Tuesday, January 17, 2012

weekend in review

The long holiday weekend was really nice and relaxing!! I started it out by painting a new mani, inspired by this post on the Cupcakes and Cashmere blog. And my surfing on Pinterest last week proved really helpful because I came across this fabulous time-saving tip for half-moon manis! The final product is a mixed mani; half-moons, glitter, and ombre.
These great earrings were a Christmas gift from my friend, homemade from lace!
In the car on the way to Friday's
dinner. New haircut all done up!
Ross and I celebrated Restaurant Week in DC with a Friday night dinner at The Prime Rib. I absolutely loved the atmosphere and service at the restaurant, though I'll admit I thought the food would be better. Typically I tell myself that during Restaurant Week restaurants are churning food out faster than usual and catering to an atypical audience so they're not trying as hard (though that sort of defeats the whole purpose of Restaurant Week). I don't expect the meal to be as good as usual, though there are those few times when you're pleasantly surprised, aka Firefly and Kinkeads, that make you think it has to be possible!

Saturday morning we had a great brunch with Ross' mom at Ardeo + Bardeo in Cleveland Park! I've been wanting to try this restaurant since I lived in the neighborhood -- note, I moved out of Cleveland Park more than seven months ago! They offer a bottomless mimosa two-course brunch for just $25 but none of us were that hungry, or thirsty. I chose the Croque Madame and thoroughly enjoyed EVERY bite... it was super delicious! Getting ready for a brunch and day of errands, I went for a casual chic look on Saturday. Ross told me I looked like a horseback rider, which was OK by me because I was on the equestrian team in college, and believe that an equine-inspired look is very polished!
My favorite over-the-knee boots, with Theory peggings (pant leggings, they have pockets & zipper!),
Theory blouse and blazer, Gucci purse, and no makeup!
Following brunch we treated ourselves to a food shopping trip at Whole Foods! Saturday I made pasta with sweet sausage and brocolette. Sunday was Denver Omelet Cups. Monday was an avocado citrus salad and turkey sandwiches -- I'm fairly certain these are the best turkey sandwiches I've ever made and ever tasted!! They were just simply delicious... made on authentic San Francisco sourdough with gouda cheese, baby arugula, sliced red onion, olive oil mayonnaise, and a cranberry orange chutney; yummmmo! -- Wednesday will be a steak and tomato stew in the slow cooker. To finish things off, Thursday will be shrimp and snow peas with rice. (I didn't include tonight, Tuesday, because I'm heading to Marcel's with some coworkers!!) Most of this week's recipes came from the most recent version of Everyday Food, a monthly digest from Martha Stewart - whenever this arrives I'm immediately inspired! I highly suggest a subscription to anybody interested in cooking.
Denver Omelet Cups - hashbrowns, ham steak, onions & red pepper, cheddar cheese, egg!

Citrus and Avocado salad!
Fresh turkey & gouda sandwich!

Back to the weekend... After Whole Foods we found our way to A Litteri, an Italian market in Northeast DC. It reminded me of the Italian markets at home (New Jersey). There were shelves and shelves of wine, tomato sauce, and canned goods (think pepperoncini, olives, etc.). I just picked up a little bit of Italian bread, hot soppresatta (salami-like meat), and fresh mozzarella. From this I created a quick snack before dinner that was so fresh and tasty, and even used the extra bread for homemade croutons at Saturday night's dinner.

Ross' friend Adriel joined us for that dinner, then we all went up to my friend's birthday party!! I brought her some homemade lemon bars for a sweet treat! Not entirely sure where the inspiration came from, but I had all of the ingredients and the lemon bars were fairly painless to bake up. To finish the night, I met up with Ross and Adriel at The Last Exit, a vintage-inspired bar inside Tonic in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. If you like handmade fancy cocktails, this is the place for you!
Bold pink lips for a night out!
Sunday was the day of rest, and I mean this in the literal sense, not the religious. Some friends came over to join Ross and I for breakfast where I made whole wheat buttermilk pancakes with fresh strawberries and bananas, baked right in!! We served up some orange juice, french press coffee, and hot tea to boot :) Other than that, most of my Sunday consisted of watching movies, napping on the couch, and making Denver Omelet Cups for dinner!!


Ross and I decided to spend Monday out and about in DC!! There are so many great things to do and see, and putting actual time aside makes it so much easier to find our way to these activities. We went to check out the Ice Rink in the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art. The line was bearable but we were 45 minutes away from the next round of skaters being let on. We decided to ditch due to the facts; Ross doesn't really care for skating and I'm not a fan of public skating on small rinks since I used to compete in figure skating as a child. But next year the ice skating path will be open at Canal Park, just two blocks from our front door, and I'm (im)patiently awaiting the first day!!! So instead we hopped across the street and visited the Gallery of Art - one of the Smithsonian's that I had not yet visited. We strolled through the galleries for a few hours then found our way to Teaism for a warm drink on a cold day. From there we meandered to Barnes & Noble where I darted for the Cookbook department (duh!) though later found a book that I am tempted to buy as a gift for someone. Don't know who, just someone, but mostly because I want a reason to read it cover to cover and pass it on. What book was it that caught my attention? The History of the World According to Facebook. Never heard of it? Check it out. You will laugh so hard, I promise!

All in all, it was a great weekend!! Saw lots of friends, cooked lots of food, drank lots of cocktails, and rested! Now I have an exciting week to look forward to; dinner at Marcel's, flying trapeze & live band karaoke, dinner with a friend moving to Seattle, and train up to New Jersey!!

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