The Coming of Little Buddy Cheese Bread

I got a new job! I will be working in the city for a nonprofit healthcare organization. I have been really wanting a job in the city since I moved here, but have been working in Falls Church. The metro ride made me sad every single day. I am very excited that I will be riding my bike to work, it should be wonderful, plus the new job is of course what every new job is: perfect, wonderful, amazing, best job ever, and I am going to love it. Actually, I am very excited about it. I truly believe that their purpose is fantastic and I think it will be great to be apart of their organization. It is only a year old, so I will really be growing with them.

Why is it that everyday I drink tea so fast that I am sweating?

I also just realized there is chocolate on my desk.

I have friends coming into town this weekend, which means that I am making pie on my day off tomorrow. Blueberry was requested. I normally try to pair some sort of cheese in the crust, however, I had a great idea this morning. Perhaps it is because chocolate has been on my mind this week, or that I love chocolate all the time, or they keep writing articles about it in the Express, but I am thinking of putting white chocolate in the crust or on the crust, we will see.

Last night Nate and I went to look at a house at the end of the block, I really wish we could move there. It is three stories, has an amazing kitchen, granite counter tops, a dishwasher (!!!), an island, a fireplace, hardwood floors throughout... I really don't want to move again, and our rent is so cheap.

neighborhood-y

Over the weekend I went to Timor, the store, not the island. It is a nice market that is about a five minute walk from my house. It is quite small, but it has essentials: milk, eggs, soy milk, cheese, pasta, sauce, olives, tea, wine, some meat (I didn't really look since it doesn't interest me all that much), and on Sundays they have a fresh produce stand. It is a great addition to the neighborhood and I plan to frequent this place! Here is their website: http://timordc.com/

Yesterday I didn't want to wait for the Greenbelt metro from L'Enfant Plaza, so I took the one that only goes to Mount Vernon Square. It was very nice out yesterday and decided the walk would do me some good. I have been reading other neighborhood blogs that have mentioned the amount of young people hanging out on the corners in MVS. It was my observation as well. Although it was light out, I still felt a bit intimidated by the large groups on nearly every corner. I don't know if there is really anything that can be done about this, but it would be nice to feel safe when I am walking around the neighborhood past daylight.

I am really enjoying my new house, but I have come to realize that I am not used to the amount of chores that I am now having to take on. For the past several years I have lived in studio apartments, by myself. Living with someone and having to clean two bathrooms, and vacuum more rooms and now having cats! Well, it is an adjustment.

I did make two pies over the weekend. One was great and the other, well, the crust was really good. I guess that is what it is all about though, experimentation. Friday I am going to make Blueberry pie. I have friends coming from Michigan this weekend, I am very excited.

Kitten Update

The kitties have started settling in quite well. Sputnik is incredibly loving and very outgoing. Warner is a little more reserved still. Today was the first time he really started letting us love on him. I think it will just take a little while. Nate said this morning that Warner was drooling all over him! I was very jealous and sad that I had decided to go to work instead of staying home to play with the kittens.
I am going to start a garden this year. I read a blog about making a container compost pile. I will see how it goes, sounds pretty easy.

All the Kittens!

Friday I went home from work and started the cleaning, it was quite the task. Carolyn came over and brought my favorite vegan pizza, it is really great with artichokes, onions, and other yummy goodness. She also brought wine, which is ALWAYS a good thing! Anyway, the heat doesn't work the best downstairs so her and I went upstairs. She was impressed with Nate's bed and we proceeded to fall asleep. (Wow, my blogs are super interesting, always me falling asleep). When Nate got home I was all grumpy and tired and he asked if I wanted to get a kitten and I said that I didn't want one and went back to sleep. On Saturday he reminded me of this conversation, and I do in fact want kittens, or cats, or somewhere in the middle. Carolyn took us to her friend Davids' house, he fosters cats/kittens. We decided we should probably get two so they would have a buddy whilst we were at work all day. So...we are supposed to pick them up today! We would have picked them up yesterday, but our furnace broke (yes it is cold, and no it is not fun to not have heat). Hopefully the furnace boys are fixing it as I type this.

I love that I can get cherries year round here. I don't know why that is, but I could never find them in Michigan during the winter.

I will post pictures of the kitties as soon as possible, with complete biographies.

Vegetate + Restaurant Week = Happiness

Last night Carolyn and I went to Vegetate. I really love that place, but because I like to eat and their portions are small, I don't go all that often. Restaurant week is a perfect time to go because you get to try so much, all of it being delicious, of course. I had the Twice Baked Sweet Potato Rounds, Blue Cheese Skillet Cakes, and Lavender Scented White Cake. Carolyn ordered House Made Black Olive Flatbread, Root Vegetable Noodles, and Dark Chocolate Ganache. The Blue Cheese Skillet Cakes were not very blue-cheesy, but they were wonderful all the same. I also got a glass of warm liquid with my cake, I asked the server what I was supposed to do with it (yes, I am stupid), he said, drink it. It was a ginger tea, it had quite a zing, but I enjoyed it. He said most people will not even try it! I was surprised by this. I can't say what was the best, it was all really great, I was very satisfied afterwards. If you haven't been to Vegetate, you should definitely check it out, I am so happy to have this wonderful restaurant so close by.

Tube Travel is NOT Time Travel

I haven't been on the metro for a while, until today. It wasn't so bad. On the way home the conductor was going so fast, it was exciting! I think she was trying to time travel, it didn't work. She also talked like a robot, it was nice and made me feel like I was in the future (the robot voice + speedy driving = future).
There is no food in the house besides vanilla ice cream, soy milk, water and about a shot of vodka. Since there isn't any food I have been forced to eat out, of course this means I get to eat the yummy sushi by work everyday. Today I was told that I am their best customer!
Nate just got home.

Frozen Timmies

I had a really wonderful weekend, I got to see a lot of friends and I accomplished a lot! Friday Nate, Mauricio and I went to Rock and Roll Hotel for Alexandra's birthday. It was quite fun, but we didn't stay all that long. I had been stressing myself out about the move and didn't sleep much Friday night, leading to me feeling really awful on Saturday. Carolyn came over in the morning to give me medicine and stayed for a while to help sort through some clothes (she took some of the ones I needed to get rid of off my hands!). I ended up being a complete waste of space on Saturday and did essentially nothing even though I needed to with the pending move. I think I fell asleep somewhere around 9:30, yeah, I am a party-animal.

Sunday, the move begins early. Nate went to his house to clean and I started packing the car up and moving things over. Jon came by with his truck and he and Nate really hauled everything, I really do have wonderful friends. We finished by eating at Luna, it is a wonderful place and we found out that on Sundays and Mondays after 5pm, pasta is half-off!!! This is something to remember, which is why I am writing it here.

There is still a lot to do and it looks like there will be a trip to Ikea this weekend (yay)! I think I am the only one excited about this. I swear I am like a kid when I get to Ikea. I love how they put the toys at the end of the store, it is genius!

There are some other random things that I want to mention:

• Last week I was at Whole Foods and I discovered this water, well, enhanced water called bot. It is a pretty standard flavored water, nothing too exciting, but the website, amazing.
• Living in DC, where it is warm, I have realized that even though it is January, Spring doesn't seem that far away.
• Also, living in DC, I have realized that people are hypersensitive about the weather and think that 40 degrees is cold, even the people on the radio!
• I am excited for Vegetate and restaurant week.
• I am hoping to make pie this weekend and take it to Jon.
• Tonight I would like to get books and all the laundry put away. There is a lot of laundry, we washed everything that Nate owns.
• My bike is becoming a single-speed because I am scene. (Actually because I never change gears and this will make it lighter)
• Diana needs to move here, and Dania too (but that will happen in the Spring, which isn't far away)
• Whatever happened to milkshake club?

If I don't get home early enough tonight, then I will forget about the goals of putting away books and laundry, instead I will concentrate on one of the best things ever: Frankie!