Happy 60th, dad!

It's really kind of crazy that it's my dad's 60th birthday. Mostly because I can't believe he's 60.. you always have all these preconceived notions of what people look like or act like at a certain age, and then when you or a loved one gets to that point, it's all just so crazy and surreal. Now, I do think my dad is blessed with some fabulous genes (so is my mom, honestly), but still. 60!!

I was lucky enough to be able to go home earlier this week and see him to celebrate a few days early - and while it wasn't on the exact day, it was still fun to visit for a bit! Usually when I go home and we go out to eat, it's at one of several places: Applebee's (high school, anyone?), a diner, Red Lobster (my dads fave), or more recently, Hemingway's. But we totally went out of the box this time - I mean, it's his 60th! - and decided to go to Louie's Oyster Bar, a spot often referred to as one of the best seafood joints on Long Island. If there's one thing my dad loves, it's oysters.

I'm still fantasizing about all that delicious food, not to mention the amazing view.

And even though we treated ourselves to some specialty (read: alcoholic) coffee and a carrot cake for dessert, we still managed to find some room in our bellies for a little ice cream cake later on in the day. It's kind of tradition in our family to have a Carvel ice cream cake for your birthday, especially seeing as myself, my dad, and my stepmom all have summer bdays. Plus.. the crunchies in the middle. I dream about those cakes.

So naturally, we went with the classic Fudgy the Whale.

And what party is complete without hats.. and cats in hats?!

I think one of my favorite parts about visiting home this time was reminiscing a bit, particularly about my dad's other "significant birthdays". He's not one for big hooplas, but the church surprised him for his 40th (I was 9), and the family surprised him for his 50th (I was 19).

It's nuts how much I feel like I've aged (well.. obviously) and how much I feel like my dad stayed the same.. but in a good way! It's been nice being able to visit and talk to him more often over the past few months to year - I feel like we've gotten a bit closer, and it's always fascinating to see how much of him I carry around with me in regards to my mannerisms, thoughts, actions, etc in my everyday life.

But all this is to say - happy birthday, dad - and here's to many more. Stay cool!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I always try and be different and do these "themed" posts a different day than everyone else, and I really just have to stop that. Popular and catchy themes are popular and catchy for a reason. So here goes.

1. My new hair!

Yes.. I cut it. Again. I'm pretty sure I completely change my style almost every time I go in.. and despite my assumption that my stylist may want to kill me at some point, I actually think she loves me more for it. Keeps her on her toes! All I know is that I am so, so happy to have it short again.

2. Goûter Tonics

Goûter (goo-tay) is a super local DC company that makes some fabulous alkaline water tonics. I actually did a 3-day cleanse of 6 tonics a day back in January, and I'm happy to say that I still love pretty much all of their products. It definitely helps that they keep coming out with new ones, like this months Refresh (featuring watermelon, mint, and chia seeds) and Salted Melon (featured cantaloupe, mint, himalayan salt, and chia seeds). Their business plan is also kind of interesting- they don't have a website (just a Facebook page), and mostly rely on bringing and selling their products to local yoga/Pilates studios and some local organic markets. Hey, I'm all for supporting local!!

3. Teeccino

Speaking of yummy drinks.. I'm also back on a Teecino (tea-CHEE-no) kick. Basically, it's all the satisfaction of having coffee.. but without the coffee (and caffeine and acidity). Now of course it's not exactly the same, but it's a pretty darn good replacement that comes in some pretty yummy flavors. I just tried the Dandelion Caramel Nut yesterday (organic carob, organic chicory, organic dandelion, dates, almonds, natural caramel nut flavor, organic figs), and it's a good variance from my usual French Roast option (organic carob, organic barley, organic chicory, organic ramon nuts, natural coffee flavor).

So while I'm definitely a tea nut (you should SEE my collection), I do find myself opting for this a couple times a week instead (although it's technically a tea as well). Especially when I randomly start craving coffee at 3pm but refuse to down that much caffeine. (Another side effect of getting older.. caffeine sensitively. WTF.)

4. TheSavory.com

This website has my pure, undying love right now. It's your standard Food/Drink/Recipe site.. but better. Just the amount of fun, interesting articles they have on wine alone has me hooked. Go check it out. Especially my new fave article: "3 Great Cocktails to Get you Loaded Whilst Juicing."

5. Planning our trip to Maine!

via

While planning a week-long trip on a super tight budget and having no idea about the area you're going to is kind of tough.. it's also incredibly exciting. Scot and I have started to realize that, in our almost 7 years together, we have really haven't ever gone away/on a vacation that was just the two of us, and just for us. We are always either staying with friends or family and basing our time away around that - even our honeymoon (aka Friendymoon) to Mexico was done with friends. Of course a lot of this has had to do with finances - we just don't have the dough to go on some of the vacations that our friends and family can.

Our solution was to finally take a week off this summer and do a road trip/bed and breakfast tour of Maine's coast. Scot's parents agreed to come down for a week to watch the animals - so we don't need to pay for a sitter or kennel - and the plan is to just sort of hop around Maine's highlights like Portland, the beaches, Midcoast, and Acadia. I'm still looking for someplace to stay in the Midcoast area.. so if you have suggestions of places to go and things to see, I'm all ears!!

(Also.. lobster. I CANNOT WAIT for all the lobster.)

What are you loving this week?

A Vitamix Christening: Rosemary Pumpkin Hummus

I'm not sure a better combination of words exists than that. Maybe if I threw "wine" in there somewhere, it could get better. Mmm. Wine.

Anyway, my lovely husband has been hearing me harp on and on about a Vitamix blender for a few years now - especially after I went to nutrition school and learned more about the magic of juicing and smoothies. I mean.. it does everything. Especially when being compared to our 6-year old Magic Bullet or the CuisinArt Blender that got destroyed by a cat last year.

But alas - they are expensive. Really, really expensive.

So when Scot saw an online deal for 20% off a certified refurbished Vitamix through their website, he jumped all over that knowing full well it would win him super bonus points if this were my birthday gift. (Which it did. Until he convinced me a week later to get another dog.. so now we're even, heh.)

What I find amusing is the automatic connotation Vitamix has of being a "healthy" appliance - especially in today's green juice obsessed world. And the recipe book that came with the blender boasts that with your new kitchen toy, you can eat healthier than ever. Except, when you look through the book, half the recipes call for some sort of heavy cream or processed sugar of some sort. Umm.. no thank you.

via

So I was left with the decision of what to christen my new bad boy with. Or, more like: what ingredients did I already have that could be whipped together to make a tasty but healthy treat?

Well, I had chick peas. So I figured I could fudge the rest of the ingredients and make some sort of hummus - every health nuts favorite go-to protein-packed dip! (I must admit, I actually went through a phase a few years ago where I had so. much. hummus. that I got a bit sick of it for a while. I didn't start craving it again until a few months ago, and now I'm back on that MUST HAVE HUMMUS kick. I don't want it go away!!)

I also had lots of rosemary from the garden, so that was an obvious and easy add-in. Then I discovered some cans of pumpkin puree in the pantry.. and we all know how much I love pumpkin.

This could work!

*recipe adapted from Pinch of Yum

A quick note: I decided to add in some roasted garlic (because hi.. roasted garlic). I didn't have any pre-roasted (and wasn't going to spend an hour waiting for a head to roast), so I quickly faux-roasted some pre-crushed garlic in a sauté pan for a few minutes, then combined everything. Magical, I tell you!

And then I proceeded to eat my creation with a spoon. No shame.

Do you have a favorite go-to hummus recipe? Do share - my Vitamix needs more use!!

The Newest Addition

I recently commented on how the hubs and I aren't really in the wanting-to-have-kids camp right now; but that's not to say that we are soulless, heartless folks who can't care for anything. Quite the contrary, actually, as we are totes magotes one of those couples who considers their animals to be their "kids".

The current clan, up until Wednesday, included 2 kitties and a pup.  One cat (Tegan) I got from a friend in Philly who had a litter of kittens, and the kitten (Platypus) and dog (Juno) both came from a local spot called Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL). Seriously the bees knees.. if you're in the DC area and looking to adopt/save a life - go there.

(At one point, we did have 3 cats, but my oldest - Tully, 7yrs - passed away due to lymphoma in December. His illness was the main reason we got the third cat, to try and bridge the gap for our other cat and dog. Turns out newbie got along better with the cat that passed than the one we still have.. but no matter. He and the dog are BFFs!)

Scot has been hounding me for a second dog pretty much since we got our first one, and the answer has always been a resounding NO. See, I tend to get overwhelmed easily. At least when it came to having and training a dog - that was  an experience I realized I may not have been fully prepared for when it happened. Getting a dog made me realize how much I am definitely a "cat person" - they're independent, cuddly, and small. All things that jive well with my life. But that's not to say that I don't like dogs - I love 'em - but going into that was seriously similar to having a child (says the childless wonder over here). At least my mom said it was similar, and she HAS had a kid.. so yea. I'll trust her and agree.

But for the past two years, the hubs would always go onto WARL's adoption page and send me pictures of cute dogs that needed rescuing. And even though their little eyes would stare deep into my soul, begging for me to take them home.. I had to be realistic. Two cats and two dogs (not to mention two humans), in our little duplex? No.

But then there was Ballerina. Scot sent me her picture and bio several times.. to be honest, her name alone had me hooked (former dancer, here!). And she was some form of boxer/bulldog/pit mix, which is freaking adorable when you mush them all together. Week after week went by, and her name kept appearing on the adoption site. Two months.. three months.. no one was adopting her.

Finally, I agreed to go in to see her - "just to look". (Famous last words.) I think I was still on my Chris Carrabba high from the day before, because after meeting her, I told Scot that if she was okay with the dog and the cats, we could adopt her.

Without going too much into detail - and since we ALL know where this is going - we ended up bringing her home just 4 days later, this past Wednesday!

She's 3 years old, and came from a kill shelter in DC before making it to WARL. She has clearly had at least one litter of puppies at some point in her life, and definitely has some abandonment issues. She was put on Prozac just a few weeks ago since the stress of being at shelters so long was clearly getting to her, and was incredibly timid in her crate but really opened up once we got her in a bigger room with just the two of us. The staff at WARL believes she wasn't getting adopted in part because of her breed, in part because of how not active she was in her kennel when people walked by, and in part because of the unending loop - she wasn't being adopted, and people don't want "unadoptable" pets. We were told she has select dog-reactivity, some leash aggression (as in, chews up her leash), and has a prey drive - which is a toss up in the air about whether or not she will ever get along with our cats.

All this being said, it actually made us want to adopt her more - to truly save and rescue her. We brought our dog Juno in to meet her ahead of time, and they got along just fine. We then spoke to the behavior specialist/trainer who has been working with Ballerina over the past few months, who gave us great tips on introducing her to the cats slowly. Everything was looking up, and it was like our answer was made for us. When we picked her up, I can't even tell you how many people/staff came to say how happy they were, how much they would miss her, and how great she is. That right there nearly made me cry!

So we officially have a full house, and I swear to you if Scot sends me another picture of a dog I will make him sleep on the couch.

Oh - and I almost forgot! We renamed her Khaleesi. MOTHER OF DRAGONS. (Ballerina was just her shelter name!)

That time I met Chris Carrabba

If I died tomorrow, I'd be okay with it. Because not only did my fabulous husband get me a Vitamix for my birthday (reason number 18 I know I'm getting old.. my ideal gift is a fancy blender), but I also met Chris Carrabba on Friday.

I think you need to let that sink in for a minute.

Because I finally. finally. finally. met the man of my teenage (ok.. and current) dreams.

If for some silly reason you have no idea who I'm talking about.. most folks know him as Dashboard Confessional. Some recall him from also being in Further Seems Forever - and now he is currently a part of an awesome little folksy band called Twin Forks, which I have now seen twice in as many months.

A little history: as with many women my age, I fell in love with Chris & his gut-wrenching music and insane voice in my teens, with the release of his first album, The Swiss Army Romance. I actually firmly believe that my first experience with his music was when I was 15 (around 2000/2001) when my friends and I went to this small, hole in the wall venue on Long Island to see New Found Glory, who just came out with their first album and still only charged $10 for a show they were headlining. One of the first "bands" to perform was this fairly cute guy, just sitting on stage with an acoustic guitar (and by stage, I mean a slightly raised platform in a catering hall type place). He was the first opener, so I paid some attention, but was more interested in what NFG merch I could get my hands on and feeling oh-so-cool for being at a hip show with an up-and-coming band.

About a year later, I would realize that the opening act was actually Chris Carrabba in his early-early days, and I had no idea what I was witnessing. The SHAME. (Also - funny story - we ended up not even seeing New Found Glory that night, as my dad came to pick us up and dragged us out of the venue at 10pm before they even came on. I wouldn't end up seeing them for over a decade until their most recent tour last year. Womp.)

Anyway, shortly after that show, I remember my friend burning me the Dashboard CD, which I wore out playing in my car every chance I got. Thus, my love affair began, and as he got bigger and bigger, I would go to see whatever show of his I was able to.

The last one I saw was a few years ago, for the 10 year anniversary of The Swiss Army Romance. Scot and I even ended up using one of his lesser known songs - I Do - in our wedding ceremony a few years ago. Yes, the love is real.

So when I heard that he had started another side project - Twin Forks - I was both intrigued and beyond ecstatic that I still loved his music (bonus: it was mostly happy stuff!). They opened for a larger band back in May that I was able to catch in DC, which was amazing and wonderful and gave definitely gave me my Chris Carrabba fix (especially when he played a few Dashboard songs). I was hopeful I might be able to meet him and the band at their merch table after the show, but I had no such luck. Such is my life.

But THEN. Then I noticed that they were doing a second leg of their tour - but this time, they were playing much smaller venues, and headlining. And their Instagram was showing tons of meets-and-greets. And they were playing in Philly a few days after my birthday and ohmygodyouguysthismightbemymoment.

I think you can guess the rest. I went, I saw, I conquered met Chris (and the rest of the band).

I told him aaaaalllll about my first experience with him and his music.

We became besties. He signed my CD.

And it was magical. I mean, the pictures show him smiling and having fun but he was kind of all over the place and maybe not the most friendly person in the world at the very moment, but I can hardly blame him. Lots of things to do and people to see and he has like 15 years of this under his belt. I think this pleased my husband, as he was fairly certain I was never coming home.

No matter! I finally met the man who helped define my teens and 20's (I'm really not exaggerating) and it was all sorts of magical. Le sigh.

(Sidenote: I totes wrote a Top 5 post a few years ago.. guess who was number one? #hestillis)

Have you had a celeb crush that you just can't seem to shake? Any luck meeting them??

Beaches & Peaches

Ah, summer. How I love you so.

Sure the warmth and sunshine is lovely - not to mention our annual trip to upstate New York to visit Scot's parents on the lake - but just the freshness of it all, if you know what I mean. Everything is so green, so lush, and so seasonable. I largely feel that it is so much easier for me to eat more healthily in the spring and summertime simply due to the increase in availability of several yummy fruits and veggies. And not only is there a wide variety that are "in season", but so much more of it is so incredibly local, as well. (And I'm a big local-food junkie!)

This is one of the reasons why I love that the winery I work at is located on a local family farm. They always have an interesting assortment of things that they grow and tend to on-site (apples, some peaches, egg-producing chickens, two greenhouses, an apiary, etc), but they do also get some produce from other regional farms. They will also occasionally have bananas, watermelons, and avocados from Mexico and other warm climate places - you know, some of people's staple pantry items in the summer that are simply not easy to grow in Maryland conditions. It's all about variety!

There are a few things that, without fail, get all the farm customers excited. First and foremost would be the farm's signature unpasteurized apple cider, made fresh on site. Then would come the cinnamon sugar donuts made fresh daily.. and then the fresh strawberries in early June and farm-grown peaches in early July. But for those of us who are just way too impatient, they do get some Harrow Diamond peaches in from South Carolina in late June. Which I discovered were just perfect for making some quick & easy peach froyo!

The idea came to me, shockingly, from Pinterest. The fact that this recipe only has a measly 4 ingredients and can be made in my food processor had me itching to try it out. Trust me, you'll want to run to your local grocery store or farmer's market and snatch up as many peaches as you can.. I can't think of a better or more refreshing treat on a hot summer day!

Oh, and the best part? It's good for you!!

*recipe originally seen on Just A Taste

Isn't it amazing how such simple, natural ingredients can produce something so yummy?? Now excuse me while I go bury my face in this deliciousness.

The Struggle is Real.

Unngghh. Birthdays.

Well getting older, really. Because let's be honest, I kind of love my birthday. The amount of coupons and free things that you get alone are enough to get anyone excited. (Free yoga class! $5 off my next hair appointment! $10 off at Victoria's Secret! Free gifts at Sephora! ALL THE PRESENTS!)

I think what is getting to me most this year isn't so much the physical number, but more-so the life changes I'm noticing as I get older. Don't get me wrong, some of them are amazing - but some them can also be a bit depressing. Things change - it's a part of life - but when I occasionally take the time to look at my life last year, five years ago, ten years ago - it's of crazy. Not only with what is happening in my life, but who I am as a person. What I've done, where I've gone, how my life has turned out thus far.

Basically, I'm getting all introspective in my last year of my 20's. (Thanks, yoga.) And no, I'm not super freaked by turning 30 - everyone I know says their 30's are better than their 20's, so kudos to that!

But, as with anything, there's going to be the good, the bad, and the ugly.

DC Delights

While I don't technically live in DC, pretty much everyone in my particular suburb of Maryland considers themselves a part of the DC metro area. (#wannabe's) I also have many a friend who actually does live within the city limits, and find myself trekking in there quite often despite our recent move a bit further north. I've definitely gotten to know certain parts of the city fairly well, but my general knowledge is extremely lacking - which I kind of hate! I love how much I can rattle off about Philly and NYC, how I know fun spots to go and don't look like a little lost puppy when walking around on my own. Not so much with DC. I mean.. have you seen their street system? It's obnoxious. All circles and diagonals and conspiracy theories of Illuminati and Freemasons (see: Dan Brown).

via TravelPod

All this is to say that I have fairly limited experiences with local DC culture. I know there's a ton of stuff that goes on, but it's not always feasible to explore everything I want to. While we are maybe a total of 15 miles from downtown, it will take a good hour or so to go anywhere of interest, especially depending on the time of day.

When we first moved into the area about six years ago, we did the whole touristy thing and walked around the Capitol, down Constitution Avenue, around the Smithsonian, etcetera. My favorite find that day - which I have since learned is a "thing" down here in the summers - was the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art. We meandered upon this randomly in the middle of the day, but apparently it's a fairly big  hotspot that hosts events such as live Jazz throughout the season. It's been on my list to go back for one of these events.. but have I? Of course not.

personal

personal

A much more recent and local discovery I've made - that I have admittedly known about for the longest time, and even used to work a mere mile from - is the Sunday night drum circle at Meridian Hill (aka Malcom X) Park.

First off, the park itself is gorgeous. I totally want to have a photo shoot here.

via Time

Second, the drum circle? It's magical. It's crazy, fun, invigorating, and a quintessential DC experience. The premise is that every Sunday, a bunch of people come together and bang on drums, shake tambourines, and dance their booties off. There's no particular "group" - it's open to anyone and everyone. Some people take part in the action, some play frisbee or do yoga.

via Washingtonian

And others (me) sit back on the grass to just take in the scene with some noms and vino (it seems that the police often overlook the whole alcohol-in-public thing during the drum circle hours).

personal

I'm under the impression that this takes place mostly year round, and has actually been going on since the 1950's or so. It's definitely a local delight that I fully intend to enjoy more of this summer.. possibly tomorrow?!

Does your town have any local treasures that everyone else may or may not know about?

Self-expression a la Hair (aka, what I do when I'm bored)

A few things about me:

- I love me some big, flashy earrings. It is rare that you will find me without dangly earrings of some sort hanging from my lobes.
- I believe that a classic nude pump should be a staple in every woman's closet (along with the LBD, of course).
- Changing my hair is one of my favorite forms of self-expression (aka, I get bored quickly and change it.. a lot).

So about that last one..

You may have noticed that I am a natural red-head/ginger/vampire/whatever you may like to call it. My natural color veers towards the strawberry-blonde end of the spectrum, almost more orange than true red. It took me a really long time to grow to love the fact that I'm a natural ginger.. it's definitely been a love/hate relationship.

Growing up, I was always threatened to never dye or do anything unnatural to my hair because it was "so pretty just the way it is!". So I grew up terrified to do anything to it. I mean.. dye? What?! Do you want me to KILL my lustrous locks? Bae, please.

Until one day in 10th grade (ultimately coinciding with my pop-punk phase.. yay 2001 Good Charlotte!) when I decided that I absolutely MUST dye just the under part of my hair Manic Panic blue. You know the shade. Of course, I had to bleach my hair first in order for the color to show.

(Gahhhh I can't find a picture!!)

Needless to say.. Mama Bear wasn't too thrilled with me. I mean, I was a dancer. What dancer has blue hair? Pout.

Anyway, it eventually faded and then grew out. I left my hair untouched for quite some time after that, until about 2010 when I decided to revisit the under-color, but with black this time.

See it? See it? See it?

I actually quite enjoyed it. And then, in 2012, I made the big plunge and actually dyed my whole head of hairs.. a deeper shade of red. Like I mentioned, I did actually grow to love having red hair.. I'm just still not a huge fan of the shade. Luckily, that's easily fixable and lo and behold.. red on red actually produces a fairly natural looking hue!

Yep - it was dyed for the wedding!

But this isn't just about color. I also very much enjoy growing my hair out, then chopping it all off. It's like a vicious cycle.

Long, then short, then long, then short, then long, then a perm, then short, then super duper short, and now a cute little asymmetrical bob that may either grow to be long again, or be chopped back into a pixie cut, depending on my mood at my next appointment.

But I supposed the most recent update would be this one:

A purple panel on one side! I'm obsessed.

Anyone else have hair ADD? What's your favorite cut/style to rock?