Some New {and Old} Local Favorites

As I have settled in to being an Arlingtonian {gasp} over the course of the summer, I have been determined to balance out my wonderful nights spent at home with Dan having dinner and catching up on our TV watching with venturing into the city and trying some new places.  I refuse to be the Arlingtonian who never leaves Arlington {but would certainly encourage friends to come out and see us there! It really is lovely! As an added bonus, we have a movie theater a block from our apartment that has RECLINERS.  RECLINERS, PEOPLE!!! You feel like you're watching a movie in your living room!}.

Anyway, I digress.  I have tried out a few new places that I have loved recently, and, so, have developed some new favorite haunts.

Dupont Circle and environs:
First of all, my friend Lauren is utterly obsessed with Glen's Market just north of Dupont, and, having now been there a handful of times, I can say that the obsession is justified.  Half overpriced {yet delicious} grocery store, half wine bar, it is perfect for an after-work gathering.  I have sampled some of their cheeses, chocolate {with pretzels in it...ummmm.....yeah}, house-made sandwiches, and, most importantly, their wine.  You essentially purchase a wine card from the bar for whatever denomination you please, and then you use it to fill your glass from several wine dispensers.  There are three sizes, so you can order whichever one suits your fancy.  Personally, I think this is an ingenious idea, and I can usually get the size that I want for $5-$6, so that's not too shabby.  I don't pretend to be as much of a hipster as the employees, but I just sip my wine and eat my goodies and refuse to feel self-conscious about that.  Also, one of the bartenders has an excellent handlebar mustache.  Now, I do not like facial hair, but, let me tell you, this particular mustache is a WIN.

I have also re-discovered the Dupont Farmers Market and how truly wonderful it is.  I went there a few weeks ago to meet up with a friend for brunch, and ordered a spinach and feta croissant {my normal order, because it's so darned delicious} and a few white peaches, which were easily the most delicious peaches that I've tasted in my life.  They were mouthwateringly delicious, so juicy and not overly ripe.  I am very picky about the firmness of my peaches; I don't like them too hard, and I certainly don't like them too mealy, so these peaches were the best of both worlds.  Supporting local farmers and artisans is one of my favorite things {which is obviously why my Eastern Market jewelry problem started}, so I love going to this market. Surprisingly, I have not been back to the Courthouse market, but I would like to start doing that more, because, really, I have no excuse.

Eastern Market:
Dan and I got an itch over the weekend to grab dinner and drinks in a neighborhood that we don't typically go to, so, partly because of the Metro convenience factor {thank you, weekend delays}, we decided on Eastern Market.  We got dinner at Cava Mezze, which was delicious.  My affinity for Mediterranean food is something I've developed since living in DC, particularly after graduation, and I am literally almost always in the mood for Mediterranean food {this is also how I feel about Indian food}.  Cava Mezze did not disappoint, providing enough warm, yummy bread for two starving souls to lift our spirits before our food came out.   I convinced Dan to split an order of saganaki {the delicious cheese that they set on fire with some brandy}, and then I got my standard lentil patties and brussels sprouts with tzatziki sauce.  My mouth was in heaven.

After dinner, we went to Harold Black's speakeasy, which, for those of you who have never had the pleasure of eating at Acqua al 2 {if you haven't, then stop reading this post and go there RIGHT NOW}, is right above that restaurant, through a SUPER SECRET entrance {it IS actually unmarked}. Once you reach the door and knock so that someone can open it for you, you enter a dimly-lit room {lit only by candles in mason jars, obviously}, and spent 90 minutes sipping on some of the most delicious cocktails.  A word of warning: they are VERY strong, which we both realized at the end of the night.  But the drinks were delicious, the atmosphere was chic and intimate, and I was so glad we tried it out.

Old Town:
I went out to dinner with my parents last night at a place that has become near and dear to all of our hearts since they moved back to DC.  Fontaine is tucked away on a little side street off of King, and features some mind-blowing sweet and savory crepes.  Obviously, in my family, we order both.  There is NEVER a wait {hence the reason for not taking reservations}, and the food is out-of-this-world good.  Also, their weekly French movie nights make me wish I lived right next door, because, come on, French movies and French food? Sign me up!

I hope you all are able to try out some of these places, if you haven't already.  I know I've had a lot of fun trying them!!!  Also, stay tuned, because Dan will be attempting his first home-cooked meal for me on Saturday night, and I will obviously be posting about it!  This was not voluntary on his part; he just owed me for losing our March Madness challenge ;-)

No Excuses

Hello there, folks! It's me, returned from the land of long-lost bloggers!  It has been an inexcusable amount of time since I blogged, but hopefully, once I summarize my summer for you, you'll forgive me.  The one excuse that I will attempt to give is that this summer has been so jam-packed with activity that, every time I have considered blogging, I have opted not to in the end.  If I'm not feeling it, I'm just not feeling it, and you wouldn't want me to feel burdened by what I'm writing for all of you, right?!?  So, in summary, my summer to date:

• So, Dan and I moved.  Over two months ago.  I love our little apartment {which our friends are seeing for the first time tonight...total fail on our part}, and, more than anything, I love living with my best friend.  Coming home to him is, quite literally, the highlight of every day for me, and moving in together was one of the best decisions we have made.
• As a side note, as much as I LOVE living with Dan, leaving Molly after our time living together was nothing short of excruciating. Sure, we have two fun places that we can now hang out in, but it isn't the same when you can't poke your head in your roomie's room and have girl time with them.  Also, although he insists otherwise, I can feel Dan's eyes of judgment as I nom on cookie dough, cake batter, or the raw form of whatever I happen to be cooking.  Now Molly, that girl doesn't judge and, in fact, sometimes partook in my gluttonous ways with me.
• A week after the move, Dan took, and aced {!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!} the GMAT!  I am so immensely proud of him, and can't to see where this journey takes us next!
• A week after the GMAT, we went to our first of four weddings for the summer, and, the deeper we got in the wedding season, the more I discovered that I just don't have the stamina for that many weddings!  The first was in Pittsburgh for Dan's friend from high school, and it was a wonderful {not to mention beautiful and classy in every way} wedding.  It was a great time, and I enjoyed spending time with Dan's HS friends.  Three weeks later, we were off on a jet plane to Chicago, and holy moley, did we ever fall in love with that city by the lake!  Obviously, I was on Cloud 9 all weekend, because Kristin and Kevin were getting married, and my love was there, AND my favorite ladies were there for our first reunion in two years.  I can't overstate how fantastic this wedding was, and it was such a wonderful experience to be a bridesmaid for my gorgeous Kristin.  It was an absolutely gorgeous wedding in a fabulous city.  Wedding #3 was for my cousin in NY in July, and it didn't disappoint.  It was a blast to see my family, and it was the first time that Dan was meeting many family members.  The wedding, again, was beautiful, and we remarked on the fact that all three weddings have been so DIFFERENT {or, as different as weddings can be}!  Our final wedding of the season is back in Pittsburgh next weekend {actually, at the same venue as the first wedding} for another of Dan's HS friends, and I am so excited.  He is also a groomsman, which, despite the fact that he begrudgingly has to wear a tux, will be so fun for him.  I'll be hanging out with his parents, who will be at the wedding, and all of the other significant others of the groomsmen :)
• I think I deserve a medal for how little I wrote about four weddings. Period.
• After 2.5 years in a job that I was beyond miserable in, I transitioned into a new role in July!  The new job is a similar type of office, and will afford me more opportunities to travel and utilize what I consider to be my best skills.  I am really enjoying the job so far, and will be traveling to my region- the Plains states and parts of Texas!- for a few weeks in September, followed by a week in New England in October. {Sidebar: when they asked me if I was okay with going to New England for a week, I almost laughed in their faces. My beloved New England. In the fall. Foliage. Cold weather.  NO-BRAINER}
• We have watched a lot of baseball this summer, from a trip to Baltimore to watch the Red Sox, to two back-to-back Bucs-Nats games {now THAT, I did not have the stamina for.  I was comatose midway through the second game as a result of still-lingering exhaustion from the previous night, so I had no chance the day after the second game}, to two Bucs games at PNC {with the second likely to come next weekend}.
• I have really been rolling up my sleeves and getting creative with cooking {read: baking with some cooking sprinkled in} this summer.  All I have to say is, thank God for Pinterest.  That is all.  And so, my "food bragger" tendencies have been stretched to the limit, as I document nearly every new item that I make.  Some highlights included homemade gnocchi {and yes, Dan was an excellent co-chef!}, and his recent birthday cake, which I made for his 26th birthday {!!!} last week.
• I had an interesting tubing trip to Harpers Ferry in July, during which we lost a person.  We did not literally lose him {meaning, he did not perish}, but he did have to swim to shore and faced a several-mile, shoeless walk.  I'll leave it at that. It was an interesting day.
• There have been way too many goodbyes this summer, with several good friends leaving DC for grad school opportunities.  Isn't it the rule that, if you lose people, you should get at least that many close friends back in your city???
• My friend Kate was doing a law school internship here in DC for the summer, so I suppose she counts as a temporary transplant to DC :-) It was a blast to have her here, especially since one of her M.O. is exploring new restaurants.  Kate, thank you for your foodie ways!
• Last weekend, Dan and I went to Kings Dominion, and I officially conquered my fear of roller coasters!!! I went on three upside-down roller coasters, thank you very much :p
• Two weeks from now, I am going to the LAKE!  Now, because of some obligations with my new job, I am not able to take a full week off, but I will get a long weekend.  Plus, Dan has signed on to come with me, which I am thrilled about.  Since we started dating {almost 2.5 years ago- yikes!}, it has been my dream to have him come to the Lake.  I swear, if the weather is crummy, I will be one cranky lady.
• I am sure that there are many major things that I am forgetting, but the moments that have stuck with me the most about the summer have been the little moments with family, friends and Dan.  To be surrounded by the people you love, man, there's nothing better!  I sure am a lucky girl :-)
• My summer obviously would not have been complete without yet another scintillating season of The Bachelorette.  I hate myself for watching it, but I literally can't stop.  Oh well.

Lastly, I am waiting for X-ray results, which will tell me if I have a broken foot {the probable result of overuse during my 40+ mile/week running binge of this summer}.  Keep your fingers crossed, friends, because those of you who know me will can attest to the fact that I am a cranky pain in the ass when I can't exercise.  I'm hoping it's something like tendonitis {plantar fasciitis, which would be only somewhat less acceptable, would be more expensive, as it would require that I purchase orthodics worth hundreds of dollars for my running shoes. No thank you}.  Also, I am registered for the Army Ten-Miler in late October, and it is my goal to run that race.  Just throwing that out there.

Anywho, I sincerely hope that I will blog sooner than two months from now, but, what with my work and personal travel schedule, I can't make any promised.  At some point, I will post some pictures that encapsulate my summer, but hopefully you enjoyed this longer-than-necessary post!

I'm On A Train!!

I am writing this using the (less than) stellar wireless connection on the Amtrak train, en route to Philly for my very first business trip!  I have an event in Philly tonight (an MBA fair, where I'll talk to prospective students about the program) and another in Pittsburgh tomorrow night.  I'm especially excited because, tomorrow afternoon, I'll get to spend some time with Dan's wonderful mom, and then I'm meeting up with my old boss post-event for drinks/dinner.  I'm looking forward to going back to the 'burgh, because, as I only learned since dating Dan, Pittsburghers' undying love for their city is infectious!

First, though, I have to recap our weekend because, unlike last weekend, we actually did some things haha.  On Friday night, we went out to dinner at Hill Country for a friend's birthday (which, unbeknownst to me, has ridiculously delicious food).  My one downfall of the night was my decision to get a $10 piece of red velvet cake for two, which Dan dutifully agreed to share with me.  Well, we were no match for the five (yes, FIVE) layers of cake and rich cream cheese frosting, and only ate about half of it. Clearly, a classic case of my eyes being too big for my stomach!  From there, we went bowling at Lucky Strike, which I had never been to (a friend had a reservation there for her birthday last year, but they lost her reservation, thus preventing us from bowling).  It was SO fun, definitely a lot fancier than your typical grungy neighborhood bowling alley.  At nine, Dan and I powerwalked to Iron Horse, where we wanted in on the official Hoya gamewatch (that's right, college basketball is back!  And I am officially in my happy place!).  The others followed, and we proceeded to be antisocial and watch the game (or, rather, half-game, since condensation on the court shut the game down, lest any of the players fall prey to the increasingly dangerous conditions) while they drank and socialized. After the game was called, we headed home in an exhausted heap.

On Saturday morning, I went for a nice 7-miler (seriously, there is no better way to start a Saturday morning than with a nice run!) and then we went to the same bagel shop that we went to last weekend.  And, yet again, Dan ran into someone he knew (seriously, I'm beginning to think that this is the most popular bagel shop in the DMV area, because we always see someone that we either know or recognize).  Afterward, we stopped by Whole Foods to pick up some cheese and crackers, and drove to Pearmund Cellar Winery, which was seriously wonderful.  We did a tasting, enjoyed our little picnic, and bought a bottle to take home.  My goal is to develop more refined wine palates so that Dan's wine afficionado dad isn't ashamed of us haha. 

On Saturday night, we went to Guapo's in Tenleytown for dinner.  Every time I drive or run by it, it is absolutely packed, and, since we were in the mood for Mexican food, we decided to try it out.  AND...I loved everything about the place!  The wait was minimal, the food was delicious and inexpensive, AND they had frozen raspberry margaritas.  Hello.  We then went to a late showing of Skyfall.  I didn't quite know what to expect after our last Bond attempt was a bust, but both of us really enjoyed it. 

On Sunday, I met up with some girlfriends for brunch at the Dupont farmer's market, meaning that we got pastries and fruit.  Seriously, perfection.  A pain au chocolat can surely cure all ills!  It was so nice to sit in the circle and catch up with them, and also to make a run to a second-hand store in the Dupont area that we love.  Afterward, I went over to Dan's and watched Red Zone with he and his roommates for a few hours (I think my eyes probably had a glazed-over look after that much football haha).  Then, he and I went to our very first Hoya game of the season, the home opener against Duquesne!  It was an ugly game for sure, and our boys have SO many things to work on, but I am hopeful that we'll be able to make it to a good number of games this season, particularly once we start playing Big East opponents.

I promise I will post pictures, both from my weekend and from this little trip, once I get back!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Frankenstorm Strikes DC

Hi friends!  Sorry for the prolonged absence, but Hurricane Sandy kind of threw a monkey wrench in the first two days of this week.  See how I always come up with great excuses for being a bad blogger?!

First, I'll talk about the weekend.  Dan went home for the weekend again, so I spent some quality time with family and friends over the weekend.  On Friday night, I went to a goodbye happy hour for my good friend Maggie, who I have known since second grade.  She is leaving DC to go traipse around Southeast Asia for a few months, and will then be back in Western MA for a bit while she applies to grad school.  It was nice to get to see her one last time before her trip.  Lauren and I then met up with some other friends at Mad Hatter for a late happy hour/dinner (a.k.a. me inhaling one of their happy hour-size pizzas because I hadn't had lunch and was ravenous).  I went home and got a good night of sleep in preparation for an 8-mile run on Saturday morning, followed by moving Lauren in to her amazing new apartment.  Luckily, she and her old roommates had done the bulk of the work the previous weekend, but there was still some heavy lifting involved.  Afterward, I was again ravenous (do you sense a theme?) because I hadn't had time to grab food after my run/before moving.  I went to the grocery store and stocked up, and spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the apartment, doing laundry and eating.  I felt particularly domestic that day haha.

On Saturday night, I went to a house party with some girlfriends of mine, which ended up being really fun!  I had been debating my costume for a few days prior to that, and was having trouble coming up with something.   I really didn't want to go the short and sexy route (it's funny how having a boyfriend makes you question re-wearing Halloween costumes of the past haha), so I began rifling through my winter clothes to find inspirtaiton...when I happened upon a beret.  Right then and there, it was decided that I would be French (several people, Dan included, pointed out later that I should have gone all-out and been a mime, but that would have involved painting my face, which I did not have the slightest interest in haha). After the party, some people in the group decided that they wanted to walk to H Street, which was about a 25-minute walk away, much farther than advertised.  We spent about 10 minutes at H Street Country Club and then cabbed back to Lauren's, where we slept on the floor of the empty apartment.

On Sunday morning, delirious from lack of sleep, I went about my normal daily routine (gym, shower, breakfast) before metroing over to my parents' house.  We went to mass and then hung out in front of the fireplace in the living room as the weather grew more and more ominous outside.  While watching some football (full disclosure: I was half-watching), we thumbed through old photo albums, offering a running commentary.  I knew I was a large baby/child, but I hadn't remembered that, when I wore shoes as a baby, they cut off the circulation in my Christmas ham legs.  Jeez louise, was I ever a porker!  After dinner, as it started to rain, they drove me back home, so that I could be there waiting when Dan got back.  When I had texted him about getting together on Monday, he suggested that he just come over on his way home and stay, since we were most likely going to have to hunker down during the hurricane.

We spent the next two days hunkered down, rarely leaving my apartment (I went to my amazing gym, which stayed open throughout the storm, both Monday and yesterday, and Dan and I made a last-minute grocery store run before Whole Foods closed when I realized that, while I had enough food to make dinner on Monday, I didn't have anything to make on Tuesday.  I am a grazer, so I could have gotten by just fine, but I felt like Dan was going to need something a little more substantial!).  Even though we were both working throughout Monday and Tuesday, it was so nice to have him sitting on one couch and me on the other, working away and taking the occasional break to show each other something funny (or something less funny, like a picture of the storm's damage).  We both focused on work during business hours, but, after that, we turned the focus to each other.  We ate lots of yummy food (seriously, thank God the gym was open!) and watched lots of funny shows (episodes of Modern Family and Celebrity Jeopardy), which helped distract us from the storm that was raging outside.  Despite some brief flickering of lights and having to bail water out of my balcony a few times, we really lucked out, neither losing power nor having to deal with a flooded apartment.  We were fortunate to be able to cook yummy food (okay, I cooked and Dan helped/provided moral support).  And, moreover, we got to spend some wonderful quality time together.  We both remarked last night at how much fun we had had (despite having to work during the day and being confined to the house) just hanging with each other at home.  I was really glad to have him there with me, and there is no one else I would rather be house-bound with during a hurricane :)  That said, hopefully we can go a little while without another one!

I hope you all survived the storm okay!  I am keeping family and friends in the NJ/NY area in my prayers especially, as I know that they all bore the brunt of the storm. 

A nip in the air :)

It is FINALLY officially my favorite time of year, fall :)  You can take the girl out of New England, but you can't take the New England out of the girl, I suppose. I love nothing more than walking outside and feeling just a nip in the air, as though you need a light jacket. If I were a coffee drinker, I would be all over a pumpkin spice latte right about now, but sadly, I'll just stick to tea and hot chocolate.  I'm not going to lie, though, I was oozing with happiness yesterday as I put on my jeans, flats, a fallish-looking plaid shirt and a blazer.  The first days of fall are the best!

On Friday, one of my beloved college roommates, Kate, was in town for some interviews, so a group of us met up for dinner at Founding Farmers.  A fruity drink and some delicious, hearty food was exactly what the doctor ordered after a long and stressful week (it seems like they have all been that way lately), and, of course, the time spent with friends was so rejuvenating.  Kate had a relatively early flight to catch and wasn't up for anything crazy (which, after my week, I frankly was not either), so we ended up going back to our apartment, baked cookies and chatted.  The night flew by, and it was such a treat to have one of my close friends come in from out of town.  Even though I have been keeping busy spending time with lots of friends here in DC, my heart always aches when I think of my friends who are scattered all around the country now (as a note, I tend to feel this way every year around Homecoming, as Hoya alumni come in from out of town).

On Saturday morning, I had a great run and did a much-overdue cleaning of the apartment (the weekend of our race was my weekend to clean, so, due to circumstances out of my control, I wasn't able to clean that weekend; and, ever since we got home from the hospital, I have been so busy that I haven't had time to clean. But the pile of hair on the bathroom floor was getting disgusting- that's what you get when two long-haired girls live together haha!).  Then, I went over to Dan's. I hadn't seen him since Wednesday (which is a long time for us), so I was so happy to get to spend the day with my guy.  We attempted to go to the Clarendon Day festivities, but, once we got down into the Metro, we figured out it was going to be a half-hour wait.  Being that I knew that it was not at all Dan's first preference (he was going to be a trooper and go for a little while though!), I suggested hitting a museum instead.  Neither of us had been to the Smithsonian Castle, so we headed down there and walked around a little bit.  It ended up being perfect, because Dan still gets tired very easily, so it wasn't too large of a museum to tackle.  Afterward, we perused the National Book Festival, which was happening down on the Mall.  They had tents devoted to different genres, and there were keynote authors speaking in each of those tents.  There was also a tent where you could purchase those featured authors' books.

Next, we schlepped over to Chinatown to see The Bourne Legacy.  There was a Bourne marathon on TV last weekend and, to Dan's delight, I discovered that I actually really like the movies.  This one was sort of disappointing, because, while Jeremy Renner is an indisputable badass, we both agreed that we liked Matt Damon better.  This one was also less spy thriller, more biological warfare, which isn't exactly my thing.  We went to Graffiato for dinner, because we knew people who had gone and wanted to try it.  It actually turned out to be really disappointing.  I can now say that I've tried ceviche, but I absolutely do not like it (I didn't think you could possibly ruin seabass, but now I know that it is, indeed, possible).  We had planned to go to Dairy Queen anyway once we got home, but the growling in my stomach following dinner made a trip there a necessity.  All in all, it was a relaxing and wonderful day with my guy :)  It has definitely been a bit of a challenge to find things to do, given the fact that he is still under the doc's orders not to drink until his liver enzyme levels and CPK levels normalize, but I think that we were able to find a really nice mix on Saturday of doing things in the city and having some relaxation time as well.  Yay us!!  I know it will be tough on him not to be able to drink during Homecoming this weekend, so I'll let him dictate how long we stay at the tailgate (after all, cheap beer hurts my stomach anyway!).

On Sunday, I met up with Lauren following her triumphant return from her first work trip (yay, so proud of her!!!).  Since she was feeling under the weather, we relaxed at her apartment and swooned over Ryan Reynolds watched Definitely Maybe.  That was perfectly fine by me, because I was exhausted!  I had only slept until 7 on Saturday morning so that I could get up and run/clean, and, since Dan had left at around 7:30 for his tee time on Sunday morning and I couldn't fall back asleep, I decided to just get up and run.  All of that meant that I was somewhat lacking in sleep, so I needed some quality relaxation time.

This week is promising to be yet another hectic one (surprise surprise).  There are two birthday celebrations that will take up several days this weekend, plus Homecoming.  But, to start the week off, tonight I am going to happy hour with a few girlfriends and one girl's mom.  I am really excited to meet her!  Then, I am Skyping with one of my very best friends from college.  Tomorrow and Wednesday, I have promised Dan that I'm all his, since I have birthday celebrations on Thursday and Friday nights.  I feel bad for ditching him this week...I have been catching myself wondering where September went, and it really has been because I have been so darn busy!!  I would like to be able to tell you that October will be less hectic, but that is not the case :(  Oh well, as I said at this time last year (when I also had a ridiculously busy October), I'll sleep when I'm dead! 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend, and Happy Fall to all of you!!

That moment when...

...I rediscovered Georgetown!  And oh, what a discovery it was!  I have spent so much time in Georgetown over the past 6+ years that, frankly, I had gotten a little sick of it, preferring to explore other areas of DC.  Last night, I met up with my dear friend Jamie, who I had not seen in AGES (thanks in part to her extensive work travel and my NH vacation and then stay in VA Beach) for dinner at Café La Ruche, literally one of the most adorable restaurants I have ever been to.  I first went there two-and-a-half years ago, during Senior Week, for Allie's birthday dinner, and, being that it is really tucked away on a side street, I always tend to forget about it.  But Jamie and I were planning on gorging ourselves on cupcakes after dinner at Baked & Wired, so, when she suggested some place with light fare for dinner, Café La Ruche came immediately to mind.  See pictures below!

Seriously, have you seen a more adorable restaurant?!

The interior, also adorable

Not only is the restaurant cute and quaint (French décor, including Parisian street signs, everywhere), but the food is cheap and delicious!  I got a vegetable quiche and Jamie got French Onion Soup and a brie plate, so we got to sit there and catch up, munching on our yummy food and listening to the guitar-playing of the resident musician.  When we got there, the restaurant was empty, but, before long, a HUGE French tourist group (we're talking 30ish people) crammed into the tiny restaurant, and, I think the fact that there were so many French people there proves that the place is legit.

From there, we walked a block along the canal to B&W, where we got to sit and chat some more before shutting the place down.  A walk back to Dupont was a perfect ending for the evening, since the rain, which had been following constantly throughout the day, had let up for the evening.  A wonderful evening with a true kindred spirit, as Anne Shirley would say!

A Perfectly Relaxing Weekend

I have to start this off by saying that I can't wait for a long weekend this upcoming weekend.  Just sayin'.  And yes, I know I was just on vacation!

Anyway, I can't forget to do my habitual Monday recap of the past weekend's activities.  It was a really tremendous weekend, one that found me with a constant smile on my face. We were luckily able to leave a little bit early on Friday, which left me just enough time to get down to the Sculpture Garden and snag some great fountainside seats for Jazz.  I can't believe that this week is the final week (because that also means that it is the official end of summer.  So much sadness).  I met up with Lauren there, and we were able to munch on some fruit and chat while we listened to the music.  The thing about Jazz is that I know absolutely nothing about that type of music, but it sure is a nice, relaxing soundtrack playing in the background while you talk to your friends!  Afterward, I met up with Dan at one of my new favorite pizza places, District of Pi (at least, I think that's what it's called; in any event, it's the pizza place on 9th and F whose sign has the symbol for Pi on it) and we had some delicious deep-dish pizza.  Then, we went home and watched The Dark Knight, the only Batman movie that I hadn't seen, and which I really liked.

On Saturday morning, we had our 12 miler, our last long run before our race this coming Sunday.  I felt really good for the vast majority of the run (I started feeling it in the last mile or so), and we finished in 1 hour, 41 minutes!!! If you consider the number of times we stopped for traffic lights and cars, plus the adrenaline that will be flowing while we run our race, I should hopefully be able to stick to my goal of sub-1 hour, 50 minutes.  We're both getting really excited for the race!  During our run, we ran into a group of Navy guys, running in formation and carrying the colors, and chanting up a storm.  Listening to them chant was fun, and a huge pick-me-up to boot.  Anyway, after we had sufficiently recovered from our run, we went to a bagel place in Clarendon to replenish our tanks (because you have to figure that you burn about 1,500 calories in a 12-mile run, which means that, if you're starting out the day by running that much, you're in a serious deficit).  Then, we took a nice 1-hour nap and woke up feeling slightly less sore.  We lazed around for the rest of the afternoon watching TV, and then went to Thunderburger, one of our favorite restaurants, for dinner.  Seriously folks, this place is amazing!  I was skeptical that they would have anything I could eat (being the picky vegetarian that I am haha), but they have an INCREDIBLE falafel burger.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Then, we went home and relaxed some more before meeting up with Dan's friend Goran and his girlfriend Nicole.  We started out at their place and migrated to RFD, and I had a really nice time with them! 

We lazed around a little bit on Sunday morning, since Dan had a later tee time (which, unfortunately, got rained out after he and his friend had already driven all the way out to the course) and I had a later brunch.  I met up with Lauren, Cat and Cat's boyfriend Matthew (who I was meeting for the first time) at Ted's.  As usual, there was a ridiculous wait, but the food always makes it worth it.  And yes, I think I have been there a half-dozen times this summer alone :)  Lauren and I walked back to her place (getting caught in the rain in the process) and lounged for a bit, and then I went home and had yet another lazy Sunday afternoon.  This is starting to become a pattern, and I'm totally okay with it.  I even- gasp!-skipped the gym, which I justified by my 12-mile run on Saturday and the 6-miler that I knew I would do this morning (Side note: last week marked my largest weekly mileage total, 42 MILES!!!). 

I have a really fun week to look forward to this week.  Tomorrow, Dan and I are going to adhere to our new once-weekly cooking rule (which we had to instate because the amount that we were going out to dinner was becoming ridiculous haha).  On Wednesday, due to an early-morning dentist's appointment on Thursday, I am staying with my parents, and we are going to celebrate my dad's birthday (which is actually a week from today).  On Thursday, Dan and I are going to the Nats game, which I can't wait for (I always love a good Nats game, because of 1) the chance to spend time with dan; 2) my love of baseball; 3) my newfound love for Shake Shack milkshakes; and 4) the fact that Cat and Matthew will be there (even thought Cat has been here all summer, we haven't been able to find a time for her and Dan to meet).  We're leaving for Virginia Beach at some point on Saturday, and will be there until Monday.  We're both really hoping to get some beach time in, so we'll see what happens!  Also, next Monday is our 18-month anniversary (I know, I can hardly believe it!), so it will be nice to celebrate that this weekend as well!!!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!!!

Okay, I've been a bad blogger...

Gulp, sorry for the absence from the blogosphere this week...Things are really getting hectic at work this week (as in, I feel like I haven't left my desk this week, I have been getting in early and have not been taking a lunch), and will probably remain that way until I go on vacation in a few weeks.  And then, in typical me fashion, I have completely booked all of my nights after work, meaning that I am too exhausted when I get home from work to blog.

However, today is a little bit more chill, and is also a fake Friday for me!  I'm taking tomorrow off to recharge (I will most likely spend much of the day by the pool with my mom) and prepare for an early weekend of birthday festivities.  As I mentioned, we are going to a top-secret location tomorrow night for part of Dan's birthday present, and then we are getting together with two of his (and now my) friends on Saturday night, which should be great.  I know that I will come out of this weekend exhausted, so I think that the extra day tomorrow will be just what the doctor ordered.

Anyway, before fast-forwarding to this weekend, I should recap last weekend, since I didn't do my habitual post-weekend update.  On Friday night, Dan and I went to Liberty Tavern, one of our favorite restaurants in Clarendon, and got their insanely delicious Vermont pizza (cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, apple slices and prosciutto; I obviously got the veg version).  Dan really wants to see The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX, but, after we talked about it, we agreed that it would be better for me to watch Batman Begins first, as I have never seen any of the movies and could probably use the backstory.  Luckily, he had DVRed it when it had been on TV earlier on in the week, so I got to have a nice, quality movie night with my guy.  Truly wonderful.  Some of my favorite nights are the ones where we just relax and snuggle up to watch a movie.

On Saturday morning, we got up at 7 (I know, we're both insane) to go running.  Despite the fact that it was misting, it was nice to get outside, particularly because, after an evening storm, it was significantly cooler out.  As I was running along the river and then back into the city and around the Tidal Basin, I was just overwhelmed with gratitude that I get to call this place home.  Since it was so early, there were very few people out along the Tidal Basin, so I had it all to myself.  Once we had showered and changed, Dan and I parted ways for the weekend- he was off on a golfing outing for the day and I was going up to New York to visit my dad's side of the family.

Spending the weekend with the family really was wonderful.  I hadn't seen that side of the family since November, so a reunion was long overdue.  I always enjoy getting to see aunts, uncles, cousins and second cousins, so this time certainly did not disappoint.  Just sitting around talking and enjoying each other's company brough a smile to my face. 

On Sunday, after being in the car for what felt like forever on our way home, I returned home just in time to watch the finale of The Bachelorette.  As I may have mentioned, I am minorly  completely addicted to this show, especially because so many of the guys seem to be great guys.  In the end, even though Emily didn't pick the guy who was my first preference, I was totally won over by Jef and melted when I saw him interact with her daughter.  They really do seem to work well together and seem very in love.  I hope they prove the statistics wrong!  As much as I love the show, I also realize that it is completely unrealistic and ridiculous, so I have stumbled upon several blogs that humorize it a bit.  Lincee over at I Hate Green Beans is a hoot-and-a-half, and I am consistently laughing hysterically when I read her blog. I happened upon Ashley's blog when I was trying to find a picture last night of Ryan's completely effeminate tank top when I was Skyping with Kristin last night, and found it to also be hilarious.  It's nice that people can have fun with it!!!

On Monday morning, I woke up to an esophagus in extreme pain, and that's when it occurred to me that all of the stomach discomfort that I have been experiencing lately may just be acid reflux, which, unfortunately, runs in my family.  I have spent a few days feeling pretty crummy, but I think the medication I started using is finally starting to kick in, so hopefully I'll be in tip-top shape for the weekend!  I am definitely the worst sick person ever, because I try to pretend I'm not sick and go about my exhausting routine as usual.  I'm sure it will catch up to me at some point...

This week has been busybusybusy! On Monday, Dan came over for some stir-fry that I whipped up, and we were able to successfully find some Season 4 episodes of Parks and Recreation.  I would appreciate them putting the season up on Netflix, oh, yesterday.  We managed to have a really nice night, despite the fact that Dan picked up a completely ridiculous ticket on the way to my apartment :( Poor guy.  Last night, I grabbed drinks with Dan's/my friend Lindsay at Donovan House, a really cool place on Thomas Circle. I don't think the bar itself is called Donovan House, but it is located on the pool deck of the Donovan House hotel (interesting concept, but it works).  The view from the rooftop was INREDIBLE, and, as always, I had a great time with Lindsay. We did have to wait about a half-hour for our check, which was annoying, because the employees were both struggling in general and didn't know how to work their new computer system.  Oh well, I still made it home early enough to Skype with Kristin.

I'm so, so excited about this long weekend, and I'm sure I will have many more updates next week!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend as well!

As American as Apple Pie

Well, another 4th of July has come and gone, and I think that each and every one of us groaned this morning when we woke up, knowing full well that we still have another two days of the work week.  I personally believe that the 4th should always be observed on a Friday or a Monday (although preferably a Friday) haha.  It was a fantastic day yesterday, which made it even MORE difficult to wake up for work today.

On Tuesday evening, Dan and I started off our mini-vacation by grabbing a pizza dinner at Pizzeria Paradiso.  I think the fact that we are both training for our half-marathon means we're ravenously hungry all the time, so a big dinner was definitely necessary.  Then we went to T Sweet's, where I got my favorite Oreo frozen yogurt and Dan got a dish of mint chocolate chip ice cream that was nearly as big as his head (not really, but he definitely misjudged the size!!).  He had been saying for a while that, given the more relaxed dress code at his new job, he wanted to get some work-appropriate khakis, so we popped into Banana Republic, where he found not only a pair of pants, but also a gingham shirt!  Yes, I have been hoping for months that he would embrace gingham (and had even casually pointed a shirt out when we went to the outlets in the winter), not that I ever would have forced him to buy one.  I refuse to be that girl who tries to dress her boyfriend, even given my strong views on style, but I was practically bursting with joy when he picked it out on his own!  Then we headed down to the movie theater, where we saw the new Disney-Pixar movie Brave.  I was surprised that everyone there was our age or older; I think Pixar has that effect on people.  I LOVED THE MOVIE, and, once again, Pixar did not disappoint!

On Wednesday morning, we went on our respective runs (Dan was going for a shorter run, so he ran outside, but I wanted to do my normal six-miler, so I ran on the treadmill in his building) and then started our 4th of July right by going to Metro 29 (which was packed) for breakfast.  Nothing better than some Metro 29 French toast to start my day off right (although I was definitely feeling nauseous by the end).  We lazed around for a little bit, thanks to our respective food comas, and then we headed over to his friend Goran's house for the afternoon.  We were there from about 2:30 to 8:30, and it was about 9 million degrees the entire time with 100 percent humidity.  There was a slip 'n slide that a bunch of the guys set up, but neither Dan nor I had brought our bathing suits, so we decided not to partake.  So we were content to just hang out, eat and drink, and catch up with people.  I didn't know the majority of the people there (and Dan didn't know many more than I did), but it was nice to see the people we do know, as well as meet some new friends.  By about 8:00, I was getting antsy, because I did not want to miss the fireworks.  I think the fireworks were much less important to Dan, but he knows how much I enjoy them, so we headed out a little bit before 8:30.  It occurred to us that we would have to walk back to Rosslyn after the fireworks, so, rather than brave the crowds at 9:30ish, we decided to head straight back to Dan's place and watch the fireworks from his balcony. They have some really prime real estate there, and we had a fantastic view of the fireworks!  And the fact that we didn't have to march all the way home afterward made it so much better.  I was so grateful to get to spend another 4th of July with Dan, as well as with his friends, so I would say that it was a pretty awesome day!

Tim texted me on Tuesday to say that he's in town, so I'm excited to go over to my parents' house for dinner tonight and see him.  I might be wrong, but my little bro has been an excellent communicator with me this summer!  Here's hoping that continues!  I'm looking forward to a jam-packed weekend as well, from jazz tomorrow to tubing on Saturday and the Titanic exhibit at the National Geographic Museum on Sunday.  And, of course, the main event, THE COLDPLAY CONCERT ON SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, it's all I've been listening to all week.  This concert is three years in the making for me, so I couldn't be more excited!

We Survived the (non) Tornado!

This weekend, I tried out a lot of new places, or just generally had very quintessentially D.C. experiences, which left me with a smile on my face by the end of the weekend. 

On Friday evening, just as I was getting ready to leave work, we were ordered (by a screaming, upper-level administrator, the same one who flipped out during the earthquake last August) to seek shelter in the parking garage, since there was a tornado in the vicinity.  I was completely unaware that there was even a tornado threat, and despite the insistence of both staff members and Georgetown's emergency alert system that tornadoes were headed for Northwest D.C., the tornadoes did not hit anywhere close to the city.  But, thanks to that administrator's reaction, my heart started beating a few ticks quicker.

Having survived the non-earthquake, I made it over to Dan's in one piece, and, after getting caught in the rain both on the way to and from dinner, we checked out H St., where we met up with some of his friends.  Now, I had heard good things about H St., particularly that it was a pretty lively place.  However, I did not anticipate the rain keeping everyone inside, because it was like a GHOST TOWN there!  Definitely not as lively as I was expecting.  We went to a Biergarten (and yes, I kept pronouncing it like I was German for the entire night haha).  It was a cool place- or, rather, I could see it being cool if there had been more people there.

On Saturday morning, we took a nice run.  It was the first time I had done a run from Dan's place before, so he took me on his normal loop (at the end of which I was totally spent; ask Dan and he will tell you the same hahaha).  Once showered and changed, we headed over to Georgetown, both because Dan needed to pay a visit to the Apple Store to fix his never-used work phone (which took over an hour and was incredibly painful) and because we had planned to check out Taste of Georgetown.  I had attended Taste of Georgetown a few falls ago and really enjoyed it, as many of the neighborhood's best restaurants have a limited tasting menu there.  I had forgotten how difficult it can be for me at food festivals like that one, both due to my vegetarianism and the fact that I am allergic to nuts and shellfish.  There were two gazpacho dishes, both of which sounded great to me...but they had either pesto or crab, so those were a no-go.  I ended up finding a delicious polenta dish and some falafel, and Dan loaded up on sliders and a pulled pork sandwich.  Then came the fun part, dessert.  I had seen a sign for a Filomena dessert, a raspberry chocolate mousse cake, that sounded divine, and I hoped more than anything that it was nut-free.  When I pranced triumphantly back to Dan with my piece of nut-free cake in hand, he said that I looked completely gleeful...probably because I was.  That cake was quite the experience.  Dan also enjoyed his slice of blackberry pie.

After finishing up at the Apple Store, we braved the crowds at the Natural History Museum before getting so overwhelmed by tourists and exhaustion that we went back home.  The only time we left the apartment for the rest of the night was to go to Dairy Queen.  Obviously.  We couldn't bring ourselves to walk up the hill to go to dinner (we got delivery), but we managed to work up enough strength to drive about 20 minutes to DQ.  The fact that we were on the same page about the importance of DQ is one of the reasons why I love Dan so much :)

On Sunday morning, when he hit the links, I met up with my dear friend Cat, who I studied abroad with in Strasbourg and is now in D.C. for the summer.  We grabbed a yummy brunch at New Orleans Cafe in Admo, and then I got to see the INCREDIBLE place she is staying in for the summer (seriously, I was so jealous).  She is one of those friends who, due to the fact that she has been living in Europe for the past few years, I do not get to see nearly enough, but we always pick up right where we left off the previous time.  I am so lucky to have met her, and look forward to many adventures together in D.C. this summer!

The rest of my Sunday was decidedly lazy, complete with my customary trip to the gym, cleaning the apartment, doing multiple loads of laundry and catching up with Allie, one of my very best friends, via Skype.  Due to the fact that we are both incredibly busy, we had tried, and failed, to schedule a Skype date since my birthday, so we chatted for about two hours.  Talk about someone who you can really start back up again with as though it has been no time at all since you last spoke.  She is a truly wonderful friend, and I am so lucky to have her in my life.

This week is (shocker) another busy one for me.  I have a massage tomorrow (I am finally cashing in the wonderfully thoughtful anniversary gift that Dan gave me back in March), which I couldn't be more excited for!  Sometimes, a girl just needs a massage!  Also, we have decided that we're officially going to Boston in July!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so delighted to be going back to my beloved Massachusetts, if only for a long weekend, so I will undoubtedly be bouncing off the walls until then!

The Official Start of Summer!!!

Gosh, with how hectic this weekend was, I feel like I need another long weekend to relax!!! It started off with our summer favorite, Jazz in the Sculpture Garden.  In case some of you don't know how this came to be an obsession of mine, a few weeks after graduation two years ago, Lauren said that she had heard good things about it and that we should try it.  Thanks to the combination of relaxing by the fountain (since we were both working part-time at that point, we had ample time to get there early enough to nab prime seats by the fountain), sipping the sangria that is completely overpriced but entirely worth it, and chatting while we listened to soft jazz, we were hooked, and went essentially every week that summer.  And from there, our obsession was born.  I look back on that experience very fondly, since Lauren and I were some of the only girls from our college friend group still in the city, so we did essentially everything together.  It was one of our fun little adventures together, and now we have been able to expand the group :)

Jazz with the girls!

My parents pretending that they don't know they're in the picture haha.  Love them

So anyway, my mom had been kind enough to save seats for us, and I was able to leave the office early enough to meet up with her and chat before everyone else (Dan, a group of my girlfriends, and my dad) arrived.  It was a beastly hot day, but my mom (unable to indulge in her favorite activity, tanning, since she is on an antibiotic and being in the sun for five minutes makes her feel as though her skin is burning off) had gotten us seats under the tree, so it was really refreshing.  It was great to see all of the girls, some of whom I hadn't seen in a while.  So, for me, Friday, the first day of Jazz, marked the official start of summer.  Afterward, we went and checked out the amazing view of the city from my dad's office building, before grabbing some beach supplies (cooler, umbrella) from them and stopping at the grocery store to buy lunch for our beach trip on Saturday.

View from atop my dad's office building

We were up at an ungodly hour for a Saturday (5:15) in the hopes of making it to Rehoboth without getting caught in gridlock traffic.  Luckily, that early-morning wake-up call (yes, even though I wake up earlier than that during the week, it was painful for me) paid off, and we didn't hit ANY traffic...phew!  The most difficult part of the trip was finding parking meters where you could park for more than three hours at a time (Dan, wonderful guy that he is, volunteered to leave the beach every three hours to move the car, but I refused to let him do that, pointing out that, by the time he would be moving the car, it would probably be impossible to find another spot.  When we were leaving, he acknowledged the wisdom in that rationale, because there was not a spot to be found!).  We were finally able to find a spot on a side street where you could park for ten hours, AND we utilized the app with which you can pay for parking, thus not having to worry about getting change.  Genius, truly genius!  Anyway, we found our little spot on the beach and set up camp for the day.  All in all, we were there for about seven hours, so we got some good reading time in and had ourselves a nice little picnic lunch.  It even got warm enough (it reached the low 80s by mid-day) that we went in the water.  Now, I am a total water lover- when we go to the Lake, I will often swim for hours on end- but my rational side was telling me that it was still late May, and that, naturally, the water would be frigid.  However, when you have been laying out for several hours, you throw caution to the wind and go in.  It was, predictably, shockingly cold at first, but felt wonderful once we went under.  After we left the beach, we decided to skope out the rooftop mini-golf course that we had spotted from the beach.  I had also been wanting to challenge Mr. Golf for a while :)  Sadly, I still lost, which I will blame both on the fact that he is a better golfer than me and on the fact that I hit my leg on a cement brick and my leg was gushing blood on the back 9.  Obviously that was the primary reason for my loss haha.  So, while I owe Dan a homemade dinner and certainly lost some of my pride (not to mention some skin on my leg), I DID win a free game at the end.

You can kind of see some of our sunburns in this one (and also the hordes of people on the beach in the background)

After a much-needed shower when we got back home (at this point, we realized the extent of what turned out to be pretty terrible sunburns; seriously, come Sunday morning, we were both moving pretty gingerly), we went to Georgetown for dinner, which, despite the number of people on the street, was actually kind of deserted.  That is one of the things I loved about this weekend; it seemed like hardly anyone was here, which made getting into retaurants a breeze!  We had dinner at Ristorante Piccolo on Saturday night and waltzed right in, as we did at brunch at Martin's the next morning.  We were able to make it to an earlier mass because we got breakfast in such a timely manner! 

I ended up spending Sunday night at my parents' house, which is always a nice change of scenery (particularly since I had not seen them in a few weeks).  We went to an adorable and delicious French restaurant called Bastille in Alexandria (kind of off the beaten path, so you it wasn't mobbed like the places on King St. tend to be) and then just relaxed at home, just what I needed.  On Monday morning (bonus day! Yay!), I met Dan for breakfast at Ted's Bulletin, which I have raved about time and time again.  Once again, the pop tarts did not disappoint, even though the service, sadly, did.  I went back to my parents' house for a quick workout before heading to a barbecue at my friend Maggie's.  The barbecue was a lot of fun and there was some great food, but man, did the stiflingly hot weather take a lot out of me!  I was only drinking water because I was feeling dehydrated, but I had to go inside and lay on the couch for a few minutes because I was feeling a bit lightheaded.  Oh well, 'tis the season...

I collapsed in an exhausted heap into my bed last night, because, even though many of the weekend's activities involved just "hanging out," the combination of the heat and the sheer volume of commitments tuckered me out.  That said, I can't wait for the craziness that I'm sure this summer will bring!!!  Sorry to the return to long posts...

Someone Make Time Slow Down!!!! (please)

I started the weekend early on Thursday night, when Dan and I went to the Nats-Pirates game (knowing full well that it wouldn't matter if we had a late night because all I had to do on Friday was work at graduation). It was a lot of fun, for several reasons: 1) the Bucs won (yay!); 2) Some family friends sat next to us at the game, and I also got to meet one of Dan's golfing buddies, who happened to be at the game; and 3) I got a Shake Shack milkshake.  Heavenly (albeit terrible for you, I'm sure).  All in all, a very fun night, and I was glad that Dan's team won (for those of you who may be curious, while I have become a Pens fan, I will never, EVER abandon my allegiance to the Red Sox, no matter how much they suck.  In fact, I wore my Sox hat to this game), despite some serious threats from the Nats.

My students graduated on Friday under flawlessly beautiful skies, and I was so glad that I got to be there and witness it.  True to form, I cried during the alma mater (and alternately was quite pleased at myself for knowing ALL of the words haha), as well as during President DeGioia's speech when he welcomes the newly-minted graduates to the Georgetown alumni community.  For some reason, that sentiment always gets me.  Georgetown alums are sure a special group :)  I was also reminded of what a nightmare it can be to work graduation when graduates' families tried to walk up to the stage to take pictures of the graduates.  Seriously, one man was practically sitting in the lap of one man in the wheelchair section as he tried to get a picture.  Seriously, people are so inconsiderate!  Thus, my job as bad cop was made infinitely more difficult.

Immediately following graduation, I rescued Kristin from boards studying in Uncommon Grounds and, after stopping by the post-graduation reception for a hot second to grab some lunch, she and I walked down to the mecca that is Baked & Wired and stuffed our faces with cupcakes.  Sure, come to town and twist my arm to eat delicious cupcakes ;)  It was so nice to catch up with my beloved friend as we sat by the banks of the canal.  It is so rare that I get to see my out-of-town girls nowadays, so I was in my element that afternoon.  It also didn't hurt that the weather was, as I mentioned, fabulous. 

On Friday night, Kristin, Molly and I went to Senior Ball to support Kristin's brother, Justin, a Class of 2012 Georgetown College graduate (woo!!!).  Again, twist my arm and make me dress up to go to a BALL.  It was, as expected, a very good time, and, although we all agreed that the literary theme was less awesome than the circus-themed ball our senior year, there was a Gatsby-themed photobooth (complete with accessories) this year, which certainly knocked this Senior Ball up a few notches! 

Right back where we were two years ago

On Saturday, Lauren and I headed to Pentagon City for some retail therapy...and ended up buying the same shorts.  Oops?  In her defense, she bought them first.  Then we went back to her apartment and watched the exciting conclusion of the Belmont Stakes (I could care less about horse racing, but I get easily amped up about major sporting events, so I thought I could spare the three minutes to watch it.  Bring on the Olympics!  Dan and I have already agreed that we're not budging from in front of the TV).  Afterward, I met up with Dan for a delicious dinner at Commissary before heading to Local 16 for the much-dreaded goodbye party for Colleen and Patrick (I say much-dreaded because I have been dreading saying goodbye to them, not because I dread going to parties).  It was a really great time, especially when we migrated to Policy (two weekends in a row, not sorry) and had our own little private dancing area.  Dan, who hates dancing, was an amazing sport about going out dancing, which is one of the many, many reasons why I love him, and I was delighted to have so many of my favorite people together to celebrate two incredible friends.

 I will miss these two so much!!!

Wonderful friends!

 

So much love :)

Yesterday was a complete lazy day once I got home from Dan's.  I did go to the gym (yay me), but aside from that, I lounged around, did laundry, and watched lots of Gilmore Girls and Mad Men (the latter with Molly).  After weekends that jam-packed with activity, I really needed the lazy day.  As a result,  I was able to have a really great run this morning (because I was about as well-rested as I'm ever going to be), despite the fact that I had to fight the urge to stay in bed.  I have a lot of things planned for this week (literally, every night was planned out as of last Monday), including what I'm sure will be more teary goodbyes, but I'm very much looking forward to the long weekend next weekend.  I'm hoping that the weather will hold out so that we can go to the beach! 



A Much-Needed Long Weekend

This weekend, I took a much-needed Friday off, mostly to spend time with Dan before he started his new job (today is his first day, and I'm sending lots of good karma across the river for him!!).  I had some training for work on Thursday afternoon that allowed us some additional time together in the afternoon, which was so nice.  We went out for a delicious seafood dinner at Grillfish, one of our favorites, and followed that up with milkshakes at Johnny Rocket's, another of our favorite activities (I was also having a weird milkshake craving, which I almost never have). 

On Friday, we had the main event, riding our bikes to Mt. Vernon and back. We stopped in Old Town to pick up the bikes from my parents' house and also grab some food for the picnic we were planning on having.  We were both definitely a little bit rusty on riding a bike (even though, as they say, it's just like riding a bike!), so we had some minor seat adjustment issues (at one point, Dan said it looked like I was riding a tricycle because I was so low to the ground!), but other than that it was a nice 22ish-mile ride!  We were definitely exhausted when we stopped for our picnic of a baguette, cheese, jam, and LOTS of water halfway in, and were very reluctant to get back on our bikes because our asses were killing us, but we powered through it!  When we got back to my parents', we set our bikes down and lay in the grass for a solid 45 minutes or so in a heap of exhaustion.  We were both still sore the next morning (again, bike seats, not so comfortable for long rides; I would imagine that it was worse on Dan), but it was an amazing feeling to have just completed the ride, and it was a nice change-up from our normal runs.  We didn't actually end up walking around the Mt. Vernon grounds, mostly because it's expensive and the place was overrun with school groups on a Friday afternoon, but we were content to just sit on a bench, enjoy our food and bask in the beautiful weather.

During our lunchtime stop at Mt. Vernon

Accurate representation of what we did after the bike ride

My mom hadn't been feeling well, so I stayed at their place to shower and then help her cook, and I also got to DRIVE!!!! I both wanted the practice driving (it had been over a year) and I knew she wasn't feeling well, so I volunteered to drive to Georgetown to get Tim. It was definitely harrowing to be on the driver's side of Georgetown, and I was drenched in sweat by the time we got back to the house, but I did it! And I did a good job! Dan came back after having showered at home, and once my dad got home we had ourselves a nice little 21st birthday party for Tim.  I can't believe my original baby doll is all grown up (seriously, my mom tells me that I wouldn't leave him alone, because I thought he was my baby and just wanted to play with him all the time)!!  Below is a picture of one of our earliest photo shoots.  As you can see, I, ever the style maven, am rocking the '90s bowl cut/mullet, which was a mainstay of my childhood.  I think that the picture below would be my equivalent of Mindy Kaling's and Tina Fey's embarrassing (but strangely cute at the same time) childhood photos in their respective books. Also notice the presence of chub in this picture.  Let's just say that neither of us were small in our youth...

On Saturday, Dan had to be up and out early for yet another round of golf (he played nearly every day during his week of funemployment!), so I helped my dad with some Mother's Day shopping and went for a run in Old Town before meeting up with Lauren for a delicious dinner at Posto, an Italian place on 14th.  It was so nice to catch up, and we got to do more of that when we headed over to Policy and met up with Molly. After ordering drinks downstairs, we migrated upstairs for some GREAT dancing.  When we felt that that had gotten too crowded, we walked over to Admo and stopped by our mainstay, Brass Monkey. We remarked that the crowd there seemed very young (making us, young professionals two tiny years removed from graduation, feel very old), but we had no problem throwing the towel in early and dragging our old lady selves home.  I left with more dignity than the three girls who tumbled from a stool and hit the ground hard, undoubtedly flashing some people in their too-short skirts.  So I think that, although we felt like grandmas for leaving early, we left with our dignity (and our clothes) intact.

Sunday was largely a lazy day, but I did get the chance to Skype with Kate (yay!) and then meet up with Colleen and Jess at a wine bar, which was really nice.  I loved getting the chance to catch up with the two of them, especially considering the imminence of their respective departures from DC. It was a great ending to an overall lovely weekend!

Also, Sunday was Mother's Day (duh)!  I didn't end up going over to my parents' since I had spent so much time there this weekend, but I talked to my mom oh, I don't know, five or six times on the phone.  My appreciation for my mother has absolutely grown since my college years and, while we are dramatically different in certain respects, I consider her to be one of my best friends, and I love her beyond description.  The fact that I am just a metro ride away from she and my dad is an indescribable blessing, and I feel lucky every day that I have such an amazing mother who is beautiful both inside and out.

I hate to end my post on a serious note, but I wanted to briefly mention a serious issue.  On Saturday night, someone very close to me was mugged.  This person is physically unharmed, but is still very much affected emotionally by the gravity what happened to them.  I have personally been very shaken by this incident as well, and want to urge everyone, especially those of you who live in a big city, to not walk home by yourself at night.  I know that it can be easy to give in to the temptation walking to avoid paying for a cab, but it is proven, at least in D.C., that there is a rise in crime in the summer months.  So please, be particularly vigilant, and don't put yourself in a potentially dangerous situation by walking by yourself, especially in a neighborhood that is unfamiliar to you, and MOST especially if you have been drinking.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Holy crow, how is it May already??  I was thinking about our Europe trip this weekend, from which we returned four months ago, when it feels like that trip was almost a year ago.  In case you're wondering, yes, the wanderlust is already kicking in again :-/  Anyway, I can't believe that we're already so far in to 2012, and I have been so ridiculously busy that I haven't realized how quickly it has been moving.

This weekend was a really fantastic one, albeit WAYYYYY too short (my Monday morning wakeup call was NOT a welcome one) and was a perfect blend of spending time with Dan and seeing friends.  On Friday night, Dan and I tried out Agora, this Mediterranean tapas-style place on 17th, which actually ended up being fabulous.  The ambience was great, the music choices were remarkable, and the food was delectable.  Lots of yummy fish :)  After that, we grabbed a quick drink at 18th Street Lounge, where Dan had never been before.  The music was Latin-y and didn't quite create the vibe we wanted, so we ended up heading home relatively early and relaxing chez moi.

On Saturday, I did some major baking in preparation for my friend Alex's barbecue that night (he always requests that I bring baked goods, and based on the number of people who are ususally there and the reception that my sweets get, I typically need to make a LOT of them) and then attempted a run.  I have had a flare-up of what I suspect is tendonitis in my ankle for the past week-and-a-half, which is due to my own unwillingness to take a day off from running (what can I say, if I'm in a running mood, I run!!!) and has put a serious damper on my workouts for the past few weeks.  I was able to run about four miles in total, but it wasn't pretty, so the bulk of my workout was on the elliptical (boo).  My top priority is obviously making sure I'm healthy for our half-marathon in September, so I know that I need to take care of my body now so that it does what I need it to do on race day.  It's funny how that relationship works, if you're kind to your body, it does amazing things in return :)

Anyway, I met up with Dan to go to the barbecue, and we spent the next several hours chatting with friends and celebrating Alex's time in DC.  It was definitely a more difficult goodbye than I was anticipating (it was also difficult to say goodbye to his precious dog, Wishbone), which makes me shudder to think about how tough it will be to say goodbye to Colleen when she leaves at the end of the month.  I keep reminding myself that she'll only be in Baltimore, but still, it's not the same when one of your closest friends moves away :(  Anyway, we went out to Town Tavern after the barbecue, but Dan and I, being the old farts that we are, didn't end up staying very long. 

We had to get up and moving pretty early on Sunday morning, since Dan had an early tee time, which was perfect, because it gave me time to fit a workout in before Lauren, Molly and I saw The Lucky One (cue judgmental head-shaking now).  Whatever, I liked it!  Nicholas Sparks novels are like crack to me, as are the movie adaptations of said novels, it turns out. After the movie, we walked around for a bit and then cooked dinner at Lauren's apartment while re-living the early 2000s with a few episodes of Felicity (and drooling over Scott Speedman).  I was not in a good mood when it was time to metro home and face the prospect of Monday morning.  But it was a fun weekend, it really was!

I have started off this week by getting some good friend time in.  I had a wonderful lunch with Lauren yesterday, during which I was reminded of the fact that I am so lucky to have her as a best friend (not that I needed the reminder at all!), and then followed it up with a fantastic dinner with my friend Jamie.  We got dinner at Zorba's in Dupont and chatted for hours, and, as I always tend to feel after our conversations, I walked away afterward feeling so fulfilled.  Tonight, I'm hopefully grabbing dinner with another friend who happens to be moving soon, so it should be good to see her.  I FINALLY get to pencil some time in with my Dan tomorrow, which I can't wait for. I was ready for it to be Wednesday yesterday (not to discount my lovely night with Jamie and what I'm sure will be a lovely night with Jess), and we remarked on Sunday how sad it is that three days without seeing each other is torturous.  I really shouldn't complain haha.  I could have it a LOT worse!  Nonetheless, I have loved having the chance to reconnect with friends over the last few weeks (I went to happy hour last week with Colleen and Patrick, both of whom are moving), and I'm having dinner with my Tim and the "siblings" on Thursday night, which is long overdue.  As usual, my weeks are light on "me" time, but I wouldn't have it any other way :)  Happy May, friends!  I have a feeling it's going to be a good month!

A Pretty Perfect Weekend

This weekend turned out to be a busy one, but, if this makes any sense, it felt relaxing at the same time!  My boss let us leave work ealry on Friday (yay!) and I used that extra time to peruse the book selection at Kramer's before meeting up with my dear friend/former roommate Colleen for a quick happy hour.  It was so nice to catch up with her, particularly since she had just returned from a trip to the West Coast, and I always enjoy the time I get to spend with her.  After that, I met Dan at home and we went to a Chicago-style pizza place (YUM) and then, deciding that we didn't want to spend the money to go and see 21 Jump Street, we finished watching Invictus, which we had started the night before (it was a great movie, for those of you who haven't seen it!).

On Saturday morning, we went on a nice little run together, only part of which I literally spent gasping for air.  My asthma has definitely been acting up when I have tried to run outside, particularly when running hills, which is frustrating because, while I am completely capable physically of running hills, I must not be breathing correctly when I do so, because it almost always ends in an asthma attack.  Dan was really concerned towards the end of the hill (we ran down Wisconsin and then down and back up Mass, which, for those of you who aren't aware, is a pretty steep hill).  Anyway, we rewarded ourselves after our 6-mile run with some Dynk's Pancakes.  These are a family recipe, named after the family friend who used to make them for us up at the Lake every year, and they are the most delicious Swedish pancakes (they very closely resemble crepes) on the planet, especially with some maple syrup and berries.  We plunked down on the couch in an exhuasted heap while we ate and put a good dent in The Godfather II (which, I have to admit, I like, to Dan's utter astonishment).

On Saturday night, we trekked out to Virginia to celebrate my friend Liz's birthday.  Her roommate threw her a surprise fondue (YUM) birthday party, followed by karaoke in Dupont.  Being that it is still Lent (only a few more days!!!), I had to abstain from the chocolate fondue, but the cheese fondue was delicious!  Liz was very surprised, and it was a good group of people as well.  I was not crazy about the karaoke place (it was small, which allowed us more mic time, but you couldn't really hear the music, or the singers), but it was still a nice time out with friends.

 Belting it out for the birthday girl

 Ann serenades Liz

Loves

On Sunday morning, my dad and I went for a hike on the Billy Goat Trail at Great Falls (MD), and boy, what a fun hike!  There was definitely some good up-and-down, what with all of the rocks, and there was a short portion of the hike when we were climbing up to a cliff.  I thought I would be terrified, but it was actually so much fun!  There were also blue bells for as far as your eye could see, and getting to see the falls at the end made the hike really worth it.  And, as always, it was nice to have some good daddy-daughter time.  We both marveled at the fact that such beautiful scenery and such a nice hike are available to us not far outside the city. 

The rest of my day was a good mix of productivity/laziness.  I went to Palm Sunday Mass before returning home to go to the grocery store and run to CVS.  Then, since it was such a nice day, I decided to go for a run outside, even though I was exhausted.  After that, I dove under my covers and watched Under the Tuscan Sun, which I had had a strange urge to watch all of last week.  Then, I made myself a nice dinner and Skyped with Kristin before hitting the sack early to re-set for this week.

I have lots of fun things to look forward to this week: I am anticipating that Dan and I will watch the National Championship game (men's basketball), I am going to a Red Sox game with my family tomorrow at Nats Stadium, Molly and I are doing a painting happy hour on Wednesday, and then I get Friday off for Good Friday!  Gotta love working for a Catholic school!  We are hanging around here for Easter, so I am looking forward to spending some quality time with friends and family.  I hope everyone had a lovely weekend!!

Lucky to be a Washingtonian

Every spring, I fall in love all over again with this fabulous city that I call home.  Something about seeing everyone outside walking, running or biking, basking in the increasingly warmer spring sunshine and gazing at the cherry blossoms that surround the Mall brings a huge smile to my face.  It is very seldom that I do "touristy" things in DC (mostly because tourists kind of get on my nerves- seriously, stand right, walk left, people!!!!), but once a year, I try to take an excursion over to the Tidal Basin to marvel at the cherry blossoms.  The Jefferson Memorial is my favorite of the city's memorials, and seeing it surrounded by a sea of delicate pink flowers makes me love it even more.  Yesterday, Lauren and I trekked downtown after work and boy, was it worth it!  I don't think I had ever gone during peak week before, but the flowers were even more stunning than usual!  My handy little iPhone definitely served me well when photographing the beauty, and I even got to Instagram a few of the pictures (Instagram is my new obsession).

Maybe it's the fact that the flowers (and people) are all out and the weather is really pleasant, but I'm definitely in the midst of one of those "God, I'm so lucky to live here" phases.  I think that it is easy to become so driven by daily routines of going to work, class, happy hour, spending time with those you love, that it isn't always the first thing on your mind to stop and appreciate the city you live in.  But I am so, so blessed to live in a place with so many incredible cultural opportunities, and DC is definitely a place where I can see myself staying here for a long time :)  Every day, I feel like I discover something new about the city, and, when I have the opportunity to explore a new neighborhood, I try to walk there and take in all that there is to see about the neighborhood (for better or worse; a recent walk led to an uncomfortable encounter with an old man who catcalled me)

 Beautiful blossoms!

Love this city of mine!

My very favorite picture :) Thank you Instagram!

And, can't leave out the big event on Sunday...Mad Men, one of my very favorite shows, is FINALLY resuming new episodes!!!! Dan initially got me hooked on the show last spring, and I watched 4 seasons worth of episodes at a blistering pace!  I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

Source: AMC

In the meantime, I am looking forward to lots of fun birthday weekend festivities!  Holy crow, I'm almost officially in my mid-twenties!!!!! How did this happen???