It's Friday, Love

{ A formal jacket + casual jeans = spring transition }

It has been quite a week. I've been running around DC since Monday as part of the biggest work event I do all year. Went well so I'm happy, but tired. I've been around people almost 24 hours a day for 4 days which inevitably drains me.  I also didn't manage to get Wednesday's post up, whoops. I know you'll forgive me. Mercury went retrograde yesterday (thanks Facebook for letting me know that) and we'll be in that crazy cycle for the next month. I have no idea if any of that stuff is really true, but I would actually love a bit of a shake-up. There are a couple things that I've been struggling to take the next step on, and I'd love any help I can get to make the leap. See ya Monday.

{ Georgetown }

{ Macaroons }

{ Training advocates in DC for Lobby Day }

{ Front yard blooms }

Be My Valentine

Yesterday was ridiculously gorgeous and Church Hill Music Co. was lucky enough to have a show at the Valentine Museum benefiting the Virginia Hemophilia Foundation. I took a few quick pics to share.....can't believe this is so close and I never enjoy it. I see coffee in the garden very soon. Enjoy! 

It's Friday, Love

{ I feel like I can claim dual residence in DC at this point }

I'll be honest, I've been having trouble writing these Friday posts lately. I feel like all I really have to say is how busy I am. I hate how that sounds. You know....hey, how are you? - and before you can blink the person says...busy! But I really am. Good busy.

Looking back, these posts subconsciously became sort a gut check for me. Well, a gut check for one thing really. Forlorn statements of longing that didn't really mean much, but I felt better that I had flung them into the universe. If a tree falls in the woods and there's no one there to hear it, did it fall? If I have a thought, but there's no one there to hear it, sometimes it feels hollow. The thought becomes a boomerang, not something you really let go of or incorporate, just something that smacks you in the head when it completes it's circular journey.

I suppose they'll still be a gut check. Who knows. The best part is that I get to decide. No matter what I do, the writing makes me feel better. Knowing that a few of you are listening makes me feel better. Thanks. See ya Monday.

{ Yumminess from Dog and Pig Show }

{ New cell phone case from Ms. Spade }

{ Feeling stripes for spring }

{ The trees are out }

Pancakes

I love pancakes! I make sweet potato pancakes, chocolate pancakes, savory potato pancakes...you name it, I've enjoyed it, but I always have to make some protein like bacon or sausage to go with them because they never fill me up on their own. When I came across this recipe for a protein-filled pancake, I was eager to give it a try. The main ingredients are gluten-free oats and cottage cheese, yes, cottage cheese. That's where the protein comes in. Load your food processor or blender with the oats, cottage cheese, cinnamon, almond milk other yumminess and voila, pancake batter. Cook them as you would regular pancakes and enjoy with some honey and fruit. Next time I'll probably throw in some chocolate chips for good measure. The best part is they kept me full all morning and I froze the rest for easy breakfasts during the week. Enjoy!

The Ball

I'm definitely the type of woman who never misses a chance to dress up for something. I imagine those facets of my personality started young. I'm sure I combed through books as a child, enthralled by the gorgeous dresses the princesses were wearing......they looked so happy, so beautiful. I'm sure I was imagining myself in those dresses while I twirled barefoot on the lawn. Funny how something as simple as putting on a dress can mean so much.

Just as in the Catholic religion, with fashion, there are certain "sacraments" a woman is mostly guaranteed throughout her life. Senior prom is one of those touchstones. As I shopped for a formal dress for this past weekend's American Heart Association Ball, I couldn't help but overhear the hurried, broken conversations of the teenage girls who were shopping for just that occasion. Was I ever that young? Good lord. They looked so beautifully awkward in their dresses. Not a physical awkwardness, but the mental and emotional kind that can't be helped at that age. The dresses were wearing them, not the other way around. 

When a woman gets married it's yet another fashion milestone in her life. I've shopped with friends over the years getting ready for their special days, some were happy, some nervous, some more worried about the dress and the invitation list than the fact that they knew they were marrying the wrong person. Oddly, no matter the circumstance, each one had a look of such utter happiness when they put on the right one. I've never given much thought to planning a wedding or what dress I would wear, ironic then, that I too should be so susceptible to the charms and monumental meaning of such a day. It was actually the first thing that made me cry after my father died.

I was in a bit of shock when I was told that my father had had a massive heart attack and would not last the night. "Get here as soon as you can", they said. It's too big, too much. Your brain hears the words but can't process what they mean. I didn't cry right away, which in hindsight surprised me. I think I said "ok". It was almost a half an hour later when I'd made it to my mom's house that a random thought popped in my head, if I get married he won't be there. Only then did I start crying.  I didn't cry because my dad wouldn't get to see me in my wedding dress, I think I started crying because it hit me how much he would miss. How much I would miss him. The silver lining, corny I know, is that his death taught me not to miss out on things in this life.

I was thinking about my dad a lot on Saturday night. We raised over 1 million dollars at the American Heart Association- Greater Richmond Chapter's Annual Ball. It will go towards education, awareness and prevention of heart disease. I wish my dad could have been there. He would have been the guy on the dance floor at 11:30pm still boogying as the staff tried to politely ask him to leave. This was my second year attending the event so I knew some people, but not many. I also didn't have a date, but I'll be damned if I was going to miss a chance to put on a gorgeous dress and have a fabulous time! We should never miss chances to feel alive, to feel beautiful, to feel loved.....even if it's only till the clock strikes midnight.

For more information about heart disease and prevention click here. 

It's Friday, Love

{ But I don't want to get out of bed, mama }

All in all a quiet week. Cooked at home a bit, practiced with the boys, took Miss A for walks and bought and returned three comforters before I found the right one. Shut up, when you know you know. Hate the weather, but if I close my eyes I can imagine I'm in Scotland, preferably with Jamie from Outlander, but I'll settle for Bruce who drinks down at the pub. Trying to plan for the shows and trips that will make the rest of April and May a little chaotic. Stressing about trying to stay on track through the chaos. Glad it's Friday, there's a glass of wine with my name on it. See ya Monday.....

{ Sea Salt Caramels }

{ Green boot mania up in here }

{ Amazing dish at Dutch & Co. }

{ Hoping the third time is a charm when it comes to painting the kitchen }

Spinach and Pesto Quinoa

Thank god for Sunday lunches, sunny kitchens and great friends to enjoy the day with. This past Sunday I made a spinach and pesto quinoa to go with roast chicken and asparagus. It was really easy to make and helpful for my meal prep because it lends itself to big batches that I can use throughout week. Did I mention there's Parmesan cheese in it as well? If only we could carry over that lazy Sunday feeling all week. Oh well, happy cooking....

 Spinach and Pesto Quinoa

2 cups tri-color quinoa
4 cups spinach
4 tablespoons pesto
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

I like to cook the quinoa (per package directions) in chicken stock as opposed to water because I think it adds more flavor. Then you simply mix in the rest of the ingredients, season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

The Trail

Last week a friend and I did about 5 miles on the Capitol Trail and it was a nice change to be able to bring my camera along, as I'm normally biking the route. It also gave me more time to appreciate how much work has really been done down there and how beautiful our little river is. As the James approaches the falls it has a quiet heaviness that I love. It has no idea what's about to happen, that there are rocks ahead. I thought about warning it, but life rarely gives you a heads up before everything changes. That's why the boats stopped here long ago. They couldn't go any further. Might as well build a city then, they said to each other. I'm glad they did.