A Slice of...Richmond, Virginia!

Hey bloggers! Kara here from Once There Was a Tree. I'm a twenty-something social worker who enjoys long weekends at the river, camping, and going on random adventures. This summer marks my 3 year wedding anniversary to my wonderful husband and high school sweetheart (we've been a couple for 10 years total!), and hopefully we will be celebrating in our very first house this year (fingers crossed!). We have two dogs, Pete & Samson, who we treat like our very own children. My blog is mostly about everyday life and exploring who I am, what I believe, and where I am going. Come say hello! =)

So without further ado...

I live in Richmond, Virginia. A little city known by many names - River City... Cap City... Fist City...  this has been my home for my entire life and there is no other place like it! This little city is slam packed with history, art, shopping and music. We're also named the Tattoo Capital of the East Coast, and Richmond ranks #3 in top tattooed cities in the nation.

History:

Richmond is full of history, which makes sense considering we were once the Capitol of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Also, St. John's Church is right down the street from my loft - you know, the one where Patrick Henry gave his ''Give me Liberty or give me Death'' speech.

[found via google.com]

Sometimes, my husband and I take a day off work and visit some of the local (and cheap or FREE) museums in Richmond. Our favorites include...

1. The Edgar Allan Poe Museum

2. The Virginia Holocaust Museum which, I might add... is every bit as moving as the larger one in D.C.... also, the Director was a Holocaust survivor and throughout the tour there are pictures of him and his family along the walls. There's also a life size model of his families hide-out, extremely emotional to experience.

3. The Virginia Science Museum aka one of the coolest places in Richmond -- this used to be an old train station and they hold free events such as ''Live Sky'' in their planetarium every month.

4. I've never really been in this one, but the Museum of the Confederacy is on my jogging route (for those of you out there interested in the war).

5. And finally, the Black History and Cultural Museum. There is a small fee for this one, but it's totally worth it!

Art:

I am lucky enough to live in the Art District of Richmond City. We actually live across the street from Art Works which is a small art gallery that features local artists - our wedding reception was held here, so it will always hold a very special place in our hearts. Everywhere you turn, there are galleries, sidewalk art shows, and murals. I absolutely love living amongst so much creativity!

We have a very strong graffiti culture here, and while some are annoyed by it... I happen to think it adds a little character to some of our abandoned warehouses and boxcars.

As I said earlier, we're a pretty tattooed city. I can literally count on my fingers the number of people in my life without tattoos... small shout out to my tattoo artist, Josh at Heroes & Ghosts!

Here is a picture of the quarter sleeve he just finished. Josh did it all by hand, and I can't wait to see him again for my next one!

Shopping:

 [found via google.com]

Anyone who knows anything about Richmond has probably heard of Cary Town. People of all ages flock to this strip for good food, street vendors, and really good stores. Some of my favorite places to shop in Cary Town include:

1. American Apparel, because who doesn't enjoy clothing that is made in America without the use of sweat shops? Plus... they make the softest tee-shirts. Ever.

2. For the Love of Chocolate -- seriously, every candy you could ever think of is located in this tiny shop! I can never manage to leave without spending at least $20 on goodies...

3. Bygones Vintage Clothing is my all time favorite place to shop for anything vintage! They have everything from vintage post cards to hats, cigarette cases, sunglasses, shoes, handbags, and dresses. It's seriously like stepping back in time -- my brother even saw Drew Barrymore shopping there last summer!

4. The Byrd Theatre is known across the nation and was built in 1928 -- you can feel the history the moment you step through the doors. Today it is a historic state and national landmark, and you can see movies here for $1.99... seriously a steal!

[found via google.com]

 
5. Plan 9 Music is one of my favorite places to hang out, because 9 times out of 10 there is a local band playing a show right in the store, and the record section down stairs is to die for. My husband and I like to see who can get the most records for the cheapest amount - it's easy to find them for $1-$2 a piece!

Music:

Richmond loves to promote local music and it's not uncommon to find people performing in the streets or in restaurants (especially in Cary Town). I saw my first show at Alley Katz. Some other great music venues include: The Canal Club, The Hat Factory, and The National.

Because we live right on the canal, one of my favorite things to do is to walk along the James River and hang out at Friday Night Cheers in the summer. It's located on Brown's Island and they host a number of both local and national acts. Nothing beats a cold beer and good music!

I will leave you with a few links connecting you to my favorite restaurants in Richmond: Cafe Gutenberg, City Dogs, and Sine Irish Pub. These are 3 places that I could seriously eat at every single day and never tire of!

 [found via google.com]

 
So that's my city in a nutshell! I hope you enjoyed reading and were possibly inspired to come explore Richmond for yourself!

Read more »

A Slice of...Munich, Germany

Hi there! My name is Lilly, and on my blog Panic & Punkrock mainly about my life and stuff that I like, such as style, decorating, food, crafting, parties and the little pretty things in life. I am a twenty something girl, working in a design shop, studying, and trying to make the best out of my free time.
I've been moving to Munich 5 years ago, enjoying the mix of small-town-life and the perks of a city with my friends and boyfriend, and I'd love to show you my favorite places and activities!

Even if you know little about Munich, you probably have heard about the famous Oktoberfest. This is the annual beer fest which attracts so many guests from all over the world!

No matter where you're from, every Autumn in these two weeks, you dress in traditional Bavarian costume and drink huge amounts of beer in a beer tent. There is a huge amusement park and various food stands put up, but let's be honest, it's all about the beer.

 

One thing I really love about Munich, is that it is relatively small and you can reach every important point by bike within half an hour. Needless to say I love bike rides in summer and spend every free minute exploring secret places of the city.

There are some small lakes and out popular river, the Isar near, where we like to spend hot days and free evenings bathing, and having picknicks and barbecues.

 

English Garden in winter

Westpark

Another famous thing about Bavaria in the summer are the get-togethers in beer gardens. Here you can eat "Obazdn," a great cheese speciality, that is eaten with pretzels and, very likely, a mug of beer. If you are not a vegetarian, you should definitely try a "Weißwurst," which is a sausage.

A famous beer garden is located in the English Garden in the city center. This is a very huge park, where you can even do some surfing and horse riding, or simply relax and have some ice cream.

This is Obazda! A typical Bavarian Speciality we like to eat in beer gardens.

Since I am a lover of all kinds of sweets, one of my favourite places is the little cafe "Mäser & Luksch." Here I often buy the cutest of all little desserts or cakes, which are always decorated with gold foil, fresh fruit and the best chocolate on earth. You should really try to choose your favourite dessert, but let me tell you, this will take some time.

Munich has another attraction, the Tollwood Festival, that takes place twice a year. The atmosphere is pretty magical and there are so many impressions like concerts in a wood, a bazaar with handmade things and art, or food stands from all over the world – and everything is organic here!

Whenever we have a sunny day off, we take our time to drive to the wildlife park Poing near Munich. I think deer and other animals are really fascinating and I love watching and feeding them in their natural environment. My very favourites are the donkeys, by the way!

When it comes to partying, we have some nice clubs around here in Munich. My personal favourite party is the monthly Starmelt Club at the Muffatcafé, another one I like is 59to1 and of course, I have to mention the Atomic Café where there are great clubnights and small concerts of unknown bands, just like the Babyshambles...you know, back then.

Now I hope you have an impression of my city, and feel like spending some time here! Of course I have a lot of more tips, that I present on my blog or to each one personally!

Thank you so much for reading!

Read more »

A Slice of...Salt Lake City, UT

Hello everyone and thank you to Danielle for letting me share a little bit about my city! My name is Danielle,I'm 25 and live in Salt Lake City, Utah with my husband and 3 dogs. I moved here when I was 6 years old, moved to Portland, OR when I was 18 (at which point I swore up and down I would never move back to Utah) and moved back to Utah when I was 22. The first time I lived here I didn't appreciate all the good things Utah has to offer and focused on the bad, but now that I'm back, and will most likely be here for awhile, I have decided to make the best of it. Most people know Utah as the Mormon state but there is so much more to it than that. Whether you love the outdoors or are more of a city person there is something for everyone.

Salt lake is located at the base of the Rockey Mountains and pretty much wherever you are in the valley you are 30-45 minutes from home to hiking or sitting on the lift at one of the local resorts. I love every season Utah has to offer and each season the mountains have something new to offer. Husband and I love to go hiking and camping during the summer because we can hurry and pack after work and within an hour we are setting up our campsite.

I love that there are 4 seasons here, even though spring and fall are really short I still love the couple weeks we get and fall has to be my absolute favorite time of year. The trees are beautiful, plus cooler weather equals sweaters and Halloween. It's also the perfect time to go camping at the different hot spring locations.

Husband and I love to eat, but we are probably 2 of the pickiest people you will ever meet. A couple years ago my bestie introduced me to a little diner up one the canyons and it was instantly my new favorite! It's called Ruth's Diner and was opened back in the 1930's by a woman who didn't quite fit in with the Utah crowd so she moved an old box car up the canyon and became a popular truck stop. They serve glorified diner food and everything is delicious, I 've never ordered something I didn't like. Plus they have deep fried macaroni and cheese, and who doesn't love that!

Keeping with the food theme one of the my other fave spots in the valley is My Dough girl. It's a cute little cookie shop that has amazing cookies and each cookie is given a pin up girl name. The little shop is decorated in 1940's pin up girl style and it's just lovely. They have the basics like chocolate chip and peanut butter but they also have

Salt Lake it also pretty close (relatively speaking) to red rock country. Within a matter of hours you go from the Rockey Mountains to the Red Rock Desert and repel down a 90 ft free fall in a canyon that most people will never see. The canyons are absolutely breathtaking and a complete change of scenery from the valley where I live.

The Great Salt Lake is known for being about 50 times saltier than the Dead Sea! Shallow enough that you can walk out onto it for miles, it is one of the sights that makes Utah unique. Kayaking out on the lake is quiet and peaceful, and you really can't find anything thing like it!

Shoot The Tube is fun, but you have to do it hush hush! The huge snow drainage pipe that runs under the freeway can be blocked up until the water runs high and makes for the largest water slide you've ever experienced.

Read more »

A Slice of...Louisville, Kentucky!

Hi All! My name is Leigh (pronounced LEE), and I am going to give you a slice of Louisville ("Lewa-vul"), KY. Sometimes this city is known as River City, Derby City or Slugger City, but I just call it home. I am a writer, jewelry maker, blogger, personal and legal assistant and student (again). I do wear shoes, contrary to popular belief of people from Kentucky. I am just your run of the mill blue-eyed Southern girl. I enjoy indie music, NYLON, films, books and taking a road trip every now and then. Enough about me though, this is about the wondrous Lousiville. Not only do I love my town, but I love that it is a college town without being overfilled with dorms. Instead of one room and a shared bathroom with your dorm-neighbor, it is life in old historical homes. The University of Louisville sits right in the heart of Old Louisville and adds charm to the area. The support of the UofL Cardinals is everywhere. Besides sports knowledge, not much is known about Louisville minus Slugger Bats, Muhammad Ali, Derby Time, "Winter's Bone"'s Jennifer Lawerence and Hot Browns...and maybe a small group of people who know that Hunter S. Thompson is from here. Although Derby time is great fun and Hot Browns are delicious, there is a lot more charm to this unknown place. With the state located in the Midwest, there is a touch of Southern Hospitality all around you. Do not be fooled though, Louisville has the culture of a big city. After all, it is one of the largest "small town in a big city" place. Areas in Louisville like Bardstown Road hold loads of culture: hipsters, punk rock, hippie, college students and new age. This metro city definitely is a neat one. Welcome to my hometown!

Lynn's Paradise Café

Lynn's is fairly well known around the country because the Café was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show. I mean, everything Oprah touches is gold. ha ha. It is located right in the heart of Bardstown Road: The Highlands. It opened in 1991 with signature breakfast dishes: fruit-sauced tropical French toast. The restaurant is always packed but has a store right when you walk in that can keep you busy with mustaches, silly greeting cards and very neat jewelry. The decor is completely kitschy which flows over to the food displays on each plate and the parking lot. The entire place is visually stimulating and chalk full of entertainment. Plus, the food is AMAZING. Not to forget, every year at the Kentucky State Fair, Lynn's sponsors the "Ugly Lamp Contest."

Steven's and Steven's Deli

Similar to Lynn's, this deli has been around for a little over 20 years. The restaurant is in the backside of another restaurant, but this does not discourage anyone from coming. The first wall facing the entree way is covered with various awards over the years for the deli’s entertaining sandwiches. Each menu item has a unique name, such as a pastrami named Woody Allen or a turkey sandwich called Mr. Green Jeans. Everything is about getting a laugh and a New York vibe. The exposed brick decor only adds to the charm. But don't try to get dinner there, Steven's and Steven's is only open 10-4pm.

Z Bar

The Z bar has been reopened in Louisville. Formerly the Brown Bag Deli (yea Louisville likes its delis) for 25 years, the Zanza Bar or Z Bar for the locals just reopened. Now, what I mean by reopened is that it was the Z Bar before it was the Brown Bag. My dad and I get a good kick out of the fact that he had his first beer at the Z Bar and now my Mister and I frequent the same place. According to my dad, the inside has not changed at all featuring a long narrow hall way, small dance floor and some pool tables. Some of the things you can expect at this bar are monthly team spelling bees, local and big name artists (my favorite thus far has been Mayer Hawthorne) and regular DJ Dance Parties. The bar has a huge patio where flip cup and beer pong are played during the summer. The food is better than any bar food and does feature many vegetarian options. The bar is on a corner of a side street and busy highway; the Z Bar is one of the few bars that have an actual parking lot. You can't beat that! Oh and covers are no more than 3 dollars on weekends. Close parking, not a terrible cover and cheap drinks, this place is always a go to bar for myself and friends on the weekends.

 

Heine Brothers Coffee

Almost every town has the local coffee shop, but this coffee shop is a huge chain in Kentucky and will soon be branching out to other states. It began in Louisville's beautiful, historic neighborhood of Cresecent Hill and slowly began to be on every corner of the city. Everything is fair trade, and the coffee is organic from mountains near the equator. Friendly faces, involvement in environmental causes, such as mountain top removal, (which is a hot topic in Kentucky) and reasonably priced items. Heine Brothers is always a relaxing setting; and in my opinion, the coffee is better than Starbucks.

KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)
Seriously, I could not talk about Louisville or Kentucky without including our fried chicken recipe. Colonel Harland Sanders created a restaurant in 1952 that would soon be known as Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC. Basically, he made a secret recipe (it is protected by law to be a secret...we don't play here when it comes to chicken :0) using 11 herbs and spices for fried chicken. It became a huge hit, and KFC is in almost every country in the world. All KFC's look relatively the same. But let's face it, when you come to KFC it is for the "finger lickin' good" food, not the decor. I grew up about 45 minutes outside of Louisville in Shelby County, KY. Shelbyville houses one of Colonel Sanders' other restaurants, Claudia Sanders. This was run by his wife, and is more of a sit down restaurant. The food is still all the Southern delights that a KFC features, only a nice atmosphere. Needless to say, the Sanders knew good food.

I hope you have enjoyed Louisville! Thanks for letting me share my town Danielle!

Read more »

A Slice of...Flagstaff, AZ

This week's "Slice of" holds a special place in my heart, because it's the town where I attended college! I loved the four years I spent up at NAU, and some of my closest friends and most favorite memories were made there.  It's so neat to see it through someone else's eyes! Enjoy.

-----

Hey, my name is Steffani {sounds like Stephanie} from IffyInklings and I'm the ripe old age of 19 years old! Danielle has given me the wonderful opportunity to tell you about my rad town, Flagstaff, where I live with my partner Vince and my dog Roxanne. I've lived in Flag my whole life and as I grew up, I hated the place. There was nothing for me to do, and I wanted to live in some big exciting city like New York or San Francisco. Now that I am actually grown {somewhat}, the thought of having to leave this beautiful place makes my heart speed up and my lungs constrict. I absolutely love Flagstaff, Arizona and am proud to say I am a local {there aren't many of us left!}.

So without further ado, here is my wonderful little town:

Going right through the center of downtown are the train tracks. Build in 1882, they are old and rickety and noisy. While the train no longer blows its whistle{as of a few months ago}, it comes through town MANY times a day. I live within hearing distance of the whistle, and I must admit that I miss hearing it everyday. It does whistle when people are in the way, though, and every time it does it makes me nervous thinking someone will be run over, which has happened many times! The Amtrak also comes through town 9:30 most nights with passengers, so I still get to hear the whistle and the actual bell that's on top of the train.

One of my favorite places to eat in Flag is Cafe Ole. It's a rather large family-owned Mexican restaurant that seems small and cozy because it's separated into multiple rooms. It is FILLED with traditional Mexican art and figurines and has Christmas lights all around, giving you a relaxing vibe. Their patio is also so amazing and is surrounded with greens and a fountain so it feels like you're in some far away paradise. You are seated by the same sweet lady every time and it is always extremely quick service. I order the exact same thing; 3 green chicken enchiladas with beans and rice! Their beans are to die for. They are just homemade pintos with barely any seasonings, which makes them taste different then the mass produced canned pintos that most restaurants serve. The salsa is also delicious, but by the time the food comes my tongue is on fire; the spice creeps up on you so watch out...

One of my favorite things in the world to do is to eat, so I'll tell you of another favorite restaurant of mine: Hiro's Sushi Bar and Japanese Restaurant. I hate hate hated sushi, until I ate sushi from there. Their rolls are rolled super tight and it's always chilled, as opposed to room temperature, which makes me gag. My favorite rolls are the Cactus, the Boston, and the Alaska. The Cactus is a roll with spicy tuna inside and the cactus is on the outside mixed with wasabi. {Side note for those gluten free eaters: I used to have to bring my own soy sauce because I am gluten free, but they now have gluten free soy sauce!}

A must-see is the view from the top of the San Francisco Peaks. There are activities up there year round, whether it's sunny and 80 degrees, or snowy and 20 degrees. During the summer there are disc golf baskets set up and tons of the most beautiful trails to go hiking on. At Arizona Snowbowl {the ski resort}, you can take the Agassiz chair lift to the top of the mountain and walk around. Be sure to wear a jacket though, because it may be 70 degrees at the bottom of the lift but could be 50 degrees at the top!

Even though I live in the middle of the desert, I live at a high elevation so we get SNOW! During the winter, you can take the lift to the top of Snowbowl and snowboard or ski down. I prefer snowboarding, though. ;)

The last thing I love about my town is the art. Art is ALL OVER downtown on buildings, sidewalks, telephone poles...pretty much anything you can draw or paint on.

It's so fun to walk around and notice the new art that popped up that week. Occasionally business owners will paint over stuff, but most of the time they just leave it.

There are also many beautiful murals that you could stare at for hours.

For a long time, this train was parked a couple blocks from my house in the train yard
 I would take my dog down there to play in the snow and it always made me smile. I mean, seriously, instead of some crude art theres the word hope! How could it not make you smile? {Recently someone graffitied over it with the word 'oshit' and I cried a little inside.}

It's really hard to narrow down my favorite things about my town because there are tons of ideas that come to mind. I didn't include the cute little shops, the juice stand on the corner, local sewing shops...so many things! Now you have to come to good old Flagstaff, Arizona and take a look for yourself!

Oh, and look for these losers:

Read more »