-
Shop Tart on Facebook
Search
Jun
10
Summer is officially here.
Filed Under Uncategorized
Have you ever had house guests who convince you that you, too, are on vacation? The Shop Tart has them right now. Does that make her a vacation thief? She keeps forgetting she has to work and behave like a functional adult in the morning, but she’s having a great time, so whatev. Last night, she and the lovely M. met her friend L. at Rosso. She had completely forgotten that both of the ladies had attended Hampshire College, which is kind of a strange coincidence. So…um…there’s that. They also both happen to be really, really funny and entertaining, two qualities the Shop Tart admires in friends. And they have great shoes.
The ladies started with a bottle of the new Caposaldo Prosecco, an entirely inoffensive bubbly that was priced much lower than the one the Shop Tart had been ordering at Rosso. As she was the designated driver, she made sure M. would be happy to consume more than half the bottle. Vacation Girl happily agreed.
They ordered the fried risotto balls as an appetizer. The plate has three balls, perfect for sharing*. Did you know if you take creamy rice, then shape it into balls, bread it and fry it, that it is particularly delicious?
The Shop Tart and M. couldn’t resist ordering the same thing for dinner, salmon carpaccio. Her favorite things at Rosso have been cold dishes like this one (loved that ceviche they did a while back.) The Copper River Sockeye salmon was served with shaved cucumber salad, beets and crostini. So simple and delicious - you really must try it if it shows up on the specials list again.
L. had the salad with mozzarella. You may notice that the picture below shows a man, not a lady. L. is not a man. That is Mr. Shop Tart, who ordered the salad on a previous trip to the restaurant. Let’s just call this a “stock photo” and compliment the kitchen at Rosso on consistency.
After those snacks, the ladies wanted more. M. asked for simple roasted asparagus with lemon. Although it’s hard to go wrong with that, the ladies noted the asparagus was cooked just right, not too tough, not too mushy.
The Shop Tart absolutely loves arugula lightly dressed with whatever it is Rosso lightly dresses stuff with. This is not on the menu, but (so far) they’ve always been glad to make it. Simple is good, y’all, simple is good. Arugula is kind of spicy and makes for an exciting salad.
At this point, the Shop Tart was in true vacation mode and wanted another glass of wine. After a quick call to her husband, who was playing tennis with M’s husband, she was assured she would have a safe ride home and the ladies moved to the patio and ordered a second bottle. Round Two! Ding! And how awesome are M’s sandals?
Then the Shop Tart’s uncle showed up with two golfing buddies. After much lamenting over the dearth of cold Bud Light (a temporary problem, for those of you who are concerned), her uncle solved the problem by bringing some from the cooler in his car. With koozies. Why? ‘Cause the Shop Tart’s family likes to party. The arrival of her uncle reminded the Shop Tart that she should text her cousin, who arrived shortly after with another cousin and a friend. Thankfully, they helped finish the second bottle of wine. The second bottle, my friends, is never as great of an idea as you think it is, and you should welcome any and all help. The patio at Rosso has molto stile, thanks to fab touches like this mad minimalist fountain.
You know what else is stylish? These clutches. The one on the left is the Shop Tart’s favorite Hayden-Harnett wristlet, which M had borrowed. The one on the right belonged to her Nana (the original Shop Tart), possibly in the eighties. But it’s cool again, right? Right?
Finalmente, the husbands arrived, sweaty from tennis and ready to take charge behind the wheel.
Although she felt like she was on vacation, the Shop Tart also felt right at home at Rosso. In addition to her own family, she saw plenty of familiar faces, like Liz Lafitte of Kicks and…wait for it…the brand new Shop Tart for Raleigh, North Carolina. Can’t wait for her to get started!
In other news…
- Summer is here, for real, yo. Sitting outside at Rosso, the Shop Tart was reminded of her need for a pre-beach pedicure. Calling Soak for an appointment today.
- Kicks has new sandals by Matisse and Coconuts. Fab shoes, sweet prices. Ready? Set? Go!
- The Chantecaille Rosewater and Palette System Event is back at Pout by popular demand this today and tomorrow only. Chantecaille’s in-house make up artist, Connie, will be at the store both days and taking appointments for all of your Chantecaille needs. Call now for an appointment, as they get booked fast. Look for specials on select products and free rosewater refills with purchase.
- Tonight from 6 to 7:30 pm, head to Finleaf Gallery, where Leighton Lord, a local attorney and collector of “Outsider Art,” will give an informative talk and show paintings and objects from his collection. An original Mose Tolliver painting will be available for sale and, even more exciting, peach daiquiris and watermelon slices will be served. What a lovely summer treat!
- Tonight at Mr. Friendlys, enjoy wines for charity. They’ll donate 50% of the evening’s wine proceeds to Project Pet of the Midlands. All you have to do is drink wine. How hard is that? Any wine purchase helps, so go do the right thing.
- There are lots of new summer clothes at Bohemian and even more to come, as well as new jewelry and handbags. Mark your calenders: Bohemian Home is hosting a wine tasting party in the evening on June 25th. They’ll have clothes there for browsing, too.
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
* That’s what she said. Can’t let that joke go, just can’t.
Email this • Share on Facebook
Comments
One Response to “Summer is officially here.”
Leave a Reply
-
The Shop Tart Loves...
I’m interested in setting a bra fitting appointment (does one “get” a fitting or is one fitted? ah well..) at Belle Vie but after scouring the internet, haven’t been able to find a phone number. Do they have a phone or do I just need to pop in or…? Thanks for any/all help!