Shoes!

Do you want these as much as I do?  Because I want them BADLY.  Mr. Pickles loafers by Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Vegan Week take Two

The holidays are crazy, CRAZY, I tell you.  We spent last week in Boulder celebrating with MAS' family and then soon we're off to Asheville for a very quick holiday visit with my parents.  Meanwhile there are things like Eggnog and Christmas cookies and Panettone lying around our house.  I don't think I'd eaten anything that wasn't a meat or a carb for three weeks prior to this Monday when we decided we needed a change.  So we've gone vegan again for the week.  We did it a while back and I've got to say, anything that can get me out of the cheese and cracker lunch rut that I so easily fall into is good by me.

So far we've had a series of really good meals, highlights being morning granola and almond milk (Although this round of almond milk making may have done our 8 month old blender in.  LAME.  I don't really want to buy a Vitamix, I mean come on with the price tag, but also buying a new blender every 8 months, that is not going to work.  We're mulling this one over.).  Oh and the Black Sesame Otsu from Super Natural Everyday was so beyond delicious.  Last night I tried (and failed with) Butternut Squash Lasagna.  I'm sure it's delicious when she makes it, but when I did it just tasted like a bunch of mashed veggies.  Next up a few more Asian dishes.  I always love an excuse to eat only Asian food for a few days straight.  It's not our go-to in this house so it's a nice break.

Sandwiches, the best.

It took us a while to try SUNdeVICH.  I don't know why.  I'll blame it on a complete lack of ability to get out of our house, or at the very best our neighborhood, during the weekends.  It's not like I was ever confused.  I always knew it was going to be good, I guess I just didn't know how good.  Turns out we had one of the best sandwich experiences EVER.  We got a Seoul and a Havanna along with some spicy cole slaw and brined veggies.  Also, Sprecher Root Beer.  It was delicious, I'd like to go back now please.

Lunch.

The lazy man's best meal.  Egg in a Hole.  I can't remember when I started eating these, but they've since been my go to when we have no food in the house and I'm too pressed for time to actually leave and pick up something.  It's ridiculously easy and ever so tasty.  Cut the center of the bread out ... this time I used black pepper brioche from the Milk Bar cookbook ... yuuuuuuuummmmmmmy; place in pan; cook in butter until toasty; flip; repeat till your egg is cooked just the way you like it (which should absolutely be VERY RUNNY).  Also a little bit of this hot sauce, because it goes on EVERYTHING, and salt and pepper.

Doughnuts and Fried Chicken.

Hey DC, quit with the announcing of doughnut and fried chicken spots and start with the opening of them.  Seriously, I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL JANUARY?

{image via astro doughnuts & fried chicken, which as far as I can tell is going to be the first to open}

Want.

THANK YOU CELIA.  Thank you for introducing me to Joinery.  Thank you for showing me that I need these boots and this pullover.  Thank you for finding the best toilet brush around AND the best colander (we've been needing one).

Tree, we have a tree.

This has got to be some kind of record for us.  Normally we talk and talk and talk about getting a tree and normally it happens about a week before Christmas.  Which is fine, but our schedule this year would not allow such things.  So over the weekend we walked down to Eastern Market and snagged a 6 ish foot bundle of smell good Christmas tree.  Like last year, MAS carried it home, it's becoming our DC tradition.  I'm pretty sure MAS likes walking the five blocks home the most.  He never gets covered with sap OR ruins jackets.

Beginners lessons ... sort of.

I'm taking Intro to Ballet at a local dance studio and it's too advanced for me.  As I am possibly the most uncoordinated person you've ever met, this is fairly unsurprising.  I frequently roll my ankles, trip over my toes and lack any sense of rhythm.  Top that with the fact that the last dance class I'd taken was when I was six years old.  In fact, the only thing I remember about dance class, save for the AWESOME bag I carried my stuffs in, was my mom falling asleep for a touch longer than she meant to and picking me up late (i was assuaged by the staff with so much candy I may have vomited it all up by the time I got home, not a bad memory).

Turns out, I need to go back to that six year old Ballet class because I literally know nothing about ballet. And being a 30 something girl in America that signs up for an Intro to Ballet class, this is apparently unheard of.

It started like this, our teacher was 10 minutes late to the first class.  AWESOME, one sixth of the class done! But it allowed all of us wanna-be-ballerinas to chit chat.  I kept hearing from my leotard clad classmates "Ohmygod it's been sooooooooo long since I've been to a ballet class I wonder if I'll remember anything" over and over and over again followed by something like "Yeah it was high school the last time I put these slippers on" once it was even COLLEGE. It should be noted, I was not wearing a leotard, or tights, or even legwarmers.

Whatever, it WAS fine.

I mean the teacher has a really horrid habit of teaching to the most experienced person in the room, NOT ME, so when I'm asked to count it out (what the fuck does that even mean?) I can't, but no one really bats an eye and someone else does it for me.  When the mirrors show everyone I am physically incapable of doing the arm things with the leg things I ignore them and surprisingly don't blush (a very bad habit of mine).   I'm pretty sore the day after class and I really do think it might be teaching me how to not slouch (another horrible habit of mine).  Also, it is kind of making up for the complete lack of good yoga in this city.

Now if I can just make it through Intro so I can start dropping into the Beginners classes, which happen more than once a week, I might actually get somewhere.  Also there's an Intro to Hip Hop class calling my name, and maybe laughing with me at the thought, bust still, SO MUCH FUN.

Meet Anna.

If you follow me on Instagram, this is old news.  But if you don't WE GOT A PUPPY!  Miss Anna is nearly five months old and only a little bit annoying.  She was a rescue filled with worms (a lot of worms) and instalove for Frances.  She followed me around non-stop for the first month and for the first week I had to have my hand INSIDE HER CRATE the entire night or else she'd loose it and no one would sleep.

Now she follows Frances around all of the time and sleeps happily in her crate on the other side of the bedroom.  She absolutely needs a morning walk and an afternoon run in order to not drive me up the wall.  Turns out yelling "I FUCKING HATE YOU TWO" does not stop the wrestling over toys.  It's never mean, just typically taking place on my feet while I'm trying to work, and possibly even on a call. But this means I'm running again and that is not a bad thing.

Frances doesn't yet LOVE Anna, but we're getting there.  Anna is allowed on the couch and the bed (Frances was in charge of the inviting, yes we have zero control of our older dog) and sometimes, SOMETIMES, she's even allowed in my lap at the same time as Frances.  There has been one instance of cuddling and it was brief, but now that it's cold outside I have high hopes that it will become a regular thing.  There has been no fighting, which has been a relief, and a lot of food sharing.

Frances is far more active, the house smells much more of farts and we're back to having to schedule our outings around a puppy that needs to be let out every four or so hours.  All in all it's been a pretty good thing.

Oh and possibly the best part, her actual biological sister lives just a couple of blocks from us.  THEY HAVE PLAYDATES.  It is adorable.

Will travel for hot sauce.

You guys, Artifact, the morning/mid-day food and coffee spot opened by the most amazing people of Woodberry Kitchen has us considering a move to Baltimore.  We went last weekend after my FOURTH trip to the Baltimore Ikea for the same damn floor lamp.  The trip was a success, we scored the lamp ('bout time) and then filled with excitement, and absolutely no food, we went bananas and ordered/bought just about everything we could see on the Artifact menu.

After lunch (grilled cheese with pickles, tomato bread soup, egg salad sandwich) and coffee (a dirty pumpkin) ... and maybe dessert (I can't remember) we continued our gluttony and came home with some Snake Oil (the best hot sauce possibly ever) and Pickled Carrots.

I'm making plans to go back ... weekly.