A bit of this and a bit of that...

So, I've managed to sneak onto a neighbor's unsecured wireless network for the time being to continue posting about the past few days. I can't begin to explain how frustrating it has been not having consistent access to the Internet. This should be changing in the coming months...

Last Wednesday, my mom came over and spent the afternoon with me. We went to a local bakery called Nonna's and had lunch. Mom ate a seafood bisque and I had a wonderful peperoni roll. (Quick tangent: There are days that I realize my adoption into the state of West Virginia has allowed me to enjoy this fabulous mixture of cured sausage and bread. I am never ungrateful for this!) To finish things off, I had a "chocolate dipped brownie". It was beautiful both on my plate, and in my mouth (photo to the right). The rest of the day was spent doing some shopping - and what woman doesn't love that?!

Thursday, my husband and I got to take a "mini-vacation" of sorts to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, as we needed to go check out the hotel there, as well as others in the immediate area for an upcoming conference he plans in the fall.

On our way down, we decided to make a side trip to Marietta, Ohio. They're downtown was beautiful, with gorgeous weather to match (right). While there, we found many cute and quaint downtown stores.

The first of these was Barking Dog Books and Art. While there, we managed to find a few nice Catholic reads, a book my husband can use for his dissertation, and an engraving by P. Lightfoot of The Raising of Lazarus from The Pictorial Sunday Book (1850). Our finds are to the left. I picked out the engraving and jokingly mentioned to my husband that it took only a fraction of the time to spend twice the amount of money he did. :)

We explored a lot more of Marietta, including a wine store that brewed (?) it's own wine in the back of the shop, a women's clothier with a chocolate shop attached, a homemade pasta shop (yes, we bought some, and yes, I will probably do another food post when I cook it), and a downtown brewery where I had a beer (root beer that is...brewed in house!).

We eventually headed on down to Point Pleasant, West Virginia where our stay at the Lowe Motor Inn was quite nice. It had a sort of Old World charm you don't get in modern hotels. My husband made the comment, while driving back the next day that Point Pleasant was a nice vacation because while you're there you get a feeling of isolation from the world that is very different from staying in a bigger city.

All in all, it was a very relaxing and calming trip - no calamities ensued and the weather stayed beautiful the entire time. Not much more to ask for really.