We went out to visit Justin's parents in Middleburg, Virginia a few weeks back. His dad is a very talented gardener and grows the most beautiful roses.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
a Top Golf birthday celebration
A few weeks ago, we celebrated our dear friend Michelle's birthday playing Top Golf in Alexandria.
Top Golf is pretty fun. It's basically like a driving range with these huge targets out in the field. Kind of like bowling (or maybe ski-ball), the computer-chipped golf balls distribute points depending on where your ball lands.
Apparently Top Golf only has four locations in the United States (and three in the UK), so I'm glad we get to enjoy this one every now and again. I was pleasantly surprised to find the food was pretty good for a place like this, and they even have punch-like sangria.
I loved baking a cake for Michelle's birthday because I knew her favorite flavor combination and color, so she was guaranteed to like it as long as I didn't mess it up :) I did add a little something special by spreading on a layer of my grandma's homemade strawberry jam between the two layers of chocolate cake. (Full disclosure -- it was a box cake with store-bought frosting. It was a weeknight, don't judge me.)
All in all, I think the birthday girl had a fun time!
Top Golf is pretty fun. It's basically like a driving range with these huge targets out in the field. Kind of like bowling (or maybe ski-ball), the computer-chipped golf balls distribute points depending on where your ball lands.
Apparently Top Golf only has four locations in the United States (and three in the UK), so I'm glad we get to enjoy this one every now and again. I was pleasantly surprised to find the food was pretty good for a place like this, and they even have punch-like sangria.
I loved baking a cake for Michelle's birthday because I knew her favorite flavor combination and color, so she was guaranteed to like it as long as I didn't mess it up :) I did add a little something special by spreading on a layer of my grandma's homemade strawberry jam between the two layers of chocolate cake. (Full disclosure -- it was a box cake with store-bought frosting. It was a weeknight, don't judge me.)
All in all, I think the birthday girl had a fun time!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Order Envy and Bald Eagles
Justin drove down to spend the evening with us, and we had a great time chowing down on Chinese food and watching Baby Leo run around like a crazy person. He is no longer a sleepy baby, he is now a little whirlwind of energy.
On our way back home, Justin and I stopped for a visit to Fredericksburg, VA. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.
We enjoyed lunch at a little local favorite called Soup & Taco. My meal was ok, but I didn't follow the cardinal rule: get the soup and taco. I had a bad order and spent the meal enviously watching Justin eat :) (The restaurant is great -- I just forgot that I don't like empanadas!)
After lunch, we met up with our friend Ryan for a little stroll down to the city docks. Some crazy woman was out there with a stopwatch, forcing her miserable children to do running workouts in preparation for the Great Train Race.
Ryan headed home to spend the day with his family, and we went off to J's favorite fishing spot. He has been testing out some new lures and learning more about fishing techniques.
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From my front-row seat, I also watched two bald eagles flying over the river, catching fish. At one point, one of the eagles sat on a tree branch watching a hawk find a fish for lunch. As soon as the hawk caught one, the eagle flew right over to him and the hawk dropped the fish out of his beak and flew away. That lazy eagle got himself a free lunch!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Impromptu Wednesday Night Date
I worked late last night and on my drive home, Justin called and said he felt like taking me on a date. It was perfect because I was hungry and neither one of us felt like cooking.
(sidenote: I think it's funny how we used to just say we were "going out to dinner," but now that we're married it's always a "date".)
We hit up a new-ish local favorite called Wilson Tavern, in the Courthouse neighborhood. The BLTs were crispy and delicious; the PBRs weren't bad either ;)
After dinner, we both felt like having a tiny something sweet, so we went to Vapiano to pick up tiny little cups of [below average but still awesome] tiramisu.
(Mom -- here's the new haircut! xoxo)
(sidenote: I think it's funny how we used to just say we were "going out to dinner," but now that we're married it's always a "date".)
We hit up a new-ish local favorite called Wilson Tavern, in the Courthouse neighborhood. The BLTs were crispy and delicious; the PBRs weren't bad either ;)
After dinner, we both felt like having a tiny something sweet, so we went to Vapiano to pick up tiny little cups of [below average but still awesome] tiramisu.
(Mom -- here's the new haircut! xoxo)
Monday, April 16, 2012
Dualthlonning in Fredericksburg
After traffic died down a little bit on Friday night, we left Arlington and headed south on
95, sat in crazy amounts of traffic despite our efforts, and arrived in Fredericksburg just in time to grab some dinner with friends, have a drink or two, and get to bed. We stayed with a friend from college and his girlfriend at their adorable, cozy townhouse.
Just before 7am on Saturday morning, the alarms went off and we were up and moving slowly. While the guys went over to the race to start warming up, the ladies went over to Eileen's Bakery to catch a little more coffee and some breakfast.
The duathlon was held at the site of a place called the Virginia Outdoor Center, which has a bunch of fun stuff, like canoes, kayaks, hiking/biking trails, and tubing trips. They even have some other obstacle-type activities that I once did as part of a team-building exercise with my college Field Hockey team.
It was a super low-key event with about 50 participants. The distances were approximate and the timing involved a watch, note pad and pen, but it was a blast to watch! We ran into some local people we knew from living in Fredericksburg and made a few new friends while watching the race.
The mountain biking looked hard, and several participants came through the finish line walking their broken bike -- one guy definitely had a few parts dangling off the side.
The guys both seemed to have fun, and I think they would do it again. They even won a thermos or something like that ;)
Just before 7am on Saturday morning, the alarms went off and we were up and moving slowly. While the guys went over to the race to start warming up, the ladies went over to Eileen's Bakery to catch a little more coffee and some breakfast.
The duathlon was held at the site of a place called the Virginia Outdoor Center, which has a bunch of fun stuff, like canoes, kayaks, hiking/biking trails, and tubing trips. They even have some other obstacle-type activities that I once did as part of a team-building exercise with my college Field Hockey team.
It was a super low-key event with about 50 participants. The distances were approximate and the timing involved a watch, note pad and pen, but it was a blast to watch! We ran into some local people we knew from living in Fredericksburg and made a few new friends while watching the race.
The mountain biking looked hard, and several participants came through the finish line walking their broken bike -- one guy definitely had a few parts dangling off the side.
The guys both seemed to have fun, and I think they would do it again. They even won a thermos or something like that ;)
Friday, April 13, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Bike Ride Saturday - Mount Vernon Trail
The Washington DC area has a huge network of bike trails. Saturday morning brought us beautiful weather, so we jumped on our bikes and took a long and leisurely ride down the Mount Vernon trail.
We biked south for about 45 minutes through Old Town Alexandria and along the scenic trails on the Potomac. The trail is mostly paved, with some small sections of curving boardwalk here and there. Along the way there are many parks; we saw plenty of people out fishing, picnicking, playing sports, and just generally enjoying the day.
I like to quiz Justin on which tree is "his favorite".
On our way home, we stopped at a [totally crappy] pizza place in Old Town. The bad salad bar was worth it for the atmosphere, though. We sat at a table out on the sidewalk, bistro-style.
xoxox
We biked south for about 45 minutes through Old Town Alexandria and along the scenic trails on the Potomac. The trail is mostly paved, with some small sections of curving boardwalk here and there. Along the way there are many parks; we saw plenty of people out fishing, picnicking, playing sports, and just generally enjoying the day.
I like to quiz Justin on which tree is "his favorite".
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On our way home, we stopped at a [totally crappy] pizza place in Old Town. The bad salad bar was worth it for the atmosphere, though. We sat at a table out on the sidewalk, bistro-style.
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