Katie Stoops Commercial Photography

This past weekend, I was coming back down from Philly when I was finally able to meet up with one of my best friends, Kristen & her ginger husband Nick. They took me to Terrain , which has been on my list of places that I eventually wanted to check out. It’s owned by Anthropologie and the only one of it’s kind. Despite being on one of the busiest roads in the area, you are entirely unaware that you aren’t in a European country market. They also have a restaurant that has a refreshing menu with a laid back atmosphere. I could have easily spent all day just sitting there.

Love the mismatched silverware with each setting:

The flower pot bread was some of the best I’ve ever had. Plus, it was served with a lavender & sea salt butter. Incredible.

Over the past year or so, I’ve become comfortably addicted to Caramel Macchiatos and this one definitely surpassed Starbucks’ version.

The cheese plate was full of options but they should not have had the crackers. Most of the offerings were soft goat cheeses that strongly competed rather than being complemented by the texture of the crackers. Also, the preserves & honey were just too sweet and distracted from the cheeses’ flavors.

Heirloom tomatoes with balsamic reduction and chevres:

Hummus plate:

I tend to like gazpacho but it needs to be served in small quantities because by the time you’re done with it, it’s warm and has lost it’s charm. The gazpacho here had a really great spicy flavor to it; however, the bowl was way too big:

The hand made crust for the mushroom tart aka quiche gave it a warm, buttery, comfort food quality. The mixture of eggs, cheese, and mushrooms was perfect BUT underneath on the bottom was a layer of greens baked into the mini pie that were so bitter causing us to simply eat off the top:

My scallops were served with one of the best sauces I’ve ever had (a fresh mint & yogurt mixture). They were super fresh tasting and the citrus infused quinoa paired well with them leaving you not feeling stuffed but refreshed.

This is the main space they have started to rent out for events & weddings. The light in here is incredible.

Inside one of the various buildings:

For $11,000 you can A)put a down payment on a house or B)buy this tree:

Today was one of the only open Saturdays I’ve had in a long long time. So, Dave & I decided we would try zip lining at Bryce Resort but we stopped at a diner on the way there for some very tasty subs.

Dave apparently thinks he’s a genius now. Thanks “game”.

I love cows. Lots and lots of cows.

We stopped at a roadside farm stand.

Zip lining here we come!

…and off goes Dave down the line! There are 10 different lines that you take from the top of the mountain all of the way down. I’m not very good at it so I just held on for the ride and dropped down each line.

This happens to be one of the only photos we have together. How ironic.

The view from the top was so pretty.

There are so many great things to say about Savor in downtown Richmond. The industrial, light, and airy space is such a great compliment to the incredibly fresh food they serve. Watermelon chillers, steak chopped salads, organic ingredients, and fabulous service makes this a restaurant that I’ll definitely revisit over and again.

Lunch is the best with new friends!

I just got a ton of film in yesterday and forgot that a trip to Charleston, SC was being held captive on a few rolls. Enjoy!

He’s part Great Dane, part Black Lab, and part lovey dovey. He’s pretty damn cool. This was taken with Fuji’s 800 film.

Recently, we found out that Desmond absolutely loves fruit…all kinds. If you have a clementine, he will follow you around until you give him some. I bought a watermelon and when we cut it open, he was like a fly to honey.

Look how happy Jack is with the gigantic bone I bought him at Target. You can see him smiling.

The whole gang!

The other day I made my first scones. I tried the recipe from Bon Appetit (which is listed here) and was really happy with how they tasted. The lemon zest gives the scones a lighter taste that is hard to find in the traditional heavy scone. My mistake was using foil to line the tray rather than parchment paper (didn’t have any) because it did burn the bottoms. Other than that, I would definitely make these again!

Dave has been on vacation this week & I obviously am never on vacation so that makes it difficult for us to get away on a trip. However, about 30 minutes from us is Massanutten Resort where you can ski in the Winter & do all sorts of outdoorsy stuff in the Summertime. I’ve always wanted to ride a horse. Growing up in the suburbs of Richmond pretty much made that impossible for me to do as a kid, but we found out they have horseback riding lessons at Massanutten. It was an hour long ride through the woods (thank goodness because of the heat today!) and the horse they paired me up with was named “Red”-how ironic. We were two peas in a pod… when he wanted to eat along the trail every chance he got, I knew we were meant to be together haha. Unfortunately, cameras weren’t allowed on the ride but here are some fun ones!

I make that helmet look GOOD with my Olan Mills posing hahaha

Then we went to the Thunderbird Cafe. It used to be terrible…typical way too greasy diner food but we had heard the ownership had changed so we decided to try it again. It was completely different from before and a million times better. I love dry rub wings and these came with a smoky southwestern ranch sauce.

Dave & I both decided to try the Blue Ribbon sandwich that you need an extra stomach for. It was focaccia with a fried chicken breast, a thick piece of Turner country ham, swiss cheese. I put some Cholula to give it some zing and pure yumminess!

This afternoon Dave & I went for the second time to the recently opened restaurant Union Station originally just for their nachos…but, as you can see, that plan failed. I’m not sure you could classify the food there into one category other than “comfort food”. The kind that makes you feel better after a long day because everything reminds you of home.

Everything about the nachos tastes really fresh…from the toasty chips to the cold corn. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that there’s a mound of chorizo on top!

The french onion soup makes you wish it was Fall/Winter time. Lots of cheese on top makes me happy!

Daniel was our server & a perfect one at that. I love how there are real photographs around the whole restaurant of what the area used to look like.

I decided upon the panko breaded black bean cakes with cumin. I was shocked how good these were and would definitely have them again.

Bonus: Mac & Cheese

Dave got the “fish & chips” . I’m a sucker for anything fried…it’s really going to catch up with me one day.