Monday, March 26, 2012

a recipe for happiness

If I had to plan my perfect weekend it would have involved everything I did from Friday evening through Sunday. The past two and a half days were pure paradise in my mind. I got home from work and decided to push myself to do a run, despite the fact Ross wasn't going to the gym. I know that I have to build up my tolerance for running and my endurance. When I'm running on the treadmill, I'm guilty of power-walking more than running, and sometimes I feel like my jog or run isn't even with my natural pace. So with the warm weather calling my name I set a 10-minute timer on my iPhone, turned on the Pandora workout station, and hit the pavement. My first goal was to make it to the Navy Yard gates without pausing or slowing down past a slow jog. SUCCESS! I made it to the gates in 7 minutes and 45 seconds. I took the next 2 minutes and 15 seconds to rest and catch my breath, then I took off again for another 10 minutes, pausing only for one traffic light. I zig-zagged around the new row houses they're building in our neighborhood. It took a lot of patience and concentration but I was able to run through the wind stitches, the pain in my knees, and the common signs of giving up within 3 minutes of starting a run. My 10 minute timer went off when I was two blocks from my front door, but I ran the extra distance just because I could. I felt so empowered and successful when I got home!! More than that, I mapped my run when I got upstairs and found out it was over two miles! I was beyond ecstatic and so proud of myself for sticking with it. I have a long way to go until I'm ready for the 13-mile Tough Mudder this September, but that's what the next five and a half months are for.
Margarita on the rocks with salt... in a Mason jar!
Ross and I enjoyed a celebratory beer, or two, out on our balcony. The breeze was so nice and so was the company ;-) Later that night we went to Surfside for dinner. If you have not been, I HIGHLY suggest that you check it out!! They are a made-to-order taco restaurant with a beachy vibe. There are no servers, you order at the counter, grab a beeper, and go pick up the food when it's done. While they were making my taco I grabbed a margarita and found us a table... which, by the way, are quite difficult to come by on Friday nights. That place was packed! When the food arrived I was just marveling at my plate, and let me tell you, it tasted even BETTER than it looked! I got the flour tacos with Mahi, pineapple salsa, carmelized onions and poblano peppers, cheddar and jack cheeses, lime sour cream, and cilantro. This was all served on top of yellow rice. It was too much food for me to finish, but Ross had no problem polishing it off for me ;-)
My delicious dinner at Surfside!

Saturday morning started with a New Jersey bagel (thanks Dad!), a fresh cup of french-pressed coffee (thanks Ross!), and 90 minutes of GMAT studying (thanks Life!). I had a lot to get done and a lot to look forward to, so I was motivated to finish my homework. By 10:30 that morning I finished all of my assignments which meant, the rest of the weekend I didn't have to stress about GMAT studying!! From there I headed to the gym so I could do my conditioning, build muscle, and get lean for the Tough Mudder (and Cabo, which is only 3 weeks and 1 day away!!).
Must whip royal icing for 10 minutes!
Check out all of her supplies! Tracey is so well stocked :)
After the gym I showered and got ready for Tracey's! She was giving me a tutorial on decorating cookies with royal icing. I showed you all a picture of her masterpieces on Friday's post. Turns out she has learned all of her tricks via online research; reading and watching videos. I'm so thankful that I had her to teach me because I know it would not have been the same without a friend at the counter with me :) We had a great time making the royal icing, sipping on mimosas, and chatting about trapeze! Tracey was such a great teacher; she had a handout ready for me to take-home (Note, I have already purchased all of my own supplies so that I can start decorating cookies on my own ASAP!) and she gave really simple demonstrations for all of the techniques. If it wasn't for her, my cookies would not have turned out as pretty, I swear. Thanks, Tracey!!
My output from Tracey's fantastic tutorial!
First draw the straight lines.

Then drag a toothpick through it. (Kinda reminds me of latte art!)
Saturday night, Ross and I picked up dinner at Sorriso; mussels marinara and a pizza with spicy salami, mushrooms, and onions. This is one of our favorite places in DC, especially for pizza, and since moving away from the Cleveland Park neighborhood, we rarely get to enjoy it. I also made some garlic bread with the baguette Dad brought us from Balthazar Bakery. After enjoying dinner and cleaning up we parked ourselves in front of the TV for some movie time and nail painting. We finished Good Fellas (from the weekend before) and put on the Green Lantern. Yes, it was cheesy. Yes, Ryan Reynolds is still hot. But, I have to admit that most of my attention was going towards my nails... after all they were getting doned in a Hunger Games theme! Yes, The Hunger Games. I was inspired, what can I say? And when the inspiration hits, you gotta run with it! So off I went, each finger represents a different District or character from the movie:
My nailpolish. Lots of people have recently asked me how many colors I have... about 42.

  • Finger - District #, industry - image
  • Left pinky - District 10, livestock - cow
  • Left ring finger - District 4, fishing - fish and hook
  • Left middle finger - District 6, transportation - high speed train
  • Left pointer finger - District 11, agriculture - corn
  • Left thumb - Mockingjay!
  • Right thumb - President Snow
  • Right pointer finger - District 8, textiles - needle and thread
  • Right middle finger - District 13, nuclear - atom
  • Right ring finger - District 3, electronics - gears
  • Right pinky - District 7, lumber - tree
My thumbs, pre clean-up.
The process took me a little more than two hours and I'll likely remove it tonight, but it was totally worth it!
District fingers!!
Sunday was a busy day with my friend and college roommate, Nev. After food shopping, Ross and I picked up Nev so that Ross could drop us at brunch. (Such a sweet boyfriend!) We ate at Estadio near Logan Circle, and thoroughly enjoyed it. We ordered, by recommendation, the warm toast with local honey butter and a shaved salt. It was so warm, delicious, sweet, and salty! A great combination of flavors and textures. We also split the mini chorizo sandwich with the accompanying cheese. Although it was a bit greasy, we devoured each morsel! It was small but we both agreed that due to the law of diminishing returns the second would not have been as enjoyable. (Both econ majors in college. Both dorks. It's okay, that's why we get along so well!) Then we split the soft scrambled eggs with goat cheese, mushrooms, and scallions. It was so tasty and I really enjoyed the creaminess lent by the goat cheese. If you do happen to grab brunch here, make sure that you order the orange juice. It's fresh squeezed!!

After brunch? Off to The Hunger Games!! We got great seats and enjoyed some popcorn (with butter) and gummy worms. (Clearly this is not the day I stayed on my normal diet of "no preservatives".) We both liked the movie, but I won't spoil anything here in case you folks haven't seen it yet.

Following the movie we headed up to Red Sun Nails for a pedicure. Although I brought a polish from home, "Orange, It's Obvious" from essie's Spring collection, I opted to pick a color from the salon. I tend to do this because if I'm actually going to spend money to get my nails done, I would rather enjoy a color that I don't own. I cannot remember the last time I got a pedicure and they did such a great job! Although, they did put baby oil on our feet, to soften them, which made our sandals a little slippery to walk on. 

Since I forgot my metro card, Ross picked us up!! When we got home, he and I went on a walk through the Hill. We walked over to Eastern Market but arrived after they closed, oh well. We stopped at a bench to soak in some of the sunshine and enjoy the outside air. Since I hadn't actually cooked all weekend I was quite looking forward to preparing dinner. We defrosted some of the Cream of Mushroom soup I made last weekend and I put together some Zucchini pancakes. The recipe came from Everyday Food by Martha Stewart and gave me a GREAT reason to use my Cuisinart's slicing plates (thanks Mom!). It was my first time using the plates, I typically use the whole bowl and the blades. But since I had to grate 2 zucchini, 1 potato, and half an onion, I knew this was the right time to check out that attachment. It was really marvelous how fast the vegetables grated! And it made my life SO MUCH easier. Some parsley, matzo meal, egg, parmesan cheese, and dill later and we had zucchini pancakes ready to go into some hot oil on the stove! Flip 'em after 3 minutes and keep them warm in the oven while you finish the batch. We served them up with apple sauce and sour cream on the side. I preferred the apple sauce, but both were good options. 

So, how did I end my weekend on a high note?? I ate dinner and finished cleaning up BEFORE 8:30. It was unreal. We don't usually eat before 8:30, so to have everything DONE by then was truly amazing! We started the first episode of Game of Thrones, Ross just finished the book, and I am really looking forward to that series. And then we watched the season premiere of Mad Men.

All in all, it was a FABULOUS weekend. I hope you all enjoyed your Saturday and Sunday too!! Now back to my typical, busy lifestyle... and GMAT class tonight. Yay, Life! At least I have a class at Trapeze School to look forward to this Saturday :-D

Friday, March 23, 2012

week recap and lots to look forward to

Thursday's work outfit. Too soon for a white jacket? Nahh....
This week has been busy, yet fulfilling. I did not have trapeze class :( but I did get to enjoy some lunch from the Cirque Cuisine food truck! They have really flavorful organic options for every diet. I got the pork lettuce wraps (so tender and delicious) but they were also serving up beef, fish, and tofu options. I enjoyed lunch from Cirque Cuisine with my fellow flyer, Sarah, and we got to share a minute of hellos with our instructor Mandy! (I just love how close the staff and friends of TSNY are!!) Follow Cirque Cuisine on Twitter or Facebook to keep up with their daily locations!

Photo courtesy of @CirqueCuisine

I was lucky enough to update my nails done twice this week!! On Sunday night I painted a cute take on the french manicure with a neutral base (Topless and Barefoot by Essie) and rainbow tips. It was super cute and fairly understated compared to my previous nail art adventures. Unfortunately it started to chip pretty quickly so by Tuesday night I took it off and was able to finish a pink-peach-coral ombre manicure while studying for the GMAT. Highlight this week: Wednesday morning in the elevator a lady commented, "You must have gotten your nails done last night!" I responded, "Yes, I did them last night." "YOU did those?! They look great!" Well, let me tell you, having a perfect stranger telling me my nails looked professional just about made my week!

Wednesday night I actually had a work event which involved trivia! My team won... thanks to our token Trivia star, Adam. It was really close for a while, we lost a lot of points in the second round, but we came back strong by wagering the maximum amount of points (20) on the final bonus question; "What is the most popular cookie consumed in China?" (It's the Oreo!) Also, for those of you who did not know, the Olympic flame represents the fire stolen from Zeus (by Prometheus). A dromedary camel has one hump (compared to the bactrian which has two)! And the Q in Q-tip stands for Quality. 

Ross and I got a new Everyday magazine by Martha Stewart which meant lots of new recipes to try. We actually ate really healthy this week, lots of chicken and vegetables!! Some dinners included; Cream of Mushroom Soup (without the cream!), Chicken Tacos (from the crockpot! Add chicken breasts to a jar of salsa and a packet of taco seasoning, and you'll have the most flavorful shredded chicken for your tacos!),  Baked Chicken Nuggets and Italian Fries, and Sauteed Vegetables with a Pasta Salad. That last dinner was VERY green, as you can see below...


And to end a great week I have an even more exciting weekend to look forward to!! Tonight Ross and I are going to Surfside for dinner. He raves about it all the time so I'm excited to finally give it a try. Tomorrow I will be decorating cookies with Tracey! She is so unbelievably talented, I'm beyond excited for my lesson from her :) Prosecco will be on hand as well (of course!). Saturday night I'm planning to stay home and paint my nails in a HUNGER GAMES theme!! Seriously. I kid you not! I'm so excited to do this, I'm like a 5 year old child on line for the ferris wheel. Each finger nail will represent a District, the Capitol, or the Mockingjay. Obviously I had to cut some - but you'll just have to wait until they're done for more info. Sunday I get to look forward to brunch, The Hunger Games, and a pedicure party with one of my college roommates. Seriously - this sounds like the best weekend ever!! Happy Friday, everyone!

Just LOOK at these cookies!! Tracey is so talented. Can't wait to learn from best :)



Sunday, March 18, 2012

trapeze show


At my last class I gave my trapeze instructors their thank you presents. As a sign of appreciation for all of their support, guidance, and most importantly for sharing their love of trapeze with me. To say thank you I designed and painted an individual silhouette of each of them on the rig. The background of each painting represented their favorite colors and the design was pulled from a photograph I found of them online!! The paintings came out great and my instructors really appreciated them!
Mike Flat.

Brent Catch.

Mandy Sweep.
Since gifting these paintings to Brent, Mike, and Mandy I have decided to sell custom orders! If you or somebody you know is interested, email me at CapturedOnCanvasDC at gmail dot com.

And now it's time for the great reveal...

This past Friday night I had my trapeze performance at TSNY DC. My costume choice was candy dots and I performed (and caught) the Seats Off!

There are two videos I have to share! The first is shot by Lizzie and shared by Brent (catching as the Gingerbread Man!)... thanks so much, both of you! And THANK YOU to Brent for catching this trick with me on Friday evening. The second video was shot by Ross... he was sitting with my Dad, Rosa, and my friends Natalie and Jeff. They were in the first row and had sore necks shortly after the show started, but I think that they really got to enjoy my style in the middle of my trick ;-)




I've previously mentioned that I handmade my costume for the show! When my class decided on Candy for our theme, I did a bunch of research to find a candy that could be easily translated into a costume. As soon as I settled on Candy Dots, I knew I'd have tons of fun putting my get-up together!

My completed costume laid out on the floor. The pink tulle has SO much glitter, I had to lay it out on a sheet.

Close-up of my tutu. I cut white felt into 3" wide strips and used fabric paint  to create the candy dots. With pink, green, and blue tulle I wrapped it around a ribbon then sewed on the felt strips when dry. 

My final costume, post-performance!!
I'm so sad that I won't be in the next IFW but it's time to focus my time and attention on GMAT studying and Tough Mudder training. I'm sure that I'll sign-up for a few classes over the Spring, but I miss flying already. Not to worry, I promise to keep my blog audience up to date on my other daily adventures. Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

trapeze and circus things

As promised, I snapped a picture of the gift wrapping for my trapeze instructors' thank you gifts. Don't you just love how they came out? I think the wrapping makes it even more personal. Tonight is my dress rehearsal and I get to bring Mandy, Brent, and Mike their gifts. I think I'm more excited to see their reaction than I am to practice for the show!! I will post a photograph of the gifts after they have received them, since I don't want to spoil the surprise.
The most adorable sticker for my Camelback, from fellow trapeze student, Tracey!
Last night the Ringling Bros. train arrive in DC! They're performing downtown at the Verizon Center, Thursday through Sunday. In true Ringling tradition, they unloaded the train and paraded their elephants from the yard through downtown! Since they were off-loading only a few blocks from my apartment, Ross and I went over to take a look. (I have to share, my grandma was very concerned that I might follow the elephants and run off with the circus! A sincere fear she has developed since my passion for flying trapeze has grown. I told her not to worry, I have [at least a little bit of] self control.)

The Pachyderm Parade route for Ringling!

The Ringling train getting ready to unload the elephants and horses!

Monday, March 12, 2012

busy yet relaxing weekend



Ross and I dancing at my friends' wedding, November 2011. (All images copyright vjmStudios. Duplication on any media without express written authorization is prohibited.)

My hard work at the office last week paid off. Each Friday my manager's two teams get together for a meeting; each of these meetings ends with a section termed "Mad Props". This is an opportunity for any individual to congratulate and call-out exceptional effort or note-worthy contributions of a team member. Mad Props can be verbal or include a small token, such as a balloon, candy, a box of tea, etc. This Friday I got a Mad Prop from my team lead for quickly responding to a client's request and managing the next steps. It was really unexpected and led to finishing my week on a high note!
My Mad Prop!
When I got home from work on Friday I had a great surprise waiting for me... my very first order from My Habit. Thanks to my friend Alexis for introducing me to My Habit. It's an Amazon sample sale site, similar to Rue La La, Gilt, HauteLook, and Ideeli. And oh my gosh, I just went on to look at one of the swimsuit sales... the image of the model in the swimsuit moves around! That's such a fantastic feature of MyHabit and lets us (the consumers) really see what we're going to buy. Last week they had a Delman shoe sale and I scored the coolest pair; black suede lace-ups with woven wedges. I cannot wait to wear these in Cabo!


Ross and I planned a low-key Friday night in. We both headed to the gym after work (so proud of myself for staying on track with my training!) and enjoyed some cocktails and popcorn while watching NYPD Blue on our Roku player :) I got a late start to dinner, as we didn't even sit down to eat until nearly 9:30 pm. That was fine by us, the Chicken Parm was a great meal to enjoy and we were in no rush. After dinner I went back into the kitchen because on Friday afternoon I had a sudden urge to bake. I did some quick online research and suggested two recipes for Ross to choose from. He requested the Pear, Cranberry, and Gingersnap Crumble - a great recipe from the Smitten Kitchen blog which I was first exposed to via Cupcakes and Cashmere. We enjoyed this warm out of the oven at 11:30 and thoroughly enjoyed it! It was sweet and tart, a real treat. (Note: I used frozen cranberries because I didn't come across any fresh ones in the store... didn't notice an issue at all!)

So delicious. The ginger snaps in the crumble made a good difference!
While that bad boy was in the oven we watched Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon - well, Ross was watching it. I was finishing my third and final gift for my trapeze instructors and glanced up every few minutes (usually when Josh Duhamel was on screen). I'm so glad that my gifts are done on time, and I am really excited to give them to my teacher's this Wednesday to say thanks for all of their hard work and support! I will have to take a picture of the wrapping because they came out super cute. I used brown paper bags to cover each painting and secured it with kitchen twine (nope, I did not use any tape). Then I made individual gift tags and strung them on. It's such an adorable look!

Re-learning fractions as I study for the GMAT.
Despite getting to bed later than usual on Friday, my Saturday was a really busy and packed day! I woke up early to do more GMAT studying, gave myself a new art deco inspired manicure, and hoped off to volunteer for 4 hours with the Junior League! The DC League has a thrift sale each Spring, the items are mostly donated from the 2,000+ JLDC members and range from clothes to housewares to furniture and electronics. You want it? We've got it! When I got back home Ross had already met up with our friends visiting from out of town, so I took the time to shower and get ready. It was quite lovely not having to rush as I really do enjoy the process of getting ready!   

Art Deco inspired nails, found via Pinterest.
Since I was already missing out on the fun with our friends, I decided against using the Metro (transferring would have taken too much time) and instead I opted to use Uber for the first time! Uber is an on-demand car service; use your cell phone (app or text) to tell them where you want to be picked up and you'll receive a text message when the driver is arriving. Rates ($7.00 flat plus distance [if you're traveling >11 mph] and/or time [if  you're traveling <11 mph]) begin when you are picked up not while the driver is on his way to you. It's great, you slide into a nice black town car and get whisked away to any destination you please! When you arrive at your destination you simply get out. Uber already has your credit card information from registration and tip is included! They say prices are approximately 60-75% more than a cab, but when DC cabs don't take credit cards or frequent your neighborhood, this is a great go-to solution. Also, there is no per-person fee, rates are flat and thus this can be a really convenient way to travel through the city with a group of 3 to 4 people. Plus, you get to feel like a rockstar when your car pulls up front and you casually get out and saunter inside. Well, at least I did!

Saturday night dinner was at Logan Tavern. Have you ever been there? You must go! And you HAVE TO order their garlic calamari - it is  OUT OF THIS WORLD. Oh man, now I'm hungry. Also because I'm thinking about my Sunday morning brunch at Luna. That egg white omelet and those crispy hash browns were t-a-s-t-y. Then there was food shopping and Sunday afternoon snacking (edamame hummus with baby carrots and pretzel crisps), evening snacking (rosemary crackers with brie & hot pepper jelly and sharp cheddar), dinner (capellini with chicken and broccoli and a spinach salad with homemade croutons made from whole wheat sourdough bread) and dessert (more of that oh-so-awesome tart!). Is it lunch time yet?


Friday, March 9, 2012

week in review

Yesterday morning I was so stressed out that I almost started to cry. I was at the office. That would have been embarrassing. A combination of a busy work week, studying for the GMAT, planning and making dinner for 20 people, and putting the finishing touches on my trapeze costume nearly put me over the top. So, what did I do to keep those tears from streaming down my face? I IM-ed Ross and told him how excited I am for our trip to Cabo in 5 and a half weeks, specifically relaxing on the beach together drinking margaritas. Thankfully the distraction worked to get me back on track and plugging away on deliverables. Words of advice? Keep calm and carry on! Who has time to freak out? Not me, that's for sure.


I don't think I have yet posted I'm studying for the GMAT! This was a decision driven by a few people and opportunities. I'm really excited about the prospect of business school, though I'm not sure whether I'll apply for Fall 2013 or Fall 2014. I do know that I'm taking the GMAT this May, and so far the studying has been going rather well. It's been interesting to relearn about fractions, exponents, roots, and sentence structure! Although I thought it would be 10-15 years before I was in a classroom again, I'm noticing a lot of anticipation for that change of scenery. This should be a fun ride!

Despite taking a 3-hour class every Monday night, it is recommended that I study for 12-20 hours per week. That's a lot of extra time! To help balance it out I'm trying to get up 30 minutes early and put in some time over a cup of coffee. I bring my materials with me to work so I can take advantage of waiting for the metro and any trip, despite the length of duration (my ride to work is only about 10 minutes on the train). I have also been cutting down on after-work activities so that I can build in at least one hour every night. So long as my excitement stays high I feel optimistic about maintaining this schedule, despite how aggressive it may be.

Rainbow fruit kabobs!
As I have posted before I volunteer about 50 hours a year with the Junior League in Washington, DC. This year I'm working with a wonderful group of women, one man, and children in a transitional-housing program. This Thursday was my turn to provide dinner for the approximately 20 people. I could have easily ordered catering trays from Cosi or Panera, or picked up boxes from Bojangles. Instead, I chose to prepare the meal myself! By doing this I tried to promote healthy eating habits and well-balanced nutrition (something our Junior League group focuses on with the families). For dinner I chose to prepare baked chicken nuggets, baked zucchini sticks, a chopped salad, and fruit kabobs. There was iced tea and lemonade for the parents and Juicy Juice for the children. Everybody LOVED the dinner and complemented my cooking :) One mom even said she thought the chicken was from Chick-fil-A (that just about made my day!!). A big thanks to Pinterest and the Skinny Taste blog for helping me search and choose recipes. For certain, I will be making these at home!

In all honesty, I wasn't sure how the kids would react to the zucchini sticks. Turns out they were all for 'em! That was unexpected, so in preparation I built an approach to encourage the children to try them. If a child asked me what the zucchini sticks were, for fear of them making an icky face and deciding not to try them I crafted the following response; "Well, I'm not sure. They look kind of like french fries. Why don't you try one and tell me what it tastes like?" I wish I got to use my tactic but I guess it's better that the kids weren't picky eaters after all!

Next week is my flying trapeze show!! And this time I'll actually have a big audience; my Dad will be coming into town to watch and cheer me on along with my old flying buddies Natalie and Jeff! For the past few weeks I have been practicing and honing in on my trick for the show (which is why you haven't seen videos lately). I don't want to give anything away, so next weekend or the following week, I promise to share a detailed overview of my costume and performance. In regards to my costume there are a few hints I CAN offer;
  1. My class' theme is "candy".
  2. I have a tutu.
  3. I'm wearing a leotard.

And, in regards to my trick, here is the only preview I am sharing!

Tonight will hopefully involve a trip to the gym to keep up my Tough Mudder training, making chicken parm, and finishing a gift for my trapeze instructors!! And then tomorrow I get to look forward to celebrating Ross' 30th birthday again along with a few other friends. We have two other couples joining us for a fun-filled Saturday night in DC! Can't wait to hang out with Vinnie & Kelly and Darnell & Marcie. Should be a great time and I hope you have a great weekend, too!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

my life in pictures a la instagram

My addiction to instagram has increased exponentially over the past month. Every time I do something, go somewhere, or see someone I want to take a picture, crop it, and filter it! I feel like my experience is not complete without an instragram capture. The growth I have seen in the number of my followers and responses just adds fuel to that fire!

So to fill you in on my life for the past two weeks, I share with you my life in pictures, a la instagram! (My instagram user name is cviole if you want to follow me!)

People watching and fashion faux pas at the DMV while waiting for a new license!

My first sake bomb ever! If you live in DC, check out Momiji for happy hour!

Prepping for a stir-fry dinner. Lots of veggies... yumm!

Delicious cocktail that Ross made me! Blueberry vodka and raspberry lemonade!

Training for a Tough Mudder, still on track, surprisingly! Hopefully will be beach ready for Cabo in  6 weeks!!
DIY homemade bowl made from beads. Inspiration a la pinterest!!

Dirt cups for my Oscar-watching party!! Chocolate pudding, crushed oreo cookies (no cream), and gummy worms! Such a fun snack in just the right size.

Individual crudite cups for Oscar-watching party! Buttermilk Ranch dressing in the bottom was so delish.

Stuffed red pepper for dinner. Thanks to Erin at "I Am Quirky" for sharing the recipe!

Fancy cocktails with square ice cubs and green garnishes from Againn gastropub in DC.

DIY pink ombre manicure. This didn't blend as much as I was anticipating, but the stripes still look cool.
Went to a friend's birthday part at Medieval Times! Was able to fulfill a childhood dream in the process :)

Our new bookends!! Yes, these are our souvenir cups from Medieval Times, ceramic knight heads!


Whole Foods Market = Whole Foods Heaven. I love this place.

Wildflower Honey at Whole Foods Market!