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.

_ _ _

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

live it up

it's less than ten days into june, and it's been awesome. 

we went to the beach this weekend and lucked out with a few sunny, low humidity days.

this is my favorite time of year. summer goes by lightning quick, especially since we always (almost) spread ourselves pretty thin.

so here's to the next three months. 

bring it on, summer.

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.

hurry up

cold weather makes me want something good for breakfast

our rosebush. looking beautiful even dead and in the snow

my favorite little guy

lucy's pretty cool too.

when i'm sick, i get really annoying and tell my husband some form of "ugh. i don't feel good" way too often. 

the same thing happens every year about this time when i get really really sick of winter. i want to say that every two seconds but i force myself not to because we're all in the same boat. the time change on march 9 is the only thing keeping me going at this point. i'm so ready for spring. who isn't?

_ _ _

we had a pack and play set up in our living room while i was on maternity leave. it made diaper changes easier since i had all my supplies right there. and when he was really little, he used to nap in it. but i always hated it in our living room and we are replacing it with this. i can't wait. i've missed the lack of seating in that room when we have the occasional visitor.

_ _ _

hope you're having a great tuesday.

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.

_ _ _

hope you all had a great weekend!  

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. 

_ _ _

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.

mistakes

breakfast sandwich action from here

lucy giving some serious side eye

proud kitchen moment for me

so on sunday morning, i was on h street by 9 am, ready to sink my teeth into one of frenchie's croissants. turns out, the market is open on saturday mornings, not sunday. we ended up getting some pretty tasty breakfast sandwiches instead, but so much for another year wiser.

doh!

speaking of dough (see what i did there?), i got a pasta roller for my birthday and to my surprise, successfully pulled off some fresh fettuccine on sunday night. i was surprised mostly because doughs of any kind -- especially when kneading is involved -- tend to scare the shit out of me. i don't know what it is but making my own rolls, breads, etc. has always been something i've avoided. it just seems so daunting i guess. 

but this was a happy success for me and i'll definitely be making them again. i tried to make lasagna noodles before i had my handy pasta roller and trying to get the dough thin enough with a rolling pan and elbow grease. just.. no. 

hope your week is off to a fun start.

sunny september

roasting in the florida heat

lucy does this every day waiting for bob to get home

  we're done with traveling this year, and i'm pretty happy to be out of the airport scene for a while. the boarding/de-boarding process is one of my least favorite on earth. why does it take SO LONG?

anyways, we had a nice trip and today's my birthday!

woo hoo!

my husband and i are going here for sort of a joint celebration since our birthdays are only six days apart. can't wait to see how it is. i hear they have some sort of cotton candy dessert?

_ _ _

the cool mornings have been nice. it's still getting into the mid-80s during the day, too, so i like this weather. the best of both worlds, in a way.

here's to a great month of football and blue skies.

success

sometimes i like to relax on the weekend but i always feel awesome when i get a ton of shit done. that was this past weekend for me. 

we have this closet in the basement bedroom that's pretty much our closet of doom. you know, the one you keep throwing stuff into, vowing to go through it one day but you never really do? 

i finally tackled it. and my husband installed a closet organizer in the soon-to-be-nursery. we also hung a few wall shelves and gave the house a super thorough cleaning. 

i feel tired now, but it was so worth it. i can't even tell you all the stuff we managed to throw out or donate.

recipe for this incredible pie

i feel proud of myself because going through that stupid closet was the last thing i felt like doing, but i forced myself to just do it dammit. once i got started, i was on a roll, but for an admitted procrastinator like me, getting started is always the hardest part.

_ _ _

we're going to florida at the end of the week for a long labor day weekend. 

on a side note, if you're looking for a summery dessert, you can't go wrong with that pie. it's the perfect combination of tart and creamy goodness. mmm. mmm. mmm.

hope your monday's off to a great start.

winding down

september 22 is officially the first day of fall. so we have just over a month left with summer.

the recent cooler weather has kinda thrown me off my game. i've lived in the area for nearly a decade and can't remember the last time it was even remotely cool in august.  

i have mixed feelings about this: it's amazing to not be drenched in sweat after walking a block or two, but i kinda miss the hot days. 

i'm in no rush to start wearing jackets, scarves and boots. sure, it's fun to get all bundled up and cozy. but i don't want to start doing that too soon because next thing you know, it's march and we've been stuck in our fall/winter uniforms for six-plus months.

so i'm hoping for a warm september. i can wait until later for the boots and such. 

out for a walk with lucy 

a delicious ice cream treat from here

lucy knows what's up

hope your weekend was nice. we put the crib together and the rocking chair comes this friday.

it's getting a little more real...

i promise

i swear this isn't going to become a place where i do nothing but re-post instagrams. and it kinda bugs me to have two instagram posts back to back but...

my real job has been keeping me pretty busy, especially with the upcoming maternity leave once the baby comes. i've been trying to cram in as much work as i can and the blog has suffered as a result.

womp womp.

but i have some cool posts in the works. so yay.

hope your first weekend in august was nice.

how bout that lack of humidity?!

so long july

summer goes by so quickly.

it's been nice to take advantage of it while it's still here. eating outside, watching late sunsets, having lighter summer meals. i think i'm in the minority when i say that fall isn't my favorite season. i don't hate it really. i just prefer these warmer days.

so here's to the last day of july. 

i know part of september is technically summer still, but i always feel like the spirit of summer truly lives in june, july and august.

eating outside on the back porch

strolling through logan circle

a fun summer meal at etto | their meyer lemon soda was to die for