u-s-of-a.

I don't know where to start. We packed a lot into this weekend and I don't want to exhaust you, but man is there a lot to share. So I am going to break it down day by day by day...

Thursday, July 4

We celebrated America by having a big BBQ. This was initially mapped out to be a small 5-person affair and ballooned into 24 and required a 5:50 am wake-up so that we could prep the pork shoulders and get them on the grill by 6:30 am (more on the pulled pork coming soon!)...

Anyway, it was great and involved so many good friends and so much food!

and I dare say, the best pork Ben has ever made...

Emily, Rags and Molly stayed behind at the house with us and we sat out on the porch to watch the neighborhood mayhem that unfolded. Greg had joked with me last week about the 4th of July in our neighborhood (he has lived here for 3-4 years) and said its like Beirut in 1976. He wasn't kidding. On every corner of every block there were groups setting off M-80s and even some dynamite down the street. Seriously, that happened!

Pictures don't really do justice...so here is 20 seconds to give you a better idea....it was fantastic!

Friday, July 5

We were totally exhausted on Friday and didn't do all that much during the day. Though, we did walk up to the restaurant supply store that is by Union Market. It was gritty up in there! There are so many supply stores and vendors tucked into the lot. Ben had gone exploring through the stores one morning before work last week and took me back with him so I could see it too. Its a huge kitchen supply store that is super cheap. We have been wondering where the restaurant supply stores are in DC (in NY there were a bunch downtown) and lo and behold its just a few blocks away...if you need supplies, take a field trip over here. 

On Saturday night, we decided to venture over to the Eastern Market area. We went to Beuchert's Saloon for an early dinner...(click here to see more about Beuchert's)

After dinner, we grabbed half-milkshakes at Ted's Bulletin and walked over to Barrack's Row. We had decided early on to try and go see the Marine Barrack's Evening Parade. It had been on my list to go to for a while and we figured no better weekend for it. For those who don't know, it happens every Friday at 8:45 pm during the summer. It is a performance of music by the President's Marine Band, marchers, other ceremonial bands and the Silent Drill Platoon. It is ticketed but you can also stand in line and at around 8:00 they start to let people in. It was a gorgeous night. And we stood in line for a while...

The sky was beautiful...

And we got in!

It was really cool...and the parade went into the dark. Hands down the best part was the Silent Drill Platoon. They were unbelievable. 

Saturday, July 6

We trekked out to Alexandria on Saturday to do a Bobby Sue's Nuts! tasting at Balducci's. Tastings are always interesting. Watching people in a grocery store is actually quite entertaining, and of course, the nuts are phenomenal! 

We hurried back to the District and headed over to a dinner party near DuPont. It was classy and Asian themed and delicious. 

And this sticky rice with fried coconut on top made the night. Ben has suggested we make them and keep in bulk for every dessert. We were astounded and wowed by it!

Sunday, July 7

Thank god its finally Sunday, right?  We woke and made coffee....

And we watched the The Dark Knight Rises...have you seen it?! Then Seals, because he is such a wonderful person, helped us move our bed boxes that he had let us ship to his building back to our house...and he gave us a tour of his awesome building! His building includes a room to wash your pets. Genius. Outdoor and indoor private movie theater/screens, restaurant grade kitchens to use, and a lot more. Oh and an amazing rooftop with a pool and this view of the NoMa water tower. Uhhhhh...yeah, I still haven't recovered.

We finished the night by making pasta with left-over pork from Thursday (we are on day 4 of pork right now) and we put together our bed (pictures to come!).

Oh yeah, I should mention, it was brutally hot this weekend. Suffocating and exhausting. So, we also spent time every day watering these amazing planters that Rags and Molly brought us! Molly planted them herself...how amazing is that?!

And that's a wrap...more to come soon, but in the meantime, hope you all had a wonderful, long weekend and 4th!