Staples

August 29, 2016

After we bid farewell to our friends and left the brewery, we decided to go somewhere to eat. J suggested going to Roots 657, a restaurant and a market. It's just less than 2 miles away from Vanish. 

We frequently stop by this place whenever we are in this part of Virginia. Sadly, that place permanently closed in October of last year. 

But a new restaurant took over—Staples. It is also a country market, a coffee shop, and a restaurant. It is also owned by the brewery where we just hang out.

I got a chicken salad sandwich, and J had their Smash Burger. I also ordered their spiced lentil soup. You know, I love soup.

My sandwich was okay. However, the soup was unimpressive. *big sigh. 

A Beer-day Celebration

Last Saturday, August 29, we met with friends at a brewery in Virginia. With this group of friends we really try to meet as often as we can. This time is particularly special because both of them celebrated their birthdays in August.

We decided to hang out in Vanish Farmwood Brewery in Leesburg, Virginia. The mister and I came here maybe four years ago in the late afternoon, and it was mobbed. The oyster bar was closed too.

Last Saturday, the band just started playing, and the place was almost empty.

To our delight, before ordering drinks, we saw the oyster bar was open, Nomini Bay Oyster Ranch.

Because I don't drink beer, the mister got me hard seltzer. 

The duo playing at the brewery, One Blue Night, played, for me, familiar songs and many of Dolly Parton's songs. By around 2 p.m., people kept coming in. Some requested more of Dolly's songs. My favorite was their cover of "Jolene".

Some people say that eating oysters on the month that don't end in an R aren't safe to eat raw seashells. We don't believe that. Plus the 2 guys manning the stall said they had freshly gathered the oysters earlier in the day. 

The mister ordered a dozen oysters on the half shell. But I suggested that we should also try the grilled ones. 

We got half a dozen of each.

By the way, they gave us 3 extra oysters on the half shell. The mister shared 15 oysters because our 2 friends don't eat them. 

We were at the brewery for over 3 hours. The band packed already, and the next band playing at 5 started to set up. 

We had a blast. 

We are planning to go back soon, and we will definitely make sure that the oyster bar is open. 

Vanish Farmhouse Brewery 

42245 Black Hops Ln, 

Leesburg, VA 20176

9/1/2026 at 4:31 p.m.

Because of the intense heat, Papi announced that our after-office walk will not take place. Breathing heated oxygen is dangerous for my fragile lungs.

8/26/2026 at 5:24 p.m.

The mister called while he just pulled away from the parking space at his office. He said he's calling to invite me for a walk, if I'd like to.

OMG!

I never say no to so many things, especially to walks and hikes.

We went to the park but didn't park our car near it but a few alleys away. I love it when our routes are in these streets, as I get to see backyard gardens.

I was honestly jealous of the vegetables and flowers we passed by. In all of the years since I started gardening, this year is my lowest-achieving year. I have only a few varieties of plants that I was able to grow.

I do have a few flowers and vegetables, but most were grown from "volunteer" seeds. (Those plants that grew from the seeds dropped on the ground from that last year's crops.)

We passed by the creek at the park. I saw a bed of zinnias, hibiscus, cosmos, marigolds, begonias, tomatoes, pumpkins, and sunflowers. 

So envious. 

I will do better next year's planting season. 

Oh, by the way, we walked for an hour and hurried home because we were starving. What was for our dinner? It was roasted pork, and mango cucumber salad. I used the lemon cucumbers from our garden.