Virginia is also Good for Food/Drink/Speaking/Friend Lovers too!

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let’s back up one second because i somehow misplaced this photo of when our friend kim met us for lunch at ‘the pit’ in Raleigh and i cannot tell you how amazing it was to see a friend in real life. she’s newly married to a man in the military so it was fun to catch up to see how married life was treating her (she reports good things Jeff)! we also both drank entirely too much sweet tea.

kim and i

the drive from Raleigh, NC to Richmond, VA was a very pretty one with large oak trees keeping us company along the way. “Virginia is for Lovers” started here (obviously) so it was fun to feel the love in a beautiful state that we unfortunately passed through too quickly.

travel blog richmond welcome sign

we received multiple recommendations to eat at the roosevelt for dinner when we got into town and it supposedly has a very ‘hipster’ vibe to it so we obviously had to check out the east coast hipsters compared to the west coast ones.

travel blog richmond the rooseveltwhat made this place even better was that i got to see my friend Jessie, who i went to grad school with in portland! i haven’t seen her since they left oregon and she getting her PhD in social work…so proud and impressed by her and her brain.

travel blog richmond chelsea avery with friendtheir mixologist (very hipster thing to have instead of a bar tender-i appreciate this) came up with some amazing and funky creations. i saw on the menu honeysuckle vodka, celery bitters and drinks containing buttermilk and lime. i love unique drinks so it took me entirely too long to decide but i went with “the good life” containing white rum, pimm’s liqueur, st. germain, ginger beer, and citrus rhubarb bitters.

i knew i had made the right decision when it  was placed in front of me and contained A METAL STRAW to sip my liquid happiness through. i have never ever even heard of such a thing but i really liked it (poor picture to tell but it was always cold on your lips and you only make the mistake of trying to chew on the straw once). oh and that’s just their corn bread with a maple bourbon butter, which caused me to say out loud “i want to rub this all over my face” because it was so good. i refrained from actually doing so…you are welcome patrons of the roosevelt.

travel blog the roosevelt food and drinkmy husband ordered the steak and i ordered the cheeseburger mostly so i could pick the side of mac ‘n cheese with broccoli in it (my favorite!). it was too delicious and still have not worked out since eating this so i know it’s settling quietly on my body but so worth it. i too would recommend checking this place out if you are in Richmond because of the low lighting and dark wood setting, high attention to detail in every inch of the place and the unique food/drink.

travel blog richmond va the roosevelt burgeroutcome of east vs. west hipsters is that east coasters wear a lot more boat shoes. and are slightly more conservative. admittedly…i am currently rocking my new top-siders my mom got me for russia so i’m not sure what that makes me.

the next evening was our event in Richmond that was organized and supported by ‘The How to Hour’ which presents short, convenient, interactive sessions on topics related to public speaking and leadership. Jennifer, the main woman organizing the whole thing was one of the nicest people i’ve run across lately! she has been so helpful, gave a great list of fun things to do in Richmond and then gave us some unexpected treats that are made in Virginia! yes, i am clutching the toffee and tore into right after this picture-thank you Jennifer and all of the other outstanding people for making this event a success!

travel blog richmon va giftsanother member of ‘The How to Hour’ is Reggie and he set us up with a beautiful room where he works-thank you! it was a great setting filled with energized and fun people!

travel blog ryan avery tour richmond workshopwe are rolling into Washington, DC for the weekend and are beyond excited! we get to see some more friends (i feel so much happier), do 2 more workshops and enjoy our nation’s capitol!

the new wifestyle: how amazing to have friends that live in different locations…a good hug can go a long way!

questions:
1) what is your definition of a hipster?
2) how adventurous are you when it comes to trying unique food/drink items? (i am more adventurous with drink than food)
3) favorite type of butter (apple butter, pumpkin butter, regular butter, irish butter, maple bourbon butter, etc….)?
4) what are you looking forward to about this weekend?

2 Comments

  1. JessieCK

    September 27, 2013 at 8:46 pm

    1) I prefer yupster (self-coined) to hipster. Apparently it is also a term that other people came up with as well, as discovered on urbandictionary.com: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=yupster.
    2) I’d try anything veggie! Luckily, that precludes me from: alligator, kangaroo, frogs, etc. Also, obviously, I’m always up for new drinks!
    3) Honey butter made by honey extracted from the bee hives my family keeps! Or maple bourbon. Yummmm.

    I cannot express how amazing it was to see you this weekend. It is so rejuvenating and exhilarating to see somebody who was so important to me at a crucial point in my life. I miss you both and I’m so proud for so many reasons. Good luck with the rest of the tour. Text me whenever you are having an “aha!” or a “meh” or an “ugh” moment. Love you both SOOOOO much. Also, good picture of us. Nice!

    • chelsea

      September 28, 2013 at 10:41 am

      it was AMAZING to see you jessie and we feel so happy to have you and tom during our first year in portland and now! i am so impressed with you and i also love the coined term ‘yupster’ ha! ewwww kangaroo would be so weird to eat but i suppose people do!

      someday i want to try that honey butter made by honey extracted for your family’s hive! YUM! best of luck with school and we will keep in touch!