Is there anything better than celebrating your parents' 30th wedding anniversary? How about celebrating it with roulette, exotic cuisine, and dragon fire in your martini glass? That's what I call a celebration!

My brother, parents, and I hit up Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races on Friday for a night out on the town. Only 50ish miles away, the drive was not too bad on a typically-horrendous Friday rush hour. I kinda-sorta wasn't feeling so lucky. My brother, on the other hand, is eternally lucky. He wins, and he wins often. He spent the entire car ride psyching me up and trying to get the luck flowing through my veins.

I was a rookie at roulette. My brother's enthusiasm worked... for a short while. Before I knew it, he was up $700 and I was still placing $15 bets just trying to break even. In my non-casino life, I live by the motto "go big or go home" - so I figured "why change now?" and I started playing like a high roller and betting $100 chips. That worked three times until I was wiped out - completely. I'm not sure if he felt sorry for me (or just because he loves me so much), but my sweet sweet father then let me play with his chips - which I also promptly lost to the house. And I hadn't even started drinking yet... Meanwhile, my mom was playing a PENNY slot machine and somehow managed to turn $5 into $75.

We decided it was time to eat and headed over to 9 Dragons - the space is newly renovated and boasts an updated menu of authentic Hong Kong-style cuisine and a selection of fresh sushi. The decor of the restaurant was so beautiful with deep reds and dark woods. Honestly, and I don't mean this in a bad way, it didn't even feel like we were in West Virginia.

If you go to check out 9 Dragons - you'd probably be set ordering from their specialty cocktails (I suggest the Drunken Dragon) and sushi menu. Since we were out celebrating a special occasion, we went ALL out. The service, presentation, and quality was extraordinary. I recommend the Wonton Soup, Hot Mama (spciy tuna, jalepeno) roll, and... well, everything else.

Our waitress, Li Ling, took excellent care of us. Although 9 Dragons didn't offer dessert, we mentioned my parents' 30th and she said she'd get us a special surprise. Her surprise came in the form of a jumbo slice of fresh cheesecake made at The Final Cut Steakhouse. She literally walked across the casino to another restaurant to get us the best dessert in the building! Totally blew my expectations - and kinda made me forget that I had just lost $250 on the tables down the hall!

Win or lose, it was a fantastic night out with the family! Happy anniversary, Mom & Dad!

by Jenn Plant
What a beautiful day to travel to Millwood, Virginia for the Shenandoah Valley Wine and Music Festival. I fully expected a crisp autumn day but as the sun broke through the clouds, it warmed up nicely and ended up being absolutely perfect.
For our third date, David and I made our way to the fenced off area where the local wineries had set up their tents. There were ten Virginia wineries on location that day, none of which I had ever had the pleasure of drinking before. And was I in for a treat! David, being a chef, had already tried a few of the local wines, but most were new to him as well.

It was $20 for a commemorative glass and unlimited tastings. From super sweet whites to extra dry reds and every possibility in between. One winery had us try the “Kiss of the Devil” made from 30 varieties of peppers, including ghost chilies! They claim it’s “better for basting than tasting” - David and I tried it anyway. It was definitely hot and would be great in a chili recipe. We also discovered the beauty of mulled wine. Think hot apple cider and your favorite red wine. A few of the wineries had their own spin on the sensational drink, but all with the same basic ingredients.

Red Wine. Apple juice. Mulling spices. Keep on low in crock pot. Quick. Easy. Fantasticly delicious. Perfect for the upcoming holiday season. I plan on making large quantities of this and I may or may not share with my family.

After sampling most of the wines, David and I walked around the beautiful property at Long Branch. The paved walkway took us around the historic home and we found ourselves in one of the most beautiful and picturesque places we’d ever seen. Rolling hills, a small pond and horses running in the fields before us; it was absolutely gorgeous. We sat under a tree and simply enjoyed each other’s company and the scenery for almost two hours. Whether it’s another wine festival or maybe a tour of the historic home, I’m hoping that we will be able to visit Long Branch again very soon.

Here’s to an amazing third date and hopefully a fourth. Cheers!

A few of our favorites from the day:

Unicorn Winery
Amissville, VA
www.unicornwinery.com
We liked their Traminette 2011 and Chamboucin 2010

Barren Ridge Vineyards
Fishersville, VA
www.barrenridgevineyards.com
We loved the 2011 Red Barren and 2010 Harmony

Horton Cellars
Gordonsville, VA
www.hvwine.com
Mix their Chocolate and White Chocolate dessert wine for a bit of heaven in your mouth!

Peaks of Otter Winery
Bedford, VA
www.peaksofotterwinery.com
If you dare – Try the Kiss The Devil Chili Pepper Wine

by Jenn Plant
With all of the upcoming fall festivals, there are so many exciting places to visit in this area. Apple picking, pumpkin patches, haunted houses and corn mazes are abundant this time of year. My daughter and I absolutely adore autumn and all the baking, cooking and decorating that goes along with it. In fact, we’ve already baked two apple pies and we are working on perfecting our white chicken chili recipe for the next cool night.

I would love to have someone to share this time of year of with so I signed up for an online dating account. It’s a free site that claims it’s the “best dating site on Earth” and the “Google of online dating”. I uploaded a few photos of myself, answered almost 600 of their personality questions (I answer them, a few at a time, while I’m lying in bed waiting for the insomnia to go away) and wrote a fairly cute and quite accurate self-summary. And then the waiting game begins. The site matches you with potential suitors according to your answers to the personality questions. And you can filter thru the matches based on age, location, etc. etc. etc. In the three weeks my account has been active; I’ve been contacted over 30 times.

It’s kind of exhilarating to open up the website and see your little inbox lit up in pink meaning you have new messages waiting to be read. Granted, a few of the messages were asking me what kind of panties I was wearing or if I’d be willing to stop by a complete strangers house for a quickie. Right…. Let me just get right on that. Honestly, do women fall into that trap? Does that actually work for some men?

I received a message from a guy (we’ll call him Forrest) whose message was so silly, I couldn’t help but respond. We have been talking via text and phone calls almost every day since he first contacted me. We are meeting next Saturday. Out of all the other men that have written to me on the site, I’m pretty excited about this one.  He’s a father of two and the chef manager at a retirement community. That speaks volumes to me about his personality and demeanor. He’s also managed to dodge all of my absolute “deal-breakers”. Not to mention, he has incredible blue eyes, makes me laugh all the time and hello, did I mention he can cook? Oh and he’s kind of handy. What’s not like?

I am trying not to get too wrapped up in the excitement of meeting someone new. But the thought of spending a chilly afternoon up on Skyline Drive drinking warm apple cider gives me just a few butterflies in my belly. Who knows where next Saturday will take me? I’m really looking forward to finding out.

by Jenn Plant
Dating as a single mom can be a daunting task. Trying to juggle work, school, play dates, laundry, lunches, housecleaning and homework is enough to keep any parent’s schedule full. As a single parent, it can be difficult to find the time to enjoy a private life of your own. It is necessary and healthy to want a social life outside of play dates at the park and movie nights with your child.

Don’t get me wrong. I adore every moment I spend with my daughter. And we do have fun together. We are always going hiking, visiting a museum or a new park or spending hours doing crafts. Any parent of a little girl will know that not a day can go by without some form of art class. Glitter & glue, anyone?  No really, PLEASE take the glitter and glue away! But there comes a time when I need to focus on me. Without an occasional night out, I can get a little stir crazy. And let’s face it, we all need a little somethin’ somethin’ every once in a while.

Looking for a relationship, whether it be casual or something more serious, takes on a whole new meaning when you add children to the mix. You can’t just invite that hot guy you met at the bar to come over for a night and re-live your college days. Not with little Annie sleeping in the room next door. And do you really want to go to a bar? Where do you even meet a guy who you may want to spend some quality time with? What about online dating? Isn’t the internet just filled with psycho-stalkers who will try to steal your identity and leave your body in a refrigerator?

The truth is, I don’t really know. But in the three years since my divorce, I’ve met some good guys and I’ve met some bad ones. Okay, let’s be honest, A LOT of bad ones. Like the time my date hid me in his bathroom when his long-term girlfriend stopped by for a quickie. Yes, that actually happened.

I invite you to read along as I share my journey back into the dating world. And who knows, maybe dating with children isn’t nearly as scary as I thought. Northern Virginia is full of great places to meet new people and there are always events happening here. I am determined to have a great time exploring all that NOVA has to offer… and maybe I’ll meet a great guy along the way.