Sloppy Snow

That determined little bud on the tree yesterday was most likely frozen last night.  Poor little guy.  You can try again next week little bud buddy!  Leave it to Cleveland to include all 4 seasons in one day.  Starts clear with a mild temperature in the morning, gradually shifts to gloom, then overcast, then rain, then sleet.  Then, sloppy slush from the sky appears, moving in at a sideways angle just steep enough to freeze only the left side of your face.  Lovely. 

Vegas can't come soon enough!  So far, the weather is calling for 75+ degrees with sunny clear skies the whole time we're there.  Woot!

Some more good news ... I think East Hampton is going to happen again this year!

Spring Sprang Sprung

I saw a little green bud on a tree branch this morning, and that can only mean one thing ... spring is here!  It's officially time to put away coats, boots, gloves, hats and scarves for the season and trade them for flip flops, bikinis and cotton dresses.  The first part is easy.  The second part requires some extra workouts at the gym and some spring shopping.

Our little "spring break" in Vegas is just the jumpstart I need to get some springtime basics:  colorful tanks, comfy tees, bermudas, beach cover-ups, strappy sandals, and a few fun maxi dresses.  Ahhh, just the thought of it makes me 10 times happier.  Shopping is not my favorite pasttime -- weird, I know -- but I sure do enjoy ripping the tags off my new purchases and wearing them immediately.  Especially if the sun is shining, temperatures are climbing and concert season is quickly approaching!  I can almost feel the fun that's in store ...

First items on the list this year:  colorful bikini (not just black like last year), flip flops and new sunglasses! 

Vegas ... pai gow?

Pai Gow?  Texas Hold'em?  For the first time in my entire life, I think I might be ready to sit down at a table and play.   

I've never been a "lucky" person per se. When it comes to games of chance, you can confidently put all your money on me losing and you'll double your money 99.8% of the time. When it comes to games of skill, I like that I at least have a fighting chance.  As long as I play my odds correctly and make the right calls, I should at least come out even.

My cousin, Jim (an expert at all things poker), sat down with me last weekend for a teach session.  I have to admit that I had never even heard of pai gow poker until that day, but it turns out it's my favorite!  I love that you have two opportunities to win (or lose) and that you "push" about 50% of the time ... meaning you don't lose your money as quickly as when playing blackjack. 

As of yesterday, Michelle and I booked our trip to fabulous Las Vegas!  It's an impromptu trip this time -- my favorite.  We're staying at the Flamingo located in the center of the strip, meeting up with some of my extended family while we're there.  My parents, brother and Michelle are first-timers, so we'll have to go see the sites, for sure!  I'm mostly excited for the sunshine ... gotta pull out the flip flops, sundresses and suntan lotion.  Hooray!! 

I just wish my hubby could come :(  It'll be a long 3 days without you, Adam!  Hopefully I'll bring back some winnings for us! 

Pineapple in the Capitol

There were pineapples everywhere we went in DC and I'm not even mad about it!!!

Against all of my former grumblings and self-promises, I did it again.  I drove on the Pennsylvania turnpike.  This time it was dark, my contacts were fuzzy, one headlight was out (probably) and I was sleepy.  A whopping $15 worth of toll booth fees later, we made it to DC, and standing at the door at 1am to greet us was our lovely sister-in-law, Elisa.   

Friday morning, our hosts had to work (like normal people), but Adam and I were free to roam the District.  He decided to take a morning run to the White House (about a 1.5-mile jaunt up 16th street from Adams Morgan) and back, while I readied myself for a day of fun in the sun.  It was the perfect weather for site-seeing on foot -- about 50 degrees with sunny, clear skies. 

Armed with my leather bomber jacket and aviators, we headed out.  Our first stop was the Masonic House of the Temple described in Dan Brown's novel, The Lost Symbol.  It was on our way, so it wasn't much of a stop actually -- more of a point to it, snap a photo and keep on movin' kinda stop.

There's just something about being able to walk to the White House that just makes the United States government feel real to me.  Do you know what I mean??  I mean, you see things on TV, you read the paper, you try to stay updated with political happenings, but it's tough to do remotely.  Actually being there in the hub where it all takes place -- seeing the security officers, feeling awestruck in sight of American architecture and knowing that you are physically surrounded by International embassies, U.S. treasures in museums and the people who write and sign bills into law -- is one of the more overwhelming and humbling notions I've experienced.

It's just a house right?  Well ... not quite.  This thing is gigantic (photos just don't do it justice).  There's security everywhere and you can't get too close.  This is me reaching my hand through the bars:

There we were standing in front of Obama's house.  "OK, now what?" I asked.  Time for lunch!  We made our way down Pennsylvania Ave. and took a left at 19th.  We saw Stella Artois umbrellas in the distance and decided that's exactly where we wanted to be at 2pm on at Friday.  Elephant & Castle was calling out to us!  At this point in the day, we were starving and my Chuck Taylors weren't quite as comfortable as I thought they were.  My pub onion soup and ceasar salad were good and Adam's fish sandwich was great.  The sweet potato fries were the best thing we tried here by far -- besides the beers of course ;) 

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History was next on the list (It's free to get in!  Who knew?!).  We met E there after work, and got to see Julia Child's kitchen, the ruby slippers, Kermit, Fonzie's jacket, C3PO, part of the First Lady's exhibit (which was under construction), and lots of other fun stuff.

That night we headed to some bars ... finally ending up at Cashion's Eat Place for some "after dark" menu items - bison burger, ribeye sandwich and some hand cut fries.  The atmosphere was fun, the bartender, Krishna, was a self-proclaimed genius (knowing everything there was to know about pinneapples ... yet completely incorrect) and very entertaining, but the food was just mediocre for me.  I'd give it a 8 out of 10 for creativity.  

After a few more nightcaps, we cuddled up on our air mattress for a cozy night's sleep.  We woke up and ate what?  You guessed it, pineapples(!) and eggs.  Mike is apparently "good with a pineapple".  I'm still not quite sure I know what that means, but we sure did say it a lot.  ha.

We headed to the Capitol building -- Mike works there for a Senator and it turns out that he used to give tours when he first moved to DC.  Sooo we got a private tour of some of the "non-public" parts of the Capitol.  Pretty amazing.  The Capitol Rotunda was my favorite point of interest, mostly because it's just so damn awesome.  Just thinking about the artist, Brumidi, who hand-painted every detail and devoted the last years of his career on such an historical piece (my fave is the Apotheosis of George Washington) was freakin awesome.  Here are some pics that, once again, don't do it justice.  You have to see it for yourself!:

Hallway in the Senate Chambers -- also painted by Brumidi:

We walked through the Old Supreme Court Chamber, which was also really cool to see:

Other than the Captiol Dome itself, my second favorite part of the tour was walking down the inaugural steps.  Yep ... the actual steps the President walks down to give the inaugural speech, overlooking a crowd of thousands who are gathered in the mall:

This is a shot I took looking back up at the Capitol.  It's unbelievable when you're standing in front of it.  The detail, the precise meaning of every carving, column and opening.  This is priceless American history people! So cool.

Our next stop was Capitol City Brewing Co. where we had some lovely appetizers (soft pretzels with Jalapeno dip were great!), and some local brews.  We decided to hurry straight to the newly refurbished W Hotel for some drinks on the rooftop at POV.  It was twilight at this point, so the skyline views were breathtakingly picturesque (sorry no pics! ... camera doesn't take great photos at night through glass). 

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend in DC.  Kiiiiinda makes me want to move there, right Waskes!? 

Roadtrip to the Capitol

Last night my friend and I went on a magically ridiculous journey into the land of the 80s, complete with Greek gods, jorts (hilariously short cut-off jean shorts) and a roller disco.  Yep, we saw Xanadu!  Surprisingly, it was more entertaining than I was expecting.  Lots of "hazzahhhh!s"

Tonite we're roadtripping to DC (about an 8-hr drive), to see our wonderful sister- and brother-in-law's new place.  I'm told that there is some wine-tasting in our future, so looking forward to that is enough to help me get through the drive.

DC's always awesome ... just being there makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger than yourself.  I'm especially looking forward to this trip because we have no specific plans lined up ... except plans to do whatever we want to do when we want to do it!  Those are my favorite trips.  On a vacation with a friend's family a few years ago, I was told, "OK, Stacie, this is how our vacations work.  You eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty, and run when someone's chasing you." 

I never quite understood the last part (I think it was meant to be a joke ... hopefully), but the other 2 have been my mottos on most vacations ever since.  Why force yourself to follow a strict schedule if you don't really want to?  It's your vacation right!?   Right. 

I'm just going into the weekend with an open mind and a open schedule ... woot!