PlanetEye

I have always loved cupcakes and I am every so thankful to the cupcake gods that these little pieces of goodness are now a popular dessert.  I remember seeing a story on my beloved cupcakes on Entertainment Tonight about new dessert shops exclusively dedicated to cupcakes that were popping up Los Angeles. 

Last summer, I was in New York and me and one of my friends were walking along and we decided to take a much needed dessert break.  We decided to get cupcakes.  We both had a red velvet cupcake.  OMG!  It was so good.  I fell in love all over again.

I recently read that there is a new local establishment dedicated to cupcakes.  Hello Cupcake opened on August 25.  Hello is conveniently located right across from the Dupont Circle Metro.  From what I have read, there will be some exotic flavors such as Peanut Butter Blossom and Toasted Coconut.

Hello advertises that there will be cupcake decorating classes soon. How fun! The website even has a section called "anatomy of a cupcake." How cute! 

For more information, go to http://www.hellocupcakeonline.com

The word "fair" and the word "summer" are synonymous.  I wrote recently about the Arlington County Fair and this week we have the Maryland State Fair.  The Maryland State Fair will be considerably larger than the one we have in Arlington.  The fair is located in Timonium, Maryland. 

I have never been to the Maryland fair, but from what I can tell, it promises to be a good time.  The fair runs until Labor Day, September 1.  This fair has all of the requisite fair "trimmings" such as livestock and agricultural shows, farm and garden demonstrations, and rides for the kids.  The price of admission is $8 and $3 for kids.  Those 60 and older can get in free.  There is even bullriding at the fair!

As the lazy, hazy days of summer come to an end, why not celebrate at a local fair? 

Fore more information, please visit:  http://www.marylandstatefair.com

I have previously written about the quest for a good brunch in DC.  Today, I had the opportunity to visit a place that I hadn't been to in a while and it proved to be a nice visit.  I went to Creme Cafe on U Street.

When we arrived, Creme was packed and it wasn't even noon.  We were told that we would have to wait around 20 minutes for a table.  We were seated near the front of the restaurant in one of the highboy stations that was convertetd for three people.  I usually prefer a regular table.  This highboy felt a bit crowded for three people and once our dishes arrived, there wasn't much place for all of our dishes. 

I also had the same exact dish that I had when I first went to Creme almost two years ago, the Chesapeake.  I always try to insert seafood into every meal.  The crab cakes were very good.  Others in my office had the chicken and waffles and the other person had an omelet and numerous sides.   

Everyone liked their dish.  My only issue with Creme is that the service was a bit slow.  We ended up waiting a while for our bill to be collected so we could leave.  The menu doesn't seem to have changed very much since the restaurant opened which can be both good and bad. 

If you want a fairly decent brunch at a pretty good price, visit Creme.

For more information, please visit:  http://cremedc.com

I went to the restaurant, Acadiana, last week during DC Restaurant Week.  I had been to this restaurant twice before, once for lunch and once for dinner, but since I always yearn for flavors from home,  I decided to go back to Acadiana.  It's usually hard for me to go to restaurants that claim that they can serve "Louisiana type" or "Creole" dishes because that is where I grew up so I can spot an imposter very quickly.  However, I do know that some of the authentic spices and ingredients can't be found in this area so I try to give folks some slack--just a little.

In my past visits to Acadiana, I have enjoyed the food and thought that it was very authentic.  Last Friday, was no exception, however, during Restaurant Week, Acadiana was packed.  We didn't have a great table and were seated right next to the kitchen so we could literally watch dishes as they were just put out for pick up by wait staff.  I wasn't exactly happy with that, but what can you expect during Restaurant Week?  Most of what I liked was what my husband had to eat.  He got the corn and crab soup which was very good.  I can't even remember my appetizer which means that it couldn't have been all that memorable.  As for my main meal, I had the redfish with crawfish dish.  It was pretty good but there wasn't alot of food.  Boo!  For dessert, I got the bread pudding which was really good. 

If you want a taste of New Orleans, take a visit to Acadiana restaurant. To me, it's the best taste of that great city that you will get in DC.

For more info, go to www.acadianarestaurant.com

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of going to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware for the first time.  Living in the DC area is reall cool because you can literally be in another state in a matter of minutes or just a few hours.  The trip to Rehoboth took only about three hours.

Since it is a beach area, hotels can be kind of costly.  We decided to stay at the Comfort Inn on Route 1, which is the main drag a few minutes away from the beach.  The Comfort Inn was also appealing because it was one of the few hotels that you could book for just one night.  Many other hotels required at least a two night stay.  I also liked the idea of being able to get some sort of free breakfast the next morning before we drove back home.  However, once we arrived, we were happy to find a microwave and a fridge in the room.  I often wonder why don't all hotels provide these essentials? On top of that, there was a great big jacuzzi tub in the bathroom.  I have stayed at Comfort Inns before and never had a jacuzzi tub in my room.  All in all, I give the Comfort Inn the thumbs up.

As for Rehoboth, the main touristy things to do are to go on the beach/boardwalk and the outlet shops.  There are three different segments of outlet shops.  I wasn't all that impressed with the outlet shopping.  These are the same types of stores that you can see in any outlet. but some of these stores were kind of cheesy.  Last week, I wrote about outlet shopping in the DC area and these outlets are much better. 

As for the beach, I didn't spend much time there.  However, we walked along the boardwalk and had dinner and drinks at some cute places.  If you go to Rehoboth, try the Blue Moon for a bite.  The service was really good and the staff was really nice and offered a ton of advice on what to do, etc.  I had the soft shell crab and it was quite tasty!  For drinks, we went to a bar called La La Land.  The drinks were reasonably priced and the vibe was low key. 

You can make a day trip out of Rehoboth or a weekend trip.  Either way, it's a good place if you need to get away.

The Washington area has been called an up and coming area in terms of fashion.  If they say so.  To me, Washington still has a very conservative vibe, but this vibe is somewhat necessary considering the type of work that goes on here like politics and government.  We can't have our finest civil servants running around like they have been on the catwalk during New York Fashion Week.  Rather, politicos seem to like to prepare for battle wearing Ann Taylor suits and other similarly situated fashion basics.

However, if you want to take a little drive, there are plenty of outlet malls in the area where you can grab a deal.  Since I live in Virginina, I can best speak to what is out that way.  I tend to like Potomac Mills, especially Nordstrom Rack.  Nordstrom Rack has great deals on items that have been at regular Nordstrom stores.  I like to check out the designer shoe section where I have scored some deals.  I also like Off 5th at Potomac Mills as well.  For a while, I never ventured into the store because it was in the opposite end of the mall and sometimes, I didn't feel like walking that way.  However, they do have good prices on clothing found at Saks.  I got an adorable handbag from Off 5th.  Here's a tip--if you sign up to get their emails, usually once a week, they will send you a coupon worth at least 15 percent off on a single item.  For more information, please visit, http://www.potomacmills.com/

If you want to drive a little further, you can go to Leesburg Premium Outlets in Leesburg, Virginia.  Leesburg is a bit larger than Potomac Mills so you will want to allot more time for your visit.  Leesburg has many of the same stores as Potomac Mills, but there are stores that aren't found at Potomac.  Leesburg has a nice Puma outlet as well as a Colehaan outlet as well.  For more information, please visit:  http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=14.

These may particularly be good places to check out since the beginning of school is right around the corner.

The summer is always a perfect time for a county fair.  I can see it now-- funnel cakes, hot dogs, rides and pig races.  Yes, I really said pig races.  When I moved back to Virginia a few years ago, I went to the Arlington Country fair for the first time.  I admit that I grew up in a really small town, but had never seen a pig race.  The funniest part was watching my then boyfriend (now husband) look at me like "Where am I?" as he watched the little piggies race around.  He is a city boy and had never seen the likes of live animals forced to run for human enjoyment.  The pigs actually seem to enjoy themselves and these are very little pigs so all of the kids that are at the fair watch them in amazement. 

Since we live in Arlington, every year, I feel that we should at least stop by.  It's good fun.  Last year, we were a bit saddened that our arrival didn't coincide with the pig races.  We missed all of the races for that day.  Rats! So, we went from booth to booth inside the Community Center and made sure to grab a bite to eat.  We will probably stop by this weekend to the Fair.  There is no fee to enter the fair.  The only issue is finding parking so either go early or go later in the day. 

This year I will have my funnel cake! I always opt to not have one because no one else I know likes them, but after a while, you just don't care anymore. That's what fairs are for -- food and good times.

For more information, go to www.arlingtoncountyfair.org.

The fair will be held at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center and Park Grounds, 3501 Second St. South, Arlington, VA.