By the time I really started to relax it was too late for me to fly and now, well, a long road trip seems daunting. That's why Evan and I have decided to do a series of day trips to spend some quality time together while we await the arrival of our baby girl.
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Just after the high of hearing our baby's heartbeat at eight weeks, we discovered that our beloved cat, Gretchen, was terminally ill. So, with every happy pregnancy milestone there's been a corresponding sad milestone or marker of how long we've been without Gretchen. Today, for instance, marks six months. I'm glad that we were able to get out, stay busy, and enjoy the day. I miss her.
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We made plans to drive up to Ladew Topiary Gardens in Monkton, MD with a brief pit stop in Leesburg, VA to have a late breakfast/snack at Fractured Prune. We closed out the evening in Baltimore with a farm-to-table dinner at Woodberry Kitchen.
Fractured Prune:
Evan was introduced to their donuts at work and mentioned them to me as something to give a try. They're made to order, which means they're hot and fresh when you get them. They're a little crunchy on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth gooey on the inside. We both agree that these are the best donuts we've ever had! That being said, they're so decadent that you really only need one.
Ladew Topiary Gardens:
A week ago we had a professional photographer take maternity photos of us at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. We chose the location because it's where we got married and it's a beautiful backdrop for any photo. Some of the poses felt so silly and unnatural that we've been feeling paranoid about the final product. Consequently, we decided to stage our own maternity photo shoot at Ladew Topiary Gardens as a back-up plan. I'm not going to share any of those here (if you follow my blog, you know my face never graces my posts), but I will include pictures of the beautiful grounds.
It's so rare to see frogs around. This was a very pleasant surprise. He "sang" for us, too.
Some of the topiaries are hard to identify, like some of the ones in the sculpture garden here:
Can you tell that this is a swan?
We had a grand time exploring and taking pictures. I found some of the regular garden features to be more spectacular than the topiaries. A lot of them looked like they were mid-growth and needed some more time to reach their full potential.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I had to have a little snack between donuts and dinner so we split a turkey, cranberry mayo, and provolone panini at the on-site cafe. It was delicious!
Woodberry Kitchen:
A friend of mine told me about this place more than a year ago and I wasn't sure we'd ever have an occasion to eat there. Fortunately, it fit into our day trip plans. The weather was unseasonably pleasant all day so we sat outside on the patio and had a wonderful meal from start to finish. We both loved our entrees - duck chilaquiles flatbread and crab cake. If we had to pick the weakest link it would've been my dessert. Something wasn't entirely right about the texture/consistency of the vanilla ice cream.
We love and whole-heartedly support their mission to serve organic, locally-sourced food. We'd really like to sample their menu further, but our opinion of Baltimore remains unchanged. We're not fans. As far as we're concerned, there's no point to the rivalry between Virginians and Marylanders. The verdict is in: Virginia > Maryland!
Disclaimer for the judgmental: I don't normally eat like this, especially as I'm trying to manage my pregnancy weight gain (in the normal range, so far), but everyone deserves a treat. Otherwise, I've been eating well and taking walks outside when the weather permits.
