Mid Week Wrap-up

I missed my weekend wrap-up on Monday--oops!  As I mentioned last week, on Saturday I went to a benefit for Luke's Wings, sponsored by the Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution.  I found out a few years ago that I am a DAR, and am thinking about joining this year (if I can ever find the time to chart my genealogy).  One project at a time.

After fear that a migraine was going to sideline me that night, I quickly recovered and ended up having a ball!  We started the night at the Four Seasons Georgetown bar, and the headed to the City Tavern Club for a night of dancing!  We shook our booties all night long, and needless to say, my physical therapist was not too happy with me and my sore legs on Monday.  It was worth it though to have a fun night out with my girls!

Weekend Wrap-up

What a great 3-day weekend!  I took full advantage of the somewhat warmer weather this weekend, and then today, woke up to a snow day in Washington, DC!  This weekend, I did some closet purging, saw some art, went to a game, had a great girl's lunch and gave back to my community in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

I must get better at taking more photographs (wasn't that a New Year's resolution?  Oops!), but I did take one from the Wizards game this weekend.  Got spoiled with suite tickets, but still managed to totally behave myself (two more weeks until I get a drink!). 

Also if you are in DC in the next few weeks, make sure to see the Van Gogh exhibit at the Phillips Collection.  They've extended the exhibit for a few more weeks, so hurry and get to Dupont to see some of his most famous works.  Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Weekend Wrap-Up

My bestie Jeb is married!  So happy for this man!

I'm a bit behind this week, but I promise, I have a good excuse!  I traveled home to Arkansas this weekend for my best guy friend's wedding, and it couldn't have been a better weekend!  The wedding was incredibly fun, a gorgeous bride and groom, and I got to catch up with some of my besties and friends I haven't seen for a very long time.  Couldn't have been a better wedding weekend, and I have to be honest, I am sad to be back in Washington.  Below are a few more photos with my hot date (my sister Marissa) and some of my great girlfriends.  Only 5 more weeks until I'm back and Arkansas, and I am counting down the days until I'm home again!

Weekend Wrap-up

I had all sorts of great plans for this past weekend--getting back to the gym finally, dinner and drinks for my BFF's birthday, maybe spending some time outdoors enjoying the beautiful Fall weather, and the Pearl Jam concert on Sunday night--but of course, the stomach bug came to visit Thursday night and overstayed his visit.  Ugh.  Still a bit queasy this morning, but so far I've been able to eat and be okay, so fingers crossed I'm on the mend.  A weekend ruined by the stomach bug--totally for the birds!

Weekend Wrap-Up

So the government is still shut down.  And I worked most of the weekend.  And then on Sunday, I went to Red Door to see Antonio.  An hour and a half later, I left a changed woman.  It's amazing what a massage can do for this girl.  Ah, relaxation at its best and just what I needed to start off what is for sure to be another tough week--starting with jury duty on Monday.  Just inched off of jury selection that would have been for a two week trial.  Thank God.  Maybe this week won't be quite so bad after all!

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend was the National Book Festival, which took place on the National Mall.  I volunteered on Sunday, and it turned out to be a gorgeous day and a big success!  If you've never been, I strongly encourage you to come out next year.  There are authors of all genres that sign books, speak, give readings and there is also a ton of activities for kids too.  Such a great event thrown by the Library of Congress with the help of the Junior League of Washington.

The rest of the weekend was pretty laid back, perfect since I was still in a bit of recovery mode from the wedding the weekend before.  I sadly watched the Razorbacks blow a huge lead and lose to Rutgers on Saturday, but I went to one of my favorites, Bistro du Coin, later that night to eat and drink it off.  All in all, another great weekend!

Weekend Wrap-Up

The Peluchettes

My cousin, Nick Peluchette, got married this weekend in Evansville, Indiana, and most of my very large family made the trip.  He and his wonderful bride Maria hosted such a fabulous weekend, and I couldn't say more about how great it was.  To sum it up in a word, my family is fun.  We all try to outdo each other as the life of the party, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  In fact, I had so much fun that I currently have no voice.

Here are some photos of the weekend...hope you love my family as much as I do!

At the rehearsal dinner with my Uncle Mark (and godfather), with cousins Neil (the best man and brother-of-the-groom) and Valeri (DC cousin), and with my DC boys, cousins Matthew, Ryan and Jack.

 With my Aunt Judy, with my sisters, Marissa and Lindann, and with my mom at the rehearsal dinner.

Late night after the rehearsal dinner with my Uncle Richard and cousins Ashley, Neil, Maxx, Nathan, Alex, Lee, Joel, Nick and Maria.

After the wedding, with my beautiful sisters, Marissa and Lindann.  I'm the oldest, and Lindann is the baby (and married woman).

The wedding night with Marissa, my sisters and I posing with props at the photo booth (such a fun idea), and with the beautiful almost-teenager Valeri.

Last but not least, late night with the bride and groom...a sweaty mess, but that's what happens when you break it down on the dance floor for four hours!  How cute is Maria's late night reception dress?  Such a fun weekend...hope y'alls was just as great as mine!

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend was incredibly low-key...apparently just what I needed.  My hives decided they didn't want to go away, so I went to my doctor and was put on some prescriptions strength steroids and anti-histamines to knock these things out.  My doc also agreed that this was stress-induced, so we had a long talk about managing my stress.  Done, and working on it.

These drugs though are like a magic sleeping potion--the first day on them I was so loopy after about 30 minutes of taking them that I had to go to sleep...and woke up seven hours later.  And then slept a full night too.  That was pretty much the theme for the weekend, which I suppose was fitting considering that Monday starts back-to-school week in the Senate, and it looks like it will be a very busy fall.

So, on top of sleeping my way through the past few days, I did manage to do a few things.  I finally used my Groupon for Age Smart by Mirka, the best facialist in DC.  Seriously, this woman works miracles.  I accidentally found her through another Groupon when she was working at a salon in Georgetown, and have since followed her to her own practice in Bethesda.  If you go see her, tell her I sent you!

Of course, I watched my Hogs play too.  It was a little closer than most of us Razorbacks would have liked, but Arkansas is now 2-0.  Woo Pig!

The rest of the weekend was just checking off my to-do list--oil change, alterations, dry cleaners, laundry, some cleaning, grocery store--yawn, I know.  So, not a particularly exciting weekend, but I did manage to get a lot done, heal up, and stick to the cleanse.  Anyone do anything fun this past weekend?

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!

Weekend Wrap-Up--Family Prayers Edition

 

Well, my weekend didn't exactly go as planned.  Right now, I am in West Virginia...my grandfather had a bad fall down a flight of stairs and is in the hospital, so I'm here to help out and be with him and my Mema.  I would appreciate any prayers you can offer up for him right now.

Speaking of prayers, I also have a major one for my 17-year-old cousin, Jazzmin Peluchette.  For the past five weeks, she has been in the hospital in Miami after contracting a rare auto-immune disorder called Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO).  Among other things, it has labored her breathing, caused blindness in one eye, and she is paralyzed from the waist down.  There is no cure for this disease, and it is so rare that Jazz is the youngest person ever diagnosed with it.  They don't know what caused it, but the treatments she is receiving are helping--in the past month, her paralysis has gone from chest down to waist down, she can now breath on her own, and has regained sight in one eye.  She has a long road ahead of her, but is doing amazing...her strength and determination are incredibly inspiring!  Earlier this week, a local Miami news channel did a story on her, and it is so wonderful to see her progress in just a few short weeks.



There also is a fundraising page that has been set up to help pay for treatment.  If you or anyone you know would like to help out, please follow this link:  Jazzmin Peluchette Treatment Fund

I guess the curse of having an enormous family (mom is one of 10 kids) is that we seem to suffer through more than our fair share of heartaches.  My family has certainly seen tough times over the last decade or so, one person and then another and then another.  But the amazing thing about a big family is that there is that many more people to support you and pray for you and love you, and my family certainly does just that.

I may be on a short hiatus for a few days while I am in WV...not sure how many days I'll be gone, but I would really appreciate your prayers for my Pap and for Jazz while I am gone.  It means the world to me!

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!

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!