26 weeks

This week Randal may be able to start hearing Matt and I speak as the network of nerves in her ears are developing. She is also inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid to aid in developing her lungs. She has grown to around a 14 inches and 1 and 2/3 pounds. The vegetable the website I get my info from is comparing her length to is an English cucumber. This has made grocery store trips more interesting since I get to check out what produce matches the size of my daughter :)

24 Weeks

Sorry everyone for skipping out on week 23. Randal and I are still doing great :) Randal is very long and lean right now measuring about a foot long. She will start putting on some extra padding soon. I wish I had more to update on, but everything is great and I still feel pretty "normal." Matt and I should begin work on the nursery soon. It will be awhile before we can post any pictures of if, but I am excited to start working on it.

Charleston Day 1

Matt and I celebrated our second anniversary in Charleston over Halloween weekend. This was our second year celebrating our anniversary in Charleston and will surely not be our last. Charleston is such a beautiful historical city but what I love about it most of all is the food! Ask anyone who knows me well and they will tell you I talk about food way too much and read cooking magazines or cookbooks far more regularly than I even think to pick up a novel. In all honesty food and cooking is a passion and a hobby of mine.

This year we stayed in the Double Tree hotel on Church St. This hotel is right downtown and allowed us to park our car on Saturday and not touch it until we left town on Monday. All in all Matt and I estimate we did 13-15 miles of walking!!! My feet might have hated me come the end of the day but walking is really the only way you can enjoy Charleston's charm.

For the past two years we have experienced record breaking/matching weather in Charleston. Last year there was so much rain (I forget the number but remember is was a record) that the fire dept was running boats down many of the streets downtown. This year is was 85 degrees on Halloween!!! This would have been great if my summer clothes still fit :) Oh well, the sun was shining and it was gorgeous out so I wont complain.

Okay, on to what most of the our blog followers (or at least those related to me) are really interested in.....Restaurant Reviews!!!

Day 1 Lunch

We ate at Cru Cafe for lunch on Saturday shortly after our arrival. I should probably go ahead and mention that Cru is 1 or 2 places Matt and I enjoyed so much last year that we came back this year. Cru cafe is an charming historical home converted in to a restaurant. The chef at Cru is a total control freak. This year and last he was the one to greet us when we walked in the house and the one to seat us. This man seriously does everything from seating you, ensuring your meal is cooked properly, to cleaning your table when you leave. This guy would have a total meltdown trying to run a larger restaurant where he couldn't see and hear all of his patrons at once.

Matt and I split two plates at lunch as we didn't want to commit ourselves to just one dish (this is our typical style of ordering). One plate was the Coconut Fried Oyster Wrap with Chipotle Mayo. The oysters in this wrap are amazing. The chef does a great job of giving the oysters just enough flavor in the breading that you can still taste the oyster. I feel pretty safe saying this is a staple on the Cru menu as we ordered it last year as well and it was just as phenomenal. Our second dish was Open-faced Turkey Cheddar on English with Fried Onions....Yum! It may sound simple but this isn't your ordinary restaurant. The English muffin was freshly baked and the spicy mustard with the turkey and melted cheese was amazing. And did I mention there were Fried Onions!!! The were super thin and a perfect accompaniment to the plate. On thing I saw coming out of the kitchen a lot (but have yet to try) were the shoe string potatoes that you have a side option. Both times we've been to Cru we knew a heavy dinner awaited us so we tried to go light with our sides but if the number of orders they serve of this side dish are any indication of they're flavor they must be out of this world.

Cru Cafe definitely did not disappoint us this year and lived up to our memories of last year. This restaurant is staying on our list for next year.

http://www.crucafe.com/restaurant_menu_lunch.php

Day 1 - Dinner

For a pre-dinner appetizer we went to the Noisy Oyster Bar where we had an oyster sampler platter with Oyster's Rockefeller, BBQ oysters, and pesto oysters (they of course called them something better!). The oysters were good (not to die for) and appetizers are half off here until 730/8 so I wasn't disappointed in our pre-dinner choice.

For dinner we went to Hank's Seafood. Here we didn't split our dinners as usual b/c Matt ordered a fish that is off limits for me (for now!). I ordered the Pan-Seared Sea Scallops and Matt ordered the Red Snapper special. Both of our dinners were really good, but in all honestly I wanted more...I can't pin point what was missing but I just wanted it to be better. I guess I was still coming down from my lunch at Cru. Also, I know some of you that are reading this are trying to plan your own trips to Charleston and I am not saying I wouldn't recommend this restaurant, but it had a lot of hype and for me it just didn't live up. Like I said the food was great, but I was looking for a home run. My dad has heard that the shrimp and grits at Hank's are some of the best but the description sounded just like the dish my dad makes and I wasn't even going to give them a chance knowing how much I like my dad's version of this dish.

http://hanksseafoodrestaurant.com/menu.cfm

After dinner we went to Pearlz Oyster Bar. I had water....it was cool and refreshing (ha!) I watched Matt drink a beer and take back an oyster shooter. We are definitely going to go here next year for a pre-dinner appetizer. They have a raw oyster sampler here that is paired with beer that Matt and I both wanted to try but he was nice and didn't make me watch him enjoy it.

http://www.pearlzoysterbar.com/

Charleston Day 2 & 3

Day- 2 Brunch

We started Sunday with brunch at 82 Queen. It was still fairly warm on Sunday so we decided to eat outside. If you go to 82 Queen you MUST eat outside. They have have an amazing patio with trees and flowers growing every where with tables tucked in between. There are little birds hoping around everywhere...it was just perfect! Matt had a Bloody Marry with his breakfast that from the little sip I had was perfectly mixed. Matt ordered the Low Country Crab Benedict which he loved. He said it was one of the best crab cakes he's ever had. Certain preparations (ie crab cake) haven't sounded appetizing to me lately so I didn't even try it but it looked wonderful and the waiter told Matt he chose the best thing on the menu. I had (drum roll please).....the shrimp and grits! The Shrimp and Grits here are a BBQ version of the dish and sounded nothing like my dad's so I thought it was safe to give them a try. They were really good and something I would order again. Very simple, probably something that could be easily duplicated but none the less very satisfying.

Oh, I almost left out one of the best parts of brunch. We had delicious cheddar-thyme biscuits...to die for! I overheard another waiter say these were the lunch biscuits not the typical brunch biscuits so if you go for brunch I would ask if they have these.

http://www.82queen.com/menu_list.asp?mn_id=7

Day 2- Dinner

For dinner we went to S.N.O.B (Slightly North of Broad). This is the second year we went to SNOB and boy were we not disappointed. I really don't think (okay, I know) I have the vocabulary to properly describe the absolute perfection of dinner at SNOB. Matt ordered the BBQ Grilled Tuna with Fried Oysters. Again something I didn't try but it looked great and Matt was very pleased. Matt had all but given up on ordering tuna at restaurants b/c chefs get medium-rare confused with well-done, but he was very pleased at his perfectly cooked tuna. It was really hard or me to choose what to eat at SNOB. SNOB has my three non-fish favorites on the menu in preparations that sound mouthwatering. So my choices were the quail, lamb chops, or duck. I ruled the quail off my list only because its what I ordered last year and I knew SNOB could impress me just as much this year with a different dish. I then crossed off the lamb because I think I can make a pretty mean lamb chop dish (I think!?!). So I was left with the Sauteed Duck Breast with Yellow Squash Casserole. Just thinking about this dish puts me at a lose of words. With out a doubt one of the best meals of my life! To top off our out of this world dinner we had the dessert that was on special...Derby Pie....need I say more. Matt and I love SNOB and will probably never make a trip to Charleston without visiting this place. It is our favorite (with Cru a close second) and we think it is a must for anyone who enjoys great tasting food.

http://www.mavericksouthernkitchens.com/snob/index.html#

Day 3- Breakfast

We only had time Monday to eat breakfast so we headed to Toast. We had their stuffed French Toast and a typical breakfast platter (eggs, biscuit, bacon, etc). Both were very good and satisfying. I wont even try to elaborate as I am still thinking about SNOB, but this is a good place to go if you need a quick breakfast on your way out of town.

Non-Food Attractions

I think it is quite obvious that Matt and I consider restaurants a form of attraction/entertainment so other than walking around we didn't do much outside of eating. Our one real attraction was the Rhett-Aiken house. The tour of this house is self-guided while you wear head phones and carry an MP3 player. This house is a preservation not restoration so much of what your looking at hasn't been touched in over a century. Matt and I both enjoyed our time here and highly recommend it but remember it is a preservation not restoration so much of your enjoyment will be in using your imagination while listening to the stories.

Other Charleston Recommendations

Since some of you are planning your own trip to Charleston I thought I would share little bit of last year with you.

Recommended Restaurant (not mentioned above) - Poogan's Porch for brunch or lunch

Overrated Restaurant- Magnolia's...I had the most ill-seasoned piece of fish here and sent it back to the kitchen. Matt thinks I am being really harsh on this place but really my fish was so bad I don't plan on giving Magnolia's a second chance anytime soon. Regardless of my opinion they still remain one of the most talked about restaurants in the city.

Must do- A walking tour. Charleston is such a beautiful city with lots of history. The only way to really absorb it all is through a walking tour. We had a really great guide last year who has lived in the city all his life and works for himself giving tours. Matt has gone to bed and I forget the man's name but if you are going to Charleston and this interests you please contact me so I can get you this guy's name.

Charleston Wish List

This is what I want to do sometime in the future in Charleston:

*Ghost Tour

*Cooking class at Maverick Kitchen (next to SNOB)

*Plantation Tour