Pumpkinhead: an endangered beer species

Happy Friday Friends! I am particularly happy on this fine evening because I have just accomplished what seemed like the impossible -- finding Shipyard's Pumpkinhead Ale. I first tasted this deliciousness last October in Atlanta, and after several failed attempts at finding it again, sadly I gave up. Turns out, they only make a certain amount and when it's sold out - it's gone till the next fall! Can you believe that? So depressing. So this fall, I knew I had to get on it early. And that's exactly what I did. It's September 14th and I am happily enjoying my first Pumpkinhead of the fall :) I highly recommend this pumpkin ale - it's like pumpkin pie in your mouth! I almost hesitate at spreading the word because I want it all to myself!

Staycations > Vacations

This past week was so great! Bridget passed her NCLEX aka she's officially on summer vacation for the next couple of weeks. Kati took the week off of work. And I had my last week of freedom before the new job! (It's starts tomorrow - eek.) Upon realizing that we obviously needed to take advantage of this magical free time we all had, we decided to go on a DC staycation. This staycation included such adventures as the Coldplay concert and a successful shopping expedition to the outlets. 

Last Wednesday, we decided to transform into our tourist-selves yet again, and venture to the Newseum. I have to admit, my attention span at museums is usually less than 2 seconds, but I could have wandered the Newseum for hours -- possibly days. I think it's safe to say it's my favorite museum - ever. I know, that's a pretty strong statement, but by golly it's true. 

 

Some things I loved about the Newseum: 

• They have a 6th floor terrace with views of the Capitol and the Washington Monument. 
• I spotted Stephen Colbert at least 5 times while wandering. Any museum that includes Stephen Colbert in their repertoire automatically rules in my book. 
• Their 9/11 exhibit is incredible. It broke my heart all over again. They have an antennae from one the towers on display, as well as the front pages from around the world that covered that horrific day. 
• Giant pieces of the Berlin Wall are on display, as well as one of the guard towers.
• They have an entire exhibit on Pulitzer Prize photography. It was so captivating. 
• They surprised me with newspapers dating all the way back to the 1500s - including newspapers covering the Salem Witch Trials, and the life of the Pirate Blackbeard. I don't think it gets more awesome than that. 
• Two words: Glass. Elevators. 

After satisfying our cultural hunger, we headed to Chinatown to satisfy our actual appetites at Matchbox. I LOVED THIS PLACE. We sat outside. The sun was setting. We had delicious cocktails and fun chatter. We were surrounded by beautiful architecture, including a goblet of fire. Note: Any restaurant that displays a goblet of fire will immediately become my favorite restaurant upon discovery of said goblet. 

Delicious avocado crab salad!

...check out those 'Matchbox Infusion' cocktails! 

Following our tasty meal, we may or may not have headed to Iron Horse Taproom and parked ourselves in front of a big screen TV playing an outdated version of 'Robin Hood' for 3 hours. #ladiesnight

WAIT. . . Is that the White House?

Titanic. A spontaneous wine tasting. Chili dogs. Glimpses of the White House. Random run-intos. Talk about a fab afternoon. A couple of weeks ago, my cousin, Bridget, and I decided to morph into our tourist-selves. We strapped on our giant cameras, whipped out our maps, laced up our bright white sneakers, applied copious amounts of sunblock, snapped on our fanny packs, and took the metro into DC......ok ok, we didn't really do all that - come on people, that would just be embarrassing. But, we really did hit up the National Geographic Museum, do a wine tasting, and eat at the infamous Ben's Chili Bowl! 

After a suggestion from my wonderful mother, Bridget and I decided that there was no better museum to meander through on a hot Saturday afternoon than one with a Titanic exhibit. The National Geographic Museum only had two exhibits, but both were fantastic - and just happened to be free that day! Lucky us, right? The first was an interesting exhibit about the history of samurais, which was pretty cool, but would have been way cooler if we had been allowed to try on their crazy outfits of armor and possibly have a sword fight with each other, but hey, let's not get greedy. Next, we wandered through Titanic land. This exhibit had pieces of the set from the Titanic movie, as well as a few items from the actual ship! It was pretty awesome. I've always had a fascination with Titanic ever since... well, let's be honest...Jack & Rose made their debut on the big screen when I was 11. To this day, I can't NOT watch Titanic when it is on TV. It's one of my favorites! And always gets my emotions going. ALWAYS. That scene at the very end when she ascends the stairwell to Jack? Ah swoooooon. Also, I love the third-class irish party scene. Why? Because I want to go to a party like that. I'm pretty sure it doesn't get much better than dancing, irish music, rowdy men, pints of beer, and arm wrestling. 

After we had decided it was time to let go of our Titanic fascination (get it, get it?! muaha), we began the walk to our linner location, Ben's Chili Bowl. For those who cannot put two and two together, linner is LUNCH + DINNER, and is typically eaten in the mid to late afternoon. On our walk there, the White House kept peaking out at us through the DC streets. I swear, it was following us. This, however, could be directly related to the fact that we really are tourists and, because of that fact, we kept losing our way and going in circles. But it's way more likely that the White House was following us. 

When we finally got our bearings, we strolled the streets, took in the sights and occasionally tripped on the uneven sidewalks. Famished and dying of thirst, we saw a sidewalk sign for a wine tasting. It was 3:30PM, the wine tasting was from 3-7PM, we needed a little pick-me-up...so, hello, obviously we took advantage of this opportunity. Can I just say how impressed I was by Bridget's inner wine connoisseur? Sheesh! She was detecting smoky flavors left and right. After tasting 6 or 7 delicious wines, we settled on a nice little white wine from Argentina. MMmm! 

FINALLY, we made it to Ben's Chili Bowl. We obviously took the obligatory tourist photo out front, then headed inside, which was pretty much a blast from the 70s. Because we had made the wise choice to eat linner at Ben's Chili Bowl, we didn't have to wait at all AND we got a table right out front, which was pretty cool and pretty awesome for people watching. I'm not going to lie, I was really excited to be there because so many famous people had been there in the past. I was particularly happy about the fact that my favorite Travel Channel stars, Anthony Bourdain and Adam Richman, had deemed Ben's Chili Bowl worthy of their stomachs.

We each ordered the most popular menu item - CHILI DOGS!! 

Doesn't look like much, but really, it's amazing.

Here's Bridget - SO happy her chili didn't have beans in it! Weeeee! 

With food in our bellies, we felt re-energized and began the long walk back to the metro. On the way back, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I see one of my favorite people ever just wandering down the sidewalk - Javi! Javier and I went to UF together, where we bonded over our dislike of certain advertising major requirements and the ridiculousness of some of our classmates. This was so exciting, because I hadn't seen him in forever and I love him! It was pa-retty cool.

On the way back, we saw so many cool things that I couldn't resist taking pictures of

...like this building that looks like it was taken right from the streets of Paris! 

...and this spiked wrought iron gate on a cute little side street! 

All in all, we had a lot of fun as DC tourists that afternoon. I can't wait for our next adventure! PS - When we finally got back home, guess what was on TV? Needless to say, I did not move from that couch for a good 3 hours. 

White Chocolate Truffle Cupcake Heaven

I am not exaggerating when I use the word "heaven" to describe these cupcakes. Flannery, my not-so-little sister, is pretty much obsessed with cupcakes (as am I) and whenever I come home, I am pretty much guaranteed a new tasty recipe. This time around, it was White Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes. Now, of course, we found this recipe on Pinterest via The Pampered Chef (where else do you find recipes these days?), but Flan put her own spin on the recipe and it was seriously amazing and death by white chocolate. 

Now, I must admit, although I'd love to take credit for baking these cupcakes, I just can't. I really was just standing there taking photos of Flan while she did all the work (and also yakking (sp?) away and talking about weird things and annoying her - it's what I do best!). That said, check out this heavenly (but also so sinful - ha!) recipe.

The Recipe?

White Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes

Ingredients?

CUPCAKES

1 box of white cake mix

3 eggs (egg whites only!)

1 1/4 cup of water

1/2 cup butter

Round white chocolate truffles unwrapped

FROSTING

6 oz. white chocolate chips

1 8oz. package regular cream cheese, softened

1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup), softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups powered sugar

Instructions?

1. Gather your ingredients & preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Mix cake mix, eggs (no yolks!), butter, & water.

3. Bake cupcakes 17-20 minutes at 325 degrees. 

4. While cupcakes are baking, unwrap the white chocolate truffles (and pop a few in your mouth while you're at it).

5. Remove the cupcakes from the oven. Immediately snip or scoop out a 1/2 inch deep "x" into the top of each cupcake. Place & press one truffle into each cupcake. Then remove cupcakes from pan and let cool for 30 minutes. 

6. During this 30 minute cool down, you can snap photos of pretty things and just watch while your sister does all the work - OR, you can help her make the frosting. I chose the former, duh.

7. Microwave the white chocolate chips on high for 1- 1 1/2 minutes or until the chocolate is mostly melted (stir every 30 seconds). In large bowl, combine melted chocolate, cream cheese, butter & vanilla. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Slowly add powdered sugar and beat well. Oh yeah, don't forget to give your lazy sister a beater to lick.

8. Using the handy "cut a hole in the corner of a freezer bag" method, frost your cupcakes. 

Voila! And there ya have it. Heaven in a cupcake. Enjoy! 

Pumpkin: Red Velvet's Tastier, More Elusive Cousin

Your favorite guest blogger is BACK! Meghan Diamond, the Red Velvet Extraordinaire turned Autumn Enthusiast, will be sharing with us the wonders of pumpkin bread and roadtrips during our favorite season of the year: FALL.

I know you guys missed her. I sure did. Take it away, Meghan....

Today is my first day back home after a rowdy weekend in Austin so naturally I decided to catch up on blogging instead of cleaning or running errands or being productive. Plus, listening to The National (aka the best band ever) puts me in good mood. And since I’m on the topic of good moods, I will be writing about my absolute favorite time of the year: Fall. It’s strange that I love autumn so much considering that I grew up in Florida and now live in South Texas. We don’t really get a real fall until winter comes around. But I think the feeling comes from knowing that the summer weather is finally going to end and the holidays are right around the corner.  Throughout college, MC and I planned fall trips, usually to either Nashville or North Carolina. We loved the cool weather and beautiful foliage, not to mention that road trips just make us happy. And for every road trip I always stayed up late, baking pumpkin bread and not studying for whatever important nursing school exam I had at 730 the following morning.

So on Thursday night, in keeping with tradition, I stayed up until 4am baking pumpkin bread and watching Garden State (aka the best movie ever). I then woke up at 8am and made the 3 hour drive to Austin, ate a slice of the delicious bread, and then proceeded to spend the next 10 hours sweating, walking wayyy too much, and seeing some really awesome live music at Austin City Limits. This trip wasn’t quite a normal fall trip considering it was 90-something degrees the whole time but I switched things up this year, including my pumpkin bread recipe. 

I usually stick with basic pumpkin bread and then make one loaf with chocolate chips and maybe some walnuts or pecans (this one is always my favorite because of the chocolate, duh) and the other loaf with dried cranberries or cherries and maybe some walnuts. They are always moist, delicious and so so pumpkiny (please excuse my bad habit of making up words). This is my typical recipe that I took from a Taste of Home cookbook and can also be found here. Its perfectly simple and delicious and I highly recommend making it.

I’ve been making that recipe since I was in high school, however, since then I’ve discovered Pinterest. Remember my last guest post where I drooled over Pinterest the entire time? Well nothing has changed since then, I’m still obsessed and, fortunately, it has expanded the horizons of my love for pumpkin baked goods. I recently came across this recipe (I won’t post the actual recipe because the blog is super cute and definitely worth checking out). It’s cream cheese rippled pumpkin bread and it is amazing. It’s slightly less pumpkiny than the previous recipe but I don’t even care. My boyfriend could not stop eating it all weekend - believe me when I say this is a big deal since he is very picky about what baked goods he eats. And when I say picky, I mean he doesn’t like too much chocolate...we’ve been going to couples counseling regarding this issue because it’s been a major source of stress in our relationship (for obvious reasons).

Seriously, you want this. Make it. Now.

Since I seriously got carried away with the whole pumpkin thing this week, I also made vegan pumpkin cupcakes for a patient of mine who is vegan. We always have trouble getting her favorite foods because our cafeteria doesn’t carry many vegan options so I started bringing her vegan baked goods. They were a big hit. I made vegan icing by mixing half a tub of tofutti “cream cheese,” a few tablespoons of Earth Balance margarine, 1.5 cups powdered sugar, some vanilla, and cinnamon. Don’t be scared of vegan baking, its usually just as good (and sometimes better) than non vegan baked goods I promise!

Then since I was seriously stressed about working 3 nights in a row, I made myself some cookies with all the leftover pumpkin in my fridge. I added chocolate chips (duh) because that was all I had in my pantry but I froze some leftover batter to bake when I get some dried cherries because dried cherries and pumpkin are the best combo.

Pumpkin overload? Nah, there’s no such thing. Plus it has lots of Vitamin A, which is good for you. It’s also just good for your mental health because how could pumpkin or the fall season not make anyone happy?

And just in case nobody believes how much MC and I love fall, just take a look at our excitement during this trip to Nashvegas back in 2009:

We also get really excited about being at dueling piano bars in the fall but that is completely unrelated and any photo evidence would probably be embarrassing. Except for this...

....That’s not at all embarrassing.

Want some funky fall decor tips? Check out my guest post on Meghan's blog!

Two (Yes, TWO) Ingredient Pumpkin Cake

I know what you are thinking. TWO ingredients? Yeah right. Well, believe it or not --  it's true. I stumbled upon this cake on pinterest (via The Big Red Kitchen blog) and knew this had to be my next creation because a) I'm not an avid/very good baker so, uh, yeah, two ingredients? love it b) I LOVE PUMPKIN ANYTHING and c) It's September! Which means I am basically required to create fall-inspired dishes such as this one. I'm home at my parents' house for the weekend, so I figured it was the perfect time to experiment with the people who would give me their honest opinion on this two-ingredient dessert. Needless to say, it was a HIT. 

The Dish?

Pumpkin Cake

The Ingredients?

1 Boxed Cake Mix

1 15-oz. Can of Pumpkin

Frosting/Glaze - optional

The Directions?

1. Mix pumpkin and cake mix on medium speed for two minutes.*

2. Pour into a greased 7 x 11 pan. 

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 28 minutes. 

4. Remove from oven -- let cool.

5. Glaze or frost as desired! 

*This cake created with the above directions is undoubtedly delicious - BUT, I think next time I'd experiment by adding raisins, walnuts and a pinch of pumpkin spice! 

Warehouse Restaurant and Lounge

Last night, I went out to celebrate one of best friend's birthdays - Happy Birthday Kristin! Kristin and I are on a "try new places" kick. Both of us are Gator grads still living in the great ole' town of Gainesville. That said, we realized that during our 4 years of undergrad we did NOT take advantage of the variety of restaurants and culinary creativity Gainesville has to offer. We've made it our goal to only go to restaurants that we've never tried before. So, last night, when we had to make a decision about where to go to dinner and Kristin suggested Warehouse Restaurant & Lounge, which I had never heard of, I knew we had to give it a shot -- and I'm so glad we did. Warehouse is exactly how it sounds - a warehouse. It is located in a slightly sketchy area of town (just south of downtown on Main Street), but once you're inside that giant, warm room and surrounded by wine bottles and live music, you feel as if you're right in the heart of downtown.

I was so pleasantly surprised as I walked in. The high ceilings and shelves full of wine that lined the walls gave Warehouse a funky, modern, yet classy ambience. Their menu does not have much variety, but what they do have? Amazing. Their dishes range from curried chicken and seared ahi tuna to gnocci and corn cakes. I decided to go out on a limb and try their Grilled Flank Steak & Snow Crab Macaroni and Cheese. HOLY COW. It was unbelievable. Honestly, one of the best things I've ever tasted. Although the wait for our food was a bit long, you can tell that Warehouse offers freshly prepared food - no microwaves, no reheats.

Now, of course, because we were surrounded by wine, we had a get a bottle for ourselves. Their drink/wine/beer menu is quite extensive - significantly more extensive than their food menu. We went with a bottle of pinot grigio and enjoyed every last drop! Finally, the grand finale - dessert. We decided to share raspberry pound cake (which we got on the house, thank you very much) and to our surprise, the pound cake had been grilled! This is not something I've ever seen before, but it works. And it is GOOD.

We ended our night out on the patio listening to Little Jake and the Soul Searchers, a band that looked and sounded as if they came straight out of the fifties. They had everybody dancing, smiling and singing. Kristin and I decided that we just might have to become groupies - they were just that awesome.

SO. To anyone looking for a fun, funky, delicious restaurant in the Gainesville area: Warehouse is your place. And be sure to venture there on a night when they have a live band!

Move. Learn. Eat.

The three following videos are quickly becoming an internet phenomenon - and it's not hard to see why! I wanted to share them because I find them so inspiring - in more ways than one. After my recent, very amateur jaunt into the world of video making/editing (see my recent post: In the Summertime), these videos have inspired me to create similar projects the next time I travel the world and hit up 11 countries in 44 days, or maybe just my next trip to a cool city? That seems a bit more reasonable if you ask me. But, in addition to the "editing" coolness factor of these videos, these videos portray one solid message that I'm sure anyone in any of those countries they visited could understand: Live life to the fullest. We all get bogged down by the the craziness and stress of our lives, but these videos remind us how much more there is to this wild and unpredictable thing called life - and to embrace all of it!

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.
LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.
EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.



Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza

Roasted butternut squash pizza is arguably the most heavenly pizza known to mankind. It sounds like an exaggeration, but just you wait until you try it yourself one day. Maybe you'll even be inspired to make your own after this post! The first time I laid eyes and tongue (ew?) on butternut squash pizza was when I was in Burlington, VT last Halloween weekend with my Aunt Carrie and Uncle Funny Jeff (he's really funny). The leaves were just about done changing, and there were snow flurries in the air. College kids were out and about on the streets dressed in their (hilarious) costumes - probably freezing - as were we. We were on the hunt for a tasty eatery that was unique to Vermont where we could relax, warm up, and enjoy our evening. We settled on American Flatbread, a wood-fired pizza grill, and also the most warm, cozy, perfect place to spend the evening on a cold Halloween night. You just might be able to guess what comes next. We ordered butternut squash pizza! Which was very appropriate considering the time of year. I do believe we also ordered a squash-based beer - which was surprisingly good. At first bite, we all fell in love. Maybe it was the cozy atmosphere, maybe it was because we were famished from traveling, or maybe...just maybe...it was because butternut squash on a pizza was meant to be. I don't remember what exactly was on that pizza. I just know it was a tasty schmorgesborg of cheeses, onions, herbs and squash. I'd also just like to say, that after that meal, we were completely rejuvenated and went to an authentic irish pub and had some beeahs. SUCH a fun night. But I digress. After coming home from that trip, my Aunt Carrie and I knew we had recreate that fine dish - and again, I don't know exactly what ingredients we used, but all I know is that it turned out just as good, and quite possibly better, than in VT.

As I was searching for a fun, tasty, yet challenging dish to make on my day off, roasted butternut squash pizza magically popped into my head and I knew I had to make it and share it with the blogging world. I did a little search and found a great recipe by Two Peas and Their Pod for roasted butternut squash pizza. I followed her recipe more or less, but also followed my own intuition when making this pizza pie.

First of all, you always need a little pre-dinner, cooking entertainment. That's why I turned to Mr. Jimmy Fallon, my future husband (after he divorces his current wife) for some laughs to keep busy for what seemed to be for-ev-er. If you haven't watched Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, I highly recommend it.

The Dish?

Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza

The Ingredients?

• Pizza dough - I cheated and got the store-bought.
• 1 Red Onion
• 1 Butternut Squash
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Feta Cheese
• Olive Oil
• Garlic, 1-2 tsp minced
• Fresh Rosemary

The Directions?

1. Peel and dice your butternut squash. WARNING: This takes a lot more manpower and strength than you think. Make sure you have a strong knife and solid cutting board. OH - and MUSCLES.

2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place diced squash in a pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once the oven is preheated, let the squash roast for 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Chop that red onion, and hold back those tears.

4. Get ready to carmelize your red onion. Place a skillet or pan on medium-high heat and drizzle with oil. Once the oil is shimmering, throw those onions on there. The only difference between carmelizing an onion and grilling an onion is that you add a teaspoon or two of sugar. Don't know how to grill/carmelize an onion? Here's a little help. The grilling/carmelizing should take 15-20 minutes. This would be a good time to make that pizza dough, if you are not lazy like me and want to make your own crust.

5. Once the onions are done carmelizing and the squash is done roasting, top that pizza! It doesn't matter what order - I did a little mozzarella, then the squash, then a little garlic, then the onions, then the rosemary, and then the feta, and then a little more mozzarella. Hey, what's a pizza without lotsa cheese, right?

6. Finally, raise that oven temperature to 450 degrees. Once it hits the 450 degree mark, lower the temperature back down to 425 degrees and put that pizza in there. I kept my pie in there for 10 minutes - but that's because I don't like super crispy crust. If you like crispy crust, I recommend 13 minutes or so. Just watch - when the crust is golden brown and the cheeses are all melted and gooey and delicious, you'll know the pizza is ready.

7. Finally, enjoy your creation! I chose some Cupcake Chardonnay to accompany my pizza. What. A. Pair. The only reason I picked it up was because when I was Houston, Meghan and I were totally intrigued by it, mainly because it has a dessert in it's name. We bought it, brought it home, and chilled it - in the freezer. Then...oh yeah, we forgot about it. And guess what? It exploded. True story. Needless to say, we did not get to enjoy our Cupcake wine and I've been dying to try it ever since! Meghan's quite the cooker, too. Check out her post on how to make risotto!

Bon Appetit!

The Hipster Stamp of Approval

Meghan and I had a very eye-opening realization this past weekend. As we planned my time in Houston, I wanted to make sure that I went to the coolest restaurants, bars, shops, etc. that Houston had to offer. Meghan and I, of course, always have a tendency to gravitate towards a very specific type of place. Some may like to call it the "hole-in-the-wall" or the "not-so-mainstream" hangout, or dare I say...hipster hangout? Yes, that's right. Meghan and I may not be the biggest hipsters, we may not even be hipsters at all, but where do we feel most comforable? In the presence of hipsters. What can we say? We're indiekidz at heart and the "Hipster Stamp of Approval" is a must when venturing into the unexplored abyss of a new city.

See? Indiekidz. Tried and true.

Upon realizing that the Hipster Stamp of Approval was a necessity in our search for fun places in Houston, we decided to visit Brasil, a local coffeshop, in the heart of the Montrose district. This place was super cool. Even in the sunny 100 degree weather, Brasil offered a dark, cool place to eat, study, catch up with friends, or....blog! Red Velvet Love Affair was a "Brasil-Inspired" blogpost, and look at the piece of work that turned out to be. Captivating, I know. Meghan and I spent a good two hours there for lunch one day munching on quiche and fresh salad, and then went back for more a couple of nights later and enjoyed a soy mocha/blogging session. Quite frankly, I could probably sit there all day and be perfectly content. Sidenote: Why can't all of our offices just be in coffeeshops? A girl can dream, right?

The second restaurant that received the "Hipster Stamp of Approval" was Beaver's Icehouse. Beaver's, from the outside, doesn't look too intriguing. Beaver's from the inside? Awesome. It's a like an indie Texas bar. As contradictory as that sounds, for Beaver's, it works! Meghan and I had fun with their extensive drink menu and each had an "El Diablo" - a sweet, yet spicy Texas drink. We also decided that, heck yeaaahh, we can handle the gigantic, probably meant for five men-BBQ sampler. And not only did we "handle" it, we dominated it. And then...well...we didn't really eat for the next 24 hours, with the exception of red velvet brownies. But that's a whole other story...

Moral of this blogpost? If you can't seem to find one place that would be fit for the presence of hipsters, then you should probably get as far away from that city as you possibly can. The Hipster Stamp of Approval: the perfect tool for navigating yourself from the Applebees of the world to the Satchels of the world in unfamilar, unexplored territory.

The Blakely House: True Southern Charm in Ocala

The Blakely House. I've driven past it hundreds of times. Always curious. Never stopped. Finally, the other day, I had two lovely gals come visit me at work for my lunch break, and we couldn't quite decide on where we should go for lunch. Panera? Noo. Sushi? Ehh, noo. How bout the Blakely House? Ooo yeah! We'd seen its signs for tasty lunches every time we drove past and figured today was the day - finally, lunch at the Blakely House! I was delightfully surprised as I stepped through the door. An old victorian home, the Blakely House automatically has historic charm -- but the Blakely House had been renovated into a restaurant, shop AND spa - making it slightly modern in appearance, and so quaint! Although small, the menu had some great lunch items -- quiche, soup, sandwiches and......drumroll, please....cupcakes! Who knew!! (Unfortunately, I didn't have one, but all the more reason to return, right?) The girls and I ordered our lunches (quiche, soup & sweet tea) and chose a spot on their wrap-around porch. While we were waiting for our food, we meandered through their shop which was stocked with unique gifts, clothing, and jewelry. Thankfully, the day was cloudy, and a bit cooler - quite comfortable for a meal outside. We scarfed down the delicious food, and vowed we'd come back some day soon. For any of you in Ocala, or for any of you who are just passing through, the Blakely House is well worth the stop!