Long time, no blog

It has been a while! After a whirlwind 2 week Christmas break, I finally have time to sit down and update my blog! A lot has happened since I last blogged.....I drove to Greenville, NC then Charleston, SC; cruised to Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas with my family for Christmas; drove back to Greenville then to Charlotte, NC to visit friends/family and back to Greenville to see Taylor's family; then (finally) back to Fredericksburg, VA.

Dressed up for formal night dinner on the cruise

Merry Christmas from the Bahamas

Of course, I enjoyed many culinary delights along the way. Here are a few of my favorite bites:

*Pinky's Westside Grill-Charlotte, NC
A sort of biker bar/deli/burger joint near uptown that has amazing and creative sandwiches. I had the Ding Dong Chicken that is Thai-inspired grilled chicken served on a bun, topped with crunchy peanut butter, sriracha hot sauce, and honey-cilantro slaw. It was different than anything I've had but definitely delicious! My friend had the Maddy Patty Melt which is a burger topped with grilled onions, 1000 island dressing, Swiss and American cheeses which is hot pressed between two pieces of Texas Toast. Yummy!

* Loco Lime Mexican Inspired Grill-Charlotte, NC
This Mexican joint serves fresh ingredients at reasonable prices. The Loco-Rita was awesome with just enough tequila and served in a delicious salt-rimmed glass. Mmmm.....For dinner I had a burrito which was filled with rice, refried beans, blended Mexican cheeses and chicken, covered with queso sauce and served with a side of guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo and honey citrus cilantro slaw. It was HUGE but delicious and I ate the whole thing....So delicious!

*Capitol Ale House-Fredericksburg, VA
A cool restaurant and bar that features an incredibly large beer menu with 60 beers on tap! We have been there several times and have always had a great time and good food. Last night was no exception. I had a raspberry wheat beer which was awesome and I would definitely order it again. We had the Fried Pierogies for our appetizer. They were amazing and Taylor has asked me to make them homemade for him! I had the Lamb Burger which was a seasoned lamb patty topped with baby spinach, warm brie, and Dijon mustard on a flaky croissant. Taylor had the San Juan which was hot roast pork, melted pepper jack cheese, fresh avocado, and sweet red pepper relish on ciabatta bread. We definitely enjoyed everything!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all a healthy, happy new year! Happy 2011 :)