We had coupons for a wine tasting with cheese plates and sangria at a tiny startup winery outside Delaplane, Va. And Capitol Vineyards was great! All eight of us sat around a table outside with grapes growing around us and tasted wine and chatted. We were there much longer than I anticipated, but we had a great time.

We had seen signs for many other vineyards on the way, so we picked one and stopped at Three Fox Vineyards. Here we had what I consider a more traditional tasting of going through the wines (and less chatting among ourselves). It was a beautiful vineyard with lots of great space for picnics and would be a wonderful place to spend a Saturday and drink some wine.

Before heading home, we stopped for some food at Hunter’s Head Tavern in Upperville, Va. We had some delicious food and sat on the beautiful patio. By the end of the day, I was quite sunburned.

After baking the brownie in the pie, you flip it over and coat it in ganache.

This upside-down triple chocolate brownie pie turned out excellent, and it was pretty easy to make! I failed to take a photo of the finished product, though. (You take the above brownie baked into Oreo crust, flip it over and coat it with chocolate ganache.

This would also be easy to adapt by adding some fruit flavors or, as I hope to do next, ice cream! My plan is to use half the brownie mix, then fill in the top of the pie with ice cream before flipping it and adding the ganache. Yum!!!

My first live game of the season was versus the Astros. By the time we got in and to our seats, it was the bottom of the first inning, and the Nats were losing 4-0.

How many Washington Nationals baseball games have I been to so far this season? Three, and I already have tickets for two more games (one is this Friday against the Orioles). While I’ve always enjoyed baseball, I’ve been especially drawn to the ballpark this summer. It’s just a great place to spend an evening. (And spend a lot of money, unfortunately.)

You won't find a gigantic container of Old Bay seasoning on the condiment stand at just any ballpark!

On the bright side, the Nationals have some great deals. I went to games where tickets were $2 each (select sections, of course) and have gotten other deals on food and drink with a ticket purchase. But since the team has a hard time selling out Nationals Park, these deals exist. (If anyone ever told me I could get into Busch Stadium for $2, I’d probably just laugh at them.) Of course, the Bud Light is still $8.

Now that the Nats are doing pretty well with Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, I would think these deals might fade away. (I paid $2 for the game that ended up being Harper’s home debut at Nationals Park.) But the Nats still seem to be having some trouble getting fans  — or anyone to fill the stands. I blame it on the transient nature of D.C. and the fact that everyone already has an allegiance to their hometown team.

Speaking of that, I’m claiming the Nats as my second baseball team. I even bought a shirt last week, so I will be fully outfitted for my next game. However, I will be wearing my Cardinals jersey when St. Louis is in town. For sure.

The second game I went to was against the Diamondbacks. It was phenom Bryce Harper's first game at Nats Park. Despite that, the Nats lost. (But I'd like to note that the Nats did win the third game I saw — versus the Phillies.)

Apple cup pies in cupcake wrappers.

To celebrate a pie-loving co-worker’s birthday in April, Katie and I made mini pies for work.

My contributions were these cute apple cup pies and some cinnamon bun pie pockets.

The apple pies were completely adorable. I had trouble getting the tops to attach well to the bottoms on a few, but otherwise, they were pretty easy.

I assembled the cinnamon bun pie pockets the night before, then baked them in the morning and added the drizzle once I got to work.

Cinnamon bun pie pockets are drizzled with glaze.

The day after the beautiful weather of my cruise, I had a ticket to a beer tasting and food truck festival. Sounds great, right? I was hoping it would be another gorgeous day. Instead, it rained ALL day. But the event was on, rain or shine, and my friends and I had already purchased our tickets. (They gave out free ponchos at least!) Was it a bit miserable? Yes. I made the mistake of not wearing rainboots, so my feet were soaked from the moment I got there. (Puddles quickly formed throughout the event area, so there was no way to avoid the water.)

However, once we were committed to the rain, we just went for it and had a good time. I stayed the entire four hours, tasted a lot of good beers and ate some delicious food. I came home soaking wet, and it took my shoes a few days to dry out.

One outcome of the day: I decided I want to brew a white IPA (inspired by Saranac’s version).

I went on a cruise on the Potomac River with some friends a few weeks ago. We had purchased Groupons for it and scheduled our trip immediately. As it turned out, we had a beautiful day for the cruise and a mostly empty boat because the tour group that was supposed to be on our trip didn’t make it.

We got some nice views of the city as well as a look at parts of Navy Yard along the riverfront that I had never seen.

Sailboats in front of the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument.

To balance out my bacon-wrapped chicken from earlier this week, I tried this new recipe from Smitten Kitchen for pasta with garlicky broccoli rabe last night. It was really quick and easy to make, and it was delicious. In fact, I forgot to put Parmesan over the serving I ate tonight, but it was great anyway. So I have to imagine it’s marvelous with the cheese on top! I can’t wait for my first serving of leftovers (with cheese)!

The main reason for my Southern trip was to see my cousin Jason and his fiancee, Emily, get married beneath a big dinosaur skeleton at the Tellus Science Museum. The bridesmaids wore pink sequined Converse, and the whole ceremony took about five minutes. I give it the award of most simple wedding I’ve been to (and I mean that as a compliment). The reception was a breakfast buffet (yes, at night) complete with Southern grits. Treats included gummy bears and Reese’s pieces. It was a great setting, and we were allowed to explore the museum during the reception, which was fun.

Getting married under the dinosaur.

Another great source of entertainment was my nephew, Nolen, and his second cousin, Sophie. They danced and danced and danced … while we all laughed and laughed and took photos and videos. Excuse me while I overload you with video and photos.

First a video:

And then some photos:

Nolen arrives for the party in his (slightly too large) Italian suit — and holding Mom's hand, of course.

Sharing a dance.

This photo is obviously way blown out, but I just loved the expression on Nolen's face as he patiently waits for Sophie to finish rolling around on the floor.

Taking a break and sharing some Reese's pieces.

Earlier this week, I made this delicious sweet and spicy chicken from a recipe that Erica posted on her blog awhile back. I figured it had to be good (I’m not sure I’ve ever not liked a dish that includes bacon.) and it definitely delivered. My oven gets pretty hot and I overcooked the chicken a bit, but even so it tasted great.

Lots of children were playing in the fountains at Centennial Olympic Park.

When I got to Atlanta, I met up with my parents and some extended family who were all there for my cousin Jason’s wedding. But we had a little time for sightseeing.

Swan House and the surrounding grounds were beautiful.

The first day, we went to the Atlanta History Center, which is in the ritzy Buckhead neighborhood. (The mansions we passed on the drive there were amazing.) We looked through the museum (Civil War displays and an exhibit about the 1996 Olympic Games that were in Atlanta). Then, we took a tour of Swan House, a beautiful 1928 mansion. The museum is on the grounds that originally belonged to the family. And, of course, we looked around the Smith Family Farm that had been moved onto the property. You can’t pass a farm with the Korte side of the family and not stop.

This statue in the park is of Pierre de Coubertin, father of the moder Olympic movement.

The next day, we walked around downtown Cartersville (the small town where the wedding was and where our hotel was). It was an adorable little town with shops and restaurants. We ate at a sidewalk cafe and lingered for quite a while. Then we drove into Atlanta to check out Centennial Olympic Park. We didn’t have time to go in the Coca-Cola Museum, so we took a stroll through the gift shop instead. You can find anything you’ve ever imagined with a Coca-Cola symbol there. Before one set of relatives had to drive to the airport, we tried to get drinks at a rooftop bar. Unfortunately, it didn’t open until 6 p.m., so we went down the street to Der Biergarten had a drink outside in the gorgeous weather.

That night we celebrated my cousin Ashley’s birthday with lots of treats!