Category: Savannah
The Olde Pink House
| June 12, 2013 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Restaurants, Savannah |
It’s been awhile since I linked up with my girl Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for a What I Ate Wednesday post! Heck – it’s been awhile since I ate normal food though! Given that this week in pregnancy has been kinder to me I thought now is the time to get back in the game!
I thought it would be fun for this week’s WIAW to recap our awesome anniversary dinner at The Olde Pink House in Savannah! The Pink House has come widely recommended to us from our friends (Victoria!) and we have been waiting for a special occasion to give it a go. Bonus? We got to get dressed up.
Skirt: LOFT Top: Urban Outfitters Shoes: LOFT
Our dinner reservations were at 6PM so really a perfect time to get down to Savannah. The Olde Pink House is next to Planter’s Inn and is Savannah’s only 18th century mansion. It was built in 1771 by the Habersham family and has a long history (and it’s haunted!).
We were immediately seated upon arrival in rooms that were part of the old bank vaults from when the house was a bank. Our server was knowledgeable and friendly and had great suggestions from the menu. We decided to indulge and start with two appetizers to share,
The one in the front is the southern sushi – smoked shrimp and grits rolled in coconut crusted nori. The wasabi style sauce took this dish to another level. It was definitely a favorite for us! The other appetizer was goat cheese stuffed artichoke fritters with red pepper and honey mustard sauce. This was great too but our hearts belonged to the southern sushi.
For our next course we decided to split the “BLT” – fried green tomatoes & sweet bacon with black pepper thyme buttermilk dressing salad. This salad has been featured on “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” and it was absolutely delicious. I had never had a fried green tomato before and it was definitely a new taste.
For my main course I took the server’s recommendation and ordered the crab stuffed black grouper with white wine lemon sauce and mashed potatoes and asparagus. This was unreal. Chris and I both agreed that the crab stuffing and sauce made the dish.
I would be remiss to not mention that there was a snafu with our service. We waited 40 minutes for our main course because of an error in the kitchen. The manager kept telling us it would just be another minute which would turn into 10 several times. When our food finally did show up, Chris’ meal was served with the wrong side so we waited for that to be replaced. On top of that, it was a massive steak served with 3 slivers of fingerling potatoes. When you’re paying $$$ for a meal you kind of expect more … especially out of a chef’s special. While these errors were really annoying the server and management were incredibly accommodating. They ended up comping Chris’ meal and giving us free dessert.
Overall our food and experience was really good. I definitely think our service (kitchen error) was a fluke for the restaurant and the management went above and beyond to redeem our evening. I highly recommend if you’re in Savannah and looking for a nice dinner to check out the Olde Pink House! You can see the full menu HERE.
We ended our evening sitting at Rocks on the Roof and chatting. We knew that Emmalyne was in great hands with Victoria watching here … and getting real-time Twitter updates of their antics 
I have to say it was a pretty perfect anniversary celebration. Here’s to another year!
What’s the best restaurant you have ever eaten at?
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Savannah Seafood Festival
| May 7, 2013 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Savannah |
This last weekend was Savannah’s annual Seafood Festival. Since it was also Yon’s last weekend here we knew we had to check it out. Unfortunately Mother Nature didn’t agree and gave us rain ALL DAY Saturday. A little wet couldn’t deter us though and we loaded up and headed down to River Street.
I think the rain scared some of the vendors away. There were multiple craft tents up with some unique products but the variety for seafood was rather limited. Chris grabbed a beer as we walked around but the general consensus of our group was to duck into a restaurant instead. We ended up hitting up The Cotton Exchange which is one of our favorites. For starters, we shared the hot crab dip which is SO GOOD.
Em was in a particularly friendly mood and happily chatted with everyone who walked by making our dining experience a ton of fun. For my main dish, I went with the shrimp po boy for fun. I never had a po boy before moving to Savannah and I have to say I am a fan!
On our way back to the car, we hit up River Street Sweets for a little dessert and a “Flat Stanley” photo op. My youngest nephew sent us his Flat Stanley for his school project and I was on a mission to complete our photos for him.
Finally, we stopped to watch the Kentucky Derby before heading home. All in all, we all had a ton of fun and are looking forward to next year. Hopefully next time Savannah gets the memo and blesses us with sunshine
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Weekend Wedding
| March 25, 2013 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Savannah |
Hi friends! We are finally back from Hilton Head Island. We got back to Savannah on Saturday and jumped back into our life here. If you missed it, we were out of town for Operation R&R and spent 4 days relishing uninterrupted family time. You can read about day 1 and day 2 here to catch up
When you got back into town we got right back down to business. Luckily we had something fun lined up! Our friends Tim and Ashley got married! Their wedding was downtown in historic Savannah at the Harper Fowlkes House. Tim went to college with Chris and I and got stationed here at Fort Stewart also. He met and fell in love with Ashley in Savannah so having a wedding in the heart of the city was perfect.
Our friends graciously offered to watch Emmalyne for us so Chris and I could enjoy the wedding in peace. It was so much fun getting dressed up and hitting the town with my man!
I wore one of my new Max & Cleo dresses I got at the BCBG outlet … it was $15!!! Chris looked debonair as always. The Harper Fowlkes House was a beautiful setting. The o
After the ceremony ended, there was a short cocktail reception while the bridal party took photos. The dill dip for the vegetables was addictive. I ate a lot of celery haha. For the actual meal, Ashley chose a low-country boil to stick with the southern theme. There was sausage, a delicious chicken, peel and eat shrimp, and sides. Their wedding cake had carrot cake and red velvet cake. My tummy was pretty happy
We had a great night chatting with our fellow Arizona Wildcats and celebrating the University of Arizona’s win and trip to the Sweet 16 … I mean the happy couple Tim approved of the game though … he is a die hard Wildcat himself. So much so that the wedding colors were Navy Blue and Cardinal Red. Bear Down.
The wedding was a great way to cap off a fantastic week. Yesterday I did my Sunday food prep and made some apple cinnamon oatmeal for the week. We also tackled a huge pile of laundry and got Chris’ brother Brian to the airport to head home.
How was your weekend?
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St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah
| March 18, 2013 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Holidays, Savannah |
Ever since moving to Savannah last year Victoria has told me about how St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah is an epic celebration. Needless to say, for the last 11 months I have been patiently awaiting the sacred weekend to see the festivities for myself. And it did not disappoint. V’s and my book club sets up in the same location every year and since Victoria is awesome (and my social planner in Savannah), she had a Google spreadsheet for our pot luck style celebration. We were ready.
Saturday morning my alarm sounded bright at early at 5:15AM. The thing is, you have to get downtown EARLY to get prime real estate. Victoria was prepped and scouting our location at 5:30AM. Chris and I picked up Mike and made our way to Lafayette Square by 7AM. Upon arrival we were in awe. So many tents and people in this one small square over 3 hours before the parade was set to start. Thank goodness for V and some of our other friends for getting our tent set up!
We had tons of food to keep our tummies happy. We had yakimandu, pigs in a blanket, sandwiches, cookies, cheese and crackers, taco dip, and so much more. We had drinks to get our Irish on. Victoria made some pretty green jello shots, mimosas were flowing, and beers were popping. One of the best parts of living in Savannah is that you can drink on the streets The day drinking shenanigans took me straight back to college haha.
Being a proud Irish Catholic, St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. Don’t you love the green fountain?? Our location was optimal and right next to St. John the Baptist Cathedral. The church did “potty for a price” and for $5 you had unlimited access to their REAL bathrooms. Best $5 I spent that day. The festivities start with mass at the cathedral with the Bishop. After mass, the clergy head to the parade start and the parade kicks off. There were bagpipers from all over, local businesses, different Irish heritage groups, high school bands, etc. The parade lasts about 3 hours.
I seriously had so much fun hanging out with my friends. While there were families with children down there, I am glad that Yon is in town and watched Emmie for us at home. I get nervous having her in large crowds and my anxiety would have been HIGH. Plus, I am pretty sure she would run off, find someone with food, and adopt them as her new family. It was such a PLEASURE to just get to enjoy myself for the day with Chris. Knowing that Em was in loving and capable hands let us let loose and have some fun which all parents need to do 
St. Patty’s Fashion: Shirt from LOFT, Shorts from LOFT, Shoes by TOMS
Thanks to Victoria our first St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah was perfection. I am already looking forward to next year. We all took notes about what we can add to our tent space to make it even better. Look out 2014 … we already have you in our sights
How did you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Savannah consistently ranks in the Top 5 US cities to celebrate in. Come celebrate with us next year!
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Savannah Tea Room
| March 1, 2013 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Restaurants, Savannah |
I have professed my love for my Army family before here on the blog. When push comes to shove my Army family comes through. And it comes through for my friends. A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to celebrate Heather and Baby C at a baby shower in Savannah. Leslie Ann, Cassie, and I had fun coming up with a plan for the lady of honor and we decided to hit up the Savannah Tea Room for lunch. Bonus? It was a 4-day weekend so Chris watched Em
The Savannah Tea Room is in downtown Savannah on Broughton Street. From the outside it doesn’t look like much but don’t let it fool you. Inside is a cute and quaint little store and restaurant. All of the lunches came with tea service, soup du jour, scone, and sweets.
The tea special of the day was the Emperor’s Bride. It has a base of Assam and Ceylon teas.Pineapple chunks and dried orange peel are added and it is enhanced with thistle petals and essence of quince and elder (source).
The soup du jour was potato and oh my goodness was it good! It was perfectly creamy with huge potato chunks. For my entry I got a ham and cheese quiche which was also delicious. We all nibbled on the included sweets but saved room for dessert.
After eating we headed outside for some dessert and presents! I had picked up cupcakes from Gigi’s Cupcakes over the weekend. I got us the following: birthday surprise, red velvet, midnight madness, and wedding cake.
Before the “sprinkle” for Heather, we sent out a message to her girlfriends and mom back home to include them in the fun. All of them sent Heather and Baby C a little something special. The girls and I had a ton of fun spoiling Heather with love and gifts
Overall it was a perfect girls day. The Savannah Tea Room is a wonderful place to lunch with your ladies. I hope to take Em there when she’s a bit older and before we move again because it’s also a little girl’s perfect tea party! I am so thankful and blessed that I have such amazing girlfriends in my life I am now officially on “baby watch” for Baby C! She can make her appearance any day now and I am on hospital duty … WEE!!
Have you ever been to a tea room? What’s your favorite kind of tea?
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
I have professed my love for my Army family before here on the blog. When push comes to shove my Army family comes through. And it comes through for my friends. A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to celebrate Heather and Baby C at a baby shower in Savannah. Leslie Ann, Cassie, and I had fun coming up with a plan for the lady of honor and we decided to hit up the Savannah Tea Room for lunch. Bonus? It was a 4-day weekend so Chris watched Em
The Savannah Tea Room is in downtown Savannah on Broughton Street. From the outside it doesn’t look like much but don’t let it fool you. Inside is a cute and quaint little store and restaurant. All of the lunches came with tea service, soup du jour, scone, and sweets.
The tea special of the day was the Emperor’s Bride. It has a base of Assam and Ceylon teas.Pineapple chunks and dried orange peel are added and it is enhanced with thistle petals and essence of quince and elder (source).
The soup du jour was potato and oh my goodness was it good! It was perfectly creamy with huge potato chunks. For my entry I got a ham and cheese quiche which was also delicious. We all nibbled on the included sweets but saved room for dessert.
After eating we headed outside for some dessert and presents! I had picked up cupcakes from Gigi’s Cupcakes over the weekend. I got us the following: birthday surprise, red velvet, midnight madness, and wedding cake.
Before the “sprinkle” for Heather, we sent out a message to her girlfriends and mom back home to include them in the fun. All of them sent Heather and Baby C a little something special. The girls and I had a ton of fun spoiling Heather with love and gifts
Overall it was a perfect girls day. The Savannah Tea Room is a wonderful place to lunch with your ladies. I hope to take Em there when she’s a bit older and before we move again because it’s also a little girl’s perfect tea party! I am so thankful and blessed that I have such amazing girlfriends in my life I am now officially on “baby watch” for Baby C! She can make her appearance any day now and I am on hospital duty … WEE!!
Have you ever been to a tea room? What’s your favorite kind of tea?
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
