Once upon a time, many moons ago, before snow blanketed our world and various winter sicknesses kept us laid low, James and I decided to take Anouk to Williamsburg for a day. When we left the house it was nice and almost warm but by the time we got there, the temperature had dropped significantly, so we opted to visit the CW museums (for the first time!) instead of doing the usual walk down DoG Street.

The Dewitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum are located in the same building down West Francis Street, and can be accessed with the Colonial Williamsburg day pass or by buying a museums-only ticket (significantly cheaper). They are full of all sorts of fun things to see, like colonial-era pottery and furniture, ordinary household objects to modern folk art (carvings, weavings, and paintings).


Our favorite areas in the Dewitt Wallace Museum were definitely the dollhouse exhibit (so intricate and detailed!) and the selection of quilts and samplers -- James really liked seeing the vintage piano and harpsichords and the musketry exhibit.

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Museum featured intriguing tramp art, some quirky folk portraits, and a play area with coloring supplies so A. could create art of her own. They also had some really gorgeous and intricate vintage carousel animals on display -- we spent a lot of time looking at those.

While I think that a lot of the nuance of most of the pieces were lost on Anouk, I do think that both museums really emphasized how ordinary objects can be art. It's something that we talked about a lot while we were there, and have been revisiting in the weeks since we went. A. will oftentimes point out to me, while we're out and about, some small artful detail that I wouldn't have noticed without her perspective. It makes me want to take a closer look at things, too.

Have a good weekend! We promise to be back on a more regular schedule next week.

My friend Angela had the idea to get a group of friends together to rent a house at Cheatham Annex to ring in 2015, which was probably the greatest idea of 2014. A group of us drove up from the HRVA area, a group drove down from DC, and some locals drove on over from Gloucester and there we met to watch the sun set on our year.

Cheatham Annex is part of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, close enough so that you don't have to go far to get there but remote enough that you feel like you are away from it all. (Interestingly, the annex has been part of every American conflict since the revolutionary war. History!) The hundred-or-so-year-old farmhouse we rented used to be the commanding officer's headquarters and so was full of little interesting details like a wood-paneled library with secret compartments in the walls, a solarium, and beautiful views overlooking the York River. There was lots of room outside to run and play and the place was big enough to house FOUR families (six adults, two teens, four kids) with room to spare.











^ James whipping up a batch of George Washington's eggnog recipe, delicious & highly flammable ^


We said goodbye to the old year with chicken tacos, s'mores in the firepit, epic rounds of Cards Against Humanity, and as much champagne as we could hold. We said hello to the new year with more of the same, substituting black-eyed-peas for the tacos and LCR for the cards (have you played? It's awesome, not just because we were playing for cash and I won every time).

Active duty military, retirees, and Department of Defense employees and their civilian guests can rent cabins and houses at Cheatham Annex year-round (in the summer there's a pool, golf, kayaking and canoeing). Since it is an operating military base, there's a background check and a lot of paperwork for civilian guests to set it up. But it's worth it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! As Anouk says, "We're starting the year all over again. That's so crazy!"

#HRVA schools are on spring break next week, and it seems my friends with school-aged children are of mixed feelings about it -- it looks to depend on whether they've got any out of town time planned. Those who do are very much looking forward to spending time together as a family after that long, hard winter we had. Those who don't are wondering how on earth they're going to entertain kids for another five days after those long, hard snow days we had.

Enter the spring break staycation -- the perfect way to see some new sights and visit new destinations in your own backyard. There are some great day-trip destinations within an hour or two of Hampton Roads that are sure to break up the monotony and to keep everybody happy during the week off. Here are some of our favorite close-by (but not too close) destinations. (Pro-Tip: check out one of my favorite local websites, The Traveling Suitcase, for more trips and tips for traveling with kids).


1. Richmond: There is so much to do in Richmond that you could indeed make a whole longer vacation out of visiting. The museums, the restaurants, the parks. If we had to plan our ideal trip, we'd do a picnic lunch at Byrd Park on the banks of Boat Lake followed by a day at the Metro Richmond Zoo or Children's Museum of Richmond and maybe an early dinnertime at Can Can Brasserie or Strawberry Cafe if everybody was well-behaved. Older kids might enjoy exploring the James River Park System or the Virginia State Capitol, which was designed by Thomas Jefferson and features free tours every hour or so.

2. Manteo, NC: Manteo is overlooked by Outer-Banks goers because it doesn't feature so much beach, but it's not beach season quite yet and this little town on Roanoke island actually has a lot to offer and is less than two hours' drive from Norfolk. Start with a tour of the Elizabethan Gardens and Fort Raleigh or the North Carolina Aquarium and then walk the main street to window shop and find lunch.

3. Surry: Surry is full of stuff to do, which surprised me when I first started researching it. You can visit Bacon's Castle, ride the (free) Jamestown-Scotland ferry, step back in history at Smith's Fort Plantation, or marvel at the nature in the Big Woods State Forest and Chippokes State Park (which also features a pretty interested historic house and farm museum). The best part? Not a whole lot of other people seem to have discovered it yet, so you won't have to deal with many crowds.

4. Williamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown: Everybody knows the Historic Triangle as a nearby day trip destination and frankly, it can feel a little tired after doing the same things over and over. So why not take this chance to look up some of the lesser-known attractions? Stop by the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum or take in a show at the Kimball Theatre. Colonial Williamsburg's newest attraction, a working blacksmith shop, just opened in November and looks pretty cool and the Williamsburg Farmer's Market just reopened  for the season and is held every Tuesday and Saturday. And then there's the Colonial National Historic Park, which features 23 miles of scenic byways and some gorgeous local flora this time of year. (You could still get lunch at the Cheese Shop. That never gets old).

5. Cape Charles: We're big fans of pretty much everything Cape Charles has to offer, from beach to woods, and in every season! Check out the beach at Kiptopeke State Park, explore the little historic town, or maybe do some antiquing nearby if your kids will go for it? There are treasures to be found.

This week I also wrote about some FREE Easter egg hunts happening around town on Saturday and Sunday over at Fun and Free Hampton Roads. You know you want to check it out!


Happy weekend!