Finally, the parents come for a visit!!

It was such a great time to have Steph's parents in town for a few days. They came in on a Wednesday and we got to eat dinner in Raleigh. The restaurant is called NOFO at the Pig as it used to be a Piggly Wiggly long time ago. There is a cute cafe downstairs and fun shop upstairs...the place is even decked out with a colorful pig chandelier and pig statues out front.

On Thursday, Mom and Dad came to Steph's work to watch her in action as an occupational therapist. We then spent the day in Chapel Hill eating some great North Carolina BBQ and walking around a fun kitchen store called Southern Season. And the very best part of that day....LOCOPOPS!!! We got to eat gourmet popsicles including flavors like: mango chile, raspberry hibiscus, kiwi quince, and plum cinnamon basil. These things are the BEST! At this point in the afternoon, my Dad was worn out and Mom and I dropped him back at our place to take it easy. Mom and I however head out again to go to Trader Joe's and to the Chinese Store. We stock Mom up with fun Trader Joe's treats as well as filling my pantry with goodies. At the Chinese Store, Mom shows me how to get some ingredients to make one of my favorite chinese fish dishes. It was sooo yummy!!!! (and now I know how to do it all by myself!)

On Friday, Adam and I both worked a full day, so Mom and Dad took it easy (a much needed rest for both of them). They did venture to the Chatham Hill Winery for a nice wine tasting. They even bought some to take home and one to share with Adam and I! We have to say the peach and bluberry wine there is delicious, but now we have the pomegranate one to try. Thanks Mom and Dad! For our evening out, we headed to Hillsborough which is a small down about 25 minutes away. We had a lovely dinner at Tupelo's. This place has some great southern food cooking. And the best deal of it all was that Mom got a softshell crab po'boy with TWO softshell crabs for less than $8. Let's just say there was lots of good eating while Mom and Dad were in town!

On Saturday, we enjoyed a leisure morning and I made some French Toast with my homemade bread I had made earlier that week. The weather was gorgeous and practically perfect, so we made a trip to the Duke Gardens. It was a beautiful day and it was so nice walking around. Here are a few pictures from the Gardens:

On Saturday afternoon, we did go to the Farmer's Market to get some food to take over to Kristen's house. We spent the rest of the day at her place cooking dinner and enjoying the fellowship and fun!

Sunday morning was a real treat as we tried out Bogart's for their Sunday jazz brunch for the first time. The music was great and there was TONS of food. We loved the omelette station as they had so many filling options along with 7 variety of cheeses! After filling our bellies up, we needed to walk it off. Shopping was the answer and Cameron Village was the location. We were still pretty full at the beginning of the evening, so we just snacked on some cheese, crackers, and wine.

The sad day came when Mom and Dad had to leave on Monday. We did a couple errands in the morning, I headed to work, and Adam took them to the airport in the afternoon. What a great trip. It was so refreshing to see them and show off the area we live in now! We love you Mom and Dad! Can't wait to see you for Thanksgiving!

Random Fact from Adam: "Applebee's is the world's largest bar-and-grill operator, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Yet, its traffic has fallen 14-15.5 percent over the past 4 years."