Roberta Roller Rabbit

Roberta Roller Rabbit Sarong Jemina

Today I'm heading to the beach again for one more day in the sun.  Yesterday, my body decided to finally revolt against me, and I woke to a full-fledged set of stress-induced hives.  Lovely, right?  I am itchy and irritated and you know what...enough it enough.  I get it, okay.  I will stop swallowing my stress and get it all out.  So stop with the warning signs and hives go away, okay?!?!

Anyway, about the beach.  Nothing soothes me more than the sun and the water, so off I go.  But first, I want to share my absolutely favorite beach accessory...my Roberta Roller Rabbit sarong.

I own two RRR sarongs, and love them equally.  I bought my newest one on sale at Piperlime.  They are comfortable, versatile, and lightweight enough that you're not sticking to your clothes on hot summer days.  I typically wear mine tied as a strapless dress, but you can also wear it as a skirt or tied around your neck like the photo above (I have that one too in purple).  Even for buxom girls like me, the sarong is big enough to fully cover myself and still be a decent length to wear in boardwalk shops or bars.  I never go to the beach without mine! 

Weekend Wrap-Up

Sandy Point State Park

I am having a hard time believing that summer is now all but officially over.  Time has flown by, and even worse, I hadn't had one beach day this entire summer.  Not one.  Now typically, I am a planner...I love putting together a night or a weekend or a vacation, making sure to hit up all the restaurants and must-see places.  But with everything that has been going on these past few months, I just let planning a beach weekend slip by me.  So, what's a girl to do then when Labor Day weekend is here and the beach availability has far been sold out?  Research other options...and did I find a hidden gem just an hour outside of DC!

Sandy Point State Park is a 786-acre Maryland State Park located on the Annapolis shore of the Chesapeake Bay.  There are boat rentals, crabbing, hiking paths, fishing areas, tons of areas for cookouts & picnics and best of all, a beach.  The beach is small, and the sand is an odd texture, probably because there isn't really a tide on the Bay, but hey--a beach is a beach!  There were jellyfish out, so I didn't dare get in the water, but the view was beautiful with the Bay Bridge straight ahead and sailboats crowding the water.  

Since we were in Annapolis, we had to stop for dinner at Cantler's Riverside Inn, my favorite crab shack in Maryland.  We feasted on boiled jumbo shrimp, seared ahi tuna nachos, hush puppies, and of course, steamed Maryland crabs.  If you've never been, it is worth the trip!  So delicious, and made for a very satisfying day!

Steamed Maryland crabs at Cantler's

The rest of the weekend was filled with relaxation, watching football, and some well-needed down time.  I finished reading both Divergent and Insurgent this week...fantastic books that I couldn't put down!  I am anxiously waiting for the last of the trilogy, Allegiant, to debut in October.  A bit of the stomach bug was still lingering, probably thanks to my crab feast, but it was worth it.  Hope you all had a fun filled and relaxing Labor Day weekend! 

Weekend Wrap-Up

Ladies night with my favorite mommas!

Finally back in DC!  My pap is doing better, and we moved him at the end of last week to a rehabilitation hospital to continue his treatment and get him stronger.  Jazzmin is still working every day to get stronger, and hopes to also move to rehab soon.  Thank you so much for your support and prayers for my family...it means the world to me!

This weekend was a bit low key.  A few weeks ago, I discovered that I have among other knee injuries a torn meniscus, and I've been in some pretty bad pain lately, so I took off Friday night to relax and ice, ice, ice that knee!  Saturday morning, I woke up and headed to see my friend Carey, the very best hair stylist in DC, at Salon L'Eau in Georgetown for a cut and color.  Isn't it amazing what a trip to the salon can do for a girl's morale?  Wonders!  I then went on a hunt for the most awesome leather skirt I've ever bought.  Four phone calls, two stores, and three hours later, I am now the owner of this amazingness:

Sorry ladies, it is completely sold out online, so good luck finding it!
 
Saturday night, I had a girls' night out with two of my favorite mommas, Jennifer and Erin.  Dinner on the patio at Cashion's Eat Place was delicious and then since it was such a beautiful night, we took a short walk down to Connecticut Avenue for a few too many more drinks.  It was very much needed after such a long, not so great week.  Lots of bubbly = a pretty lazy Sunday...just cuddled up on the couch and finished a book.  I was so bad at taking photos this weekend...must work on remembering to do so!  Hope you all had a great weekend!

Pajama Day

 

I love this, but sadly, it is me more nights than I care to admit.  It is something I am working on...staying social even when all I want to do is come home after a long day at work and crash.  This week, however, I am taking the week off to unwind, relax, and rejuvenate.  So I will stay in my pajamas as long as I want, and take my time to do whatever my heart desires this week.  Everyone needs these days every once in a while.  Hmm, what to do today...maybe pool and a good book?

Weekend Wrap-up

What a great weekend!  My old roommate, Helen, and her husband Chris came in town to visit, and we had three days of non-stop fun!  I'm exhausted today, but so happy to have had them come play!  I love visitors but rarely get them, so when I do, I go a little crazy planning so many fun things to do and great places to eat.

First stop was to Baltimore for the Jay Z and Justin Timberlake concert.  After a four hour drive from DC to Baltimore (and a mildly episode of road rage and an erratic pity-party) we made it to the concert an hour late.  Luckily, they still played for almost two more hours, so we got to hear some of our favorite songs.  The rain didn't stop us from getting down to "Sexy Back".

Traffic jam getting off the exit...drove 0.5 miles in 1 1/2 hours.  Insanity.

Justin Timberlake and Jay Z at Ravens Stadium

The next day, Helen and I did a little shopping and walking in Georgetown. 

Only in Washington, DC...

Helen is about four months pregnant, so we had to pop in to a few baby boutiques.  How adorable are these little onesies that we had to go ahead and buy for the baby?!?!

Since I had visitors, I had to take a paleo break...and boy did I break it!  For lunch, we had iced coffee and split a Red Velvet Cakecup, and a chocolate ice cream and peanut butter cookie sandwich from Baked & Wired...my favorite dessert shop in DC!

Then we took a stroll around the Georgetown canal and the waterfront before heading to dinner at Zaytinya (one of my all-time favorites).  Perfect day for a walk around the neighborhood!

Georgetown canal

The next day we had brunch with friends at Belga Cafe, a delicious Belgium restaurant on 8th Street SE.  Next we headed to the National Gallery of Art to see a few exhibits that were about to close...the Edvard Munch exhibit (which closes today) and Ballet Russes exhibit, which was very interesting.  It closes October 6th, and I highly recommend going to see it before then.  Then we were off to an early dinner at BlackSalt, for the best crab cake sandwiches in DC.  So worth the price.

Finally, we finished our weekend with an evening at Nats Park.

Cold beer and baseball

We had great seats, and although we were down 4-0 in the first half of the game, the Nationals came back to beat the Phillies 8-5!

Great seats at Nats Park!

And best of all, we watched history be made...Jayson Werth hit a home run for his 1,000th career run!  It was an awesome moment for a Nationals fan!

Congrats on your 1,000th hit Jayson Werth! What a hit!

Needless to say, after a great weekend and making a 4:30 AM airport run, I am exhausted!  Such a fun weekend, and sad to see my friends go back home.  Now, who wants to come visit next?  As you can see, I make one helluva fun-filled hostess!

Summer Reading

Now that it is finally August recess, I get a break from my crazy and hectic work schedule, and get to relax a bit.  Next week, I'll be taking the week off and hopefully be spending many hours by the pool.  You have no idea how excited I am to just lay in the sun and catch up on some reading.

I recently just finished "Lean In" by Sheryl Sandberg and "Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald" by Therese Anne Fowler for my book club.  Both were excellent and I highly recommend them.  We haven't yet decided what yet to read for book club, but I do have a few other books that I need to dive into.  "A Dance with Dragons" by George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones, book 5--yes, I am part nerd) is among the top of my list, but this epic novel may be too much to take on right now.  I thought about picking up "This Town" by Mark Leibovich, but want to put aside politics for the month.  I've heard that "Serena" by Ron Rash is great, and is also coming out in theaters this fall with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, so I'd love to read it before I see it.  I've also thought about catching up on "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" by Joan Didion or finally finishing the second Girl with the Dragon Tattoo book, "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson.  That was one of those books which I started, put down, and now it's been so long that I need to start it all over.  But I have time for that--it's August!

What books have you recently read and recommend?  I always enjoy talking books and hearing great book recommendations, so feel free to contact me if you ever have a great one I need to pick up!

In Bloom

I have good friends coming in town to visit this weekend, so I've been working all week to get my house in order and welcoming for them.  My favorite added touch--fresh flowers!  What girl doesn't love them?  I am definitely not an expert at flower arrangements, but have been working on it lately, and I think this is my best one yet.  I love the shades of pink and white, and the different textures and heights of the snapdragons, hydrangeas and spray roses.  So pretty if I do say so myself!

Weekend Wrap-up

Robert Randolph & the Family Band at 9:30 Club

Have you figured out yet that I love live music?  Friday night I went to see one of my favorite live shows, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, at the 9:30 Club.  As always, he did not disappoint!  In fact, he didn't want to stop playing...after his second encore, the 9:30 managers had to make him get off the stage because they had a late night DJ coming in.  Boo!  But he was awesome, and thanks to my friend Chris, we got prime spots in the VIP booth to dance the night away.  Huge score!

I also hit up Paolo's this weekend, one of my very favorite spots in Georgetown.  My new favorite is their Seafood Salad...delicious, light and filling!  Probably should have eaten a bit more bread that night though, because one too many glasses of wine led me to George later on that night, which always ends in trouble!

I wore my new favorite Razorback Red dress that night...what do you think?  It's from Banana Republic and unfortunately no longer available, which is a shame because I love it so much I wanted to scoop it up in a few more colors.  It is super comfortable and the cut is perfect for me...exactly what buxom girls should look for in a dress.  It has a defined, natural waist line, room enough at the top for the girls, and the skirt floats nicely over the hips without making them look too wide.  And bonus, I don't have to wear my Spanx with it!

If you're from the South, then you know that football season is just around the corner, and this is the perfect game day dress!  Yes, in the South, we wear dresses to football games!  And a girl from Arkansas can never have too many Razorback Red ones hanging in her closet!  Sadly, I won't be making it home for any games this year, but be certain I'll be wearing this to a watch party or three this fall!

Weekend Wrap-up

After a typical busy workweek, I left work Friday evening and headed to Merriweather Post Pavilion with friends to see The Lumineers.  One word pretty much sums them up: Incredible!  They sounded every bit as good live as on the radio...maybe even better.  The band's chemistry is so much fun--great energy, extremely talented, and they said over and over how our sold out show was the biggest crowd they had ever played, so they were pumped up the entire night.  Our seats were great too, an added bonus for such a fun show.  Highly recommend seeing The Lumineers if you ever get a chance!

After a long week and a very fun Friday night, I took Saturday to just relax and get a little TLC.

Decisions, Decisions...

Seeing that this will probably be the only time I'll have a hint of a tan all year, I went in really wanting an almost white shade for my nails, but after trying out a dozen different colors, all were too sheer, so I went for my one of two standby colors--red!  Any suggestions for an almost white nail color? Please let me know!

Felt like a Big Apple Red kind of day!

A long wait at Acquanails (the best nail salon in Georgetown) meant twice as long in the massage chair--no complaints there!  Then some grocery shopping, home to cook, and then publishing my first blog in over two years!  So excited to get this started again!  Today I will be finishing up some work and then hopefully finishing up a few long overdue home projects too.  Need to clear the way for a ridiculously busy upcoming week and then (hopefully) a relaxing August recess!