lavender lattes

This is my ode to the lavender latte.

Oh, that you could be any sweeter.

Oh, that you could be any creamier.

Oh, that you could be any tastier -

Yet if you were, I may sigh
Of pure bliss, I would die.





I've had this tasty confectioner's drink a few times before, but it just gets better with time and life experience.

Last night we had a night out with a friend from high school!
Dusty and her little brother have been friends for nearly 10 years, and she is in town this week for an intensive for her master's degree.
Dusty, Natalie and I headed downtown for dinner and drinks ("drinks" meaning water and a coffee shop, but it just sounds better to say dinner and drinks).

We decided on The Depot Grille, which Dusty and I had never been to before.
It sits along the James River in a renovated old train station, surrounded by the twinkling lights of old brick buildings and the memories of days gone by.

It's really a pretty laid back spot, but it was so fun! The inside is really spacious.

Photo by Robert Miller Photography via Flickr

Once inside, we all ordered the bison burger which was pretty outta this world.
We talked about life, tried to draw our names upside down and backwards because our tablecloth was paper and they gave us crayons, and had a weird appetizer that I'm still not really sure about.

I dub thee, Crab Dip Covered in Cheese Atop a Soft Pretzel Roll, the invention of a drunk man.

But the Bison Burger was truly delicious. It was juicy and flavorful, and my baked potato was also delicious because it's really hard to mess those up.

If I could be a "guru" of anything, I think I'd be a guru of potatoes. From the ages of 0 - 14 if anyone asked me what my favorite food was, I would say "potatoes". Or "anything spicy". Or sometimes if I was feeling feisty, I'd say "spicy potatoes".
Now that I'm wizened in life (did you know wizened means shriveled or wrinkled with age? Gadzooks! Luckily gadzooks means whatever I want it to mean) I've realized that "potatoes" isn't really a proper answer to what my favorite food is, but it's also not a question I get asked very often anymore so I don't have a better answer.

After dinner, we decided to skip dessert in lieu of a far better treat at White Hart Cafe.
We had passed it on our way to The Depot Grille, so my craving for the lavender latte was in place long before dinner. Plus I knew Natalie needed to share in my enthusiasm.

P.S. You can actually SEE the drama unfolding at the table between our heads. I'm actually really thrilled we captured her wiping away her tears, because we had a table bet going on about what in the world was going on with those two.
When they finally got up and left together (which in my opinion should have happened half an hour before, when the tears first began to fall) we stared unabashedly and I almost called out, "Can you settle a bet for us?!?"
We saw them again in the parking lot, in the drizzling rain, hugging and (maybe?) kissing. We tried to guess what kind of profanities he would yell if we rolled down our window to ask if they'd broken up, and to maybe give love another chance. All you need is love, some hippies say.

All in all, it was a great night. I'm so glad we got to catch up with Natalie and spend some time in our current hometown with her!

In equally as happy news, it's going to SNOW today at 3pm.
I'm wishing for a fireplace, and work to be canceled tomorrow for a 3-day weekend!

In love,
Cait