Back in April, Brigid and I traveled to Charlottesville, VA for our girls weekend for the fourth year in a row! This trip has become one of my absolute favorite traditions, and saying that I look forward to it during the winter months (January + February in particular) is a definite understatement. This year we scheduled the trip to align with Brigid's 30th birthday, and we celebrated by visiting some of our favorite spots and a few new places for good measure.
[hot air balloon + a cloudless sky]
[A repeat spot for us each year is Blenheim Vineyards, the winery owned by Dave Matthews. The wine is good, but I think what keeps us coming back here every year is the atmosphere. We always do their tasting, standing in front of the expansive windows with the view of the VA mountains in the distance, and then order a glass of our favorite wine to enjoy on the patio. This year we opted for a few snacks, and discussed the love languages of our favorite people from home under sunny skies.]
[beautiful flower assortment from Hedge at the Main Street Market]
[tiles at Sweet Haus Cupcake Cafe, Ivy Location]
[If you've read about our trips to C-Ville in the past, you probably already know about Sweet Haus. If you haven't, #1) see the end of this post for a re-cap and #2) this is hands down my favorite place in the area. I'm not huge on cupcakes (or cake in general, for that matter), but these are ridiculously good and pretty, to boot. A second VA location was added in the recent past, so we made sure to visit both. Brooklyn location: I'm coming for you next!]
[cookies + cream cupcake]
[cookie dough cupcake]
[sunny skies + spring green]
[wine barrels]
[One of the new places we tried this year was Keswick Vineyards, a winery just east of Charlottesville. We did the tasting (a great value), and then ordered a glass to enjoy outside. If you go in the near future, I recommend the 2015 Viognier because it might be the best white wine I've ever had. It tasted like peaches.]
[quinoa lunch salad from Feast!]
[I took a selfie because my outfit was cute and because this is the first time I have done anything other than blow dry my hair with a diffuser since my wedding last August.]
[We celebrated the big 3-0 for Brig on Friday evening, with a trip to the downtown mall. We love the Skybar at Commonwealth Restaurant, and so had drinks and a few apps before heading to The Whiskey Jar to round out the evening.]
[no words for how good these short rib tacos were]
[interesting combo, no?]
[We planned to find some birthday cake for dessert, but saw this place while walking down the mall and stopped dead. Ramen and donuts? But more importantly, donuts? We popped in and ordered two, and to be honest I don't remember the flavors, nor can I figure out what they were from an internet search. What I do remember is that they were very, very good.]
[last indulgence: egg + avocado bagel from Bodo's Bagels]
I recognize that this post is basically all eating and drinking, but not pictured is a lot of walking and a few sessions at the hotel gym. We only spent two and a half days here, but I could literally spend a week and not get tired of it. Thanks for being you, Charlottesville. :]
*If you're interested, we like to stay at the Homewood Suites because it's close to everything, has free breakfast, a nice gym, roomy quarters & a shuttle that you can call at any time for a ride.
previous Charlottesville posts:
-2015: Post One
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