cross it off

last night, i looked outside at 7 o'clock and it was already almost dark. i like warm weather, going to the beach and summer clothes, but the thing i always miss about summer the most is the light. when it's almost nine and it finally decides to get fully dark. i miss that in december when it's pitch black by 5:15.

dc got lucky this year. august was pleasant, not boiling, and it was one of the nicest summers i can remember. 

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the changing of the seasons always brings about a closet clean-out. i got rid of a ton of clothes this time. my motto for this clean-out: "if it doesn't fit TODAY, it's GONE." feels good to look in my closet, knowing that everything that's in there actually fits. no aspirational clothes allowed. enough of that bs.

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we got a lot done this weekend. boring errands and life stuff, but i always feel good when the weekend is productive. as much as i think i'd prefer to relax, i always end up feeing better when i'm getting stuff done, crossing off the to-do list like a maniac.

enjoy these last few days of summer. i'm not ready to let go.

a beautiful sunset from our last trip of the summer 

lucy being a grade A weirdo

cinnamon rolls for my birthday 

coming back from a kid-free dinner

killed it

for me, weekends don't get much better than this. 

hanging out with my boys (lucy too of course), beautiful weather, shopping for herbs, blooming flowers everywhere and impromptu cocktails at our neighborhood spot.

hope you got to spend the weekend with the people and pets you love the most. 

buried

as dc winters go, we've had a lot of snow this year. but anyone who lived here in 2010 will definitely remember snowpocalypse/snowmageddon and the near-weeklong closures it brought with it.

i was living in dupont circle at the time, right on 17th and massachusetts.

after the snow finally stopped falling, the sun came out and since we were going stir crazy, we went for a walk to the mall and downtown to check out the aftermath.

this was dc in february 2010. under more than three feet of snow.

i've started to hear some rumors of more snow next tuesday. yikes.

happy spring?

two days

the vernal equinox is in two days. old man winter decided to have one last laugh yesterday, but they say warmer temps are on the horizon. 

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in terms of the weather, it was a strange weekend. temps in the 60s, upper 40s, 20s. the days that were warm, trust that we took full advantage and went on plenty of long walks in the sun. my new favorite thing to do after work.

i also had time to make my favorite no-knead bread recipe, which, if you haven't tried, you have to. it'll make you look like an expert baker (check out that golden brown crust!) and i promise you it's the easiest recipe you'll ever try.

love seeing these pop up 

credit for this awesome sketch goes to my coworker/friend, alina. what a talent!

someone got some free clothes

you've got to try this recipe

the view from our porch this morning. 

my work actually didn't have an official snow day but i decided to work from home anyways. i think they're sick of all the days off.

here's to spring. glorious, glorious spring.

more please

i'm the type of person who usually jam packs my weekends. 

run one more errand? yep. squeeze in another dinner with friends? ok. do another project around the house? bring it!

but this weekend, i didn't have any plans in particular and it felt amazing. sometimes, being the anxious person i am, having no plans makes me a little nuts. "but i should be doing SOMETHING," i think. 

and while checking stuff off my to-do list is always gonna be something i love, i decided, for whatever reason, to just let it go this weekend. maybe it was the awesome 60-degree weather. maybe i'm trying to become more laid back (ha). but i spent yesterday afternoon going on a long walk in the sunshine with my husband and my kid and it felt great. 

no plans? no worries.

i need more weekends like this.

spring five

three cheers for friday.

i do one of these lists every season because there's just always something fun happening in the district. we're lucky to live in a city that constantly has new restaurant openings and cool things to get excited about. 

here's what's on my list this spring.

img source: one | two, pic by me | three | four | five

1. menu. located in penn quarter, this market/bar/full-service restaurant is right up my alley. if you follow them on twitter, you'll know they have housemade bacon jam for sale. that's pretty much all the info i need to get me through the doors.  it's run by the same guy who operates table, which, if you've been reading here regularly, you might remember me saying it was the best meal i've had in dc in the decade i've lived here. no bs. 

2. eating outside. basically i'm sick of eating at my desk. i miss the days of taking my lunch outside and enjoying the sunshine. and even though it happens every spring, i'm dying to see some of the pretty trees begin to blossom. 

3. maketto. this h street spot will bring together an asian-influenced restaurant and market. i don't know of anything like this in dc so i'm excited for the addition.

4. gcdc. love the concept. love their logo. freaking grilled cheese and tater tots man. and a sandwich with one of my personal faves on it: kimchi. what's better than that?

5. mad men. the premiere is april 13. i'm definitely a little over don draper's moody self, but i've watched all the other seasons so i'm excited to see how it all ends. 

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want more? see my past reasons to get excited here, here, here and here.

short days

making muffins on snow days 

yikes

park time!

if you love s'mores as much as i do, make these tonight.

tuna tartare tacos that were super delicious

lucy hates the cold

yummy breakfast burrito and an even better latte here

man the amount of daylight hours are really dwindling. this winter hasn't been so bad but i won't be sad to wave goodbye to these days of darkness before five.

i'm still out on maternity leave and i'm so grateful for this extra special time with my little man. it's cool spending time together and just hanging out.

at the end of this week, we're all headed to charleston for a week. i've been keeping my eye on the forecast and see some temps in the seventies. i would be so happy to ditch the coat for a second.

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hope you all had a great weekend!  

golden light

yesterday after the snow stopped falling, the sun came out.

right around three o'clock, the afternoon light was just about perfect so i pulled myself away from the breaking bad marathon we had going on and took a few pics of the rosebush in our front yard. 

hope you enjoyed your day off if you got a snow day.

fall in dc

lunch at arcuri | delish btw

k street, friday evening

sunday afternoon walk

lucy loves it

on the way home from target

it's hard to believe there's only a few days left in october. 

we get a ton of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood and since this will be the third halloween in this house, we stocked up on candy last weekend since we've run out of it in the past. 

can't have our house getting toilet papered.

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this mild weather we've been having has been pretty great, but i hear that tomorrow will bring some cooler temps. 

i'm ready for it though. i even have my winter coat ready to go (the cobalt one), just in case.

here's to a good week! 

soon

took some teamwork with my husband to make these. worth it!

admiring these yellow flowers in dupont

on the way to room 11 for coffee

lucy enjoying couch time

the baby will be here any day now. i went from feeling like he was never gonna get here to "holy shit. am i really ten days from my due date?"

i'm not gonna lie. i'm totally ready for maternity leave to start. i've been doing a lot of planning and preparation at my job these past few months so i can fully relax while i'm out (hence the lack of posts around here lately).

but now it's almost here. this friday is my last in-office day and then i'm going to work from home until he comes. 

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anyways, we had a nice weekend and i hope you did too. personally, i'm just glad i didn't need an umbrella again today.

five for fall

these rainy days we've been having are making me want to just crawl back into bed and take a nap.

but there are definitely some reasons to get out of the house in the fall. i make one of these lists every season (here's winter, spring and summer), so here's my list for right now. 

photo credits: one | two | three | four | five

1. segway tour. i've done this four times now. i totally snobbed out the first time my out-of-town friend suggested we do this (i live here. why would i do that?), but i ate my words quickly after this was one of the most fun things i've done here. the segways are a blast to ride around on,  and since that first time, i've done it with a few other couples. it's seriously awesome. even if you're local.

2. rose's luxury. this recently opened place on barracks row looks interesting. it's built in a rowhouse, serves family-style meals and small plates and from the looks of it, seems super charming. 

3. dc reynolds. this place isn't new, but it's really close to where we live, they have killer bogo drink specials SIX DAYS A WEEK, a roofdeck and some awesome-sounding food. plus, i hear it's a caps bar.

4. petworth citizen. this is also really close to our house, and i'm excited to check this place out. the copper bar and somewhat more reasonably priced cocktails don't hurt either.

5. parts & labor. this place hasn't opened yet, but i can't wait to eat some delicious charcuterie from the guys behind red apron butchery. it'll be in penn quarter.

oh so quiet

on weekends, if you happen to be out and about before 10 am, it's really peaceful.

there's something that happens after that 10 o'clock hour that changes everything. i'm usually awake quite a bit before 10, but i'm not always out the door at that time. every time i find myself driving or walking around at 8 or 9, it's like a whole different world.

i took thees pictures on h street, around eastern market, and in front of union station--places that get crazy busy once the city wakes up. 

so if you're an early bird or just happen to have some place to be on the weekend, enjoy the brief stillness. cause that brunch crowd is comin.

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see past district detail posts here.

district flea

a few pictures from the district flea's debut on saturday.

the weather was absolutely perfect.

did you check it out? 

it's here until october 19.

the food was pretty awesome too.