Lately

 

Orange flavored chocolate ice cream, and old town Alexandria, 

river walks, pulled pork, 

birthday parties, a pink bicycle,

and the Washington DC temple, 1st frappuccino of the season, 

and cherry blossoms

Friday

 It rained all. day. long. today.
But around 5:45 this evening, the most beautiful thing happened. The sun peaked out between grey clouds and colored all of Capitol Hill's ivory buildings pink.

 

PS: I saw cherry blossoms today, it made me want to wear white jeans. Spring is almost here. 

Hooray!

Boston Trip

First of all excuse the OVERLOAD of photos, but I just couldn't stop. We took so many pictures and loved Boston SO much that I feel obligated to share every bit of our experience. Adam had Friday off and with Monday being President's day we figured it was the perfect opportunity to visit Boston, MA. After checking into our hotel, we made our way to Fenway park, home of the Boston Red Sox. Unfortunately it's not baseball season so we weren't able to catch a game but we got a pretty sweet tour of the stadium.

After our tour we headed back to our hotel room at the Omni Parker Houseto catch a quick nap. Our flight left DC at 6:30am, we were both pretty tired. Right as my head hit the pillow, there was a knock on our door. I answered it and found a tray with a Boston Cream Pie and a basket of Parker House rolls on it. Complementary for Adam's birthday. It was cute. We loved the hotel we stayed at. Both Boston Cream Pie and Parker House rolls were invented in the kitchen there, and JFK proposed to Jackie in the dining room. Those were my favorite bits of Parker House Hotel trivia. Oh, and just so you know this was the first of MANY Boston cream pies we ate over the course of the weekend. I'm not sorry.

After our sweet treat and a short nap we were feeling refreshed and were in the mood for some Italian food. We were in luck because we had both received recommendations from different people to try out Giacomo's Ristorante in the North End of Boston. And holy cow do I owe those folks who gave us the recommendation. Not even kidding, best Italian food I've ever eaten. Adam got the butternut squash ravioli (pictured bottom right) and I got the penne in a garlic cream sauce (pictured top left). We also ordered the fried mozzarella and loved it so much that I literally didn't want to stop eating it so that I could take a picture. No time could be wasted when dealing with such amazing food.  If you ever are in the Boston area, you MUST go to Giacomo's. It's not optional. You will thank me. Go. After our glorious dinner we headed over to an improv club in the area and laughed our butts off.

The next morning we rolled out of bed and chowed down on some Boston cream pie doughnuts ( told you, many, many Boston cream treats). I could cry these were so good. Hence the look on my face.

The city of Boston really has it figured out when it comes to the tourism department. They make it so easy for out-of-towners to get around the city, and see all of the wonderful landmarks. They put together a little thing called the Freedom Trail. It's basically a red brick line in the sidewalk that you follow to 15 historic sites. The first 11 can be visited with a tour guide dressed in 18th-century garb and knows everything there is to know about the history of Boston.  The last 4 stops are self-guided. It was such a great way of seeing everything we wanted to see. These pictures are at an old burial ground in the city where Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock are buried  along with several other big names in history.

These pictures are taken along the Freedom Trail, and include the Old North Church where Paul Revere hung the lanterns warning the people of Boston that the British regulars were coming. "1 if by land, 2 if by sea..."

We walked across a bridge in Boston Harbor on our way over to Bunker Hill. 

Bunker Hill was cool. The memorial is slightly reminiscent of the Washington Monument. I suppose creativity runs out eventually. It was a great experience to be there and imagine what it must have been like to have witnessed the battle that happened there. 

These pictures are taken in Faneuil hall, basically an old meeting place for Bostonians.

Our tour guide was so great, we loved him. These were also sites on the Freedom Trail: the Boston Massacre site, and the building where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time in Boston.  This is also the place where in 1976 for the bicentennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence being read the Queen of England was invited here to listen to the Declaration being read to her face. She also drank the only remaining tea that was saved from the Boston tea party. The US government then presented the Queen with a check for $33,000 to repay for the tea that was thrown into the harbor. "She was so classy," said our tour guide.

Here are a few more highlights of the trip. There's Adam shaking hands with Benjamin Franklin, a "Smaaht" (see license plate) car with a mustache, and the best corned beef that has ever existed. Thank you Boston for being so freakin cool.

This is in Quincy Market, it's a fun hustle and bustle area in the city. Street performers are always out, including this drummer who impressed us with his incredible skills on a few 5-gallon buckets and some tin pans.

We ventured out to Harvard, to magnify Adam's inferiority complex.

Here Adam is doing what we do best: picking out delicious treats in Quincy Market. Again we order a Boston Cream Pie and to mix things up we also ordered a canoli.

These last photos are at the long wharf in Boston Harbor. Where we took a nice long walk and pondered the mysteries of life. Like why we don't live in Boston.

Whew, that's it! You made it to the end! We had so much fun in Boston and are already looking forward to going back soon. Maybe to stay for good. Who knows.

Birthday Guy

Today was a big day for my guy. He turned 25. 

He says he feels old. I say that's ridiculous.

But whatever. It's only a quarter of a century. No big deal.

Today we wandered aimlessly around Boston, we ate loads of Bar B Que, saw Adam's favorite band live in Cambridge, and shared a Boston cream pie birthday treat. Adam is pretty much my favorite person alive which by default makes his birthday my favorite day of the year. We had a fantastic day and I am mostly just glad I was able to spend it with my love. 

Happy Birthday darling, I'm sure glad you're mine!! 

Food Adventure: Massachusetts

I am a big fan of soups, chowders, bisques, basically any hot liquid thing that is served in a bowl with a spoon that ends up in my tummy. That's why New England clam chowder (or "chowda" if you're a local), the state food of Massachusetts, had me so excited. I knew where I needed to get it, I knew it had to be served in a sour dough bread bowl. I was ready for my bowl of clam chowder. I was ready to eat like a Bostonian. We made our way to Quincy Market a busy shopping and dining area in downtown Boston, we found the Boston Chowda Co. stand, and finally we ordered our chowder. They serve up a healthy helping of the thick white chowder in a crusty bread bowl with a side of oyster crackers. I couldn't sit down fast enough to try my first bite. It was everything that I want in a clam chowder it was rich and creamy and super simple no flairs nothing fancy just clams, a few potatoes, some cream and butter and that's it. The clams are right out of the water so fresh and awesome that's a luxury of being so close to the ocean, it makes such a difference in the over all taste of the chowder. The sour dough bowl was the perfect accompaniment for dipping. It was delicious!
Mmm Mmm Mmm I'm ready for another bowl now. 

 Thanks for the "chowda" Boston, I loved it!

On our "yumm scale" we rated Boston Chowda Co.'s New England Clam Chowder a Super Yumm. 

For your reference the "Yumm Scale" :
1. Yuck
2. Yu...
3. Yumm
4. Super Yumm
5. Holymolycanoliyumm!

Library of Congress

I could go on and on about  how incredible the library of congress is and what I loved about it and what you might expect if you were to visit this amazing landmark but I won't. 

That post would be much too long. So I'll share a few photos from our visit there and unfortunately they won't do the building justice but here they are anyway:

This is the entrance, basically what you see when you immidiately enter the building.

(well after the metal detectors...)

These pictures are throughout the building most are taken in the main entrance and the walkway above. The middle picture is of the main reading room and the rotunda. Enter appropriate National Treasure/Nicholas Cage reference here.

This is the outside of the Library of Congress, I would go so far to say that it is the most beautiful building I have ever been in. 

Anyway we had a lovely afternoon taking in the beauty of DC.

Running to the bus

I ride the bus.

It's a fact and it's not that fun. But it's cheaper than riding the metro and the scenery is better.

Sometimes I walk out my front door and I walk to the bus stop accross the street and I wait 15 seconds and a bus shows up. I get on and ride peacefully to work.

Sometimes I walk out my front door and I see the bus speeding by and I run for 15 minutes to try to catch it. Sometimes I catch it and sometimes I don't. Whether I catch it or not nothing changes the fact that I RUN for my life, weaving in and out of people, speeding down M street, waving my arms with the hope that the bus driver might see me and stop. Nothing changes the fact that people stare. Nothing changes the fact that I'm out of shape and every time a scenario like this happens I feel that exercise induced asthma is a real possibility for me in my current state. That happened 4 times this week. And 2 of those times it was pouring rain. It's a problem.


I have decided I'm going to judge how good of a week I have had by how many times I have to run to catch the bus.

This week was a so - so week. Hopefully the weekend will be better. I'm starting it off by eating 3 Costco taquitos and watching Sleeping Beauty till husb gets home from work.

Happy weekend!

Birthday

Yesterday I turned 23 and I decided until I turn 25 the number really doesn't matter anymore. And even then, when I do turn 25 will the number feel any different? I say, probably not. Regardless of the number and whether or not it matters I had a really great February 1st birthday. I've realized birthdays are becoming less about me and more about the people I love. Good friends, a loving family, a great husband, all went in to making yesterday an overwhelmingly good day. It's so nice to feel loved. Thank you all for your kind words and birthday wishes. Whether it was on Facebook or over the phone or otherwise. Thank you.

 February 1st 2012:

In the morning Adam woke up up with a "Barlow Bed and Breakfast" menu and then proceeded to make me breakfast in bed. I loved the 6th option on the menu "More bed less breakfast".  After breakfast in bed I headed to work where I went on a long walk with my little buddy. We walked past the national cathedral so that I could ooh and ahh over it for the billionth time. After work I got a manicure and pedicure at the Four Season's Hotel thanks to my wonderful boss.

When Adam got home he took me to Founding Farmers  a restaurant down the street from our apartment. And holy crap. All those yelp reviews...they're not kidding, the food was fantastic. The restaurant was super busy, but the ambiance was so cozy and welcoming. It was the perfect place to spend a birthday.

We started off our meal with the "Popcorn of the Day" which happened to be spicy BBQ flavor. You can sort of see it in the bottom right picture. It was super good and so fresh it was still warm from being popped. We also tried the much buzzed about ginger ale. It's made in house with fresh ginger and finished with a cucumber. It was really good, and so refreshing. The restaurant was started by a whole bunch of local farmers. They're really into fresh farm to table type food preparation. And after tasting the food it's obvious that that makes a difference. The food is not processed and is fresh out of the ground, local meats, veggies and fruits. I loved it. I really can't wait to go back. I got the lemon rotisserie chicken and Adam got the shaved pork sandwich. If you're ever in DC you must, must visit this restaurant. It's so worth it. You'll thank me.

That's me with the most delicious apple concoction to grace the planet. It's called an apple pie but its more like an apple pouch. Diced apple and caramel and cinnamon and butter are all chillin inside this dough pouch thing sprinkled with sea salt. It's served with vanilla ice cream and caramel and ohmygosh, holymolycanoli it was fabulous. So simple, yet so delicious. They even got festive and gave me a candle to blow out! We loved it.

After dinner we headed back to our apartment so that I could FINALLY open the birthday box my family sent me. We skyped and it was so nice to be able to see family. I didn't realized how much I missed home until I saw it. My mom was so sweet and got me the most adorable yellow dress ever, along with many other awesome gifts. I got super spoiled! She's so good at making birthday's special.

Yay for birthdays