3.22.2015

the quest for lobster rolls

Jared & I imposed a rule when we moved here & fully understood just how many restaurants surrounded us. Realizing from experience just how easy it is to find a favorite place & turn it into a date night routine, we pledged not to eat at the same restaurant twice for the first two years we live here. The rule doesn't apply to fast food, because I can't even explain what would happen if we'd tried to only eat lunch at Shake Shack or Sweetgreen once.

IF we return to a restaurant, it can only be with newcomers. For exaaaample, if we find ourselves with out-of-town visitors or coworkers & in need of a place to eat, we can return to a restaurant we know to be delicious. It's turning out to be a pretty brilliant rule, actually, & I'd highly recommend it even if you've lived in the same city your whole life. Keep it fresh! *snaps/high kick*

Last week's culinary adventure landed us at Luke's Lobster in Penn Quarter, & it did not disappoint. I had sampled their lobster rolls at a bridal show late last year & have been raving about it to Jared ever since. Not the cheapest of lunches, unsurprisingly, but pretty affordable for the quality & experience. We were having a very pleasant conversation until we started eating, & then neither of us spoke until we were done. There are several places around the city that brag about their lobster rolls, & we've now only tried one... But, even though our rule allows us to start a search for THE BEST lobster roll, our lunch budget may not. Or maybe I'll just start selling off our valuables to fund my newfound lobster roll habit. Who knows! Life's a lobster, roll with it. (Sorryyyyy, I hadta.)

Tasty food & a handsome man to eat it with. It's a good life, guys.

3.20.2015

emily & trent go to washington

Our friends Emily & Trent were in town last weekend, & I got to tagalong with them on Sunday. There's always more sights to see than Jared & I can cram into a day off, so having visitors with a planned agenda was a real treat.
Always stunned by the history you can encounter in this city after stepping out of a metro station.
Middle of the intersection selfie
We were like kids in a candy shop at the Air & Space Museum
Completely oblivious, we popped out of the National Archives 1 minute before the St. Patrick's Day Parade started & happened to be on the corner of the very start of it. Serendipity!
Me & my sisters had a mild obsession with Michael Flatley's The Lord of the Dance when we were kids, & I still get a little bit excited when I see Irish step dancers. In fact, this video made me cry tears of happiness. 
Hi friiiiiiends!
One of my favorite constants in life is receiving a phone call from Emily with her newest plan for getting us into the same city for a few days. Once upon a time, we lived next door to each other in an idyllic suburban neighborhood in Indiana, with a shared backyard & a golden retriever apiece, spending our days riding bikes & dreaming on a swing set. We spent every day together up until the day that my family moved back to Virginia.

12 years later, we've managed to see each other at least once a year nearly every year, which is quite the accomplishment. We've added husbands to the equation, & now we spend our visits in our big kid apartments, dreaming of the day that our annual trips are a shared beach house while the kids entertain each other. So grateful for their friendship. Come back soon, Em & Trent!

3.11.2015

a little party with madewell


If you were reading this in the same room as me, I would not be making eye contact with you, because I totally swore off outfit posts. NEVER FEAR! This is actually just me being desperate to put a post up/laugh at the snow because the windows are totally open right now in this 65 degree weather/shamelessly plug the Madewell shopping event I am hosting tomorrow night. 

Because these jeans. These jeans complete me. I have many a-pair of Madewell jeans, but THESE. I try to wear them every day but my husband is in the fashion industry & holds me accountable to things like diversity & hygiene. Every lady should have a pair of holey, blue denim, in my personal opinion. My father would disagree, & probably offer to make the holes for you himself for cheaper, but I digress.

Come shop with me tomorrow night at the Madewell in Georgetown from 6-8pm & let the macarons we'll have out be an added incentive to come, if even just to peruse & see my smiling face. 

See you there!!! (?) !!!

3.05.2015

jared turns 27

Jared's birthday always swoops in right when I think winter is about to get the best of us. Celebrating my favorite human coincidently becomes my saving grace. We agree that it works out nicely. SO! With a new city to play in & cold, rainy, March weather in abundance, we made our way through almost my entire itinerary, only cutting out the lobster roll stop because the birthday boy wasn't feeling 100% & no one wants lobster rolls ruined.

^^ 
I don't really know why we started taking polaroids as our birthday wake-up call, but I figure if we can keep it up & polaroid film doesn't disappear off the face of the planet, we'll have a cool & really weird collection of photos to look back on in 30 years.
^^
Birthday breakfast in bed, always. 
^^
The cold march to Dupont
^^
First stop & first time at the legendary Kramerbooks. It was everything I hoped a Dupont bookstore would be.
^^
I managed to only peruse while Jared picked out a new novel, beings that I have quite the stack of unfinished books on my bedside table. He picked up some Chabon & I'm going to try my hardest not to read over his shoulder in the evenings.
^^
Fancy pork belly ramen for lunch. No better time of year for ramen & pho taste testing than the dreary winter.
 ^^
Hey there, 27 year old husband. Goin' my way?
 ^^
It was a perfect museum day, so we wandered over to visit The Phillips Collection to finally check that museum visit off our ever-growing list of places to visit in the city. So incredible to see their Man Ray exhibit. MATH!
^^
What's a birthday without a little Monet?
 ^^
Do not be surprised if our future nursery is inspired by this painting.
^^
This is one of Jared's favorite paintings, thanks to his mama's admiration of it. We stayed in this room for awhile, just looking. So happy to have someone to stand next to as we stare at Impressionist paintings in cities all over the world.
^^
DEGAS! DEGAS DEGAS DEGAS! This is my favorite painting by my favorite artist. I got a decent heaping of Degas in Paris, but THIS! It was basically my birthday, too. 
^^
I take these street pictures because someday walking the streets of DC as a part of our daily routine will seem like another lifetime. 
^^
He is so handsome. I just. Ugh. & that salt & pepper? Excuse me? #likeafinewine #hottereveryyear
^^
Had to document this for posterity. I am so sad to admit that I am not the giver of the card to end all birthday cards. No, no. It was from Andrew. Bravo, good sir.
^^
This looks pretty gross, but I can assure you, it was delicious. J's standing birthday cake request is brownies + coffee ice-cream, so to mix things up, I made an olive oil & sea salt monster cookie with salted caramel & espresso ice cream. It was decadent.  Jared claims it miraculously healed him & I don't actually doubt it. It was that good. We followed this up with a beer tasting with some of his friends down the street, & I'm certain the chocolate perfectly prepped our palates ;)

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Jared, wonderful Jared - I know I said happy birthday 1,000 times (in between freaking out that you're 27 because omgggg you're TWENTY-SEVEN) but I'm saying it again. Happy birthday, my love. 26 was such a journey for you & I am excited for this year's wild ride, & every adventure it holds. I love you with all of me.

3.01.2015

this month - march

MAKING - a month out of birthday festivities, celebrating my wonderful Jared
CRAVING - Twizzlers, because that's what happens when I give up sugar
PLAYING - lots of Jaymes Young & Broods
LISTENING TO - our neighbors through our kitchen walls #apartmentlife
READING - my own writing to proofread for errors more often than the two books I started this winter
WATCHING - House of Cards, Season 3 (which will last us a week) then resuming The West Wing, duh
WEARING - heels more often, in an attempt to elevate my appearance for the remainder of winter
LEARNING - the ins & outs of Squarespace, now that Tart's blog is up & running
GOING TO - Richmond & Roanoke for #girlboss shenanigans
WORKING ON - saying "yes", which is not always easy for the ambivert I've become in my old age
OBSESSED WITH - slouchy tees & boyjeans. Saving up all my pennies.
PLANNING - our 5 year anniversary trip... Suggestions, anyone?
EXCITED FOR - My best fraaand Emily & her hubby visit from Indiana next week!
HOPING - that this time change next weekend come swiftly & painlessly. I'm SO ready for the extra daylight!
STARTING - to venture out to coffee shops on my Tart work days to avoid the cabin fever I've been feeling
FINISHING - a doormat project, an intense 30 day detox & editing our Europe photos, you betcha

What are you up to this month?