HAPPY BIRTHDAY P!

Today is P's 28th birthday! We celebrated with friends at El Centro's rooftop bar on Friday night and then with his mom and sister in Richmond on Saturday and Sunday. This afternoon we celebrated in D.C. at the Nationals-Phillies game.


Instead of writing a long post about how great a guy he is and how much I love him (for the record, he really is a GREAT guy and I do love him A LOT), I thought I'd share ten fun facts about P:

1. He was born and raised in Ohio
2. P holds Bachelors degrees in Electrical Engineering and German from Penn State 
3. He is in avid music fan, especially indie and folk (and will hopefully guest blog about some of his favorite bands soon)
4. This fall he will begin his fourth and final year of law school at George Washington University
5. He comes from a long line of Penn Staters - his mom, sister, two uncles, and a cousin are all alumni
6. The Boston Red Sox are his favorite baseball team
7. NCAA Football for XBOX is his favorite video game and he buys the updated version each year 
8. His favorite candy are Sour Patch Kids
9. He would eat a burger every day if he could
10. His favorite comic is Calvin & Hobbes which is how our Calvin got his name 

Delicious D.C.

P and I are foodies. Thankfully D.C. has a vast array of restaurants and bars to try and new ones popping up all of the time. I'm planning to regularly to regularly highlight our favorite places to eat in town if you ever find yourself in the area. I'll try to do all kinds of restaurants and bars - quick eats, special occasion, outdoor seating, etc. 

I'm going to kick off the series with quick eats. With both P and I working full-time and going to school part-time, we often found ourselves looking for quick meal options. Here are some of our current favorites:

• Good Stuff Eatery (303 Pennsylvania Ave SE) - If you are a fan of burgers this is the place to go and if you are a fan of reality TV (like me!) this fun eatery will satisfy more than one craving. It is owned by Spike Mendelson, a contestant on Season 4 of Top Chef on Bravo. Not only do they have amazing burgers but you have to try one of their milkshakes and seasoned fries! P loves the Spike's Sunnyside burger (topped with a fried egg and bacon) and I usually go for the Michelle Melt (a turkey burger named after the First Lady)
• Taylor Gourmet (1116 H St NE, 485 K St NW, and Bethesda, MD) - This is one of our newest and favorite discoveries, thanks to our friend Mike! Taylor makes authentic hoagies (a Philadelphia term for a sub) and each of their amazing sandwiches is named after a street in Philadelphia. P and I recommend the Cherry Street - it is SO good!
• Sweetgreen (Capitol Hill, Georgetown, Dupont, & Logan Circle) - Sweetgreen is not specific to DC, they have locations in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. They offer locally grown ingredients for creating your own salad or wrap and frozen yogurt also with fresh, local toppings. This has been a great place for P and I to pick up a quick, healthy dinner after a long day. If you're overwhelmed by all of the topping options (as I often am), they have a small menu of recommended creations but everything is customizable. 

Scrapbooking

One of the first blogs I ever read was about scrapbooking tips and designs. I first began scrapbooking in high school when a friend and I agreed to make and exchange scrapbooks as graduation gifts. I didn't scrapbook again for almost three years when I made one for P after we had been dating for a year. Once I graduated from Penn State I made a scrapbook capturing my fours years there. In my first year post-Penn State I also made a scrapbook for Calvin, my little sister's high school graduation and of me and P's vacation to Europe.

From Penn State scrapbook

From the scrapbook I made P in 2005

Example from Calvin's scrapbook, September 2007

Once grad school began, the scrapping took a permanent back seat. When I did find time to scrapbook it was to make gifts for bridal showers and a baby shower. These were less traditional in that they were smaller and made in a way that shower guests could write advice for the mom or bride to be or most recently, as a way to hold recipe cards for the bride-to-be.

Cover of bridal shower scrapbook made with paper from wedding invitation

Last page of scrapbook

Another shot of the scrapbook with more wedding invitation incorporated

Now that school is done, I'm ready to pick up my hobby with a vengeance. I have lots of scrapping to catch up on including a trip to London, two trips to San Diego and a short-term study abroad to Paris. I'm also on the hook to make a wedding scrapbook for my good friend Allison, which I'm so excited to start! Our apartment is not always conducive for scrapbooking (I usually spread out over the dining room for a few days), but fortunately P is very supportive. 

Reading blogs is a great way to get ideas for scrapbook layouts or easy projects. I hope to use this blog as a way to share my scrapbooking and projects. 

Weekend in the City (sort of)

Much to Calvin's disappointment, we did not spend Friday night or Saturday in the city with him. One of the great things about living in Washington D.C. is that on top of everything to do within the city, there are just as many to do in the neighboring suburbs of Virginia and Maryland. This weekend we spent time in the suburbs of Maryland.

Friday

One of P's closest friends from Penn State, Catie, was visiting from Philly this weekend. She was staying with our friend Mike in Bethesda, Maryland. On Friday P and I met up with Mike, Catie, Arnab (Mike's roommate) and Jessie (Mike's sister) for yummy sushi and sake at Hanaro in the Woodmont Triangle area of Bethesda. After dinner we were in search of a bar with skee ball but had no luck. Instead we enjoyed drinks and dessert at American Tap Room in Bethesda Row.

Me & Catie at sushi

Arnab, P, and Mike at sushi

Me and P at American Tap Room

Saturday

We had a full day on Saturday. P and I metro'd to Bethesda to carpool with Mike, Catie, and Arnab to Wine in the Woods in Columbia, Maryland. Wine in the Woods is a fun way to try wineries from across the region and is held at Merriweather Post Pavilion where P and I often go for concerts. While I did not try as much wine as I was hoping, it was a beautiful day to be outside and spending time with friends.

Taking a break between wines

Catie, P, and I

Catie & P trying some wine

After almost 5 hours in the woods we headed back to DC to celebrate Jessie's 27th birthday. We ate at a delicious new Mexican restaurant that opened five blocks from our apartment called El Centro DF . P and I had tried it a few ago when it had first opened and were excited to go back again. After a tasty meal, refreshing margaritas, and singing "happy birthday" we finished the night at DC9's rooftop bar.

Birthday girl!

Looking a little tired at dinner

Sunday

I'm excited to say that I have no plans for today. P has to go to the office to finish some work and I'm hoping to do laundry, go to the gym, pick up groceries, and try a new spinach gnocchi recipe for dinner. And of course, spend some quality time with my sheltie in the city!

Hello Blog World

Not even a week after finishing grad school, I decided I needed a new project. I have always wanted to start a blog and thought this was the perfect time now that I have some free time on my hands. I am hoping I'll be able to be just as devoted to the blog as I was to school.

While I have no set topic for the blog, I'm hoping to share lots of musings from life such as Calvin stories (cue blog name) and my life in the city (cue blog name again). As a math major I cannot guarantee witty comments or well written stories. This is just another way for me to capture what I hope to be the best moments of my life and share them with family and friends (and whoever else may stumble across my humble page). 

**Special shout out to my consultants at Horrigan and Roe for getting this blog off the ground!**