a week in D.C : part one

Bear and I spent this past week in D.C hanging out with our closest friends, eating lots of good food, and exploring all that the city has to offer. 

 We arrived Friday evening and immediately headed out to dinner with Ryan and Janice to Nando's peri peri. Basically all they serve is chicken, anyway you would like it with lots of different types of sauces. It was messy but good. We then went and got ourselves some cupcakes across the street.
The rest of the evening was spent at U street listening to other people's conversations, people watching, and doing a little dancing.

We spent the next morning at Jimmy T's, a little old house on Capital Hill that had been turned into a delicious eating establishment. I loved the decor and the cozy feel of this place. They had the red rider bb gun and a similar leg lamp from the Christmas Story... and the coffee mugs were from all different locations around the U.S. Plus, the food was great!

After breakfast, we headed to the Eastern Market. Janice and I strolled along the sidewalks looking at all the different craft vendors and yummy looking food. We left Bear and Ryan in the book store (see picture directly below.. that is looking in the front window of the bookstore. This is how the whole inside looked, wall to wall books.. Bear was in in glory). Later that day, we met Jack at the Congressional Cemetery. Many congressman, senators, and representatives are buried there. It also serves as a dog park in the warmer weather, seeing dogs running about around graves is a little out of place, but all the doggies and their owners were having a good time. Jack brought his adorable 10 month old pup Remi, he stole my heart the minute I saw him. Anyways, he enjoyed the grave-site dog park and met lots of friends.

That night we enjoyed a home cooked meal by Janice. She bought some raviolis from the Eastern Market earlier that day and they were melt in your mouth good. We all hung out chatting and enjoying each other's company.We are so lucky  to have such close (and amazing) friends...we love you guys.

After our dinner at home, we went out and enjoyed the night life of Alexandria.

P.S I want to apologize for the really bad quality of all our D.C photo's. I was too lazy to cary around our nice big camera, and therefore settled for our phone or our crummy point and shoot. 

the sun was out in the city

The hubby and i went into the city today (new york city). it was a very quick trip but we managed to walk several blocks and enjoy the beautiful spring time weather. 

some baking on a rainy day

we have been stuck inside all day because of the non-stop rain we have been having. i decided to bake some dog treats and have been using them for a bribe to get shento to go outside...it is only kinda working.  They were super easy to make, they are dog healthy, and they seem to be delicious because shento can't get enough of them. so i thought i would share the recipe.. enjoy

Peanut Butter Dog Treats (bribes)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 

1 1/2 cups white flour 

1/2 cup peanut butter (all-natural or organic) 

1 cup water 

2 tablespoons oil 

1 tablespoon of honey

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Combine oil, peanut butter, honey and water. 

Add flour, one cup at a time, forming a dough. 

Knead dough into firm ball and roll the dough 1/4 inch thickness. 

Get your favorite cookie cutters out and go to town 

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. 

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

shento and his new friend

shento and his new friend 'hearty the bear'. 

shento is in love with this stuffed bear and takes him everywhere he goes.... i think it is adorable. 

WPA Posters

Have you seen these WPA posters. They are wonderful and I think I will be purchasing the bicycle one for our (new) living room.

maple syrup... plus a walk around washington crossing park

On Saturday we went to the Howell Living History Farm and learned all about how maple syrup is made. Did you know that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallons of syrup? I even got to taste the sap right from the tap on the tree... tastes like sugar water.  We wondered all around visiting the sheep, cows, and horses. We watched children grind corn to make corn meal and try to saw off the end of a tree. We ate lunch at the main farmhouse which included hot dogs and yummy... but definitely sweet, vanilla cupcakes with maple syrup frosting. 

After the farm we went to Washington Crossing Park.  This is the area where Washington crossed the Delaware river and marched to Trenton for a surprise attack during the Revolutionary War. Along the path there are gravestones of unknown soldiers,  a house that was turned into a makeshift hospital during the war time, and picturesque sites of the Delaware river. 

The tombs of unknown soldiers

Other happenings of our weekend include a wonderful dinner date with some amazing friends at our favorite greek restaurant,  eating ice cream while catching up on 30 rock, cuddling on the couch, watching the rain make massive puddles in our back yard, watching paper hearts (so cute.. i recommend it), and laughing uncontrollably with the hubby... Our weekend was great! 

D.C, you won my heart

A couple weeks ago I headed to Virginia/Washington D.C to spend a long weekend with my dear friend Janice. It was a lovely little getaway, plus we played tourist and did lots of fun things.  

The adorable streets in Alexandria. Picture from here

First up was an evening in Alexandria, VA. No pictures documented this evening, which I am pretty bummed about. When I go there next I will be documenting it much better because it has cobblestone streets, beautiful brightly painted homes, and it’s on the water.  The night consisted of a cold artichoke at a fancy restaurant, which led to us leaving the fancy restaurant to go to the local Irish pub for some delicious fish and chips and Irish singing.

The next day’s weather was a sneak peak into spring, so we took full advantage and went walking around Great Falls. Which is a big park along the Potomac River that is covered in jagged rocks, multiple waterfalls, and beautiful gorges. We spent most of the day outside and even got a little sunburn (which we were excited about).  In the evening we drove a good half an hour to get to the restaurant of our choice, Cock and Bowl over in Oquancon, VA. It is a small Belgian restaurant that is known for their huge bowls of mussels and Belgian style waffles. It was decorated with random posters and old signs. It was very cozy and welcoming feeling and I loved how the owners brought around rub on tattoos. 

 And yes, we did indeed share a massive bowl of mussels and a huge Belgian waffle topped with fruit and whip cream, and it was so scrumptious.

The following day we hit up the 

Eastern Market,

 a cute coffee shop, 

the library of congress, 

U street, 

and a couple antique stores. 

The Library of Congress is an amazing building and inside is breathtaking.  

An antique store that was filled to the max with lots and lots of stuff. 

Lastly, we headed to Arlington Cemetery, the FDR and Jefferson monuments, and walked around Tidal Basin.
It is amazing how much history surrounds this area and how beautiful it all is.

Arlington Cemetery

The eternal flame next to John and Jackie Kennedy's graves. 

The Tomb of the Unknown Solider. 

FDR Memorial

Jefferson Memorial 

Tidal Basin

Thanks to Janice for taking all of the pictures and for making my trip so exciting. I can't wait to go back.