Frances is the undisputed road trip queen.  She LOVES the car.  She LOVES road trips.  She LOVES her little nook in the back of the Prius filled with her sleeping bag.  SHE LOVES IT ALL.  

Anna on the other hand .....

Needs constant attention, a bajillion chewy things and a run before we actually enter the car.

Unfortunately the run before an 8 hour trip in the winter is not exactly what I call practical.  It is cold outside.  It is dark outside.  And really, I'd just rather get there.  This time both MAS and I made the trip and I think that got her overly excited.  She did not sleep for more than half an hour on that entire stupid trip.  The way back home was better, but still not exactly the most awesome.

Next up Anna, South Florida.

Living room lights.

We need something to hang from the center of our living room that throws a decent amount of light upwards and doesn't blind you if you look in it's general direction.  I'm liking this, but also considering making our own version of this.  Then there is this one which MAS fell hard for on instagram.  All viable options, yet we have failed to pull the trigger on every last one, maybe one day ....

This is the first year in about five that we will not be heading out on a boat for the second week in January.  I made a fuss last year that our only vacation is the same year after year after year and was appeased with the promise of every other year.  I don't want to sound like a total tart, but there is a lot of this world I have not seen that does not easily translate to six days on a boat in January.  Also, I'm allergic to the sun and hate salt water.

But a few months back MAS was bemoaning the fact that we were not going to have boat time this year.  It was, in fact, ruining his life.  So, being the good wife that I am, I agreed.  I mean we did take a road trip over the summer and that should technically count as a vacation not on a boat.  We sent an email to our boat friends, everyone was excited, and then MAS realized he was scheduled to be in the UK for the about half of the time we were meant to be on the boat.  Alas, our tropical vacation has be cancelled for 2013.  BUMMER.

In all honesty, I'm kind of excited.  I'm tagging along on his work trip and we're taking a few extra days to tour Wales.  It'll be great.  But it means I have ZERO reason to purchase this most amazing suit.  Especially since the day we agreed to start planning our 2013 sailing trip I purchased a suit I still have not worn.  Yes, my weakness for swimwear is ridiculous.  But seriously, someone should buy this suit. 

Shoes!

Do you want these as much as I do?  Because I want them BADLY.  Mr. Pickles loafers by Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Vegan Week take Two

The holidays are crazy, CRAZY, I tell you.  We spent last week in Boulder celebrating with MAS' family and then soon we're off to Asheville for a very quick holiday visit with my parents.  Meanwhile there are things like Eggnog and Christmas cookies and Panettone lying around our house.  I don't think I'd eaten anything that wasn't a meat or a carb for three weeks prior to this Monday when we decided we needed a change.  So we've gone vegan again for the week.  We did it a while back and I've got to say, anything that can get me out of the cheese and cracker lunch rut that I so easily fall into is good by me.

So far we've had a series of really good meals, highlights being morning granola and almond milk (Although this round of almond milk making may have done our 8 month old blender in.  LAME.  I don't really want to buy a Vitamix, I mean come on with the price tag, but also buying a new blender every 8 months, that is not going to work.  We're mulling this one over.).  Oh and the Black Sesame Otsu from Super Natural Everyday was so beyond delicious.  Last night I tried (and failed with) Butternut Squash Lasagna.  I'm sure it's delicious when she makes it, but when I did it just tasted like a bunch of mashed veggies.  Next up a few more Asian dishes.  I always love an excuse to eat only Asian food for a few days straight.  It's not our go-to in this house so it's a nice break.

Sandwiches, the best.

It took us a while to try SUNdeVICH.  I don't know why.  I'll blame it on a complete lack of ability to get out of our house, or at the very best our neighborhood, during the weekends.  It's not like I was ever confused.  I always knew it was going to be good, I guess I just didn't know how good.  Turns out we had one of the best sandwich experiences EVER.  We got a Seoul and a Havanna along with some spicy cole slaw and brined veggies.  Also, Sprecher Root Beer.  It was delicious, I'd like to go back now please.

Lunch.

The lazy man's best meal.  Egg in a Hole.  I can't remember when I started eating these, but they've since been my go to when we have no food in the house and I'm too pressed for time to actually leave and pick up something.  It's ridiculously easy and ever so tasty.  Cut the center of the bread out ... this time I used black pepper brioche from the Milk Bar cookbook ... yuuuuuuuummmmmmmy; place in pan; cook in butter until toasty; flip; repeat till your egg is cooked just the way you like it (which should absolutely be VERY RUNNY).  Also a little bit of this hot sauce, because it goes on EVERYTHING, and salt and pepper.

Doughnuts and Fried Chicken.

Hey DC, quit with the announcing of doughnut and fried chicken spots and start with the opening of them.  Seriously, I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL JANUARY?

{image via astro doughnuts & fried chicken, which as far as I can tell is going to be the first to open}

Want.

THANK YOU CELIA.  Thank you for introducing me to Joinery.  Thank you for showing me that I need these boots and this pullover.  Thank you for finding the best toilet brush around AND the best colander (we've been needing one).

Tree, we have a tree.

This has got to be some kind of record for us.  Normally we talk and talk and talk about getting a tree and normally it happens about a week before Christmas.  Which is fine, but our schedule this year would not allow such things.  So over the weekend we walked down to Eastern Market and snagged a 6 ish foot bundle of smell good Christmas tree.  Like last year, MAS carried it home, it's becoming our DC tradition.  I'm pretty sure MAS likes walking the five blocks home the most.  He never gets covered with sap OR ruins jackets.

Beginners lessons ... sort of.

I'm taking Intro to Ballet at a local dance studio and it's too advanced for me.  As I am possibly the most uncoordinated person you've ever met, this is fairly unsurprising.  I frequently roll my ankles, trip over my toes and lack any sense of rhythm.  Top that with the fact that the last dance class I'd taken was when I was six years old.  In fact, the only thing I remember about dance class, save for the AWESOME bag I carried my stuffs in, was my mom falling asleep for a touch longer than she meant to and picking me up late (i was assuaged by the staff with so much candy I may have vomited it all up by the time I got home, not a bad memory).

Turns out, I need to go back to that six year old Ballet class because I literally know nothing about ballet. And being a 30 something girl in America that signs up for an Intro to Ballet class, this is apparently unheard of.

It started like this, our teacher was 10 minutes late to the first class.  AWESOME, one sixth of the class done! But it allowed all of us wanna-be-ballerinas to chit chat.  I kept hearing from my leotard clad classmates "Ohmygod it's been sooooooooo long since I've been to a ballet class I wonder if I'll remember anything" over and over and over again followed by something like "Yeah it was high school the last time I put these slippers on" once it was even COLLEGE. It should be noted, I was not wearing a leotard, or tights, or even legwarmers.

Whatever, it WAS fine.

I mean the teacher has a really horrid habit of teaching to the most experienced person in the room, NOT ME, so when I'm asked to count it out (what the fuck does that even mean?) I can't, but no one really bats an eye and someone else does it for me.  When the mirrors show everyone I am physically incapable of doing the arm things with the leg things I ignore them and surprisingly don't blush (a very bad habit of mine).   I'm pretty sore the day after class and I really do think it might be teaching me how to not slouch (another horrible habit of mine).  Also, it is kind of making up for the complete lack of good yoga in this city.

Now if I can just make it through Intro so I can start dropping into the Beginners classes, which happen more than once a week, I might actually get somewhere.  Also there's an Intro to Hip Hop class calling my name, and maybe laughing with me at the thought, bust still, SO MUCH FUN.

Meet Anna.

If you follow me on Instagram, this is old news.  But if you don't WE GOT A PUPPY!  Miss Anna is nearly five months old and only a little bit annoying.  She was a rescue filled with worms (a lot of worms) and instalove for Frances.  She followed me around non-stop for the first month and for the first week I had to have my hand INSIDE HER CRATE the entire night or else she'd loose it and no one would sleep.

Now she follows Frances around all of the time and sleeps happily in her crate on the other side of the bedroom.  She absolutely needs a morning walk and an afternoon run in order to not drive me up the wall.  Turns out yelling "I FUCKING HATE YOU TWO" does not stop the wrestling over toys.  It's never mean, just typically taking place on my feet while I'm trying to work, and possibly even on a call. But this means I'm running again and that is not a bad thing.

Frances doesn't yet LOVE Anna, but we're getting there.  Anna is allowed on the couch and the bed (Frances was in charge of the inviting, yes we have zero control of our older dog) and sometimes, SOMETIMES, she's even allowed in my lap at the same time as Frances.  There has been one instance of cuddling and it was brief, but now that it's cold outside I have high hopes that it will become a regular thing.  There has been no fighting, which has been a relief, and a lot of food sharing.

Frances is far more active, the house smells much more of farts and we're back to having to schedule our outings around a puppy that needs to be let out every four or so hours.  All in all it's been a pretty good thing.

Oh and possibly the best part, her actual biological sister lives just a couple of blocks from us.  THEY HAVE PLAYDATES.  It is adorable.

Will travel for hot sauce.

You guys, Artifact, the morning/mid-day food and coffee spot opened by the most amazing people of Woodberry Kitchen has us considering a move to Baltimore.  We went last weekend after my FOURTH trip to the Baltimore Ikea for the same damn floor lamp.  The trip was a success, we scored the lamp ('bout time) and then filled with excitement, and absolutely no food, we went bananas and ordered/bought just about everything we could see on the Artifact menu.

After lunch (grilled cheese with pickles, tomato bread soup, egg salad sandwich) and coffee (a dirty pumpkin) ... and maybe dessert (I can't remember) we continued our gluttony and came home with some Snake Oil (the best hot sauce possibly ever) and Pickled Carrots.

I'm making plans to go back ... weekly.

delayed/instant gratification.

so, some time in early july, or was it late june?  this package arrived at our door.  it arrived at our door after mas had been super secretive with his emails and computer (something to do with my birthday present, he told me that much)... i mean he went as far as changing his password secretive ... for two or three months.  and then it arrived while he was out of town.  it arrived one month before my birthday.  it arrive and it was from MOCIUN.

i did not open it.  it was very hard to not open it.  i waited.  he was home a few days later.  he ripped the package open, left the room, returned and handed me a small black and white box.  it felt weird.  it was not my birthday.  it was not even almost my birthday.  he had already made me wait SO LONG.  why not a little longer?  mostly because i think he was too excited to see my reaction, but also i'm sure he was a bit afraid that now that it was in the house there was really no chance that i wouldn't end up opening in my own super secretive manner.

so i opened it and fell in love.  it's beautiful and made just for me.  by my most favorite person and my most favorite designer.  damn, that's a birthday well done.

{image via mociun, mostly because we tried to snap photos, but they all suck, and this necklace deserves a non-sucky photo.}

pearl dive.

the other night we FINALLY made it to pearl dive oyster palace, a place i continue to call pearl dive oyster bar, over and over and over again.  the palace is really throwing me off for some reason.  whatever, it doesn't matter.

it's delicious.  the oysters were of course spot on and the fried chicken (yes, they have fried chicken) is divine.  also, the drinks.  gotta give a shout out to the small, but so well done, drink list.  i started with a fleur 75 and ended with a pearl cup.  the fleur 75 was the palest shade of violette - so pretty - and the pearl cup came in a mason jar - totally fitting.  

bathing suits.

for someone who hates the sun, the warm weather and sitting on the beach ... or by the pool ... or anywhere exposed and hot really ... i've a major obsession with swim wear (exhibit a).  so the fact that these might have jumped to the top spot of my must have list is both confusing and completely predictable.

{lauren moffatt swim 2013 via refinery 29}

flats, black ones.

i'm a big believer in having a nice pair of black flats when september rolls around.  i live in them.  for, like, the entire fall and winter.

{cap toe flat, Messeca New York}

still summer here.

typical case of the grass is always greener syndrome.  i'm sure once may rolls around and the temperatures are steadily hovering around 45 i'll wish there wasn't evidence of my saying it, but summer ... go away.

that being said, maybe we need to take summer vacations to places that still have glacial ice?  maybe that is the solution.

{image by olaf otto becker via but does it float}

August in AVL

sometimes i use mas' insane work schedule as an excuse to take a break and head to the mountains.  when we lived in eastern north carolina i was spending what seemed like half of my time in asheville.  but then we moved to dc and i settled in.  found local clients.  found local friends.  and now i'm making it back, what seems like, quarterly.

i'll fill you in on the details little by little over the next few days but the BEST PART EVER was the weather.  my friends, i lounged around in jeans and flannels and light sweaters OVER BUTTONDOWN SHIRTS.  i went for runs and did not want to kill myself.  i had coffee, of the non-iced variety, in the afternoon.

oh dc, you've cooled, but you're not quite where i want you.  winter can honestly not come soon enough ... though i would be willing to settle for fall.

our neighborhood rocks.

the eddy, the bar inside of hank's oyster bar's new capitol hill location, has won my heart.  our neighborhood was awesome before their arrival, but now, now we have a place where we can go and grab a not-too-fancy but utterly delicious drinks*.  also, oysters.  yay capitol hill!  i love you more than ever ... which is saying something.

* to be fair our current favorite, the atlas room, fits the above criteria.  dude is serious 'bout his drinks.  but it's a touch further away, sans oysters and, really, it is always good to have OPTIONS.

{the old salt is a lovely combination of watermelon stuffs and tequila and etc.  so light and refreshing and perfect for these fucking hot and humid days (and nights).}

// i took a break from the internets.
\\ we went to canada, new hampsire, massachusetts, rhode island and new york.  i'm tyring to figure out how to get back to rhode island.
// i continued my break from the internets.
\\ mas' work trips were nixed!
// i decided to quit the internets.  "cancelled" my facebook account, closed my reader "for good," and started writing a farewell to blogging post.
\\ we went to california.  i had a lot of cheeseburgers, mas had a week long class in santa clara.
// since we were on that side of the country, we went to los alamos.  mas is trying to figure out how to get back to los alamos.  ok, i am too.
\\ mas' second round of work trips were postponed!
// i turned 31.
\\ i logged back into my reader.  had too many posts to even consider reading.  unsubscribed to about 50% of my feed.
// i decided that quitting the internet was perhaps just a harsh reaction to a couple of bad days.
\\ we wound up with cable and more importantly hbo.  our one tv is in the basement ... where other people are currently living.  but hbogo runs very well on the ipad.  i've since blown through big love, true blood, and hung.  ok i didn't blow through hung, i stopped watching it.  also newsroom.  we're obsessed.  and game of thrones.

// i missed the internets.  so i came back.  except for facebook.  i think that relationship is over for good.

{photo from our road trip from santa clara to los almos by way of big sur}

NAVY & NUDE.

clutch  /  navy polish*  /  peach polish  /  hasbeens

can't get enough.  and that navy polish is passport blue ... in case it doesn't pop up as such.  by far the best navy polish i've ever had.  though i'm not gonna say it's the best quality, just the best color.

the weekend.

it was only a little bit warm, not quite wanna kill yourself hot.  there was a lot of walking.  to the farmers market and back. with a bag full of cherries! that ended up on my shorts.  which was kind of ok since they were already pink.

there was soba with sesame and veggies and rice vinegar and a sixpoint apollo, my most favorite summer beer.

there was walking to the park, sitting, snoozing, reading.

there was a pizza made of leftover dough covered in garlic scapes and zucchini and garlic.

there was the cutest little guy in the the corner of a sidewalk square.

there was also the wearing of my bensimons, which hasn't actually occurred in a very long time.  i think i've decided to get rid of them.  though i'm not sure.  they just aren't very comfortable.

when your stint as a vegan is over ...

you go all out.  right?

i can't say it was planned.  i think i was in fact going to hold out for a blt with the bacon i just scored from cedarbrook farm  (h street farmers market, i love you).  but when i stopped by our most awesome corner food shop for a boule or baguette (either or as they are equally delicious) and happened upon this ham and cheese croissant i could not help myself.  i had just spent an hour or so in the sun, had a very light breakfast and had been walking to and fro imagining the meals i'd make with my veggies later on.  i was starving.  and it was absolutely worth it.

though so was the week of no animal products.  in fact, that week of no animal products was quite educational.

WHAT I LEARNED :

1.  being a vegan isn't *that* hard.

2.  being a vegan isn't that hard in a time where whole foods, a plethora of independent food shops, and the interwebs exist.

3.  i still love to eat pig and cow and sometimes other animals and i don't really want that to change.

4.  going vegan means i get to force mas to eat asian food.  don't get me wrong, the boy likes everything from thai to chinese to korean to sushi but we NEVER make it at home.  partly because it's been a miserable failure every time we've tried and partly because mas pretends to hate asian flavors when i suggest we make them.

5.  it would not be hard to be a fat/unhealthy vegan, which goes against everything i have ever believed.

6.  we can in fact use all of the produce in our green grocer box before it goes bad.

7.  almond milk makes everything better (though i kind of knew this already).

8. van's frozen waffles are the shit esp. with coconut oil and maple syrup.  we will always have these in the freezer from here on out.

9.  some people kind of judge you for being not really a vegan.  lame.
10.  i can go a week without bread and cheese.  this was really the main reason i went vegan and not vegetarian.  you see we go vegetarian all the time.  it's not a big deal.  and when we do that i mostly find myself snacking endlessly on variations of bread and cheese.  i will, actually, only eat bread and cheese for days straight at times.  but now, now i have veggies as a fall back.  i just didn't realize.
11.  the black pepper tofu from plenty is just as delicious as all of the other recipes in that book, and just as hard to source ingredients for.  i didn't have the three varieties of soy sauce that were called for and our dish kind of suffered.  next time i'll make the trip out to the eden center and buy them all.
12.  the thing i missed the most, hands down, was butter ... and the baked goods that result from butter. oreos are not as good as they used to be, or they are, but i just don't like them as much as i used to? we've been hard core on our version of milk bar cookies recently and i dare say they've spoiled us for anything of less quality (cornflake-chocolate-chip-marshmallow coming your way soon!).  this surprised me ...  i thought cheeseburgers or cheese would be the most missed.

adidas originals x opening ceremony.

i'm a sucker for collaborations.  and i really, really, really like this one.  adidas originals x opening ceremony will be available early july.  just in time for me to be tired of my current bathing suits.

eating habits.

my favorite food is the cheeseburger.  mas' is split between cheeseburgers and spaghetti.  there was a time in our lives, a good chunk of time even, when we were eating meat only once a week (mostly in cheeseburger form).  but something happened.  we moved, mas started travelling, we came across good meat available for purchase just down the street, we live in a city where the food is actually delicious and the variety great.  we started eating meat every other day.

and now we both kind of feel gross.  so we are taking a break.  we've gone vegan for the week.  we say we're going to do things like this all of the time.  so far it's never worked out.  but we're on day one point five and so far i haven't dipped into the challah we bought on friday and stupidly didn't finish over the weekend, i consider this a win.

tomorrow morning it's muesli and spiced strawberry syrup from my new roots.  tonight is't black pepper tofu from ottologheni's plenty.  two recipes i'm fairly certain i wouldn't have gotten around to making if we hadn't cut out butter and cheese and yogurt.


i know it's not a lot, but now it kinda seems like it, and maybe it'll change our piss poor eating habits ... at least for a while. 


{image of tomorrow's breakfast from my new roots}

no, your cilantro should not look like that.

the other day i tweeted this picture because i was so proud of our cilantro plant.  it was growing so big and strong, something i've had very little success with when it comes to herbs. normally they just die.  mostly because i forget about them.

but now we have a bunch of edibles in the front yard and for some reason (maybe the fear of the disappointment of our neighbors?) they are all thriving.  i weed and water and whisper sweet nothings to them.  so far it's working out.

or at least i thought.  why did no one tell me that the second cilantro starts blooming it begins to loose it's flavor?  why did no one tell me that i should be trimming my cilantro by at least 1/3 every single week?  i'm sitting here afraid to trim any of it because i don't want to disrupt the delicate cycle of life meanwhile i am actually KILLING it, well sort of, killing it's flavor and usefulness.  and now it looks like i might just have to start over, with a whole new plant.

i found this all out when i went and googled something like "how to trim a cilantro plant in the garden," yup that is my level of expertise here.   i guess i should also read up on basil and dill and lavender and rosemary and jalepeños and habeneros.  good thing i've grown tomatoes before.  i certainly would have hated to make six plants worth of inedible fruit.

it's a learning process this gardening thing, and so far it's taken me a bit longer than normal to catch on.

for fall.

loeffler randall, you continue to kill me with your shoes.

lily wedge booties in a 7.5 please.

managing expectations.

you know what i am shit at?  managing expectations.  wether they are super duper high, or stupid low, they are inevitably extreme.  it's just the way i am.  i cannot help it.  it gets me into trouble .... a lot.  i should know better.  i really should.

so two weeks ago when bandolero finally announced their opening i was through the roof excited.  isabella's graffiato is one of our go-to dinner spots.  it's close, it's tasty, THEY HAVE PROSECCO ON TAP (and pony beers).  it's decently priced, the food isn't fussy and as long as i remember to specify a table downstairs i dig the atmosphere.  then you add to that margaritas and tacos.  it might as well be my version of the best place on the planet.

so we went and it was so underwhelming it's ridiculous.  i hate to give a review two weeks in, because lets face it, a new place needs TIME.  it always boggles my mind when people split hairs because the service wasn't spot on in the first month. it just doesn't seem to be a fair burden to place on EVERY restaurant. but then you add on to this that bandolero is not the first venture for anyone involved (i assume our waitress had in fact been a waitress before, but i might be wrong) and then they do something so asinine that it is in fact cause for a least a question if not a complaint ... they offered a tasting menu.

you guys when someone tells me that isabella is in the kitchen making my favorite foods this weekend and he has come up with a tasting menu you better fucking believe we are ordering it.  mas and i are firm believers in trusting the people that make the food to tell us what to eat.   so we agreed and they dropped plate after plate after plate in such rapid succession we couldn't wrap our heads around what we were eating...

we liked the guacamole, and were ok with the margaritas.  there was a suckling pig taco that was pretty good and the pork rinds they threw down with the chips at the beginning of the meal were a welcome surprise (dc, i like this trend).  but the thing of it was, we received regular order sized portions of everything, nothing was off the menu or special, and when tallied up individually everything was in fact cheaper when ordered separately.

i can give them that the fried fish tacos came out a bit not warm, and that the margarita was a touch watered down and our waitress was beyond weird because not every day is going to be a good one, and to be fair, i had expectations through the roof.  but making a big deal out of a random assortment of menu items and then up-charging for the service of not telling you what you're eating is kind of lame.  and i expect more from any decent restaurant.  i think we'll go back once summer really strikes (the rain did not help the entire ordeal) and drink the fancier than just a margarita drinks and eat food that we pick.  i think then we will enjoy it.  but for now, if you go and you are offered a tasting menu, save yourself and don't do it.

images via bandolero

nailed it no. 7

i was seriously half way (ok maybe more like a quarter of the way) through my neon nails when i remembered that it is tuesday, tuesday before wednesday, wednesday the day i have an interview i've been anticipating for way too long.  i couldn't possibly have neon nails for such an interview.  i mean really, the whole navy/white/totally preppy and clean look i've been planning IS NOT going to work with neon nails.  so instead i'm hitting up the perfect summer red, clambake.  yup.  another simple, but awesome, manicure for me.

japanese maple.

 we've got this weird tree in our front yard that turns bright pink towards the end of summer but is fairly lackluster for the rest of it's days.  when we were first trying to tame our out of control teeny tiny front yard i begged mas to let me dig it up and plant a japanese maple.  japanese maples are just soooooo dc.  and plus, i grew up with a few in my back yard, i've a soft spot.

he said no.  we had a healthy tree, why trash it?  well i'll tell you why ...

i mean, the geisha?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  you are perfection.  and hana matoi, well i think you're pretty stellar as well.

WRENxVIVIER

oh my god, could it get any better?

GIMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE.

{wren x vivier, but please don't buy them all, i need time to figure out where i'm getting the dollars for my very own}

nailed it no. 6

i gotta say the nail art, while fun, isn't totally and completely my style.  i like to do it every once in a while, but honestly i can't remember the last time i had a solid color on all ten fingers, and that gets to me, in a weird you shouldn't be thinking about your nails so often kind of way.  from now on i'm going to start sprinkling in a few of my most favorite every day colors.  it too will be fun, i promise, there are some really good colors out there these days.

let's start with sand tropez by essie.  i used to be an absolute nut for essie's jazz, like went through an entire bottle in a summer, but after that summer it became hard to find and sand tropez popped up in places like target.  so i just kind of switched.  next week i'll add a bit of color to the mix, but for now, i'm completely content with a nude nail (and a flannel shirt, because summer is coming and it won't be long before it gets put back in the closet, even though it is a summer weight flannel).

summer dresses.

every year around this time i begin to mourn the loss of my jeans.  which is funny because i don't consider myself one of those people that loves their jeans, turns out, i do.  also it turns out that i really love them.  i want to always wear them.  always.  but at the same time i am not a fan of over heating and dc in the summer equals overheating when wearing jeans.  it is stupid hot here.  stupid hot.

which leads me to the summer dress search.  i've a few in my closet that have lasted me for forever but mostly i find that my tastes change on a yearly basis when it comes to dresses.  this is frustrating because i find myself wanting to spend a cool five thousand dollars on light and airy swathes of cloth when my budget is approximately thirty seven.

this year i want tunics and relatively shapeless.  also, apparently, navy.  done am i with those elastic cinched waists* and belts**.  though if eastern market this weekend was any indication of what is to come i'm in the minority because everyone was wearing a big ol' giant belt with their skimpy little summer dress.  oh dc, why, WHY?

MADEWELL  /  VINCE  /  ZARA  /  ALEXANDER WANG

* i am fully aware that the madewell dress has an elastic cinched waist, i'm giving myself one, old habits die hard
** i've never really liked the super wide belts with dresses even when they were super popular ... three years ago

getting there / bedding.

right now our bedding is all stripey and yellow edged.  right now i find myself wanting something that is not stripey and yellow edged.  right now i want this bedding.

also right now blogger is driving me crazy and i'm having problems uploading images.

two favorite things.

we've been in dc now for just about eleven months.  of those eleven months mas has been away for work for six of them - or something stupid like that.  poor kid.  sometimes we'll be walking down a street that is three blocks away from home and he'll be lost until he spies a street sign.  no seriously, that happened.

we make the most of the time that he is here (fighting over the best burger, attempting to redo some part of the house, etc) and i'm finding dc to be quite hospitable when navigating solo, or with frances.  it is so weird to think about where we were just one year ago.  things were different, our lives were different.

it's not been the easiest of times, mas and i have had some of the worst fights of our relationship since living here, but we've also had some of the best days.  and together we are figuring it all out ... and eating ourselves silly.  you guys the food in this city is dangerously good.  something we weren't exactly expecting.

but after nearly a year i find that my two most favorite things have stayed the same, which for a creature of habit, is maybe not so weird?  they are:

1.  walking around the capitol.  it happens daily and i'm still not sick of it.  i wonder when, if ever, the awe will be wiped off my face as i look up.

-and-

2.    good stuff eatery ... my FAVORITE burger place in the city.

this move has been good for so many reasons.  i'm so happy that after only a year i can already see that.

ps - i totally screwed up my nails this week, but here's hoping i figure it out by next!  it promises to be good ... i think.

corn cookies.

ok, ok, ok, this is my second recipe (in as many weeks?) from milk bar.  but what can i say?  i see a kindred spirit in christina tosi.  i mean, it's like she's gotten inside my head and taken all of my guilty sweet pleasures and turned them into some kind of mind blowing reality.  and for one of the best cookie recipes ever here we go :

CORN COOKIES

a few notes to start

1.  tosi highly recommends using plugrá butter and i gotta say i don't disagree.  i first made these with the butter i had in my fridge, and then went to the store, bought the plugrá and decided it would always and forever be the butter we used for our cookies.

2.  if you don't have corn flour (or can't find it) you can substitute it with 40 g (1/4 c) of regular flour and 8 g (4t) of freeze dried corn powder.  i've done it both ways, and the corn flour is most definitely the way to go.  try to find it, it is absolutely worth it.

3.  freeze dried corn.  ok so you go to whole foods and buy this.  i put the whole bag into my food processor and grind it all up at once, you won't use it all, but you'll be ahead of the game for the next time you make these cookies, and trust me there will be a next time.

4.  grams vs. cups  i wasn't exactly a kitchen scale kind of person until i started obsessing over the tosi recipes.  and now i'm pretty die hard.  i use my scale at least three times a day (coffee, baking, etc) so if you don't have one and can't justify the expense, send me an email, we can chat.  i've included the non-weight measurements as well, just in case.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED!

225 g (2 sticks)  room-temperature butter
300 g (1 1/2 c) sugar
1 egg
225 g (1 1/3 c)  all-purpose flour
65 g (2/3 c) freeze-dried corn powder
45 g (1/4 c) corn flour
3 g (3/4 t) baking powder
1.5 g (1/4 t) baking soda
6 g (1 1/2 t) kosher salt

WHAT YOU WILL DO!

combine butter and sugar in a mixer with the paddle attached and cream them on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.  they should turn fluffy and pale yellow.  scrape down the sides of the bowl.

with the mixer at a lower speed, add the egg.  increase the speed to medium-high again and start a timer for 8 minutes.  mix and mix and mix.  the mixture will become pale, almost white, and the will almost double in volume.

after you timer goes off, turn the speed down to low and add the dry ingredients.  i'm pretty bad at adding while mixing so i tend not to do it.  i turn the mixer off, add a third, turn the mixer on for about 5 seconds and repeat until all ingredients are just combined.  you must be careful to not over mix.  it will really change this cookie.  i know it sounds silly, but it is perhaps the most important thing to remember ... do not over mix!

take a big bowl, something that will be able to hole 18 - 24 round balls, and put it on the counter.

start balling your dough.  i use a bigger spoon, like a soup spoon to aid the process, but technically you are supposed to us a 2 3/4 oz ice cream scoop.  the choice is yours.

after you make your first dough ball, place it in that big bowl.  then repeat until all of your dough is resting quietly in said bowl.  (i will sometimes just throw these into a freezer safe storage container, mostly because i like to always have corn cookies in the freezer, but also because if i cook off the entire batch i will eat the entire batch.  that is no good.  so i save about half of the dough balls, maybe more and eat them throughout the month)

place the bowl/storage container in the freezer for at least and hour.  i've never skipped this step, but apparently if you do you will get giant melt balls instead of cookies.  something about the amount of butter ... it needs to be cold going into the oven in order for the cookies to maintain their shape.

wait an hour .....  it's hard, i know.

pre-heat your oven to 350

place cookies on cookie sheet, just like any other, they will spread as they flatten, so don't have them touching.

cook for 18 minutes -OR- until their edges start to brown.  i cook mine for 15 minutes, because i like them a touch underdone and my oven runs a tad hot.  the brown edges are the key, you don't want any other brown other than the edges.

eat.  and eat again.  these cookies are so beyond delicious it's ridiculous.

recipe by christina tosi from the second issue of lucky peach, but it's also in the milk bar cookbook and i'm sure around the internets.

getting there // master bath

BEFORE

calling the interior of these four walls a master bath is a bit of a stretch, but it is the only bath in the house with a shower, and it is upstairs ... so i guess that means it counts.

we didn't do much, it's such a tiny space you can't really, but we did paint, yay white! and added a few shelves (ikea ribba shelves UPSIDE DOWN, best idea ever), a snazzy shower curtain (west elm, though not on their site) and a not lame towel rack (so important).  also we replaced our hot water heater.  this was by far the biggest upgrade of the entire house - quality of life wise.  we had a total of three minutes of hot water when we first moved in.  then sometime in february we decided it was too cold to not have a hot shower.  new water heater = best investment EVER.  we can now sit in the shower forever.  i frequently come out pink skinned.  it is wonderful.

AFTER

maybe one day kind of soon we'll replace the sink and the pathetic piece of carpentry it's sitting on.  maybe one day not so soon we'll add an actual master bath.  until then i'm basking in the white walled brightness and it's all pretty ok.

ps - sea salt soap, it's the best ever.  both mas and i are deeply, madly in love.  i'd highly recommend it.