Birthday at Gertrude's

We have had such a great week. To say the least. Last weekend at Keswick was dreamy. This past weekend we spent having cocktails at Wit & Wisdom on Friday, closing Woodberry Kitchen down with friends on Saturday and waking up to brunch with pals at Gertrude's on Sunday morning. 

I look like my mother in this photo. I love that. The restaurant had the jazz band play Happy Birthday and the table sang which is still wonderful. I still feel 7 when it's my birthday and love flowers, balloons and anything celebratory like stupid hats.

"My" gorgeous Johns welcomed our group with open arms. It's always a pleasure seeing them.

We were tucked away in a quite banquet.

The breakfast breads are fabulous boasting of biscuits and corn bread.

The Gertrude's Benedict has a crab cake of course.

I also enjoyed my first Dirty Gertie, I'm embarrassed to say. It is rimmed with Old Bay.

I snuck in to the kitchen to see my pal Doug, the pastry chef. He was prepping for high tea. Who knew they had high tea? I'm so excited to go back.

Macaroons. Have mercy.

Doug surprised me with a gluten free chocolate pecan birthday pie. The crust was made with almond flour and was perfectly flaky. When we first worked together John and Doug arranged for mini chocolate pecan tarts for our event. They were to die for. This pie was just as good or better. The almond flour was a great addition with the nutty pecans.

It was wonderful seeing my Charlie so relaxed this past week.

We were surrounded by great friends.

My dance around the island girls!

I was coveting Emily's neck scarf. She insisted I open my present the minute we arrived. She had knit me my very own Cowl Neck Warmer in my favorite colors!!! It deserves it's very own post so I won't gush too much here as much as I want to. 

It was wonderful having a small gathering with just a few friends so everyone could talk to each other.

Laughter ensued.

Deep conversation.

And photo shoots took place with my new camera. SDM is so Mad Men. He borrowed the cigarette from someone outside just for the shot! He also monogrammed the table for our place setting on the craft paper. He gave me the most fabulous coffee table book called Equestrian Style. We are preppy soul siblings!

Always so wonderful to see our friends who are the reason we moved to Baltimore! I knew we would be okay having just one set of great friends here before we moved from DC. We have lucked out meeting so many new friends in the last four years.

Instead of a goofy party hat I choose a hot pink pair of party shoes and my all time favorite new Lilly dress. I wanted to rock the hot pink and navy inspiration from this gorgeous Pin. I'm still beyond addicted to Pinterest.

Katiecakes, you look like an angel. Thank you for being such a dear friend and for organizing the wonderful brunch! You are the reason we know half the people in Baltimore that we do. John and John, you all are the BEST. I'm so tickled by the gift of sauerkraut. I feel like a real Baltimore gal now. I'll write more on Em's handmade gift as I said but am so thankful for the gift of knitting that you've given me. We couldn't be happier to be blessed by such dear friends. Thank you all for making my transition into the next decade most enjoyable for those who were with me in person and via Facebook. Feel very lucky to know so many incredible people on this journey called life! With tons of love, Nelle

Keswick Hall

Eric swept me away for a romantic weekend at Keswick Hall in Charlottesville, Virginia in celebration of my 40th birthday. My wonderful family gave me a new camera and I truly spent the weekend shooting all over God's green earth! It was the best gift, being with E and capturing the moments for always. I am as giddy as if I had just received my Barbie dream apartment when I was 9. I admit I love birthday's and enjoy celebrations of any kind. E. surprised me finding this special place to stay. I only requested we stay somewhere in Charlottesville. Little did he know I have been dreaming of coming here for a very long time. My grandfather went to UVA as well as my uncle. When I spoke to Francie she said, "You know I have very fond memories of Virginia." Yes, as do I! My favorite story however is that E. turned UVA down to go to UNC.

We walked around the grounds and loved seeing the steam rise off of the heated 84 degree pool.

There are only 45 rooms in the whole resort.

Champagne was waiting in the room upon check-in. I'm really digging my new camera and being able to play with the depths of field.

Our room had a private balcony.

The golf course was empty aside from some noisy geese.

The grounds were beautiful and lettuce was blooming. It is February right? What an odd, warm winter we've had. 

Thomas Jefferson's signature herringbone pattern is everywhere in Charlottesville and the surrounding areas. We took a side trip to Monticello just down the road.

I fell in love with two art pieces one of our two powder rooms.

The dog show ribbons and....

...this shell arrangement. It was to die for adorable. The Girls Gun Club MUST have this mounted in our club room, don't you think EAS and Ali?

The soaking tub was a dream and each room was outfitted with bath salts at turn down with thick robes and slippers.

Next time I must bring my suit.

Eric, thank you for such a special weekend. I love you, love you, love you especially for helping me stream Downton Abbey during the Super Bowl and saying, "we can do whatever you want...it's your birthday." 

Madcap Coffee Cupping at Woodberry Kitchen

Last Friday I took the morning off to spend some time at a very special coffee cupping. Our beloved Allie invited us to come "cup" some of Madcap's beans that they sent from Michigan to get people buzzing about their arrival coming soon on the East Coast. Madcap will be opening a shop in DC shortly. E. sadly had to miss it as his work schedule doesn't allow him to take off much time during the week. He was mildly jealous to say the least.

We were just in Grand Rapids, Michigan at Madcap Coffee and I wrote about it here. Eric really enjoyed the Santa Lucia and he's been enjoying the beans at home. After my detox I have given up all caffeine so E. gets to enjoy all the beans in our home at his leisure without any fear of me stealing a shot here or there.

Last week we cupped four beans; Santa Lucia from Costa Rica, Fazenda Rainha from Brazil, San Sebastian from Columbia, and the Gacokwe from Burundi. They were all so, so different. This was my second cupping. It was just as complicated as the first one. I felt like I could really smell the difference in the ground beans but again had a terrible time describing the aroma and flavor after the coffee was steeped with water. The flavor however was very clear to me and some coated my mouth with a creamy sensation, vs. the sensation of juice. The Santa Lucia and Gacokwe both did this in the mouth feel. It was awesome!

When I arrived Timothy made me my very own French press of decaf. So, so nice.

I couldn't help but notice these precious enamel espresso cups with Spike and Allie's names on them. The hand made masking tape label is too adorable for words.

I noticed a few new additions to the coffee bar. Woodberry's fans and famous people sign the coffee cups. Peter is from Counter Culture.

Madcap

Gordon Ramsey

These wall of fame cups are the most fun.

It was fun going around the table at this cupping and hearing how people brew their coffee at home. Jay from Spro, Kris and Becka from LAMILL and a few other seasoned coffee people were there. There were many fans of the V60 pour over brew method and one I think was called a "bee" pot brew method.

Not your average cup of Joe!

Timothy measured out each bean and ground them prior to the cupping. He and Allie both swear by a scale they found at Target.

My favorite smell test made me think of STEAK. Yes, the Gacokwe coffee smelled like a big freaking juicy steak to me. Amazing. I picked up notes of peanut butter in one and lime in another. You really are supposed to write the first thing that comes to mind and I let myself go CRAZY with my descriptors. 

The class was diligent in writing notes and keeping their thoughts to themselves. Cuppings are oddly quiet.

It was much harder writing what I thought I smelled at this stage. It is very subtle. I think I have a pretty good nose. The dynamic of the coffee changes so much from the ground bean to the "wet" stage. I honestly have a hard time writing anything during this part of the smell test. You are supposed to get really close to the cup and sniff the heck out of it. Still, I got nothing. Stumped, truly.

Once the coffee is "broken" Allie scoops off the foam and bean grounds. I let the new "cuppers" break the coffee and shied away since I felt my nose may have been broken. And then we slurped. 

I took a little video of Allie's "slurp" demonstration. The recent article in the Sun suggested that you can't be a "Ruxton Dowager" while slurping. I love their Downton Abbey reference! It felt like I was back in business after slurping. The flavors were robust for my Steaky bean. One person commented it had wild rice flavors. I love hearing what people wrote afterwards. 

It was a very large class with so many newcomers after the article about Baltimore's coffee scene. Thanks again Allie for your education and open way of teaching. It truly gets easier each time...even though it is still pretty tough to find words. We had the Santa Lucia for brunch this past weekend and our guests were really impressed with the lingering mouth feel that I described earlier. The easiest way to explain it is how a wine feels "big and chewy". The Santa Lucia and the Gacokwe both had a big, lingering mouth feel that was smooth and lingering. I am sure it makes no sense to anyone reading. So if you live in town you can find a cup at Spro on the Avenue while you wait for Madcap to make its way East.

Thanks for signing my Sun Allie and Jay! Kris, I'm coming to find you to get your signature. Who knows, maybe we will open a coffee shop one of these days. I have to start collecting our "wall of fame" items too. I'm hoping a Coffee Pilgrimage to Costa Rica may be necessary soon.