…by successful, I mean delicious dips in the warm maple syrup that my friends Jon & Dana Finny make. My mangled because I still can’t get the hang of flipping pancakes properly, still taste amazing, doused in this stuff:
Ahhh…warm fall balcony breakfast mornings.
Thanks Jon & Dana!
You want some? Get some! (Did somebody say holiday gifts?) Drop Jon & Dane a line:
[email protected]
Mmm…
#LessStuffGoodFriendsHappyLife #Nosh #SmallBatch
Entertainment all around us:
It’s a good thing they put the labels on these two so we’d know.
#SundayAdventures #CLT #CaptainObvious
…but It’s nice and toasty here at one of my favorite places on the planet; The Blue Benn Diner.
27 degree VT – you’ve got nothing on a hot cup of coffee and a counter seat here!
If you ever plan to travel through Southern Vermont, make sure to put this on your list of places to nosh. I’ve probably written about this place now about 100 times. Never gets old and I can never get enough. You will love it that much, too. I promise.
This is my office today. Where do you work?
#LessStuffMoreDinerHappyLife #Travel #Vermont
…or the bread with perfectly whipped butter, or the frisee salad, or the corn polenta ravioli with truffle, or the steak frites, or the wine, or the company. It was all just awful!
So thankful for the treat, the laughs, and the time with our table of 6!
#StillFull #NapaLife #BelatedBirthdayCelebration
Peach salad; Arugula & manchego cheese:
Tortilla Española; Potato & Sweet Onion Spanish Omelette:
Lunch today. So yummy. Love this town.
#NapaLife #FoodPorn #Travel
Because I am a nerd, and I live a life of reflections, I thought I’d peruse the ol’ iPhoto today to see what I was up to during this week last year. I found photos of cocktails & dinner in Charleston during a work trip!
Check out our visit to Xiao Bao Biscuit- recommendation from an old foodie friend who lives in Charleston:
Xiao Bow Biscuit is located in an old auto shop/garage and a cool, hip, clean space. The servers/bartenders were all attractive & fit young guys wearing simple grey v-neck t-shirts. (Ahem, single ladies- let’s just say charm, talent, and good bod be found here. Come one and all! Meow.) We ordered the recommended cabbage pancake from the menu, which I usually would have made the barf face at, until it came and I ate it- then we ordered a second one because it was that good:
Who likes cabbage?! I do now.
My silly partner in crime mimicked what the fish he ordered looked like:
I’m not a fish girl, so this was not my thing, but he was like a ravenous beast in heaven eating dinner. Results?
…just skin & bones, baby!
We had a great time here, then wandered the streets to the next recommended bar where we got yummy cocktails & dessert. Charleston is chucked full of endless delicious eateries and places to get good drinks. Mark your calendar and plan a trip to this little charming southern city- you will be glad you did.
#RoadTrips #Flashback #Foodies
Meet my friends, Jon & Dana:
These two started making maple syrup as a hobby a couple years ago. (You’re looking at a toast of the good stuff, above.) They’re now cranking out a serious production as a tiny team. As far as I remember, it takes 25+ gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. That’s right, twenty five plus gallons of sap! Talk about a labor of love:
*(Side note: Jon has been a travel buddy of mine for a long time. We’ve back-country camped, hiked, and road tripped across the USA together. We’ve both been writing our respective books for many years, and we’ve shared much great conversation about life over good beers. We’ve eaten Mexican food for Easter in Pueblo, Colorado after getting a speeding ticket as we drove through the middle of nowhere Kansas. Oh the adventures! Imagine my delight when he found and married Dana. It’s totally awesome when your bff guy friends find the coolest women to share their lives with. Lucky me to have such great friends.)
So what did these friends send in the mail last Friday?
A mega maple syrup surprise!
Do you see the drops on the outside of the jug? Don’t tell anyone, but I definitely took a little taste of those because I was so excited. Finger-lickin’ good!
Saturday morning we made a huge batch of pancakes and found that our jug was so full, we had to dip some pancake pieces first:
…to make some room to pour. Mmmm:
(As you can see, I got so busy eating, I almost forgot to snap this photo.) Ohhh…sooo…good!
Are you jealous? You should be- this stuff tastes amazing!
Do you want to get your own? You can! Sweet! (See what I did there?:)
Jon & Dana’s School House Maple is still available to buy from this season. Here’s what they have:
Plastic Jugs:
Sampler ~ $3
1/2 Pint ~ $5
Pint ~ $10
Quart ~ $17
1/2 gallon ~ $32
Gallon ~ $58
Glass Growler or Tin:
Sampler ~ $5
Half Pint ~ $8
Pint (tin only) $14
Quart ~ $22
Half Gallon ~ $36
Gallon ~ $62
These prices are crazy good, so get some while it lasts! If you have any questions, you can email Dana directly: [email protected]
Thanks Jon & Dana! You guys are the best!
What’s your labor of love?
#MapleSyrup #Sweetness #BestKindOfFriends
There’s a Cajun in my life, so we’re heading down to where crawfish is a main food group, and hot sauce is believed to be the only condiment needed.
ROAD TRIP!
After a night in the tent at the Jellystone Campground (HA! Yes, for real) where the bathroom and shower doors were on lockdown, we stopped for breakfast feeling nice n’ greasy at the Georgia Express Diner:
…where couldn’t wait to take a bite:
“Y’alls” were swirling around this place like the Tasmanian devil on his fastest day, and we were out the door filled with pancakes, cheesy-egg biscuits, omelette’s, grits, toast, and too much coffee for $12.89:
Our waitress fully fit the southern stereotype, sweet as pie as you’d imagine. Mornings like these I absolutely love; The randomness on the road and connecting with strangers hearing their stories in a place unfamiliar.
Tent camping, cheap diner breakfast, and learning about how other people live. Ahhh…travel.
How do you find adventure?
#RoadTrip #Georgia #Diner
I’d like to think I live a life of thanks giving. I wake up everyday, think about why I started Blue Lollipop Road, and why it is so important to me to do work that matters and be around people I love. I’m constantly reminded that time is precious and as I’ve written recently- I’ve thought about my own fate more lately than ever. Not a bad thing- just a holy sh*t thing; I’m not getting any younger and I have more and more of a desire than ever to live as much as possible. “They”, those people that told me years ago “Time passes even quicker as you get older- just wait.” They were right! I believe them now.
The Thanksgiving Holiday for me this year was a “Friendsgiving” once again. If you know me, you know I love my family more than anything, but I sort of boycotted the holiday stress/expensive/madness/freak-out/travel/shop/expectation-fest years ago, so I don’t usually spend any actual holidays with my blood. We talk nearly everyday in some fashion, we make a point to see each other several times a year, and well- if I can pat us all on the back for a second, I think we all have our priorities pretty straight about that. We don’t want to fight traffic, we don’t care about gifts, we’d rather spend the 100 bucks on 5 breakfasts out at our favorite diner when we visit back home, we save up and buy the gas or (much cheaper off-peak time) plane ticket to travel to see each other, and when we get there, we usually do little more than hang out, take walks, and chat over coffee and a treat of some kind on a patio together.
I’m so thankful for my unconventional family.
Back to this years’ turkey feast at a friends house, we set a pretty table:
…and took in a pretty sunset:
Lucky us.
Of course my family and I were having a photo text-off about what we were cooking as I enjoyed time with my friends. Love technology for that. If only Thanksgiving day text messages came through with those delicious food smells…
How do you celebrate the season?
#AlwaysThanksgiving #FeastWithFriends #Framily