Official Statement

Let it be known that Georgetown Cupcake is not overrated.

(photo via)

it's a hyphen sort of day.

Speaking of being a project finisher, or, rather, not being one, these somewhat-to-seriously irritating things are on my perpetually-a-mile-long to-do list:

--order pictures from Snapfish so my account doesn't expire and I lose all my pictures stored there

--eat the ripe avocado in my fruit basket before it gets gross (that shouldn't be too difficult)

-- call Blockbuster online and ask why they are still charging us even though we canceled three months ago

--call Skin ID and tell them I don't need more face wash (oops! too late! I hate things on automatic refill.)

--pick up the book on hold for me at the library

--return that laundry basket to Target that was marked $5.99, but was actually $12.99. Or just accept the fact that it was double the price I thought and keep it because it's been over a month.

--pick up the package of new clothes from GAP that has been sitting in my apartment's management office for almost a month (I don't like the manager, so I've been avoiding her, but she is the one who has my package).


Am I the only one who has a to-do list that is constantly plagued by things like this?

birthdays require delicious food, part two

Before my birthday (and the grand Whitney surprise), we went out for a birthday dinner with some friends to BGR The Burger Joint in Old Town. Before we planned the dinner, for days (weeks even?) Sam had been pestering me to choose a place to go, and I was feeling so stressed about it. We needed to go somewhere close, but I also wanted it to be family-friendly and interesting. We don't go out to eat that often, and when we do, we never go places that fit all three of those criteria (um, hello Costco hot dog). Then I finally remembered a recommendation from Hannah and Rob, and I knew BGR was the place to go.

It did not disappoint! Since I've sworn off red meat (two months and going strong!), I opted for the veggie burger, and it was awesome. Flavorful, great texture, filling, and so much lighter than its beefy counterpart. I forgot to take a picture until I had about three bites left:
We also got sweet potato fries (love!) and grilled asparagus (double love!). Three cheers!

But I'm not going to lie. The best part of the evening was having ice cream cake after. I am slightly ashamed to admit that I am OBSESSED with Dairy Queen ice cream cakes. I have one every year for my birthday, and I think I could single-handedly eat one in about 6 minutes. Sam thinks they aren't great, but clearly he doesn't understand what he's talking about. THEY'RE AMAZING. I love the "whipped cream" on top that kind of tastes like plastic, and the best part is the fudgy chocolatey cookie filling between the chocolate and vanilla layer. It's euphoric. I didn't take a picture this year, because, you know, I was too busy eating it. But here's a picture of my 24th and 22nd ice cream cakes, respectively.

I really wish I could justify buying and eating one for no reason.

birthdays require delicious food, part one

The first order of business is my birthday, because it was the best one yet. For the big 2-5, my sister Whitney surprised me by showing up at my house for a 6-day visit. Best present ever! We had so much fun, and ate a lot of good food, including my birthday dinner at Paolo's in Georgetown.
When I go to a new restaurant, I always like to ask the waiter what their favorite thing on the menu is, and our waiter had several good recommendations. It's a good sign when there are so many things that sound good on the menu. The three of us were all debating between the same things, so we each got a different dish and shared some bites.

Sam got the margherita pizza. It was huge! And delicious! I loooove margherita pizza, but I think it can be tricky to find a good one. This had a chewy but crisp crust, and a delightful balance between cheese, tomato, and basil. All the pizzas are baked in a brick oven, which you can see from the restaurant (I love seeing into the kitchen from my table.) I'll probably get this when we go back.

I ordered the salmon, and it was so tender. So perfectly cooked. The sauce was flavorful, but not overpowering, and I adored the vegetable "spaghetti" on the side. And the polenta-- slightly crispy on the outside, tender, hot, and soft on the inside. So, so tasty.

Whitney ordered the cayenne and espresso steak salad, and holy cow. It was amazing. The waiter said once people order that salad, they never order anything else ever again, and I have to say, I can totally understand. It was amazing. The salad also had fingerling potatoes and gorgonzola cheese with a punchy but smooth dressing. This picture seriously does no justice to the salad.

I offer a hearty recommendation for Paolo's. Georgetown is such a fun place, and the restaurant was lively, intimate, and fun. And the food. Oh, man. Perfect birthday food. I'm considering asking Paolo's to be my personal chef.

MIA

I've been busily enjoying a surprise birthday present-- a visit from my sister Whitney. She left today, and tomorrow I am heading down to Richmond for two days to visit my dear friend Jenna and her sweet baby Siena.

Until then, dear readers, happy Tax Day!

more day-seizing

Something I am trying to do for Project Spring is to be more adventurous. It has a lot to do with Bria's haircut and trying to be a project finisher instead of an avid project starter.
I come up with ideas of fun things to do all. the. time. But I never do them. Kind of like a line from Mamma Mia! when Meryl Streep sings about planning so many things to do and places to go with her daughter, and they didn't end up doing most of things, and why? (she just doesn't know!) (we watch that movie a lot around here.)
But I am trying to enjoy having one child right now-- when it's relatively easy to pick up and go somewhere and have a great time. Sam and I certainly didn't take advantage of that before we had Bria, so I am learning from my mistakes.



So the weather has been absolutely gorgeous out here for over a week now, and I am pleased to say we have been totally enjoying it. Last week, after talking for ages about having a lunch picnic at gravelly point, Bria and I picked up and went. All by ourselves. I usually talk myself out of these things, but I seized the day-- and why not? We had an awesome time.


We picked up lunch at Whole Foods on the way. I didn't realize until we got there that, for Bria's lunch, I had bought her strawberries, strawberry yogurt, and strawberry milk. Good thing she loves strawberries. I filled a box from their salad bar, and it was this perfect, healthy, scrumptious meal. I had been eating junk for, like, a week solid before this, so having a lunch full of greens and peppers and some mysterious superfood thing that looked intriguing (and tasted mostly good), was like heaven.


Since it was the middle of a week day, almost no one was there. Bria was a little afraid of the plane noise

But it was just a glorious morning.


(even if, because of traffic, it took us an hour to get home.)

Inspiration

Can I just say that I am totally inspired by this video? Bria and I have watched it probably 15 times (mostly because she loves the "baby raffe"). But we watch it not because I love animals (actually, I tend to hate them. sorry.), but because I am loving hearing real stories about people finding their calling in life. I love that she is so honest about her failures being the number one contributor to her ultimately finding success.

illegitimate post

When I started Project Spring and I said I would "post at least three times a week," I really meant that I would post twice a week or something. This spring weather makes me want to be outside playing-- not sitting on my computer. And I'm ok with that. But I do have some things to share from last week (once I bring camera in from the car) (note to self: BRING YOUR CAMERA IN FROM THE CAR) (especially because it was over ninety degrees today = not good for electronics. yowza).

Anyway.

We went to an Easter Egg Hunt last week for our playgroup, and Bria was delighted to eat so much candy. This is how she smiles for pictures/ shows her excitement these days:
But the other thing is that I cut her hair! And the reason this is post-worthy is that I have the tendency to be all talk. I plan things, talk about things, intend to do things, etc. and I never follow through. So, I had thought about cutting Bria's hair for months, and I finally bit the bullet and did it. Hooray! I'm counting it as a Project Spring Triumph. It is incredibly uneven, so thank goodness she has curly hair to cover that. Although, the curly hair also made it so that, when I got it wet and combed it out, I cut it a little shorter than I intended. When it started to dry, I freaked out a little bit as it got shorter and shorter. Oh well, I think/hope it turned out darling.
Also, lets talk about how one of my Easter projects was to create some kind of beautiful Easter basket for Bria, and then I didn't get around to it, so I just used a purse. I figured that was better than her Halloween pumpkin bucket.

Okay, legitimate Project Spring posts are forthcoming-- including one about trifle. (commence drooling.)