Pizza and Pasta at Oro Pomodoro

A few weeks ago a woman emailed me asking if I would like to try one of the restaurants participating in Rockville Restaurant Week. I of course said yes, so yesterday AJ and I ventured out to the 'burbs for our date night. We decided to try Oro Pomodoro, an Italian restaurant situated in the middle of Rockville Town Square.

Since the weather was so perfect in DC this weekend, when we arrived at Oro, we decided to sit outside. We had a view of everything going on in the square, including a group of guys that were breakdancing on the stage, the millions of kids playing in the rock garden, and the huge group of angsty teens that I'm guessing meet up in the square every weekend. Okay, maybe there weren't a million kids and all the teens weren't angsty, but there were definitely a lot of both and the atmosphere was very different than the one AJ and I are used to in DC. If you are cool with that scene, sit outside and enjoy the weather, otherwise you should take your meal inside. We didn't mind the action at all, but it might not be the right fit for some people.

Onto the food! We were served warm bread with olive oil after ordering and it was so good that we almost ate the whole basket. If we hadn't ordered an appetizer, we definitely would have eaten it all. The appetizer, Bruschette Pomodoro e Mozzarella (grilled rustic bread served with fresh diced tomato, mozzarella, garlic, oregano and basil), was very good (we ate it so fast I forgot to snap a picture), but if we had known we were getting delicious bread for free, we probably would have skipped the Bruschette.

For our entrees we decided to order a pizza and a half order of pasta to share. We went with the Polpettina (fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, meatballs, parmesan cheese) and Rigatoni alla Sorrentina (rigatoni with fresh mozzarella and basil in a light tomato sauce). So good. In fact, the pizza dough and the free bread appeared to be one and the same (and we all now know how much I loved that bread) so the pizza was a big hit. I definitely recommend both the pizza and the pasta.

The best part? We ordered lemonade, a glass of wine, an appetizer, a pizza, and a half order of pasta and our bill was less than $50 including tip. Yummy, reasonably priced food? You can't beat that. Oro Pomodoro FTW!

If you live in or near Rockville you should definitely check out Restaurant Week. It runs October 4-10, 2010 and features prix-fixe menus at 31 Rockville restaurants. In its’ second year, restaurants are offering either $8 Lunch/$15 Dinner OR $10 Lunch/$25 Dinner pricing options.

Disclaimer: I was provided with one $25 gift certificate to use toward our meal so that we could provide our opinion before Rockville Restaurant week. The balance of the bill was paid by me. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Plan

By now you have probably forgotten that I had some exciting news I wanted to share. Yesterday we finally received the documentation we were waiting for....so I can officially share the good news with all of you!

AJ was offered a job at the law firm where he worked this summer! He worked very hard and put in a lot of hours, so I wasn't too surprised when he called me the morning of his last day at work and told me the good news. We made a lot of sacrifices this summer (long distance marriage, living with my parents, etc.), so we were very happy when he received the offer.

Unfortunately, this means we will be leaving DC next summer. This is a bummer for a few reasons. I have met some wonderful people here and I will be so sad to leave them. I have a pretty great job and am just getting into a groove where I feel comfortable and appreciated. I love city life and am a tad scared of moving back to a suburban area. Ahhh! Those three things are enough to induce a small anxiety attack.

On the other hand, I am so excited to be moving closer to my family (and even more excited to not be in the same quarters!). I grew up with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins by my side and am grateful that my children will have a similar close-knit family experience. I am also thrilled that we can afford to buy a house. And yes, I have already been looking. Also, I am so happy that my husband has a job. Period. In this economy, we just didn't know if he would find one. Even better, he will be working at a firm that doesn't require 80+ hours a week. That just wouldn't work for our family. Plus, he genuinely liked the firm atmosphere and the people that work there, so it really is a win-win situation for him!

As for me....hopefully I will make new friends (but, keep the old!) and find a new job back in Upstate NY. I know it will all work out in the end. For now, I am just happy that we have a plan and am so proud of my husband!

Renovation Rant

Great ready for some complaining.....

One of the advantages of being in NY for the summer was that we would not have to live through the renovation our landlords planned to do in the kitchen, dining room, and half bath. The renovation began the day after I left and was supposed to be finished the last week of July. Wishful thinking, right? Of course, it took longer than expected and we are currently living in a construction zone. When I showed up at the house two weeks ago to drop off some stuff, I started crying right in front of the workers. Construction dust covered every surface and I knew there was no way the work would be completed in a little over a week.

When we showed up this past Sunday the house was clean-ish (as in most of the dust had been removed), but there were no appliances and there was still a laundry list of things that needed to be completed (painting, installing the bathroom, granite, lighting, etc.). We headed out to the store, bought ice, water, beer, Easy Mac, and microwavable soup and set up a cooler in the living room. We have basically been squatting in our house for the last 4 days. Luckily it is restaurant week in DC, so we aren't too sad that we have to eat out every night. Still though, it is annoying to not be able to cook ANYTHING.

The other issue is that we moved all of our stuff from those three rooms into our second bedroom. And because we had nowhere else to put the stuff from NY, our bedroom is also a cluttered mess. The downstairs is a construction zone and the upstairs is a war zone. UGH.

I know I shouldn't complain too much because we haven't payed rent all summer thanks to the renovation and I know it will be beautiful once it is FINALLY completed, but for now I am stressed and upset and just want it to be finished!! Today the granite is going in and the sink should be put in tomorrow. After that they just need to do cabinet hardware and outlet covers. Fingers are crossed that tomorrow will be the last full day of construction.


Thanks for listening. I feel better :)

Summer Blurbs

While writing this post, I realized that I had lot of things I want to share. I tried to keep each event short and limited myself to one picture per blurb so that I (hopefully) don't bore everyone to death.

Here are the highlights of my summer!

We celebrated our second anniversary on July 5th. We attended the wedding of one of AJ's college roommates that weekend, so we couldn't do a big anniversary getaway. However, it all worked out in the sense that the wedding was an excuse to get a hotel room and get out of my parent's house for a couple days. Here we are at the reception, which was held at a beautiful country club in Rochester:

Instead of a vacation, we went wine trailing down Cayuga Lake on our way back from the wedding. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun tasting wines at a bunch of different wineries. I think we came home with 12 bottles. Oops!


AJ and I ran in a 5k the second weekend of July. I finished in 31:15. It was so humid and I wanted to die during the last mile, but I ran the whole time so I guess that isn't too bad. I was hoping to be under 30 minutes, but in the end I was just happy I didn't come in last place!


I successfully hosted a bridal shower and attended the wedding of one of my best friends. Her wedding was very unique and the trip to Charlotte was another mini-vacation for AJ and I. Here we are at the reception:

Image via Kristin Vining Photography

We also spent a few days here and there at my grandparent's cottage, which is on a small lake in Northern Pennsylvania. I love going to the lake because I feel like I have gone back in time when I am there. We play games, read, chat, swim, drink, and eat....and that is pretty much it. There is no TV, cell phones don't get service, and you are forced to relax. And honestly, how can you not relax with this view??


While at the lake, AJ also had his first experience holding and feeding a baby. My youngest cousin just turned one and we thought he should get some practice since we are hoping to have a baby sometime in the next year. I love this picture because he looks clueless and so scared. Hahaha, poor thing.


The first weekend of August my girlfriends and I road tripped down to Wrightsville Beach for a bachelorette weekend. It stormed on Friday, but we had beautiful beach weather on Saturday and had lots of fun both nights. This was my first girl's only trip and I really enjoyed myself!


I then spent a week staying with a friend in DC because I had to get in a few summer days at work and our renovation project was not (and still is not) completed. We had a nice time cooking together and I watched more trashy reality TV that week than I did all summer. It is so much more fun to watch while drinking wine with a girlfriend.

Last weekend I headed back to NY to pick up AJ and Kona. What happened that weekend deserves a post of its own! Don't you just love a cliffhanger?? (Unless we are Facebook friends...then you already know our news!)

There's a New Whole Foods in Town

Last night I was invited to the sneak peek Bloggers Tour of the new Whole Foods in Friendship Heights. The store, located around the corner from the Friendship Heights metro stop in the Shops at Wisconsin Place, officially opens at 10 am with a bread breaking ceremony. I won't get into great detail about everything I saw, but there are a few things I'd like to highlight:

This place is ginormous! The ceilings are high, the aisles are wide, and the departments are huge. When you visit the store you will not feel like you are getting jipped by the grocery gods, like I normally do when shopping at the other grocery stores in the city (although technically the store is located in Montgomery County).

When walking into the store from the street level you are immediately met with a coffee bar. Besides the obvious drink selections, the bar also offers breakfast sandwiches, an oatmeal and fresh fruit topping bar, gelato, and sorbet. The coffee bar opens at 6 AM. (I forgot to grab a picture...I was fumbling with my umbrella.)

One of many cool features...a trail mix bar! You can make any combination of nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and chocolates for $4.99/lb.

The Global Animal Partnership is working with Whole Foods to rate all meat products sold at the store. The rating scale (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) lets customers in on the welfare practices of farmers and the well-being of the animals. You will see the rating on the pricing sign for each product.

A similar kind of rating system is also available in the Seafood department, with the ultimate goal of only selling sustainable seafood in their stores. The color coded system identifies the sustainability status of all wild caught seafood. Other nice features of the seafood department...free marinade with purchase, and free skinning, de-boning, and cutting. Our tour guide mentioned that she has all her fish cut into 4 oz. servings so that she can better control portion size and not waste any food!

My personal favorite and the main reason I will trek up to FH.....fresh cut pasta to order (and sauces) by Severino Pasta:

The prepared foods section offers multiple options (in addition to the salad and hot food bars) including pizza, burgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches. The place is going to be a hoppin' lunch spot.

Another great feature is the value packaging program for the salad and hot food bar. In addition to the traditional $7.99/lb boxes, a portion controlled slightly smaller takeout container is available for a flat fee of $7.99. The only caveat is that your lid must close completely!

The bakery offers gourmet cupcakes for $1.99 each! I didn't get to try one last night, but they looked delicious and should give the many cupcakeries in DC some stiff competition.

The candy available at the candy bar contains no artificial colors or flavors. The jelly beans are delicious!

Other cool things I did not get pictures of.....

Bulk salts, pour your own honey (with bear containers!), grind your own nut butter, Gatorade and G2 Natural (a Whole Foods exclusive product), three frozen food cases of gluten free products, and the NYC style checkout lines.

Now onto the cons. Because the store is located in Montgomery County and there are weird alcohol rules, they cannot sell beer or wine. My main gripe, however, is that this will be one of three Whole Foods locations in the Upper Northwest/Bethesda area. As a Capitol Hill resident that has to drive to the P St. location or ride the red line to get to a Whole Foods, this is especially annoying.

Throughout the tour I obviously learned a lot about the Whole Foods philosophy and the vast array of features and products in the store, but I also learned a little bit about myself. I have been quite apprehensive about jumping on the organic and natural foods product bandwagon for a variety of reasons, but am now wanting to embrace this kind of lifestyle. Yes, I realize that the point of the tour is essentially to sell the Whole Foods store and their products. Clearly I am a marketer's dream. Oh well...at least this stuff is good for me!

Disclaimer: I was given food and a goodie bag for attending the Bloggers Tour.

Flowers Make Me Smile

This afternoon we walked over to the United States Botanic Garden. I was feeling a little grumpy and thought seeing some pretty flowers might help to cheer me up. Guess what....it worked! We spent some time in the Conservatory, the National Garden, and Bartholdi Park. Most of the flowers are in full bloom and looked gorgeous on this perfect spring day. Here are a few of my favorite shots!

Happy Spring! Hopefully the flowers bring a smile to your face as well!

Don't Make Me Dance

We've been snowed in for a week. (Spring? Are you there?)

Our time has been filled with eating, drinking (I ran out of wine last night!), sleeping, cleaning, extreme snuggling (ahem), TV, board games, and video games. Luckily we've gone out a few times...for a half day of work on Friday, lunch last Saturday and Sunday, brunch on Monday, and to GameStop on Tuesday.

But yesterday we were stuck inside all day because of the 50 mph winds and 4-8 foot snow drifts. We REALLY had a lot of time to kill. In addition to deep cleaning our living room and attempting to rearrange the furniture (it's not possible), we played all these:

And because we had nothing better to do....we videotaped ourselves playing DDR. AJ has forbidden me from posting video of him "dancing", so that means I have to upload video of myself. I'm not sure what it is about that game, but it makes me lose my rhythm. I swear, in real life I am actually a pretty good dancer!

Please excuse my appearance....glasses, jingle jammies, naturally curly hair, and no make-up. Now you know what I reeeeally look like. And how awesome my DDR skills are.

ETA: I'm not sure why the video is so small, but I've learned not to mess with Blogger when something is wrong because I usually just eff it up even more. I am just happy it uploaded!

Honk

As you all know I live in DC and commute just outside the city for work. This is a genuis plan because I do a reverse commute, making traffic bareable in a metro area where driving can be torture. Given that my commute is pretty short (15-20 minutes) and usually without hassle, I rarely have any stories to share. However, there is this one lady that I see (well, hear) driving most mornings and she is RIDICULOUS. I have been wanting to post about this lady for months, but every morning I get to work and get busy and every night I get home and forget. Today, I actually got a look at her so I can finally share this story with you!

I drive mostly on city streets (as opposed to highways), so my commute is full of traffic lights. The lights are not timed so that you can drive down the road without stopping, so I get stuck sitting at red lights every few blocks. Normally this would drive me crazy (and it did at the beginning of the year), but I know which intersections I have to sit at and the predictability soothes me. (Yes, I know I am crazy).

So anyway, this lady (who apparently commutes at the same time I do) honks her horn when a light turns green. That doesn't sound that strange right? I certainly honk my horn if someone sits at a green light. However, she honks her horn the SECOND the light turns green. EVERY SINGLE. TIME. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Over the past 5 months I have figured out what car she drives and that she is a woman, but I have never seen her actually "in action". Today I heard her honk at a red light about 1/2 way through my commute, so I knew she was around. At the next red light we ended up sitting in adjacent lanes, so I watched her. Just as predicted, the second the light turned green, even though the people in front of her were off their brakes and slowly accelerating, she honked.

The interesting thing is that she didn't look stressed. No angry face, no flailing of the arms, nothing. Her face was calm and relaxed. She doesn't lay on the horn...it is just a quick honk, like an alert. Is this how she learned to drive? Is she late every single day? What is her motivation? Are there other people commuting at the same time that also notice her? How did I get stuck with the crazy honking lady? So many questions!

Bottom line: It is so weird.

Weekend Recap

Happy Sunday! I am in a great mood today and I think it is because I have had a really amazing weekend. This is a pretty long recap, so bear with me!

Friday night we met up for margaritas with Miss Mindless before heading down to Barracks Row. We ate at Jordan's 8 and I finally tried sushi! We ordered Shrimp Tempura and Lava Rolls and I liked them both. I am already looking forward to my next sushi experience. We came home after dinner and watched Monsters vs. Aliens in front of a fire. I fell asleep shortly after the movie started, but AJ tells me it was pretty funny.

I'm not sure where all our energy and enthusiasm came from, but we were up and at 'em bright and early yesterday morning.

I had seen and heard about the $1 scarf sale at Old Navy and really wanted to stock up on some Christmas gifts. We showed up right at 9 am and hit the jackpot.

I bought 10 scarves total...6 women's and 4 men's. I also bought AJ a sweater and plaid flannel shirt. There was another promotion going on where you received an extra 30% off when you used your ON/Gap/BR card, so I ended up spending only $40 total!

We then headed over to Barnes & Noble to get some coffee and I finally tried a decaf pumpkin spice latte. It tasted just as good as the real thing. I had a $15 B&N gift card left over from Christmas 2007 so I gave it to AJ so he could buy the latest book in his favorite series (The Wheel of Time). There are a few books I wanted to buy, but I hate buying books unless I know I am going to love them. Anyone else with me on this one?

Next on our list was Pet Smart. We bought training treats and a clicker in hopes that Kona can learn some manners. She knows how to sit, but other than that is pretty much a lost cause. Has anyone used clicker training? Any tips?

Then we hit up AT&T. I was eligible for an upgrade back in July, but my BlackBerry was still working and I wanted to get a few real paychecks under my belt before I splurged on a new phone. Well the day finally came....I bought an iPhone! It is just as amazing as everyone said it would be and I'm in love! What apps should I download? So far I have Nike + iPod, Facebook, UrbanSpoon, Shazam, Pandra, To Do's, Twitterrific (Yes, I'm baaaack), ESPN ScoreCenter, NYTimes, and Google.

Our early morning shopping made us super hungry so we stopped for a quick breakfast at a diner in Virginia. The food was pretty good, but still pales in comparison to may favorite diner at home. I think I've mentioned this before, but the two things I miss most about NY are diners and Italian restaurants. Sigh.

Once we made it back into DC it was almost noon and by this time people were out in swarms. Our final stop was the hardware store where we could barely maneuver the aisles....partly because the aisles are SO NARROW, but mostly because there were 30 people in a teeny tiny store. This is exactly why I like shopping early on Saturday mornings.

The rest of the day was spent finishing up cleaning the house (I helped this time) and drinking tea, eating cinnamon crumb cake, and chatting with PP&MS. It was a really fun and relaxing afternoon.

Last night we went to 5 o'clock mass followed by a wine and cheese party in the church rectory. We then went to Sonoma, a wine bar on the hill. The food was less than stellar, but the atmosphere was nice. We lounged on a couch and drank some red wine. Senator Al Franken was also dining at Sonoma last night. I wanted to get a picture, but it would have been so obvious and I didn't want to disturb his meal. I was definitely star struck though. I mean c'mon, he used to be Stuart Smalley!

Because our food wasn't that great and we weren't full, we decided to head over to Good Stuff Eatery, the burger restaurant owned by Spike from Top Chef. We split a burger, but we probably could have each eaten the whole thing because it was so yummy! I saw Spike walking through the restaurant as we were eating and wanted to say hey and/or take a picture, but I was too chicken. Lucky for me, after we left the restaurant we were standing at the corner waiting to cross the street when he suddenly ran right in front of us while trying to hail a cab. AJ said "Spike" and he turned around and said hey guys and to have a good night. Squeal! I immediately called my mom to brag. Haha.

Today we went grocery shopping and are now watching football. It is another beautiful fall day here in DC so we are planning to take Kona on a nice long walk later. I might sit outside for a while and read too. We've got to enjoy the nice weather while it is still here!

So that is our weekend in a pretty big nutshell. I hope everyone else had a great weekend too!

Good Times & Bad

Wow. I can't believe my post about going off the pill got so much attention! I think it received more comments than any other post I have written in the year and a half I've had this blog. Crazy!

I want to thank everyone for all the supportive and informative comments and emails. I was so nervous to post about my decision, but I am glad I did. I love that blogging opens up communication about various topics. Many people were not familiar with NFP and/or FAM, but are now interested in learning more. A lot of people also mentioned that they would like to know how my experience goes. I will definitely keep you all updated when I have more to report! I imagine I will have a lot to say in a month or so. If in the meantime anyone has any questions, feel free to email me.

Moving on....

Today was not good. The morning started out fine, but around 9 o'clock I got a message from AJ alerting me that his locker at school had been broken into and every single one of his law books was stolen. He was so upset. I hated that I was at work and couldn't be there for him. So far there is no word from the school or the police, but the bookstores in the area are on the lookout for anyone that tries to sell them back. The police will also be checking the surveillance cameras they have throughout the law school, so perhaps they will get a lead from there. I can't believe someone would steal his books, but they are so expensive that someone probably wants to make a quick buck. SO UPSETTING. Not only is there an obvious monetary loss, but AJ took a ton of notes in the book margins and those are all gone too.

In an effort to make him feel better (because the walk/run/walk we took wasn't cutting it), I whipped up some pumpkin cheesecake while dinner (chicken and biscuits...perfect for this fall weather) was baking in the oven. I posted about this super easy recipe last year, but it is so short and simple that I will post it again.

Mix one tub Philadelphia Ready to Eat Cheesecake filling with a 12oz. can of 100% pure pumpkin, two teaspoons of ground cinnamon, and a half teaspoon of ground nutmeg. Pour into graham cracker crust and top with cinnamon sugar. Refrigerate for an hour. Viola!

I'm also letting him control the remote tonight. I know, I'm the best wife ever ;)

Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day!

Art and Soul

It's restaurant week in DC!

To celebrate the end of summer we headed to Art Smith's restaurant Art and Soul. If you are a Bravo fan, you probably know him from Top Chef Masters.


If you are looking for a place to enjoy some gourmet soul food, this is the place to go! From the complimentary skillet bread to the peanut brittle that comes with a cup of coffee, the entire meal was delicious!

Spinach and goat cheese ravioli with fresh vegetables

Chocolate cheesecake

I didn't get a chance to take a picture of my salad or any of AJ's food because it was all devoured before a picture could be taken. This will definitely become a regular splurge place for us. If you are in the Capitol Hill area, I definitely recommend you check it out! Chef Smith also has a restaurant in Chicago, Table Fifty-Two, so if you live or visit there you should check it out and let me know how it is!

Moving: The Numbers

One:
-Broken toe (AJ, not me)
-Near death experience for Kona
-Meal cooked at home (tonight)
-Meltdown (me, following Kona's near death experience)

Two:
-Trips to Home Depot
-Visits from Comcast (plus one more in the works)
-Pieces of new furniture that have been assembled

Three:
-Days left to finish unpacking and organizing before my Gap party.
-Additional pieces of new furniture that still need to be assembled

Four:
- Times we were able to park directly in front of our new house when moving stuff (WOO HOO!)

Five:
-Neighbors met thus far

Six:
-Days since the first boxes were moved

Seven:
-Trips between the old and new place before everything was moved

Countless:
-Arguments
-Subsequent make-ups
-Boxes unpacked
-Boxes left to unpack
-Babies in our new neighborhood

We're Moving!

Thank you all for the recipes and cooking ideas! We don't have an outdoor space in our current apartment, but in our new one we have a back patio so we will be buying a grill soon. This will definitely help solve my summer cooking problem.

Speaking of our new place, I don't think I ever formally talked about it on the blog....

We had been toying with the idea of moving for a while because our current apartment is pretty small and pricey. When we first moved to DC we wanted to live close to AJ's school so that he could walk to class. Now that we are more familiar with public transportation and the different neighborhoods in DC, we felt confident that we could move to a different area of the city that would give us more bang for our buck!

Then we had a situation arise where an angry old man (who also happens to be the condo association president) reported that he was twice awoken by Kona in the year plus that we have lived in our current place. This resulted in us being warned that our dog was a nuisance to the community. Really??? Those who have met my dog know she does sporadically bark, but it is by no means excessive and we stop her within seconds. I mean really, if you expect a dog to be silent you are being unrealistic. And if you want no noise you shouldn't live in an apartment, in a dog friendly building in a loud neighborhood in DC. Anyway, instead of this person approaching us and discussing what may be bothering him, he sent out a nasty email to our landlord, basically threatening to have us kicked out or to force us to get rid of our dog. Needless to say I was extremely offended and was ready to move that night. Our landlord wanted to have us all meet so that we could talk about and resolve the situation (we have been great tenants and he did not want to lose us), but since we were already thinking about moving, this was the final push we needed to really start the moving process.

As luck would have it, one of AJ's bosses had a friend that was looking to rent her townhouse in an area we were planning to look. She set up a day for us to view the apartment and we instantly fell in love! Our new place has two floors, two bedrooms, one and a half baths, a back patio, and a doggie door. And it has a washer and dryer. Could it be anymore perfect?? As soon as we get in I will take pictures of the inside so that I can do a before and after like I did when we moved into our current apartment. I'm so excited!!

ETA: AJ talked with our new landlord yesterday and she said we can start moving stuff in whenever we want, so perhaps we will be in our new place sooner than August 1st!

Jury Duty

I'm halfway through my day of jury duty. I keep waffling about whether or not it is pure torture. Since I've got lots of time on my hands, let's go over a day in the courthouse....

I did not have to report to the courthouse until 10:30 am, which meant I got to sleep in AND take my sweet time getting ready this morning. Conclusion: Sweet.

When I first arrived, I waited in line for almost 30 minutes in the rain just to go through security and get in the building. My beautifully straightened hair became a frizz nest. My blood was boiling. Once inside I calmed down again...that is until I reached the end of another ginormous line, this time to get checked in as a juror. Luckily I only had to wait about 20 minutes. Still though, that is a lot of waiting in line, so my day certainly did not start off well. Conclusion: Torture.

I then headed into the Juror Lounge, which basically looks like the cabin of an airplane, or perhaps a long lecture hall. Rows of seats, an aisle in the middle, a lectern in front, and multiple TV's hanging from the ceiling. The chairs are semi-comfy, they play movies, and best of all, there is wi-fi. I checked ahead of time and came prepared with my MacBook. I have cleaned out my reader, updated my blog roll, and answered lots of emails. Conclusion: Pretty Sweet.

They have called two panels so far, and I am not on either of them. Conclusion: Awesome.

We were released for lunch at 1pm. I usually don't get a chance to eat lunch, so an entire hour is a big deal for me. I headed across the street to Cosi, along with 100 other jurors. I waited a long time for my salad (good thing we had an hour) and then had to sit on a window ledge because there were no seats. I would have walked back to the courthouse and eaten there, but I couldn't carry my bag, my salad, my iced tea, and my umbrella without wiping out and/or spilling something. On a happy note, my salad was yummy. Conclusion: Not Fun.

After I returned from lunch, I got a seat at one of the two tables at the front. Working at a table is so much nicer than burning my legs with my laptop. I've got a window behind me, so no one is reading over my shoulder while I type, and although it is crappy out, at least I get a view of the outside world. Also of importance...I am blogging during the day, which is a rare occurance given my job. Oh, and I just realized I have my iPod earbuds in my bag and that I can listen to Pandora. Conclusion: Score.

The panel announcer man just came in and released us all! At 2:30pm. I didn't get called AND I don't have to come back for two years. Conclusion: YAYAY!

Weekend Recap

What a long, crazy weekend it has been. And I mean that in a good way! I'll try to break up my recap with some pictures. Unfortunately, they are all from my phone camera, so the quality isn't too great...

Friday night started with a drink on a restaurant patio with my darling husband. Our place of choice was a restaurant/bar that serves liquor in a glass with the mixer on the side. Dangerous!


We then split up so he could watch the hockey game with some friends and I could drink wine with PP&MS and Wearing Mascara on a rooftop in DC. After the game was over, AJ met up with us (as did WM's boyfriend) and we all headed out to a bar where we danced the night away. Literally. I haven't danced that much since our reception. I used to be a dancing queen, but hadn't been in the right place or under the right circumstances to break out my moves. Thank goodness for these girls! It was such a blast.

On Saturday we had brunch with WM & her boyfriend before heading home and napping for a few hours. Boy was it nice to get the needed rest! We were planning to hit up a public pool, but ended up not making it over there. Maybe another weekend? Saturday night was low key, we spent most of the night watching movies and clips on hulu. Neither of us can get enough of Justin Timberlake on SNL. Hilarious!

We started Sunday off with a trip to Starbucks (with Kona in tow) and sat outside to enjoy the sunshine. I am loving the $2 iced coffee with milk. In the last couple months I have started drinking coffee on the weekends. I still refuse to drink it on a daily basis, but I am finding that I don't mind the taste as much as I used to. With two splendas, it almost tastes like a flavored latte.

Later in the afternoon we headed out to Arlington to watch the hockey game with some of Alson's friends. The host lives in a high rise in Rosslyn and a small part of me now wants to move into a building like his. I was glad that we spent the entire time on the top floor, which had a huge party room, patio, and a pool. Unfortunately the weather started getting icky, so we didn't spend much time outside. Instead, we watched the game and ate lunch/dinner in the party room. Look at the view!

Today we headed to Georgetown for lunch at Old Glory, a barbecue place that offers sauces from five different regions, including our old stomping ground in North Carolina. Our food was yummy and I would definitely go back. The cornbread and honey butter they bring in the beginning was so delicious. I honestly would eat another basket of it if it was placed in front of me right now. Plus, they give you tootsie pops with the check. Sweet!

After lunch we headed down to the waterfront. It was so hot, so we quickly wandered back to our car and headed home. Luckily it was just in time, as the rain and a storm passed through shortly after we arrived home. The rest of the afternoon was spent reading (I finally finished The Associate), eating dinner (remind me to tell you all about spiedies one day), and snuggling with our puppy. Right now we are watching American Gangster, but it is a little too violent for my taste....hence blogging instead of focusing on the movie.

And one last picture to end the long weekend....


Who doesn't love snuggling with a sleeping puppy?!

Tucker Blair Headband Giveaway!

For Christmas this year, Alson bought me the cutest needlepoint headband from Tucker Blair. I couldn't believe Alson picked it out all by himself (no offense, honey). It is so preppy and perfect!

I love it so much that I have since become a Tucker Blair enthusiast. I bought Alson the golf belt for his birthday and I plan to buy some flip flops as soon as they are available!

I can truly attest to the quality of the products and am sure you all would love them too. With that said, I am so excited to be able to offer a headband (courtesy of Tucker Blair) to one lucky reader!

All you have to do is visit the Tucker Blair website and browse the needlepoint headbands.

To be entered once leave a comment telling me what headband you would choice if you win.

Leave a comment and become a follower/subscribe through a feed reader to be entered twice. If you become a follower or if you're already a follower just let me know in your comment.

Leave a comment, become a follower/subscribe, and tweet/post on your blog about my giveaway to be entered three times.

*Make sure you tell me how many times you have entered!

You must enter by Sunday, April 5th at midnight (EST).

P.S. You can stay up to date on Tucker Blair products (like when those flip flops are available) by following their blog and tweets.

City or Suburb?

We just extended our lease for another 3 months. Our current lease is up the weekend of my graduation, but we don't really know what is going to happen in the coming months (I still don't have a job lined up), so we didn't want to say for sure whether we were staying in our apartment for another year or not. If I do get a job around here, I would like to live relatively close to my schools to help cut down my commute time. That is definitely priority #1. The other major thing we are considering....whether we want to stay in the city or not.

This weekend we attended a get together at a coworker's house. She lives in a suburb of Baltimore with her fiance in a brand new townhouse. Another one of my coworkers also lives in one of these new townhouses, but in southern Maryland. We attended a get together at coworker #2's place back in November. Spending time in their 3 bedroom, 2 and a half bath homes made me incredibly jealous. They have enormous closets, gourmet kitchens, huge bathrooms, and more closet square footage than our current apartment has in total square footage.

On the pro-city side, they both live pretty removed from everything, especially the girl in Charles County. My coworker that lives in Howard County is about 20 minutes away from downtown Baltimore, but still, kind of a hike. They both must drive to the city (or to a park and ride), so that is a big downside. Actually, they have to drive everywhere they want to go, even if it is just to the store or to dinner.

Yesterday Alson and I had dinner at one of the best restaurants in DC, a 4 minute walk from our apartment. We also spent the afternoon "people watching" in Dupont Circle. The nice weather brought out droves of people that have been stuck inside the entire winter. We saw a juggler, the famous chess players, a group of people dancing to music they were projecting through some serious speakers, as well as the city folk and tourists mingling near the fountain. I'm pretty sure there is nothing like that in 'burbs.

We love being able to walk to the farmer's market, amazing restaurants, bars, shopping, Alson's school, etc. But we also want more space. Such a dilemma!

City or suburb? What are other pros and cons of each?

One More...Then I'm Dropping the Topic

Well I didn't get my ticket dropped. This whole situation has been a horrible experience and it makes me want to move away from DC and NEVER give them any money again. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I don't care. I'm allowing myself the rest of the afternoon to be angry and upset, and then I'm refusing to talk about the topic ever again. I will not let this ruin my weekend.

Virtual Vent

Remember that STUPID seat belt ticket I got forever ago? Well my day in court has finally arrived. Tomorrow morning I will argue that I did, in fact, have my seat belt on and thus, the ticket should be dropped. I will do this right after I interview at my current place of work.

Yes, that's right. Tomorrow I have an interview at 8:30 in the morning at the place where I already work (this seems asinine to me) and then must race to court (by 11 am) to fight the stupidest ticket on the face of the planet.

I tried to fanangle the dates, but work is only interviewing tomorrow and I could not get in touch with a real person to change the court date despite calling EVERY number on the DMV website when I found out these two events conflicted. I did get to change my interview time though. My slot was originally at 11:15 am, so I rescheduled for 3:30 pm (plenty of time to get back to work!), but then yesterday my secretary called to tell me that my supervisor needed to reschedule to 8:30 am because she had an afternoon meeting and wouldn't be able to interview me at that time. Ugh.

Did you know that tomorrow is Friday the 13th? Shoot me now.

I plan to be back to my cheery self tomorrow night (job or no job, ticket or no ticket).

Cable Woahs

This past week we finally subscribed to digital cable. No more stone age for us!

We were previously paying $18 a month for basic cable, but back when we moved in, the cable guy apparently didn't put a trap on our cord so we were actually getting a whole lot of cable for the cheaper price. I always thought our cable was super cheap, but didn't question it.

Anyway, Alson has been asking for HDTV since we first got our TV, so for his birthday my parents decided to indulge him with a year's subscription. When the cable guy came the other day, he realized the previous glitch and took all our good cable away. We didn't have TBS, TNT, USA, or Bravo, which are the four channels I watch on a regular basis. I wanted to die! Luckily my mom felt my pain (we love the same shows and channels) so my parents have agreed to pay for digital cable while we are both still in school and until I find a job. Thanks mom and dad, we love you! (Speaking of my parents, happy 25th anniversary!!)

I love being able to see what we are watching, all the On Demand options (including the 30 Day Shred! and a bunch of other awesome workouts), and the super clear picture.

The only problem with this lovely scenario....the GINORMOUS cable box that is misplaced in our small apartment. Our TV is hanging on the wall and we have a small shelf that holds our DVD player, Wii, and another electronic thing that switches between inputs (I don't know what it is called?), but the box didn't fit on that shelf. There is literally no other place for the box than on a side table in front of one of our bookcases, but it just looks so out of place! It is kind of stressing me out and makes me want to cancel the digital cable and go back to dark ages. Okay, not really, but it is annoying that it has to be so huge! Doesn't Comcast know this is DC and space is limited?? What gives!