A Rare Food Post, and Holiday Prep

When I got out of work on Friday, I was desperately in need of a relaxing evening, so luckily, Molly and Lauren were willing to oblige.  In the spirit of trying new restaurants, we decided to wander on 14th St., and ended up stumbling upon Estadio, a Spanish restaurant.  I have tried a couple of other Spanish places in DC, and this one was, by far, my favorite.  The ambience, we decided, was very moorish, reminiscent of the architectural style and tiles of Southern Spain.  The food, too, was DELICIOUS.  I ordered Butternut Squash Soup (always a good choice), and we shared tortilla (claro), a bruschetta-like dish and manchego (again, claro).  Molly and Lauren also ordered patatas bravas, and we each got sangria.  Fantastic.  We then saw Like Crazy at E St. Cinema.  It was a decent movie- definitely not my favorite, but entertaining nonetheless- and it was just what I needed that night.

My mom and I trekked out to the outlets in Woodbridge on Saturday, partly to do some preliminary Christmas shopping, and partly to shop for a gift for my cousin's baby shower.  The outlets were an absolute ZOO, so I can't even imagine what they will be like come December (this is why I get my Christmas shopping done early, so I don't have to deal with the crowds).  A personal highlight was that I FINALLY found a camel cowl-neck sweater that I LOVE!!!! JCrew, ladies and gentlemen.  I turned around and there it was...it was like we were meant for each other haha.  There's nothing like a beautiful new sweater to make you at-peace with the coming of winter.  I wish I could convey the look of utter confusion when, after he told me that he liked my new sweater, I practically screeched at Dan, "I know!!! A camel cowl-neck sweater!".  His look was something like, "Ummm, I don't speak woman...", so, by explaining to him the words "camel" and "cowl neck", I updated his fashion vocabulary :)

On Saturday night, my parents took Tim, Dan and I out to Morton's in Georgetown, where, for the obvious reason of me being a vegetarian, I had never been.  The waiter brought out a cart containing each of their offerings, and, even though I had looked the menu up beforehand, I did not see one thing I could eat...until the very end, when he reached onto the bottom shelf of the cart and grabbed a cut of Chilean Sea Bass.  YUM YUM YUM.  My omnivorous family and my equally omnivorous boyfriend each got some sort of steak, and there were more than enough sides to go around.  Afterward, Dan and I went home and watched the LSU-Bama football game, which I was at least mildly interested in because it was such a close game.

Being that I was tired, I fell asleep watching Parks & Rec (really, you know it's bad when I fall asleep during that), and awoke at 7 a.m. to the sound of Dan's roommate BLASTING the TV in the other room.  Apparently she decided she needed some background noise, forgetting that Dan's room is right next to the living room.  So much for an extra hour of sleep courtesy of the end of daylight savings time.  I certainly had a lazy Sunday after that: we got breakfast at Martin's (yay, pumpkin pancakes!!!!!!! I promise you, the childish excitement on my part was excessive- I think Dan got a kick out of it), and, after that, the most strenuous thing I did was go for a run.  It was a good thing I did, too, after this apparent fat kid weekend.  Due to the lost sleep from the night before, which had only compounded the lost sleep that I have been building up since, oh, probably the Lake back in August, I was EXHAUSTED, and fell asleep at the grandmotherly hour of 8:15.  Yay me?

Is it Thanksgiving yet?

This is getting rambly, but I am happy to report that I have knocked two people off of my Christmas list already!  I ordered Tim's present a few weeks ago (but, thanks to UPS, the newest company on my black list, I have yet to receive it), and ordered Dan's on Friday.  I have ideas for everyone else (including the materials for a crafty homemade gifts, which I will post pictures of after the fact), so now it's just a matter of buying everything.  I want to spend December prepping for my trip, not worrying about which presents I still need to buy.  Speaking of which...in exactly six weeks, my mom and I will be leaving for Strasbourg!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeee!