Tales from the City #5

So I was reading John a book the other day and he interrupts me in the middle of it to ask, "Mommy, what's a 'lawn'?" And that's how you know you are raising urban children.

The Girl with Curls

Sadly, Leah already bemoans the fact that she doesn't have curly hair. Nevermind that she has beautiful, shiny, gorgeous, almost-black hair. I pray that she will grow to a place of rejecting the "always wanting what we haven't got" mentality. But until then...

RAG CURLS!

We got this idea from a friend and her daughter who did it for church one Sunday. So I read up on it, tore up some fabric, and started rolling up little portions of Leah's just-bathed hair and tying them in a not at the top.

And this is what happened when she slept on them as they dried over night.

Her first response was, "Mommy! I look like Nefret!" (You can find a picture of her in our last post...) And she's right - she totally did.

The curls were surprisingly tight and when shaken out, looked great.

Unfortunately, it was a rainy day so they fell out quickly. But it's definitely something that we'll do again. Good times for mother and daughter!

Our Tenth Anniversary Weekend!

Luke and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on November 18th. With the help of Grandy and Poppa Len, we left the kids in their care and drove to everyone's typical 10th anniversary destination: Sperryville, Virginia!

Despite its humble name, it's a lovely area near the Shenandoah Valley known for its delicious local food culture. Since we only had 48 hours we didn't want to go to far and I found a bed and breakfast that I fell in love with, so we were off!

We had a restful stay at the beautiful and quiet Belle Mead Bed and Breakfast. It is located on a 138 acre holistic farm and the Executive Directors also run an experiential learning school and various children's camps.

They had lots of lovely farm animals and beautiful views.

The highlight of our weekend was Luke surprising me with Saturday night dinner at the Inn at Little Washington. This is a foodie's paradise and it had been on my "Restaurants to Eat At" list since we moved here 7 1/2 years ago.

Among its many accolades, it is the only 5 star restaurant in the DC metro area and has been home to celebrity, self-taught chef Patrick O'Connell for almost 35 years. We got to meet "the Pope of American Cuisine" and visit "the most beautiful kitchen in the world."

The customer service was unreal. We got to take home our personal menus that had "Happy 10th Anniversary to Luke and Melanie" printed at the top. Our servers were very attentive and the environment was calm and relaxed.

And the food. Oh, THE FOOD! It turned out to be a 6 course meal and they brought special homemade gluten-free bread for me that was delicious! (I regret not taking pictures, but we were new to this environment and didn't want to embarrass ourselves in front of the upper class folk.)

We started with a shot of their roasted red bell pepper soup with Sambuca (and Italian anise-flavored liqueur - which I had to google to find out). I kid you not, after Luke and I took our first sip, we looked at each other and wondered aloud how soup - SOUP - could taste so much better than any other soup we've ever tasted. It was like drinking savory velvet. Crazy good.

Then we got 4 different little balls of goodness (not the culinary term they used) served on white spoons that included an airy beet sorbet, a breaded and fried ball of risotto, the world's smallest baked potato, and some cheese something-or-other. Interesting and delicious.

Then we chose two different options off the menu's courses.

First Course

Carpaccio of Herb Crusted Baby Lamb with Caesar Salad Ice Cream (yes, you read that right)

Chilled Maine Lobster in Sherry Vinaigrette with Avocado, Grapefruit and Lotus Root

Second Course

Spinach and Cheese Filled Ravioli with White Truffles and Molten-Gold Center (an egg yolk)

Seared Sea Scallops with Carmelized Endive, Leek Puree and Shaved Black Truffle

Main Course

Beef Two Ways: A Pecan Crusted Barbequed Short Rib Paired with a Miniature Filet Mignon Wrapped in Swiss Chard

A Duet of Duck: Seared Breast and Braised Leg with Turnip Puree and Plum Sauce

Dessert

Southern Butter Pecan Ice Cream Sandwich with Hot Caramel Sauce

A Chocolate Menage a Trois: A Miniature Black Forest Mousse Bombe, Chocolate Creme Brulee' and Bitter Sweet Chocolate Souffle

They served our desserts with "Happy Anniversary" written in chocolate on a marzipan banner. Nice touch.

To spare you all the "oohs" and "ahs" of our 2 hour gastronomic tour, I will summarize our experience in Luke's words: "Five star food, five star service, five star company." He is correct on all three accounts. We highly recommend saving your pennies (and paychecks) for this once in a lifetime experience.

The next morning we drove an hour to Charlottesville to spend the day there. We visited the Downtown Mall (pictured above), Monticello (too short on time and money to see Thomas Jefferson's actual house, so no pictures),

our friends Noel and Nefret and their new baby, Simon,

and the University of Virginia campus. This is the rotunda that TJ built. Smart, that guy. (Am I the only one that was reminded of the clock tower in Back to the Future?)

And below is the view across the Academical Village.

Pretty little chapel:

Pretty yellow tree:

Pretty cute couple:

Happy Anniversary!

A visit to Nationals Stadium

One of John's "baseball friends," Isaac, invited him on a tour of Nationals Park. Dream come true, of course! The dads went too and they all had a ball.

They got to see the weight room,

sit in the dugout,

and practice throwing in the pitcher's box. Check out how John tried to impress Isaac with his wind up...

Thanks, Isaac for inviting John - he had a blast!

Go Nationals!

Leah's a Daisy!

I was never a Girl Scout, so I've always had a fuzzy impression of what they're about. I know they're into good citizenship and all, but I had also heard that they were trying to keep up with the modernity of the times so I imagined them giving badges for painting nails and watching the entire High School Musical trilogy. I'm also a little annoyed with selling hydrogenated oil and sugar to fundraise. (No! That doesn't sound like you, Mel...)

But when an opportunity arose for Leah to join the local Daisy group, I figured it would be a good social experience that she would absolutely eat up.

Through the year they will learn the following Girl Scout Promise and Law:

On my honor, I will try:

To serve God and my country,

To help people at all times,

And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

I will do my best to be

honest and fair,

friendly and helpful,

considerate and caring,

courageous and strong,

and responsible for what I say and do

and to respect myself and others,

respect authority,

use resources wisely,

make the world a better place,

and be a sister to every Girl Scout.

So I figure we can't go wrong with that.

(And they have changed their cookie recipes to include less than 1% hydrogenated oils, so they get a badge for effort.)

I'm sure you can tell by her posture that Leah is quite a compliant Daisy. She already knew a few of the girls including her friend from church, Charlotte.

They had a ceremony where each girl got to light a candle and they all sang the song, "Make new friends, keep the old. One is silver and the other gold."

She's been singing it around the house for days.

At the end of each meeting, they cross their arms, hold hands, and get a squeeze traveling around the circle.

Look at that sweet face! Pretty as a Daisy.

(But her mother needs to improve her ironing skills as Leah pointed out the the Girl Scout insignia on her tunic is already coming off.)

A Fall Festival

This fall, we finally made it to the Claude Moore Colonial Farm for their Market Fair - an 18th century farm festival.

It's a working farm complete with a variety of animals.

They had delicious and authentic fare

and fun activities for the kids.

Our friend, Jeff, hobbies as a blacksmith and puts on the 18th century garb to show his skills.

Purveyors sell their wares like this lady and her husband who create beautiful pewter items.

And these girls are making corn-silk dolls.

They have lots of volunteers who enjoy dressing up in the traditional clothing and playing the part of a colonial citizen.

It was really fun to travel back in time and be outside on such a beautiful autumn day.

Happy Fall!