5PM 

Cancer sucks. They say 1 in 3 people will be affected by cancer. For those of you that followed me through last year, know I lost my mother to cancer last year, the day after mother’s day from a STAGE 4 diagnosis. Sadly, it took losing our mother, to make us open our eyes to grab the bull by the horns and live life.

After our mother’s death, my brother looked at what we had to go through, and decided that other people shouldn’t have to suffer the hard times as we did. He wanted to make a difference. So he took his passion, cars, and tried to make something of it. Starting an unclassified car club (meaning, any type, any mods can join as long as you had the love for it) and making it official, naming it Team Unclassified and then building an event (to be held annually) supporting, you guessed it, the fight against cancer.

Bring in countless numbers of car enthusiasts, Team Unclassified, along with George Mason’s Patriot Motorsports, and you have Cars for a Cause,  to be held this weekend at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.  Profits from the event will support The Children’s Hospital and 4 year old Isabel “Warrior Princess” who is diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and is receiving treatment at the Children’s National Medical Center in D.C.

There will plenty to do at the event if drooling over shiny cars isn’t going to cut it for you. Bring your kids! Bring your dogs. There will be a children activities booth, food vendors, a raffle, industry vendors as well as the SHOW part of event, where cars compete for best in a multitude of categories. Dyno will also be available for RWD, AWD and FWD!! See what your car is capable of!

I will be there, and I hope you will be too! Details on flyer and as follows :

SOME VENDORS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE EVENT:

  • Insane Stance & Offset (ISO)
  • Canibeat
  • Mischief.TV
  • PTUNING
  • D&V Autobody
  • Xclusiv: Alliance
  • National G Club
  • Dyno on the go
  • ASSASSIN INDUSTRIES
  • LOW STANDARDS MINI TRUCK CLUB
  • Zen Bistro
  • & MANY MORE…

***ENTRANCE FEES***
$5 PER CAR (driver will get a free raffle ticket at the door)
$1 PER Passenger/Walk-ins
RAFFLE TICKETS -$1.00 per extra raffle ticket OR $5.00 for 7 tickets

***CAR SHOW*** 
There will be six classes for this show. There is a minimum of ten entries per class for validation of class. Maximum is 20 cars per class, first come first serve. Due to limited space.
Best of:
Import
Euro
Domestic
Tuner
Stance 
Truck
Judging will be made by ISO (Insane Stance and Offset), Canibeat, and Mischief.tv.
Trophies will be awarded.

***CAR SHOW ENTRY***
Deadline to pre-register is March 24, 2012 @$15, day of show is $20.
For show entry please email show entry coordinators
Enter Subject line: CFC Show entry.
JoJo.UNclassified@gmail.com
For these following car classes: Import, Stance, Tuner

Pastor.UNclassified@gmail.com
For these following classes: Domestic, Euro, Truck

Send Full name, phone number, picture of your ride, details of modifications and our coordinators will respond with info on how to reserve your entry. If there are not enough entries at day of show, you will be refunded.

Fees for pre-registration: $15
Late registration at the door: $20

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Brunch: Fireflies in Del Ray

YES! I found a brunch place who’s eggs benedict doesn’t taste like vinegar. HAPPY FACE. However, they don’t have a classic benedict, and I don’t like the texture of prosciutto (under eggs, I enjoy duck prosciutto and regular prosciutto atop my rustic pizza). But all in all the food was delicious. And the service was awesome. They have outdoor seating and Del Ray is just a cute neighborhood to be in! I will definitely want to go back to Fireflies again for brunch, to try out other things, since their eggs benedict did so well. OH and I want more belgian waffles. NOM NOM.

However, brunch hopping I will go, because food makes me happy! Any more brunch suggestions? I will be going back to Birch and Barley this weekend. So excited!

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Jo Koy LIVE!

I love comedy. Seeing a stand up comic live is even better. Especially when you are close enough to heckle. And I’m a heck of a heckler. Jo Koy is one of my (many) favorite comedians. I first watched him on Chelsea Lately (my favorite late night talk show). For the longest time I thought he was gay, because Chelsea always makes fun of him for being gay and asian…Which he’s not, and he’s only half. Half Asian, not half gay. I love Chelsea, but she makes fun of tattooed people, and Asians a lot…. both of which I am.

Any hoooo. JO KOY was in DC last week. I tweet him and follow his instagram and this cool guy actually tweets back. *swooon. For Vitya’s birthday, we went to see him for his first show…and I went to see him again SATURDAY for his last show.

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He.Is.Awesome.

I was laughing so hard, and well worth seeing him twice, on the same tour. The main jokes were the same, but because he can hear us yelling random things, sometimes he’d steer his jokes that way, so both him and Orlando Baxter (his opening act) had a couple jokes here and there that made me laugh even harder because I was hearing it for the first time.

I got to meet him twice last week, since he holds meet and greets after his show. They didn’t let us take ANY pictures ourselves, so I have to wait for his people to upload them from their camera.

He is definitely a fun guy. I hope to be friends with him in real life. Harhar. Actually I should give him a break. He knows I exist. That’s all that matters to me.

Definitely check his comedy specials if you can, one of them is on netflix, and Lights Out just came out last week.

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Walker’s Grille for Brunch

Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug On one of his evening runs, the honey discovered this place. So one Saturday morning, we got up and headed over for brunch. It was a lot nicer than I expected. They have outdoor seating, a bar, booths, this place was legit. AND! They have eggs benedict. Yes I know I should probably get tired of them soon. Maybe I should just learn how to poach an egg…. Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug

Anywhoo. The verdict? Great selection. I’d go back to try something else. I don’t know if it is me, or if everyone is using the vinegar trick but all the eggs taste vinegary, 2 out of the 4 places I’ve had poached eggs. But his breakfast tasted amazing, yes I took some of his breakfast too. The hashbrowns are nommy, and the bacon are thick applewood style. SO GOOD. However they shaved their ham so thin it was like prosciutto and I wasn’t a fan. Also their english muffins we’re toasted at all/or enough. Fail. Maybe next time I’ll get eggs florentine with a side of bacon. Love that fresh fruit comes as a side :D.

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Evening Star for Brunch

I am back with another brunch recap! Saturday mornings, I wake up and immediately google brunches nearby. This time I landed on Evening Star in Del Ray. Super cute neighborhood, and they have a parking lot in the back. Love the decor and how the tiny space was set up.

I ordered the eggs benedict of course, and it came with a plate of vinegary greens. I also got a side of bacon, because that is just what I do.

The hash browns were awesome. The bacon was a little thin for my tastes, and the eggs benedict were cooked just right. My belly had a good time. Not to mention, stellar service. I was impressed that one of the guys there noticed our table was uneven and fixed it without us prompting him to.

I’d go back. But I would probably try something else. The vinegary greens made everything I taste like vinegar. Even a bite of his chicken and waffles!

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Bistro Cacao for Brunch

Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug Brunch Brunch Brunch. I am ADDICTED. Ever since Birch and Barley, I’ve been obsessed with getting brunch on weekends. I wake up demanding eggs benedict and threaten to hulk smash anything that will get in the way. Well, not really. But I think my new thing, is to eat as many classic eggs benedicts as possible from different places and write about it. Yeah. And MIEMOsas. yum.
Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMugSo Valentine’s day, the boo took me to Bistro Cacao. The outside looks like a row house on the Hill. We walk in greeted by a friendly fireplace and a crazy wine room. I loved the way it was laid out. Room after room of dining areas. The host seats us in a nook behind red drapes and 3 windows overlooking the street. Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMugWhen it comes to brunch, I am still pretty new. The only brunch I’m familiar with is Dim Sum. So it was my first time having a classic eggs benedict and it was amazing. I am smitten. Quite smitten actually. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. Like most places that host a brunch, its a fixed menu that you get to choose items from. All come with a starter mixed pastries basket. This was my favorite from the basket. Nutella. Yum.
Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMugMy food. So delicious. So happy. These eggs benedict changed my life. The challenge is to find something like this every weekend. I accept. I would definitely want to brunch there again!

Over all the bistro was GREAT. I’d love to try their dinner menu. If I do, I’ll definitely let you know 😉

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Kazaxe: Extreme Dance Workout

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by azukabom, on Flickr

Okay. I think I am super late. A lot of my girlfriends already have had a taste of this dance fever. And I am just now getting into it. I’ve always been lucky to have the body I do, given the way I eat. I hate working out. I don’t know what to do. Like really…me going to the gym, is me running on a treadmill trying not to sing out loud to my iPod.

I’ve tried all the ways, joined a gym, took classes…then I realized, I liked coming home to cook, more than going to a gym and only having time to eat something less fulfilling later. I am terrible. But as I get older, I actually FEEL older. My body aches. My skin is doing weird things, my hair lacks luster and I just don’t feel good. Then again, I am writing this as I am getting over a virus and allergies are in full swing. So my body just feels yucky.

My ride or die chick, who pretty much gyms it every day, conscious of what shes eating and never obnoxious about it, who does successful healthy cleanses, suggested I try out kazaxe. What? Karate with an ax? I did hear about it before but never really took the time to look into it. When Vitya suggested it, it was more motivating, because like the doll she is, she said she would do it with me AND drive me there. How could I say no right?

I’m hooked. I had my first class and bought a keytag. It is sooooo much fun. I get a little awkward when it comes to dancing all  “club sexy”, but the lights are dim, there’s a bajillion other people there and no one is pay attention to anything but the stage, so we’re clear. It’s a mix of dancehall reggae, hip hop, latin, and even some pacific island style dancing…specifically tinikling.

Also, the instructor/creator Asuka, is so positive and upbeat. She’s beautiful, she’s fun, and I secretly want to be her best friend. If you are confident enough, you can join her on stage and dance. Which is probably more room than on the main floor since this is so popular it can get cramped. But everyone is so friendly, you don’t have to worry about getting punched in the face for accidentally stepping on someone’s shoes…like in a club.

Check it out!

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