Spring-like!

The first weekend of March is in the books and it was - for the most part - a wonderful Spring weekend! It did rain for most of the day on Friday and extended into Friday evening, but thankfully it didn't have too much of damper on the start of the weekend!

Friday night - while it poured - I was having a delicious dinner with my Mom and our dear friend, Margaret at a local favorite spot: Paladin! We spent about two hours catching up over delicious bites that included: Potato and Broccoli Chowder, Brunswick Stew, Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes, Fish Tacos, Sliders and a Philly Cheesesteak! It was all so divine and the company was even better! Once I was home, I took a bath and y'all - I was wiped out! I ended up falling asleep on the couch before Ryan even got back from the men's conference, ha-ha! 

Saturday was forecasted to be cloudy and extremely windy - but the day actually turned out to be bright and sunny (it was pretty windy though, ha-ha). After having a breakfast of sausage biscuits, scrambled eggs (both from our friend's farm, located in VA) fresh fruit and juice - Ryan and I set off to hike all eight miles of Lake Frederick! 

 

The hike around Lake Fred is right at eight miles and according to All Trails, it's considered moderate. Granted, All Trails also says you can complete the trail in under three hours and that seems a little bit like a joke! While the trail is not "hard", it's also not easy by any measure - in many places the trail itself angles sharply downward toward the lake and the trail can be a bit punishing on the knees and ankles (talk to me about ankles... talk to Ryan about knees). We started right around 11:00 and finished shortly after 3:00 - so we did it in four hours - and I'm still pretty impressed by that!

We saw two deer, two geese, a squirrel and several pups out for some nature walking with their owners! The weather - even with the wind - was pretty perfect for our hike and even though when it was all said and done, I ended up with a swollen ankle, it was a wonderful day and a wonderful way to spend time! I'd like to give a go from the other direction one day... but not in the near future, ha!

Ryan and I made a tasty BBQ Applewood Bacon Pork Loin with Brown Butter Egg Noodles and Roasted Brussel Sprouts for dinner - it was all so good y'all!

Sunday was another beautiful day and after church, Ryan and I joined my parents and headed to Warrenton for the afternoon. We had lunch at Great Harvest Bread Co. and while the sandwiches we had were absolutely divine - my husband said that the restaurant itself was a little less than tidy. Eek! We didn't get a chance to sample their sweets, because we walked right down the street to Haute Cakes Pastry Shop for some macarons and cupcakes!

The original goal for the visit was to head to ReMix Market in Warrenton - alas - while the shop itself was neat, it wasn't quite what we were expecting! I think we'd all assumed it would a much larger space and perhaps have better prices then we saw - but it was still a neat find and an experience! We drove back toward home on the back roads and Spring is absolutely starting to show itself in the nature all around the countryside! I hope the next few days "cold snap" doesn't cause everything to be killed.

Ryan and I went to the Virginia State Arboretum to attempt to bike the three mile loop road - but all that downward pushing with a bum ankle was a little problematic, so we were only able to make the loop once before I had to tap out. *sigh* The weather was stunning on Sunday, so I'm glad we were able to be out in the sunshine even for a little while!

I whipped up a big pot of Cowboy Stew for dinner, we watched a little XFL and suddenly the weekend was drawing to a close - talk about time flying! 

Just to end this little post on a precious note - please look at this precious side by side of my ring bearer and I - taken five years apart! He was the sweetest little baby and now he's the sweetest little dude! Y'all enjoy your Monday and have a wonderful week ahead!