Oh Happy Day

Today was a feel good day.

It's been quite a while since I've had one of those. (on a week day at least)

I took off work so Shaun and I could go house hunting. The thing is, we still don't know where we want to end up. Him working in Springfield and me working in Pasadena has taken enough of a toll on our 4 year relationship so it's time to figure out a place we can live together finally. We decided to check out Woodbridge today since it would be 15 minutes away from where he works in Springfield and where his sister and her fiance are. Also, there's a Savers thrift shop there that I had never been to before, so I figured it would be a great way for me to sneak in some thrifting!

It was definitely the perfect day to be out and about, beautiful, sunny, except 100 degrees. Yikes!
We began by stopping by Historic Occoquan. I personally love this little place on the water. Wonderful antique stores, cute little coffee shops and bakeries.

We didn't do much since we were both starving and wanted to get somthing quick and informal.  Although we drove through the street again and I noticed this funny little shop with the mermaids in the window.

On the way out however, I did insist we stop at this adorable little bakery called Moms Apple Pie.

It's the first thing you see on the right when you pull onto the road heading towards the water.  I figured I definitely could not miss going in here, the giant gingerbread men, pies and strawberries were calling to me!

They had an old screen door and a big porch with church pews to sit and eat gelato. They also had this cool old stove sitting on the porch for some reason. If it weren't rusted through it would be an amazing little find.

they also had fresh farm-grown produce and old-style sodas and candy as well as a plethora of jam and jellies.

They had quite a delicious assortment of pies

I took home a raspberry crumble pie and Shaun chose the traditional apple pie. I also took home a giant heart raspberry linzer cookie and a chocolate macaroon.

They had this adorable vintage Coca Cola cooler being used as a table for the buckets of flowers they had on sale.

After we left Moms with our goodies, we headed off to Cracker Barrel for lunch.  I always forget how much I adore Cracker Barrel with it's old country store theme and rocking chairs lined up in a row on the porch until I'm back there.

It really does feel like you are in an old country restaurant, even the servers seem like sweet southern bells.

When we left Cracker Barrel I decided that since we were checking out Woodbridge anyways, we might as well stop at Savers (a chain thrift store) since it's the first one to open up nearby. I wanted to know what every blogger/instagrammer kept raving about where they got all their vintage treasures.

Since I'm an avid vintage Pyrex collector, I needed to see for myself what sort of deal I could get that would maybe be a bit better than an antique store. The only time I've come across good vintage Pyrex for cheap was when my favorite little thrift store had just opened a 2nd location and they were unloading all their treasures.  I took home a box that day!

Savers was not as fantastic as I imagined. Their housewares section was surprisingly small, the only 2 Pyrex pieces they had were 2 coffee cups with saucers and their prices rivaled/went over antique store prices.  I decided to check back in the curtain section for any good fabric to use for crafts and alas the prices were still that of an antique store with the quality and quantity of a thrift store.

I sadly put my cart back and we continued on our house-hunting trip.

We drove around Woodbridge for a while searching through some brand spankin new communities but Shaun and I both agreed that there was a very impersonal feel to these places. No trees, houses backed up to another houses backyard and the landscaping left much to the imagination.

After driving through the 3rd neighborhood, I decided not to trust Realtor.com and to leave it up to Google maps to help us discover a good place.  I noticed there was a golf course with what seemed like a community backing up to it right down the street. (Shauns dream is to live in a home backed up to a golf course so he can tee up whenever he likes)

Upon arriving in the neighborhood it appeared the community was just like the past few we had encountered. New development, impersonal and cold.

I told him to drive a little bit further back towards the golf course and see if there were some older houses farther off the road.

We ended up driving through the entire housing development and the road kept going even when the houses stopped.  As we drove through the roads began to wind back into the forest with raggedy signs for "Tim's River Shore"  every now and then.  Looking at google maps I realized that if we drove only a couple more miles we'd hit water. Hoping there were houses there, we pushed farther through the woods.

After a bit we came to a railroad crossing and the lights started flashing and the bars went down. A train zoomed past us. The road had trailed off and turned into a gravel path at this point.  I urged Shaun to press on just a little bit further.

There was a small archway of trees and on the otherside you could see the water.

We pulled into a little cove with a little sandy beach and I snapped an instagram picture.

I could've stayed here on this beach forever, just watching the boats and listening to the waves lap at the shore. Of course Shaun didn't bring his flip flops and keep hinting towards the "no trespassing" sign so I got back in the car.

As we were leaving, we could see all the cars parked across the railroad tracks against the woods. Interested in what they were all doing there we drove along the dirt and gravel shoudler of the train tracks and arrive at Tim's River Shore.

On this hot 90+ degree day the outside smelled a bit like trash and seafood from the nearby dumpsters, but the view and the tiki bar were beckoning me so I could not give up.

Upon walking in, the charm almost smacks you in the face (if charm would do that).  Red and white, nautical themed walls with lots of memorabilia and pictures of grinning, old bay covered customers.

Not to mention the tables that have been sealed with layers upon layers of customers at the tiki bar, on their boats, on the pier, in their bikinis, and a couple huskier men laughing and dancing. Generally overjoyed.

 These awesome floor paintings greeted you as you entered, led you to the bathroom and bid you farewell on the way out.

We got a seat inside since the temperature outside was just a bit too much to properly enjoy ones self. Although the views from out table were definitely not anything to complain about.

We ended up getting a half dozen crabs and some beer and enjoyed every single minute of it. From watching the regulars stroll in and take their favorite seats, chat with their waitresses and order "the usual"

Just sitting here, enjoying the delicious Maryland crabs, drowning in Old Bay and dipped in vinegar (the only way to eat them IMO!) was the perfect way to end a perfect day.

*Happy Moment*

Okay so here's the situation.

Last week, I went to the Annapolis Croquet match at St. Johns College with Natalie and we wore our pretty dresses:

seeeeee?

While I was there I was talking to one of her friends about how much I was in love with Joss (a local Annapolis sushi place) that had made me a complete sushi snob. They have this wonderful appetizer called "Shitake Tempura" which is basically just tempura fried shitake mushroom caps with a soy based dipping sauce...and it is all that is great in the world.

Buuuuut as with all things there were some downfalls:

1. Joss is on Main St. Annapolis with parking being near impossible
2. Being a quaint local Annapolis place, it is so tiny that it seems like the table next to you is actually sitting AT your table
3. If you are anywhere in the front room, with people coming in and out during winter, you get a shot of icy air about every 15 minutes (not comfortable at all)
4. For some reason there is a hefty, gothic waitress that has had it out for me ever since I started going there, snarling at me when she takes my order...what did I do? I don't know, but needless to say it's an unfriendly atmosphere
5. Not to mention all of the Annapolis snobs that look you up and down the second you walk in

So Natalies friend says to me, "Yeah I like Joss but there is this place on the Easter Shore called Cafe Sado that I like even more, the fish is fresher, it's cheaper and they have some really good food!"

"BLASPHEMY!" I yelled, there can be no one better than Joss...but wait...could it be possible? I mean avoiding the traffic and evil glares might be worth a trip over there.

I had drank a lot of wine during the croquet match so I was down for just about anything.

It was actually quite perfect. Gurgle and I used to go to the Eastern Shore almost every weekend for oysters and chocolate :) Oh yeah, we'll get into that later.

So I texted Gurgle and this morning we planned on heading out to see if it really was all it was hyped up to be.

On the way there, we went through a neighborhood, pass some cornfields, through a townhouse community and arrived at a local marina...?

We pull up to this quaint little place at the marina that, luckily, I just so happened to see out of the corner of my eye a tiny little neon sign that said "sushi"

Exterior of Cafe Sado: not sushi-like at all

We sat out in my car for about 5 minutes contemplating if this really was in fact, the place. This was the right address, it did say sushi on a tiny sign in the window.

But it was at a marina in the middle of a neighborhood!

Well, that whole "Don't judge a book by it's cover" could not be any more true

Upon entering Cafe Sado, you walk directly into a large entry way with stairs in front and an adorable little bar/lounge area on the right

cocktail, anyone?

It's almost intimidating, the grandeur of the place when you walk in. I was not expecting this at all! At the top of the stairs the waiter greets us with a "helloooo" and we walk up the stairs and follow him.

We walk through the waiting room, which is very tasteful, not overly asian themed and very comfortable.

waiting room, so comfy!

Then we walk into the main dining area, which just so happens to look over the marina.

Even outdoor seating for the summer!

The main dining room was like something off of HGTV. Whoever their designer was, definitely did it right. as you enter, it is surrounded by a wall of windows, overlooking the boats in the marina. Painted in a nice eggshell sage color. The wall agains the marina is covered in booths with one long booth to the right and tables scattered in between up to the sushi bar. One of my favorite things about the booths? THEY HAD PILLOWS!!!!

Oh! the Pillows!!!



Very clean, attractive, open dining room

I get a little nervous seeing as there is only 2 other booths with people when we walk in, but I am already so attracted to the decor that I put my fears aside. We get to pick our booth and I choose the sunny one that has a nice view of the water.

Gurgle with her pillows at our booth!

I am SO excited!!!

So we start off with the miso soup. (I've realized when eating a lot of sushi I need to have a nice hot starter, although I love edamame and seaweed salad, soup is definitely a good starter)

I find that you can usually tell the quality of a place by the quality of their appetizers right from the start. Cafe Sado did not dissapoint. The soup was nice and hot, had a very nice flavor and didn't taste bland. It had a lot of spinach and tofu in it with some scallions that did not overpower the flavor.

Miso Soup, Check!

After being happily satiated by my soup I was ready for my sushi. It was really cool because the sushi bar was right at the front of the dining room so the chef prepared our sushi right in front of us.

the sushis.

And then it came...the prettiest plate of sushi I have seen since my last trip to Joss. We started off by getting the Shrimp tempura to split. Then I got the rainbow roll: a crabstick & avocado roll topped with tuna, salmon, white fish, unagi and avocado. The 2-piece salmon nigiri and Gurgle got the delicious Harmony roll: lumb crab meat & cucumber wrapped with lobster, topped with a rainbow tobiko. She ordered another really yummy roll that I cannot remember the name of.

OH THE DELICIOUSNESS!!

I was already elated by the delisciousness of the sushi when our waiter came back to chit chat with us. After talking a little bit with him about how happy we were with the food, he drops this one on us:

"all the sushi is 2 for 1"

whaaaaaaaaaa????

Oh yeah, you heard that right. This amazing little gem of a place, where we got alpha parking, great service, amazing atmosphere and delcisious food is BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!! Be still...my beating heart. I was giddy with excitement at this point.

Then Gurgle had some fun playing with the roe from the harmony roll

Is there a flag this color?

I definitely had an intense happy moment where I was trying the keep the food in my mouth while chewing because I was smiling so much. HOW could this place get any BETTER?!

There was no possible way. I told Gurgle that the only way this place could get better is if there was a panda bear. Then, what is on the tv in the waiting room on the way out?

OFCOURSE THERES A PANDA!!!

Of all the sushi places, I definitely rate this a 10 out of 10, which I rarely do. Usually when I'm excited and really happy with a place, it gets a 9. This place, is a 9.

If you are ever in the Kent Island/Eastern Shore of Maryland area, DEFINITELY check it out, if you don't, you are a silly, silly person and I don't know if we could be friends.

Check it out:

http://www.cafesado.com/index-2.html