by golly, i just love weddings.

lookie, i went to the ritz this morning with girlfriends to watch the royal wedding at 5AM!!






i got a little choked up this morning at 6am. that doesn't usually happen. but everything was so beautiful and chill-inducing. i love weddings.

Lucia, Lucia

my friend, mary djaboury, is a rockstar. about 4 summers ago, we sat on the beach and talked about what we wanted for our futures. i had just started dating TH and was so excited for what could happen. i'd stay up until 2am talking to him on the phone and we had just met. i was smitten. mary d. told me how she'd been writing songs and really wanted to start a band. she played some songs for us and we were blown away! the girl has some serious talent and style. so we followed our dreams - i got hitched to my honey and she formed her band Lucia, Lucia. she's got that girly grunge, haunting voice thing going on in her music and it's excellent.

i went to her show a couple of weeks ago at DC9, her band is Lucia Lucia, and she totally killed it, as always. i just really like her and i'm so proud she has accomplished something she set out to do years ago. i love that. plus her day job is a childrens librarian and i'm pretty sure that is the cutest thing EVER, right?

You can listen to Lucia Lucia here. i really like her song, Tango.

learning to love the beige palace.

if we have talked recently, you know about my disdain for my current apartment, the beige palace. dark basement, big spider, ugly carpet, dumb ole chandelier, beige walls. complain, complain, blah blah blah.

last night, TH and i went for a walk around our neighborhood. in the Spring, capitol hill seriously looks like a movie set for perfect Spring movie. flowers blooming on every tree, bush, ground, baby, etc. it's so beautiful. while we were walking around, we realized how truly lucky we are to live in this neighborhood, and how our apartment is perfectly fine. so maybe we don't have natural light, but it's quiet and peaceful. maybe we have carpet instead of hardwood floors, but our feet are always comfortable. and you know what maybe i did see a spider the size of my fist a few weeks ago, but spiders are everywhere, not just in basements. so i can't really complain about that.

we decided we're going to suck it up and just enjoy the little apartment that we have. it's in a perfect spot and well, it works for us.
i'm just trying really really hard to not think about the 2 bedroom third story apartment two blocks away that we could have moved into for less than we are paying now with hardwood floors, big windows, and TWO BEDROOMS. just trying really hard not to think about it.

any tips for making a basement apartment more livable? we purchased some new lamps this weekend and are considering an area rug. oh, houses. who really even cares. haha.

family.

i spent last weekend in utah. besides being unseasonably cold (45 degrees!), it was the perfect weekend trip. dad has a supersweet condo in downtown SLC, and everything is walkable or trax-able. we walked to get breakfast, we traxed to gateway mall with all the kiddies, and we walked to the elevator to get to the pool in his building. pools are so much more fun with kids around!
i basically just laid around all weekend and laughed with my family and watched movies and bad TV. i wish we all lived closer together, but then i wouldn't rack up all these frequent flyer miles, right? thanks for making a girl well-traveled, utah family!

so, onto pictures of the weekend.

me and brooklyn. she is so pretty. and also the sweetest and funniest girl.me and the babymaker, aka laura.

brooklyn and tanner go for a walk on the moon.

evie got jealous and was like, "pssht. whatevs. i'm going to mars."

then we all hopped on trax to ride home. little elijah freaks out over trains, in a good way. you can't really tell by this picture.

maybe you can tell by this video?

bonus video, we captured evie being cute and giggly. and yes that is my butt.

things that TH says to me.

1. nobody's lasagna will ever be as good as my moms (sheepish look to me -- luckily i have never made lasagna for him!)
2. i don't know how to go on vacation.
3. the sun is shining too bright and too many flowers out. (poor TH is allergic to everything, and i'm pretty sure the sun makes that list. he always sneezes when we step into the sunlight).

things that I say to TH:
1. we need to go on vacation while we're still single! (i just said this a few hours ago. i forget sometimes we are married. haha!)

i left my heart in the west.

i'm off on a little business trip to denver. it's been awhile since i have been in the mountains, or flown anywhere, so yeah you could say i'm a little excited for this trip. i'm really excited to be around the rugged mountains. it makes me feel so different.
after denver, i have a stop over in SLC for the weekend to see my sweet little family (and more mountains)! can't wait to hang out with all the babies and my sister and brother and stay in papa mickey's super sweet apartment rental in the smack-middle of downtown SLC.

have a great week!

picnic in the mud.

picnicking in the mud isn't for the faint of heart.

and if you ride your bike to the picnic spot with a skirt on and the wind is blowing really hard, well - that's ill-advised also. and if your husband decides to look for the perfect picnic spot by riding his bike through the muddy grass, well my friends, do NOT under any circumstances try to follow him because it will just end in frustration and you getting mad and crying because you can't keep up and your bum is wet because you left your bike out in the rain last night and the seat soaked right through your cute gray skirt that is nearly up around your head by this time anyway.

however, if you remember to pack plenty of cheese and strawberries, the problems will quickly dissolve and you will forget about all that silliness and just enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful weather, for crying out loud. it also helps to have a really cute and funny picnic buddy. just sayin.

hello spring.

(picture from one of my favorite day trips 2 summers ago)

nothing like walking to and from work in the warm sunshine to make you fall in love with DC. the perfect weather only sticks around for 3-4 weeks if we're lucky, then its HUMID summer. but i'm determined to enjoy the warmth this summer after my constant complaining this past winter.

warmer spring days mean lunch breaks with TH, long evening walks around the Hill, and dreams of going to the beach! i really am just itching for a beach vacation, it just sounds so dreamy to be laying on the warm beach with sandy toes, and listening to the waves crash against the shore.

eat, pray, love.

i watched the poorly-reviewed movie yesterday in my sick bed. and for all the self-indulgent, spaghetti slurping, sari wearing, perfect beach hair (in Balinese humidity, give me a break)i actually liked the movie. i even cried (i probably shouldn't admit that).

what the movie really sparked in me was a desire to move to Bali immediately. with plane tickets averaging $2000, i probably won't be going anytime soon.

he bought me an accordian.

and just like that, i was the proud owner of a beautiful accordion. now i just need to stop playing the amelie soundtrack and just learn how to play it already.

cafe rrrrrrrrrrrio!!

Ok, i don't want to get too excited about this because for gosh sakes i'm supposed to be a vegetarian, but did you hear that Cafe Rio is opening in DC? And opening with a bang - apparently they are building 9 Cafe Rio's in the DC area. First store is set to open in Olney, MD at the end of April. Who is up for an April 30 lunch in Olney? I have a recurring dream about their sweet pork barbacoa burrito. I actually haven't eaten one since I became a vegetarian in 2005, but given recent events over the past two weekends of gluttony, I can no longer be classified as a vegetarian, at least where pork is concerned. Thank you bacon and The Boss.

Thanks to Sherpa for the cafe rio tip.

you're all i need to get by.

i start most of my mornings with this song. and sometimes we duet. life is pretty great sometimes.

grow, grow, grow.

everything is growing right now, but you know - nothing is blossoming quite yet. well, there were those cherry blossoms, but golly they are all pretty much done for now.

i've seen a few tulips on the hill, but what i really can't wait to see is BIG GREEN LEAVES growing on the large oaks and maples. that is why i love that my birthday is in May - most of the trees have their leaves by then.

i am just waiting for all these things to GROW GROW GROW big! come on summer, get here already, right?

where to eat in denver??

heading to denver in a couple of weeks, and i'm at a loss. what are the must-do's and must-eat's of denver? what is the voodoo donuts of denver? or the crumpet shop of denver?

best dentist appointment just happened.

1. nicest dentist ever.
2. didn't try to sell me anything (the last dentist i went to wanted me to drop more than 1K for a bite guard and laser whiten my teeth).
3. told me my teeth were beautiful, straight, and a nice color.
4. no cavities.
5. seemed sincerely interested in what i did for work.
6. didn't ask me questions while she was cleaning my teeth (i hate that. "so what do you do for work?" "ohh, mah offfighazhathun thuppats nnnneeeyyy pauthy"

anyway, if you are looking for a dentist in the DC area, may i suggest sharman johnson. its just her and her receptionist in the small office and they do a fantastic job. whoever leaves happy from the dentist? i just did.

85 and sunny.

yesterday was like something out of a dream.

i had to leave work early to scope out a hotel for a meeting i am planning, and i hopped in my mini at 4pm. the sun was shining, it was 85 degrees, and i drove down the road with the windows down and the radio up.

and this song came on and it was like a trip down memory lane.


then i stopped by mcdonalds and got an ice cream cone and EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD WAS PERFECT.

NYC makes me tired.

this is definitely where i want to be ALL day today.

yes, my house needs to be cleaned.

yes, there is a pile of dirty dishes sitting in the sink.

and maybe i just sat around all night last night instead of doing anything about it.

NYC was fun, as always. the weather was gorgeous. i ate too much food, as usual. i didn't take one picture, but TH did get a couple snaps of us on the Top of the Rock! i've always wanted to do that, and it was really beautiful. we had blueberry pancakes at clinton street baking co., french toast at sarabeths, and grilled cheese and burgers at the burger joint. i think i'm done eating for awhile. i was exhausted the whole time i was in NYC and didn't even call anyone since all we did was eat and sleep (sorry nyc friends i didn't see!), but that is what i get for taking a 36 hour trip to the city!

how was your weekend?

getaway weekend.

i'm going to NYC this weekend! and that is no april fools joke, people. this afternoon i'll hop on a train that will take me directly right straight into the hub of town - penn station. i get so excited right before we descend into the tunnel, because i know in only about 10 more minutes i will be stepping up into the big lights, big city, yeeeeaheee yeaahheee yeaaahhh in new york! (still love that alicia keys).

on my short list of things to do is: bagel, uniqlo, thift shopping, sugar, brunch, pizzzaaaaa. i'm excited.