Halloween!

Yesterday we celebrated one of my favorite holidays--Halloween! We had friends over for a little dinner get together and then went out to Solly's. I was pleased to see that almost everyone dressed up! Here is a picture of my costume which was inspired by The Dark Knight.

Monthly Update: Holiday Season

In December so far I have:
Seen one movie in the theatre
Eaten about a dozen latkes
Attended two Hanukkah parties
Missed two Hanukkah parties
Attended a menorah lighting ceremony on the Ellipse
Missed one holiday party
Attended one concert for free (Cake)
Tried to see Hair but failed
Spent at least $50 on cabs
Hung out with one Marine officer
Attended two dance classes
Attended one press conference
Seen the city covered in snow

In December I will:
Attend at least 4 more holiday parties
See the Nutcracker
Attend one dance class
Go to two happy hours
Celebrate one birthday
Visit two more states
Participate in two white elephant gift exchanges
See one bill pass both houses (fingers crossed)
See my family (the best part!)
See California friends
Eat at In-n-Out
See Russ

Weekend Update: Mommy and Me

Thursday:
My mom arrived in DC! Went to dinner at Coppi's Organic on U street. Then watched a movie and went to bed.

Friday:
Shopping in Georgetown even though it was hot, hot, hot! Later went to dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. Twice in one week, wow!

Saturday:
Definitely an indoors day since it was 100 degrees. Went to the movies to see "Becoming Jane" then went to the National Portrait Gallery. Went to dinner at Rosa Mexicana where we sat by the window and watched the awesome lightning storm. I don't know why I've never eaten there before, it was so tasty. And they make guacamole right at your table! Yum. Watched "Pan's Labyrinth" and went to bed.

Sunday:
Shopped a bit at Pentagon City Mall then got ready for our dinner cruise. The cruise was pretty cool. We sat by the window again and it was a gorgeous night. Got some great views of Haines Point, the monuments, the Kennedy Center, and Georgetown.



We had the worst metro experience ever on our way home (it took two hours) but it was still a great night.

Monday:
Our last day together. We didn't have much time before the flight so we just went to the Library of Congress. One of the few tourist spots in the District I haven't been to yet. It was a pretty good tour and the Jefferson building is gorgeous.

I wish she could have stayed longer!

Weekend Update: Botched Movie Edition

Friday:
After work my coworkers and I headed to Emily's to watch MirrorMask, a movie highly recommended by Meredith. Since we can't ever get her to hang out with us, we made a special night of it. By special, I mean we bought wine and ordered pizza. All was going well until the DVD stopped working about half way through. Nothing we could do could revive it, so our night was cut a bit short.

Saturday:
Taldi and I had an "explore DC" day. Went to the Koshland Science Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and then H&M. :) Went to dinner at Hard Rock Cafe which was hilarious. We were probably the only locals in the joint. We sat at the bar and talked to the bartender for a bit though. She was pretty cool.

Sunday:
The plan was to see "Becoming Jane" with some coworkers and meet Heather's baby Hannah. Well the lunch worked out, but we never made it to the movie. Hannah is a total cutey, and it was great to hang out with Heather again. I can't wait until she comes back from maternity leave.

Fire

After suffering through our first day of below freezing temperature this winter, we finally made a fire. It only took 1 year and 2 days of living in our apartment to discover the fireplace works. Our fire wasn't very big, but it lasted about 2 hours.

Weekend Update: Wedding in New Mexico!

Despite the illnesses and ailments, we had a fantastic time in New Mexico! Read the descriptions of each days events below:

Tuesday:
We arrived in New Mexico around midnight. Cheryl (the bride) drove us to our hotel. For the first three days, we shared a hotel room with Brad and Dana (Russ's best friend and his girlfriend), but for the last three days we got some more space and went into adjoining rooms.

Wednesday:
Slept in and went to lunch at Weck's with Jacob. The food was fantastic. Then Dana and I joined the bride, Cheryl, and some of the bride's maids for a manicure and pedicure. It took forever, but it was nice to relax and chat. Then we headed to Cheryl's and got ready for the bachlorette party. The party was super fun. We played games and ate at Cheryl's and then went to a huge club called Graham Central Station. It had 4 bars: a hip hop bar, a country bar, a kareoke bar, and an old school bar. We had a blast dancing and singing.



Thursday:
Thanksgiving. The groom's mom was nice enough to invite Russ, Brad, Dana, and me over for Thanksgiving dinner. We had super tasty food and pie, and then I napped on the couch for a bit. We also played a bunch of games on the Nintendo Wii. I rock at tennis, but suck at bowling. We got a sudden urge to see the James Bond movie and headed over to the movie theatre with Matt (the groom). What an awesome movie. After the movie we just headed back to Matt's house and hung out. Bryce and Lauren came over so we caught up with them.

Friday:
Dana and I went to the bridal shower while the boys picked up their tuxes. Then Dana and I ditched the wedding rehearsal to drink wine and chat with Bryce at the hotel. We met up with them later at the rehearsal dinner though. We had very yummy food and drinks at Copelands. We spent the rest of the night partying at the hotel room.

Saturday:
The day of the wedding! I woke up with a bad cold, but took lots of drugs and tried to push through it. We got ready and headed to the church early. The ceremony was at 1:00 and was about an hour long. Everything seemed to go well, though it was a Catholic service so I had no idea what was going on. After some pictures, we headed to the reception at a country club. The reception was gorgeous. We ate, drank, and danced the day away. The bartender really added to the fun, he gave us lots of interesting shots. My favorite were the shots he poured in little chocolate shot glasses. Instead of taking the shot, you just put the whole piece of chocolate filled with alcohol in your mouth. Yum. After they kicked us out of the reception around 8:00, we headed to Dan's (one of the groom's men) to celebrate his birthday. I wasn't feeling well so I mainly just hung out on the couch until someone gave us a ride home.



Sunday:
Slept in of course, and then Bryce picked us up and we went to see Happy Feet. What an odd, but funny movie. Then we met up with Cheryl, Matt, and some of their family for dinner. After dinner we hung out the hotel some more with Jacob, Bryce, Laura, and Lauren.

Monday:
Dana and Brad took off early for the airport, and Cheryl's mom drove us to the airport around noon for our 2:00 flight. A very successful trip!

Weekend Update: The Calm Before the Storm

Friday night Lisa, Danny, Russ and I finally ate  at La Casona, the Mexican restaurant a half a block from our house. Dirty place, but tasty pupulsas! Then we went next door to Solly's and hung out for a bit. 

Saturday Russ and I went suit shopping. I was really afraid it was going to take forever, but the Men's Wearhouse was freaken awesome. Russ walked out with two great suits in like an hour. I wish it were that easy for me to find a dress! Luckily I left Russ and met up with Lisa at Union Station where I finally found one! Now that Russ and I have things to wear, we feel a bit better prepared for the storm. 

Saturday night we went to Danny and Lisa's for dinner and then to Penang for Paul's birthday party. I think Penang is a much better restaurant than club. 

Today Russ and I did like eight loads of laundry to prepare for the trip. Russ might have crab with Danny and Lisa tonight for dinner. That means three dinners in a row with them. It's fun to have friends so close by!