Conch Republic Richmond VA

A group of my girlfriends and I went to Conch Republic for my friend's birthday this week.

It's a brand new Key West-inspired restaurant near Rocketts Landing, just east of downtown Richmond.

It just opened maybe 1.5 weeks ago.  I actually saw it on opening night when I was running by it during THIS 10.4 mile RUN...the gorgeous waterfront deck had me sold the moment I saw it.

It has an 1800 square foot deck overlooking the James River.  Who knew Richmond could be so beautiful?

Here are some photos from the restaurant's website from when it was under construction:

I ordered Nachos with chicken.  They had an option of GATOR (yes, literally alligator meat) nachos, but I wasn't feeling very adventurous.

DELICIOUS.

The service was fine, although a little on the slow side, probably because it is a new restaurant, working out the system.  But this worked just fine for us since we were intentionally hanging out there for a few hours and weren't in a rush.

Good happy hour specials too.

Menu had a large selection of seafood and non-seafood.

They have CONCH FRITTERS, which were good too.  Here are a couple after we demolished the rest:

I highly recommend the restaurant.  MOSTLY because of the view, but the food was decent as well.

Much better outdoor seating than their neighbor, The Boathouse.

I'll definitely go there again, especially since the weather is starting to get really nice!

Team Wednesday Night Fan Run

I did a group run tonight, the Team Wednesday Night Fan Run.  They meet every Wednesday on Monument Avenue and do a variety of distances.

They are affiliated with the Richmond Road Runner's Club, click here for the site.

These folks aren't nearly as crazy as the Thursday night running group.  But still a nice group.

We ran 7.12 miles in 57:29 minutes, an average pace of 8:04.

It was 80 degrees and humid.  Sky looked like it was going to open up at any minute and downpour, but it behaved for us!

Here is my traditional before shot:

The course wound around the fan, here's the route:  HERE

You can tell at the end, last mile or so, that I just wanted to get home and cool off, I was a little tired of the heat by that point.

When I got home, the sun had already set, but it wasn't QUITE this dark.  Camera's playing a trick on us.  Remember, I don't run at nighttime?  (click here to view that post.)

(Although I think I may start running early mornings more often, once I catch up my on my sleep one of these days.)

Here is my post-run sweaty red-faced mess.  Hey guys!!

Tomorrow I'll have some fun posts coming up about a couple fun things I did this earlier this week, but I've got to head out now so that I can study for a Trauma Nursing Core Course Exam that I have tomorrow!  (I am an RN in a surgery trauma ICU for those of you who I haven't met yet!)

Hide-a-Key VS. Shoe

Who needs a hide-a-key when you have a key attached to your shoe laces?!

Yep, I really was too lazy to take my key off my shoe laces when I realized at the last minute that I had to run back inside for something!

Wedding Shower

My friend is getting married soon, so our mutual friend threw her a lingerie shower this past weekend.

I know everyone in the world who is my age has probably been to a million of these, but it was only my 2nd time at one.

It was tame, nothing crazy, but it was super fun...not to mention DELICIOUS!

Let's take a food tour of the event:

Look at this chocolate fountain!  (...and my target outfit too of course...wish I had a zoom in of the cute layered sleeves, you'll just have to take my word for it.)

Click here for the link to it on the target website, you can see a little more detail there.

And check out these Paris cupcakes from Pearl's Cupcake Shoppe:

I also enjoyed these little mini Macaroons.  Someone said they were inspired by Gossip Girl...but I wouldn't know because I don't watch it.

I'm such a loser when it comes to keeping up with TV shows.

Here is the cutest present EVER:

Any good memories from past wedding/lingerie showers?

We had to decorate pairs of underwear for the bride-to-be and I can't even possibly repeat some of the things that were written....I don't think I'll ever be able to have my own lingerie shower before getting married because I'd be too embarrassed.  Or else I'd have to set boundaries to keep me from having a heart attack.  Gah, just the word 'panty' alone makes me squirm.

Anyone watch Gossip Girl and know about the macaroons?

I'm wondering if there is a good story about them, I forgot to ask my friend for the deets.

Running in the Dark

I REFUSE to run in the dark.

But this morning, I made an exception.  I have never run before work previously, but today I was inspired for some odd reason.

...Maybe because it's going to be 90 degrees when I get off of work.
...And I have a dinner date with my girlfriends this evening.
...And there's an abs class this afternoon that I wanted to do.

I set my alarm for 4:40am and headed out.

I ran 3.60 miles in 28:44, average pace of 7:58.

Some little baby hills in there:

Do you like to exercise before work?
This was my first time, I enjoyed it.  I feel like it'll give me extra energy during the day...we'll see!  I used to not like the idea at all, since I feel like I need all the sleep I can get before a long 12 hour shift.  But today I have an 8 hour shift, so I thought I could do it.

Weekend Fun Run

The weekend was only a "half-weekend" because I worked on Easter Sunday, but I still managed to have a fun run with Tappan on Saturday early afternoon.

We ran 5.63 miles in 44:44, an average pace of 7:56.

We headed over to Oregon Hill to see one of my top lookout spots in the city:

We ran across the bridge to Belle Island, I love this view...a fun up and down roller coaster:

It was super humid, so I was pretty soaked when we got home.

In fact, I proceeded to turn into a robot.

Running in high humidity is NOT my favorite...but I felt good once I was done.

Anyone have a really good run this weekend?
Mine was medium-good...it was on the short side because I had to run off to the lingerie shower, but it was still good considering I had accidentally slept in until 12:30 oops!

Anyone have a problem sleeping late on weekends?
I do sometimes!  Especially if I've been switching between night and day shifts at the hospital.

Early Easter Dinner

I had my Easter Dinner on Saturday instead of Sunday.

Don't know why, but when I looked at this pre-dinner photo, I felt like I had traveled back in time a couple decades.

Happy Easter Weekend!

Little Black Dress

Happy Easter!  
Unfortunately I work today...so Tappan and I went out to dinner last night for easter.  I'll post about that a little later.

Friday night was Little Black Dress night, which is put on by an organization in town where we bring donations for the local thrift shop, the Clothes Rack.  I love the Clothes Rack, great selection ALWAYS.  And clean.  And well organized.

We took over a small room at a bar in downtown Richmond.

The idea was to wear your cutest little black dress and if you also brought a donation, you could get a free glass of champagne.  Yes please!

At my apartment, before heading out:

YES, IT IS A TARGET DRESS :)

See my previous post on target dresses if you don't get it (click here.)

They had gift certificates to local salons plus a make-up representative and a hair lady from Saks Fifth Avenue.
Here is my girlfriend getting her hair designed, so pretty.  I was tempted, but I ran out of time.

Fun night!

By the end of the night, three hours and a couple champagnes later, I was pretty tired, so we headed out by 1130pm, ate some snacks and headed to bed.

Any fun Easter plans?
Share with me so I can live vicariously through you :)
I'll be working.

Highlights

I have been long overdue for some highlights...

This blonde wouldn't keep going if not for some routine maintenance.

It literally has been 5 months since my last highlight job (and haircut in case you couldn't tell by those split ends, ha):

So I got motivated and went to get highlights and a trim yesterday:

Much cleaner!

Side note:  The lighting is actually better in the 2nd photo, I'm closer to the overhead light bulb because I was able to get Tappan to take my photo, instead of sitting on the ground with the self-timer.  So the highlights may not be as dramatic as they appear.  But I'm still pleased.

I have a bad habit of waiting too long b/w sessions because I am:
1) lazy and
2) it's ridiculously expensive.

I found a "super cheap" lady in town, who charges $150 for highlights and a cut (85 for highlights, plus 65 for cut), plus tip.  Doesn't sound super cheap to me, but that's the way these things go.

Anyone able to get a good deal on highlights?  Am I crazy thinking that this is expensive?

Hitting the Ground on Earth Day!

I slept in today after my marathon of working 12 hour shifts on 9 out of the past 10 days...literally.

Then I went for a run, it was in the 50's, which was a nice change from the heat two days ago.

I did 5.30 miles in 41:47 minutes, average page of 7:53.

Here's my traditional pre-run photo.  What sorts of mismatching bright colors do I have on today :) ?!

Garmin stuff-- nice downhill at the end, mixed with some hills:

Some action shots from the run!

About to go down a big hill:

 Hanging out on the golf course.  Love the 2nd photo, that's me looking back to see if the self timer had gone off, hahaha....

A little trail action mixed in at the end, through the University of Richmond.

 A cool bridge through the U of R.  Had to get a photo going over and back :)

After my run, I was freezing cold, so Tappan gave me a sweatshirt to wear.  Yes I have shorts on, the sweatshirt was just so huge!  I had gotten it at a thrift store a few years back but gave it to him because it was so big.

We walked around a little and checked out this little pier:

Fun run.  Happy Earth Day everyone!

Any fun Friday Night plans?

I'm off to a little black dress event.  Don't usually do much on Friday nights, so this should be fun.

Another Thursday Night Group Run

I thought I'd give the Thursday Night group run another try this week, see if it still kicked my butt.

This week was different, I actually had a lot of fun!  Didn't feel like stopping or dying.  Ya know, that's important.

We did 8.43 miles in 1:09, average pace of 8:16.

Here's a pre-run photo:

I did a couple things differently from last week-- but most importantly, made sure I was properly hydrated before starting.

The group this week was my girlfriend and me plus Tappan and then maybe 7 other pretty hardcore runners (think people who do 50 mile races and run Boston from finish to beginning and then the right way all in one swing, just for kicks.)

Here's the after photo...I had already stopped sweating by this point though, so it's not terribly dramatic:

The course had a hill or two on it, but nothing terrible: 

After the run, we decided to have pizza and wine w/my girlfriend on her porch.

I had gotten a Groupon for Domino's pizza, so I picked up a large 10 topping pizza for $8.00.

The Dominos in Richmond is in a questionable part of town, so check out this ridiculous robbery deterrent setup.  The man had to bend over and talk through the opening in the bottom of the plexi-glass:

I ordered 10 toppings on my pizza.  It has BBQ sauce plus parmesan cheese, feta cheese, diced tomatoes, jalapenos, chicken, spinach, onions, and another thing or two (that I can't remember):

My girlfriend's porch was so nice with a gorgeous view.  She was very sweet to have us over!  Love her.  We both really value fitness and staying healthy, but still having fun in life.  We met at a running group last summer before I got my pelvic stress fracture and we've been friends since.

Afterward, Tappan decided to exit over the porch.

Just kidding, that was a joke!

Anyway, Kara and I are considering doing a 100 mile Century ride, the Cap to Cap, in two weeks.

Has anyone out there done a century ride and have any advice or thoughts on it??

There is a 50 mile option which we will probably end up doing, but my nutty side is tempted to sign up for the century!