$.

Long week. I hope to have some light, refreshing good stuff to post this weekend. But first, this. Wow. Read this piece from the NYTimes Magazine, For the Love of Money. It is powerful and convincing and most importantly, practical and real at the end, read it. Addiction....for power.

sordid indeed.

This read is a true downer, The Sordid End of David Meggett,  but I couldn't stop once I started it....

buttermilk biscuit.

I just made these buttermilk biscuits. I love a good buttermilk biscuit with just a little butter and on this cold, snowy day, it's the best cozy snack.

field tripped.

We have been laying low of late and life has felt routine and slow. But this past week we did get out for a couple field trips.

Last week, we grabbed a beer at Ivy and Coney over on 7th Street. It is owned by the same people over at Kangaroo Boxing Club (so it is a Michigan bar) and a cool, little spot on the quickly changing 7th street.

On Saturday afternoon, we picked Emily up for a birthday surprise and went down to the Sculpture Garden to go ice skating. It was cold. Real cold. But so great. The rink is charming and there is sure to be great people watching. Of note also, turns out, Emily is a very good ice skater...

After, we walked up to Oyamel for some Mexican hot chocolate at the bar. And we finished the night over in the SE to watch the Michigan game and ordered in indian food...

Sunday night, Ben and I went on a hot date out to Falls Church. We have heard for a very long time that the best vietnamese food is found in the Eden Center in northern Virginia. Well, we can very confidently report back, that it is an experience indeed. It is basically a giant strip mall that has turned into little Vietnam, music and all. There are over 120 stores. This picture does no justice, because it is just one length of the many sided strip mall, but you get the idea...

We tucked into Huong Viet and ordered away. Not pictured is an iced coffee I ordered just to see how close it is to the real thing. Yes, close my eyes and I could have been back in Hanoi - not to mention, the never-ending fish sauce was everywhere. Our spring rolls were awesome, noodles spot on, beef and pork were really good. We might just have to go back at some point soon to find some Banh Mi. The only thing I didn't see in here was when we swung through one of the little groceries, I couldn't find the little vietnamese yogurts that I love. Imagine those don't travel well across oceans...

snowed in.

Oh DC. Woke up this morning to a snow day. There isn't a spot of snow or rain on the street yet, in fact, Ben and I went for a run, and it isn't supposed to start snowing until around 11, nonetheless, the city has shut down in anticipation of 5 inches. Some days I really miss Colorado. But my morning looks like this right now....

...no complaints!

atlas.

Ben and I went on a short but sweet date last night in the neighborhood. We walked over to the Atlas Theater (which neither of us had been to before) to hear/watch the National Symphony Orchestra! It was part of the NSO In Your Neighborhood program. Ben bought two tickets for $2 a pop. We loved it. Not to mention, it was about time we get over to the famous the Atlas Theater. It was so nice just to sit and listen to music in the neighborhood!

boden time.

Apparently I am now on the Boden catalogue mailing list. They are very focused on spring right now and while it feels a little early for that right now (it has been raining cold slush all day) - their polka dots and stripes can't be ignored!

Spring Parka

Wrap Dress

Pointed Slingbacks

Rainy Day Mac

streeped.

I keep a loose, running list in my head of the top 5 (sometimes 10) people I would like to have lunch with in my life (living only). Prince Philip is definitely on there. He must have the best stories. Why not Queen Elizabeth you might be asking? The Queen wouldn't tell me anything but apparently Philip has a killer sense of humor, curses a good deal, and I am sure he would spill some good beans. I sincerely think we would get along really well and just think of all his stories.  But I digress, back to the point here. My list tends to change, and usually I can't remember who I have on it at any given time besides Prince Philip. All this is to get to the point that of course Meryl Streep is on it! How could I forget that? I have long loved Meryl, like the rest of the world, but not really because I inherited this love at a very young age because my Mom loves her. They both went to Vassar around the same time. Anyway, I think we can all agree that we love Meryl Streep. Now that I am thinking about it, I don't think I have ever heard someone say they don't. And how dare they if they do!

So for all of us, Meryl Streep lovers, I give you this gem from Vanity Fair. It is the transcript of the speech she gave last week when she spoke about Emma Thompson to give her an award and then bashed Walt Disney.

I know I have been giving you all a lot of assigned reading lately, but this really is worth it. And great prep material for me before our big lunch together!

olympic prep.

Who's excited for the Olympics? I am! So excited. I just realized we have to get our new tv mounted asap for this - we are less than a month out people! Anyway, if you aren't excited yet, read this profile piece from the NYTimes on Mikaela Shiffrin (credit to Ben for sending along!). Can't wait, can't wait...

skillet cookie.

When Ben moved back to DC he brought his cast iron skillet with him. Fortunately, around that same time, there were a bunch of cast iron dessert ideas popping up all over pinterest. Wednesday night, Caroline, Justin and Sarah came over for dinner, so I tried out the below recipe and it was a great success. So easy and fast and so good....

opinionated.

Ignore the title (that was a poor choice) - the rest of this Friedman column from today, Not Just About Us, is food for thought and makes me want to pick up Marwan Muasher's book...

stripe it.

Apparently I'm attracted to stripes...because these Leather Stripe Zipper Cases from West Elm and this pink Pipeline Tablecloth from CB2 are good stuff!

bidding up.

Guess what? Bidwell, the new restaurant in Union Market, is opening tomorrow! Hooray for another restaurant in the neighborhood. We can't wait to check it out at some point soon and I promise to report back.

3 Under 3.

It is that time of year when the lists start coming out...30 Under 30 and so on....this New Yorker piece, 3 Under 3, had me laughing on the metro this morning!

wecked.

It is a well-established fact that I love jars. I really do. And in a huge, new development that happened earlier today, I present to you Weck Jars. Yes, we have all seen them before...

...But I just realized these are my new jar fixation. I suddenly love and adore them! I am tired of my ball jar rims rusting. And just think of the yogurt parfaits I could put in my new Weck Jar. Yes, this is happening....stay tuned!

2014.

I love a mid-week holiday! We had a great new years eve/new years day. Timmy and Amanda stayed over on their way back down to Florida. We fixed up some beautiful steaks and this eggplant with buttermilk sauce from our Plenty cookbook. It was just how we like to ring in the new year, with best friends and a great dinner. Timmy and Amanda also brought their dog in for the night. Dodger is the full dog to come into the house and it made me want one. We also took a long walk around the neighborhood and up to the Capitol on New Years day. Hope you all are loving 2014 so far!

1 january.

January has arrived! Happy New Year!

This month I am looking forward to...

• chili dinners
• getting back to watching Friday Night Lights with Ben
• friend birthdays
• painting the house
• cold morning runs
• grapefruits and pomegranates