even if spring won't come, you can't stop me from pretending.

i bought this skirt last night. it is beautiful and soft and lightweight and i can't wait to wear it! TH laughed when he saw it because it looks just like our bedsheets. well, i wondered why i felt so cozy and comfortable when i tried it on!!

books: i read one.

hey guess who is making good on their new years goals? i know some of you may laugh at this (my literary friends have surely scoffed at me), but one of my goals this year was to read 4 books from start to finish. i have a nasty little habit of reading the first couple chapters of books and losing interest. what can i say, i am a girl of many interests.

the book i chose to read: the guernsey literary and potato peel society
a writer in england strikes up a relationship with a book club group from one of the channel islands, Guernsey, during the german occupation and WW2.
i enjoyed the book, but found myself skipping through parts of it, particularly because of the format. if you haven't read this book, it is set up as letters back and forth between a handful of characters. there isn't any dialogue or description other than what the characters offer in the letters. i had a difficult time getting on board with the letter writing, but i made it through the book to the sweet ending.
i don't know if i'd recommend it, although i really did love the protagonist, juliet. parts of the book were extremely heartbreaking, but i found myself skipping through the pages quite a bit. maybe i'm just a bad reader?

onto the next book...maybe the little bee? have you read any beautiful books lately?

what i need in a house.

1. a yard (or access to a park).
2. a place to grow things.
3. natural light.
4. hardwood floors.
5. a window in the kitchen.
6. a place to keep our bikes.

i'm currently lacking 4 of those things above, which i only just recently realized i needed. oh, i'm dying a little bit inside living in a carpeted basement apartment with nary a window in the living room. i'm thinking if we install mirrors somehow on the outside of the house to reflect the sunlight into our living room, it might work? or, maybe we should just start over again. gah.

dogs. dags. dawgs.

my sister is looking for a new doggie right now and its just tugging on my dog-lovin heart strings! so, without further ado, i submit to you my "i wish i could own this dog" post.

English Springer Spaniel. Look at that face. Oh, that face!

Vizsla. I love these dogs so much. They have the prettiest coats and pretty pink noses.

West Highland White Terrier. Fluffball.

French Bulldog. Those ears kill me every time.

Komodor. These dogs are so COOL.

Beagle. This one is for TH, who really loves cute little beagles. Aw.

Which pup would you choose? How about one of each and they can all live with me on my imaginary farm!

well, golly.

it's just plain cold outside but i have an orange on my desk that i'm hoping will brighten my spirits today. i was home sick yesterday (sniff, sniff), but feeling rested and better today. sometimes your body just needs you to really take care of it and it pays you back!

this weekend, we're staying inside mostly since the weatherman is calling for SNOW, and just because we like to keep it low-key. the national marathon route goes right through our neighborhood, so i'm going to try to see all the runners on saturday. it's always so inspiring to see! and my awesome friend kim gardner is running the marathon - i am so impressed and proud of her! go kim!

what's going on with your weekend?

some things.

1. TH got home from Montreal last night. When he was up there, he revisited some of the places we went to for his birthday last year. It made me swoon for the Quebecois!

2. Our landlord is installing a new security system in our apartment today. No more constant buzzing from the old 1984 system anymore! Gosh, I can't wait!

3. This has been a typical March with a couple of warm days here, a couple of rainy days here, and now its just plain cold and gray. Hope it warms up before all the magnolia trees and cherry blossoms wither away!

4. Papa Mickey is in town for a week. It was so nice to see him. I still don't get why he'd want to spend 4 months in Utah, poor man. (I kid, Laura!)

5. Today is my littleist niece, Evie's first birthday!! Awww, happy birthday tiny little baby. Can't wait to see you next month and smother you with kissies. (I stole the picture from Laura's blog. They recently did a little family photo shoot at the Salt Flats. Cool, huh?)

life is busy.

with the new business, crazy work, and general blah-ness of the past week, life feels pretty crazy right now!!

last night my old roommates, cristy and sierra, stopped in for an old fashioned girly visit and thai takeout date. it was just what i needed to boost my mood, and you know what? i'm feeling 100% better today! and bonus, now i know that Old Siam on capitol hill has the best Thai Tofu soup I've ever tasted. delicious.

i really want to share so many pictures, but i can't find my camera cord for the life of me! when i bought my fancy schmancy new cam-a-rah (said like jenna from 30 rock) the salesman tried to sell me on this card that just automatically (through remote) transfers your pictures to your computer. and i was like, that seems so unnecessary, geez. but for the past 2 weeks, i am kicking myself. i sure could use that remote right now!

do you like hot dogs?

we are launching our new business today (soft opening): a food truck!
we loved them so much, we couldn't just stand by and let everyone else run them without us having a fair try at it.

so last november, mei and dave and me and TH decided we'd sell gourmet hot dogs, and Top Dog was born! we've worked really hard on finding and outfitting a truck, and getting the highest quality ingredients we could find. we'll have a bacon-wrapped sonoran dog, a gourment debreziner (sausage) dog, and a "not dog" - a veggie dog with pinto beans, tomatoes, and some good spice. it is SO delicious i wish i could eat one right now! and TH couldn't get enough of the sonoran dog - that Dave Adams is one amazing chef.

TopDog will be operating in northern virginia for the first couple of months and will hopefully expand into arlington and DC soon. please pass the word along if you know of friends who live/work in the area! we're really excited to get things off the ground. thanks to our friends for all your support for our truck! this has been so much fun, and we just can't wait.

new house + our first little visitor.

hi there, don't mind us. we are just getting cozy and settled into our new apartment. we had a few visitors last month when we first moved in and i just love these pictures. so adorable. and please enjoy my multiple chins.

i made this heart garland last month for valentines day and it looked so nice against the brick, i haven't been able to take it down yet.

i just ordered some new furniture, and we have some scheduled craigslisting for this weekend, so hoping things continue shaping up around here. so far, so good! and i'll post some more pictures of our place after we get things in order.

i've joined the green drink bandwagon. *hopping on*

i finally tried the green monster last night and it was SO good and refreshing. i couldn't stop drinking it!
it's super easy and does not taste like you are eating a bunch of green chopped up bits of vegetables. it tastes sweet and cold and yum.
in a blender, put: 1 TB flax, 2 cups of washed spinach, 1 banana, some blueberries and other berries if you have them, and about a cup of milk (I used soy. you can also use almond, rice, etc.). Blend, add some ice if you like it extra cold, and serve in a glass!

it made enough for 2 smoothies, so i shared with TH. and can you believe that was all i had for dinner? it was so filling and satisfying.

but here's my question: i've been reading lately that spinach has oxalic acid, which actually absorbs iron from your body, inhibiting your body's ability to take in the iron. for us ladies that need all the iron we can get, how do you get your sources of iron? i'm truly concerned about this. sometimes i just feel like you cannot win in the health world. haha.

fighting the blahs.

i've been feeling pretty blah this week. just don't really feel like doing anything or being a part of society. when i feel like this, i generally make a treat or cook something or take a 2-3 hour nap and i feel better, but no time for that lately!

any suggestions? i have a feeling that what i really want is Spring!

sunny days.

this weekend was perfect.

lots of family. lots of friends.
new dining table and coffee table from an estate sale.
good food.
the sun came out.
we went for a long walk around the hill, and saw tons of puppy dogs.
discussed our new business, getting ready to launch this month.
held a baby.
ate 12 cinnamon rolls.

the weather is getting warmer, and i'm getting spring fever big time. it's almost time to start riding my bike to work again and lunch picnics with TH and bare legs and dresses. ohhh i cannot wait.

japan.

i woke up this morning and TH told me about the earthquake in Japan and resulting tsunamis. my heart sunk and i got up to watch the news and all the crazy footage. TH received an email from a colleague in Japan who was working on the 7th floor of a building. he said the building was swaying so bad, lots of people were motion sick. and with the metro transportation shut down, most people would have long walking commutes through mudslides and flooded areas.

my heart and prayers go out to the people who've been affected by this quake. with all the storms, and tornado warnings, and blizzards we've been having the past couple of weeks, the world just seems a little crazy right now.

moving in.

well, it's been about 6 weeks since we moved into our new apartment which means I have made a couple decisions about how we should decorate and which also means TH has had it up to here with looking for house stuff. We have been to every secondhand furniture store in the area, and did some antiquing in Lucketts and Frederick, and still - nothing! either we are really picky people or it's still just not clear how we want things to look. one good piece of news - i came across a dining room table i really like that we'll be picking up tonight or tomorrow morning. and i know what chairs i want, and am on the hunt for a nice big mirror to hang on the wall.

things have just been busy as ever for us - i had 3 big meetings last month and TH has a huge meeting coming up at the end of this month, so we just get caught up in work stuff and anniversary weekend stuff, etc. it kind of never ends, right?

i have big plans for this weekend, and hope we'll be able to get the dining room finished. and the living room is a lost cause since we're still waiting on that sofa to be delivered, which won't happen for another 4-6 weeks. ridiculous.

we'll also be hanging out with some family this weekend - TH's parents are coming up on saturday to do the eastern market thing with us and see the new apartment. then out to my family's for a bi-coastal birthday party. little evie is turning 1! i can hardly believe it, she is still so teeny tiny.
and then sunday we have tickets for "who's afraid of virginia woolf" at the arena stage. i love going to the arena stage. i think it's the coolest theatre in DC.

hope you have a nice weekend and hope spring is finding its way into your neighborhood! did you know we switch the clocks ahead on sunday? hooray for longer days!

cumberland part 2. biking the allegheny trail

isn't it pretty? the bike path runs right next to the steam train track that runs only in the summer. could you imagine riding a bike next to a huge steam train!?

we took the morning to ride the 12 mile roundtrip from cumberland to the first tunnel. hopefully next year sometime (or maybe this summer?) we can ride the entire 150 mile trail that runs from cumberland to pittsburgh. a challenge for sure, but you get to ride through lots of old tunnels and pass coal mines. we're suckers for that over here.

cumberland part 1.

in under 3 hours, you can hop in car and drive from here

to here.

cumberland, md. the end of the C&O canal. picturesque town, straddling the potomac, with church steeples dotting the cityscape. we were definitely there out of season, but it didn't stop us from enjoying cumberland's spoils.

our bed and breakfast

we stayed at the most quaint and lovely bed and breakfast, The Bruce House Inn, located just a few blocks from downtown and surrounded by beautiful historic homes. Pam, the innkeeper, was a sweetheart and made the most delicious breakfasts every morning! puff pastry with strawberries, eggs benedict, yogurt parfaits, french toast with apples, yum! i'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

food in cumberland

we ate at a few places i care to mention (and one sicknasty japanese place i do not care to ever mention again): italian dinner at Restaurant Ottaviani, where i ate half my body weight in bread and olive oil, and custard at The Queen City Creamery - we tried vanilla, butter brickle, chocolate, and chocolate covered cherry, and i'm not exaggerating when i say its the best custard i've ever had. so smooth and creamy and delicious! i ate the other half of my body weight in custard that weekend.

in a town that shuts down pretty early, we had to rearrange our schedules to wake up early for breakfast (8:30am) and go to bed early (around 11 every night). we slept and ate and slept and ate and walked around aimlessly, and then slept and ate some more. it was so relaxing. a great little getaway for the weekend. we can't wait to go back in the fall when the leaves are changing and the steam train is running!

do you have any favorite day trips from DC? i'd love to hear them! we are always looking for excuses to take a break from the city.

back in town.

this weekend was exactly what i needed to rest and refocus. never mind that cumberland, md is full of retirees and we didn't come across anybody younger than 50 (except for the ice cream parlour staff), we tossed our cares aside and mostly slept for 72 hours. we also did a littlebita biking, museuming, eating, and a LOT of custard eating. wowee.

mostly it was just so nice to be celebrating 1 year with my honey. he makes me laugh all the time, his hugs squeeze me so hard i think he'll break my ribs, he brings me hot cups of tea and cold glasses of water without me even asking, he kisses my forehead, he gives me rubbies (not without complaint, but STILL!), he supports my career, he encourages me to find things that i love, he is just my best friend and my love.

from our trip to park city last summer.
he even takes death defying trips down the bobsled track with me!

so much sleepiness.

this is the second week in a row that i've finished meetings and headed home, only to sleep for FIVE HOURS STRAIGHT. yesterday i fell asleep on the couch watching Oprah (Oprah WIN-FREEEEEY) at 4:30, woke up at some undetermined hour to move it to the bed, and slept until my darling husband came home at 10:00 in the PM. i woke up long enough to say hello, eat a crumpet and half a banana with nutella, then slip back into coma until 7am.

i'm so exhausted lately and kind of achy all over, and my brain is just feeling really fluffy. what IS that?

all i want to do is slip away into dreamland. i just have to wait until tomorrow, when we roadtrip to cumberland, md! we found a little B&B in this western maryland town, with plenty of hiking, biking, and ice cream eating available. i'm really looking forward to a relaxing and fun weekend with my husband of nearly 1 year!

apples.

i'm running another conference this week. every day this week so far, i've been acquiring beautiful green apples that are leftover from lunch meetings. by the end of the week i hope to have enough to make a pie. or maybe an apple crisp.

and that is about the only good thing i can say about my work week so far.

i do hope your week is beautiful. and i am most definitely looking forward to this weekend!