Kitty Deschanel | Food, Wine, and Travel Adventures Across the USA

Sexy Nerd has an annoying habit of calling me to complain when he's on business trips. "It's too hot here in Napa Valley," and "That chocolate lava cake was too rich after such a big dinner."  After a morning surrounded by screaming pediatric dental patients and their overprotective, crazy parents (my generation is nuts, BTW), I'll check my voicemail during lunch and learn Sexy Nerd's flight bumped him to first class and the rental lot only had BMWs left. Also, his meeting has been postponed so he's "stuck here" another two days. Boo hoo, Sexy Nerd. Also, if you bring your children to our dental office, it's the other parents I'm referring to, not you. Wondering where I'm going with this? I was recently a bad employee and played hooky from work, which is something I never, ever do. (You know, after having received permission for said-hooky several weeks in advance. I'd hate for you to think I'm  that bad.) I...

Lavender in the Village New Mexicans dress to impress. Established in 1994, Lavender in the Village is a lavender-focused event held in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM every July. It's the largest Lavender Festival in the Southwestern USA and is fun for lavender-enthusiasts and lavender-newbies alike. The mission of the Lavender in the Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque is to preserve and enhance Los Ranchos public open space, stimulate an interest in sustainable agriculture, with an emphasis on educating the public, including such matters as historic agriculture, lavender and its uses, and fostering community spirit. Lavender in the Village Festival Activities Learn how to paint lavender plants and bring a memento of the event home. The 2022 family-friendly festival included: Night Market with Chris Cordova Latin Jazz Concert Special Lavender Menus at Local Restaurants 5K Run New Mexico Beer, Wine, and Spirits Local Arts, Crafts, and Home Decor Creators Henna and Face Painting ...

A Change in Plans Step 1: Sexy Nerd and I have way too much going on to even think about planning a vacation, so we will just browse through our photos of our trip to Savannah and Charleston last year. Step 2: Wow, that place was amazing. The food! The cute houses! The friendly people and the pretty dresses and the towering trees and the history!  Step 3: Work be darned. It's time to plan a vacation! While reaching this epiphany, it occurred to me that I said I'd share our Charleston, SC photos here on my site but never did. No biggie because I'd already sorted the ones I want to post...oh, except there are a whopping 175 to share! It really is an incredible place to visit. My 'work be darned' attitude applies to blogging too. Who has time for that when there's a vacation to plan? Here's a quick summary of our Charleston trip, as well as all 175 photos. Update: It turns out 175 photos in a single blog post is overly ambitious. Here are photos of the most im...