beach time.

Headed to Ocean City this afternoon! Never been. The plan is to hit the beach tomorrow with Laura. I look forward to people watching, some sun, and obviously the ocean. Hope you all have a great weekend too!

good night and goodbyes.

Last night was Mike's last night in the District. I am sad about this. I was so busy and stressed this year that I never really showed him everything I love about DC in his short time down here. But now he is off on a grand adventure to Berlin and Turkey for who knows how long...very exciting!

So, Ben and Mike and I went out to dinner to celebrate it all! We headed up to 2Amys for some pizza because there is no better place. We actually hadn't been up there in over a year and it was fantastic.

The pizzas were as good as before. Service fantastic. We even got to sit out on the back porch and enjoy the beer and cool weather! How good do these pizzas look?!

 And the soupy pepperonis? So good!!!

This was the seasonal special with zucchini and burrata. 

Naturally, afterwards, we headed down to Thomas Sweet to make this a proper DC farewell. They have actually updated the flavor boards...much neater now than before.

 

 It was lovely. We ate our ice cream outside at a picnic table as you should!

 

Unfortunately, the night had to end with goodbyes. I hate goodbyes. Not very good at them and they make me sad. That said, incredibly happy for Mike! I can't wait to read his blog, see the pictures, hear his stories, get postcards in the mail, and have a best friend doing incredible things in the world! 

trick of the trade (vol. 4)

How to eat a cupcake. I have been meaning to do this post for a while. Lucky for you, Laura brought  cupcakes into the office today. So here we go, get ready for this!

Step 1: Start with your beautiful basic cupcake.

 

Step 2. Carefully cut off the top of the cupcake with your fingers.

Step 3. Take the bottom half and put it on top to make a cupcake sandwich.

Step 4. Squeeze gently and wa-la! Look at that. Perfect for eating. I am telling you, it will change your eating experience!

running fatigue.

Ben and I started running in the mornings this week. We figure that a lot of nights we get tied up doing other things and can't fit a run in. And, it is cooler in the mornings. The mornings have been beautiful. It is good quality time (even if I can't talk during most of it), and yes, we feel really good about it for the rest of the day. With that said though, I have a love-hate relationship with running. And this morning was a rough one. I was frustrated. Even when we were running around the Washington Monument in the morning light, I was frustrated. So, my new plan is to get back to mapping our runs and timing them so I can track the progress. I'm very goal oriented. I also might have to buy myself some new running shoes!

 

Oh yeah...and we saw Chuck Todd this morning. It was a nice moment in front of the White House. Running by, Ben gave him the thumbs up and we both gave him a "hey chuck" greeting. He smiled and waved. We turned on Morning Joe when we got back. And then we watched Chuck on the White House Lawn. Good times!

stella fix.

Jordan sent me these pictures of Stella yesterday. And, if you're like me, you need a little fix of Stella every couple days to warm your heart and feel the love. Put simply, Stella makes me smile. I just love her and want to give her hugs and play with her....

mad style.

Madewell has been working hard of late. While walking around in New York last week, we popped into the store in Soho. Man oh man, there was some good stuff going on in there. These are fresh picks from the new arrivals on the website this week...take a look for yourself!

midi shorts

caravan mailbag

kamoi kakoshi tape

Pattern Notebook

Han Kjobenhavn Sunglasses

kreeger.

Ben's dad kept asking me and Ben about and recommending the Kreeger Museum this weekend. Neither of us had heard of it. But, I read up on it yesterday and based on the reviews and the website, definitely planning to check it out at some point soon. It is by reservation only and tucked over on Fox Hall Road but apparently, if nothing else, the sculpture garden and building are worth the visit. Having just been reminded of how great the MOMA and MET and just New York in general is, this is nice to at least have hope for some good art around.