Pleasantly Surprised

I head to Philadelphia in 2 weeks to train for a short term summer job I'm taking on. J will follow a week later. So we decided to make the most of our time left in Richmond to go to some restaurants that we enjoy. First on the list was Bottoms Up Pizza. It's located in Shockoe Bottom, which has a lot of restaurants and bars that we have enjoyed over the past few years.
Who would've thought that a pizza place would have such great salads, but each time I go I can't pass up their fresh veggies. J and I both got one...both minus the tomatoes.

On to their signature pizzas. J ordered the Barbeque Chicken Pizza with homemade BBQ sauce, sweet onions and chicken.
How can you go wrong with a pizza with fresh crab meat on it? I ordered the Remocaldo Renegade with broccoli, spinach, artichoke hearts and crab meat.
After lunch we couldn't pass up enjoying the wonderful weather and decided to be spontaneous. After living in Richmond for 2 years (me)and 4 years (J), neither of us had been down to the river that we hear so many Richmonders talk about. We didn't know exactly where we were going, but we parked and eventually made our way to Belle Isle. We were pleasantly surprised with what we discovered.
The pedestrian bridge that we walked over to make it to Belle Isle/the river.







I don't think this picture does this dog justice...he was HUGE. Friendly, yet huge. The owners said he was a 2 year old English Mastiff.
We were once again pleasantly surprised when we saw the ice cream man near the parking lot on our way back to our car. We relived one of our first dates over 5 years ago, when we went to the dining hall on campus and then walked around campus with ice cream cones.

We vow that we won't wait several years to experience some of the great things that Philly has to offer. June 20th is only 20 days away!

Happy "Anniversary"

So tonight J and I celebrated our "anniversary." Why is it our "anniversary?" Well because it's only officially 11 months and it'll be our real wedding anniversary next month. However, we're not going to be able to celebrate together because I'll be away working to make some money for our Philly adventures on June 28th.

So J surprised me and made reservations at Bookbinders. Coincidentally, the only other location happens to be in Philly! We loved our meal and definitely plan to go to the other location once we move, especially since we'll be able to walk there from our new apartment.

We were pleasantly surprised when we left the restaurant and had a nice view of the Richmond sky line. Clearly I need a better camera, but if you squint and use your imagination you can see the nice view we had.


I'm still getting the hang of this blogging thing. I was so excited to take pictures of our meal because everything on the menu looked wonderful. However, I got so excited when our food arrived that I forgot to take pictures of our entrees. We ordered Fried Calamari with a Roasted Red Pepper Mayonnaise for our appetizer. J ordered the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake and I ordered Pan Seared Sea Scallops with Braised Bok Choy in a Sweet and Sour Sauce. We couldn't pass up dessert and ordered the New York Blackout Cake. Everything was fabulous. If you're ever in Richmond or Philly, definitely check out Bookbinders.

Countdown

J and I met in college in Virginia in 2002. We started dating in 2004. We got married in 2008. 2009 will be the beginning of another chapter in our lives. We will be moving to Philadelphia on June 20th, so that countdown begins. 25 more days!

Excited, anxious, nervous, ready, impatient....are all the feelings that we have been feeling lately. It's such a mix of emotions.

J has been in Richmond for 4 years and I have been here for 2 years. We've made some great friends, J began his teaching career and completed his masters degree. I began my first "real" job here in Richmond and have some great memories living with my best friend.

I'll always remember our first married apartment. So tiny (yep you can see straight through the entire apartment from the front door if you look closely at the picture above), yet so welcoming. We often talk about how we're going to describe our first apartment to our kids and the cheap rent that we paid.

So this blog has been created to document all the memories and adventures we plan to have in Philly!