Mom Visit: Bingo, Deli & Daffodils

I had a great visit with my mom this weekend. Since she doesn't get to come very often, we decided to roll out the red carpet and have a couple days packed with fun!

It started off on a great note because the painting I commissioned of my mom arrived at the same time she did, so she got to have fun opening it in person!

We headed out to The Bier Garden in Portsmouth for delicious, fatty, dense German treats like a schnitzel sandwich on a pretzel bun with spatzle, chicken cordon bleu sandwiches and Sean's favorite...

 Fleish kugle...a fried meatloaf concoction that is tasty but a LOT of food. It was delicious!

We got up bright and early on Saturday morning for a new adventure: real, serious BINGO. If you like surreal experiences and people-watching, this is a must at least once in your life. We ventured out to the Bingo Palace at 9:30 a.m. to get in on the first round of games, which starts at 10 a.m. sharp. It moves FAST and it is seriously a great way to test your powers of observation, memory and reflexes.

None of us were winners, but we had great fun!

After our Bingo adventure, we helped my mom connect with her Jersey roots at the Route 58 Delicatessen. She devoured a roast beef sandwich that had her in love at first bite, while Ashleigh tackled these INSANE Sabrett's hot dogs topped with pastrami and corned beef.

I had the Dumbrowski, a combo of two Sabrett's dogs (mine were topped with saurkraut and Russian dressing), chips and a Doctor Brown's cream soda. It was so, so Jersey deli good.

From there, we headed to Ghent for a matinee at The Naro, then had a tasty dinner at Luna Maya. It was an exhausting day, but so fun!

On Sunday, we spent a few hours wandering through the galleries of the Chrysler Museum, where my mom's favorite piece was this ballerina by Degas.

I'm a sucker for the bright Frank Stella rainbows. We spent the rest of our time thinking about my future landscaping and gardening adventures.

Before my mom hit the road, I had to make sure to give her a good send-off, so I made my lemon thyme pancakes with lemon curd and potato rounds.

We went out and looked at my garden and I decided to snip the daffodils that didn't perk back up after the rain, finally plopping them in my bird vase from Table Seven in Norfolk. It's the first time I've been able to use it for its intended use! It's making the living room so cheery.