To Market, To Market

I haven't had too much motivation to write this week.  I've been on a roller-coaster of emotions, mostly because of the Little's reflux.  She goes from screaming to giggling and back again every two hours, I could almost do a countdown to when it happens.
Despite the fussing, we've still been able to get out and have fun together.  Last week Little made her first trip to the art museum!  We went to the National Gallery of Art.  I was surprised she stayed so quiet, and she even spent a good deal of time facing out and looking around.  She didn't really care much about the pictures, though. 

Eventually, I did have to feed her so we spent the rest of the day walking.  And walking.  And walking. 

We stopped by the Sculpture Garden (call me biased, but I think the Walker's is WAY better.)  We dipped our toes in the fountain for a while before making the long trip down the Mall to see the Capitol. 

We watched the wildlife for a while...

Then we finally arrived!

I have to admit, I love my country, but I'm not crazy patriotic.  Especially when it comes to looking at big stuff.  But standing in the shadow of our capitol building made me a little foggy eyed, and grateful to live in one of the most blessed and free countries in the world.

This weekend I planned to be very productive and see lots of cool stuff in DC.  It ended up not being as productive as I had hoped, but I did learn a few things.  I went to U street on Friday and stopped by Busboys and Poets.  It was a really cool restaurant.  If you get a chance, you should check out their website and read their mission statement.  I was impressed, and continue to be as I follow them on Twitter and see all the events that they host.  Their mission is similar to the one that I have in mind for my coffee shop.
Saturday I checked out the Eastern Market, but was a little disappointed that they didn't have much for antiques or hand-made products.  They did have  some cool produce vendors and I was particularly intrigued by the heirloom pumpkins I saw.  I might have to go back next week just to pick one up. 

Click to see photographer's website

Sunday I went to Friends in the Market, which was more like a real flea market.  Think, a parking lot full of unsorted cardboard fruit crates.  Unfortunately, it was in a neighborhood I didn't want to come back to, especially alone, so I found the fastest route out of there and looked for a coffee shop.

I finally found Big Bear Cafe.  It was amazing!  They served Counter Culture coffee and made me a cappuccino to die for.  It was more the college student/anarchist crowd than the young mothers and babies crowd.  So, despite the heat, I sat outside where Little could cry and poop as loud as she wanted.   And she took full advantage of the opportunity.  She turned a few heads, but not for the usual reasons.

David is in the midst of mid-terms right now, so we don't see him very much.  Once those are over, he promised to spend lots of special time with us, which I'm looking forward to this weekend.  I don't mind wandering around aimlessly when he's around.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Funday

What a better day than Wednesday to write about your weekend?  Haha.  I admit I'm a little slow on the draw this week.  There's really no excuse for it either.

Anyway, I did have a great weekend.  Saturday I went to a blogger meet-up in DC, hosted by Emily.  We met at Sweetgreen, which was a cool salad restaurant where you could make your own salads with a huge selection of veggies and toppings.  I met tons of people a had a lot of fun talking to them.  I was the only mommy blogger there, but everyone loved the Little and loved how social she was.
 Afterwords, we went to Tryst Coffee Lounge.

 

I loved this place!  It was set up more like a pub than a traditional coffee shop, which I thought was way more fun.

They had a good menu with a lot of different options depending on your diet.  I had bruschetta with roasted tomatoes and a cappuccino. 

The coffee was sooo good.  The espresso was mellow and sweet and the milk was a smooth, creamy and finely frothed.  Plus, it came with animal crackers, how fun!

Sunday, we meant to check out a church, but missed our bus and then got lost looking for a different church.  It was a cool windy day, so we were all bundled up.  The Little looked so cute in her hood,  I had to take a hundred pictures of her.

 

 

 

After wandering all over Alexandria and accomplishing nothing for four hours, we picked up some groceries at Trader Joe's and went home to veg for the rest of the night.  David has been so busy with school that I only get to see him about an hour a day, so it was really nice to hang out and watch Hulu together all night.

Monday I found out that I can finally wear pants again,  Hooray!!!  All my baby fat is gone, and in record time, thanks to not owning a car for the last month.  Being poor and restless is good for your body.  The only one I have to worry about now is losing a tooth with every baby...

You've Been Wondering...

Today is a lazy day.  After not seeing David for two days, no thanks to school, we decided to sleep in this morning.  Unfortunately, that meant I would miss the Market Square Farmer's Market for the first time.  I promised David I'd make a peach pie, so I'll have to make a special trip to Whole Foods this weekend.  The peach season is quickly coming to a close here in the South, so I need to get my apron on and cook it up before they're gone.

I've been slacking a little on the blog.  I felt guilty and ashamed for skipping the top tens because of my inadequacy as a stay-at-home-mom.  But, now I'm back and courage and ferocity!  As for my Top Ten Favorite Recipes,  I'm not going to list the actual recipes, because they are not my own.  All you have to know is that I love them.

Top Ten Favorite Recipes

Chicken and Dumpling Soup  In my opinion, there is nothing better.  I ask my mother for this every year for my birthday.  So filling and mouth-watering.  (I'm drooling just thinking about it.)

French Silk Pie  I tried making this once and it didn't turn out so well.  I prefer to be lazy and just order it from Perkins.  I'm a sell-out, I know.

My mom's Raspberry Cream Pie.   Particularly with her  Pretzel Pie Crust.  I love anything that combines crunchy, salty, creamy and sweet.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches  I.  LOVE.  CHEESE.  I learned to master this one at a very young age.

Marinara Pasta Sauce  So easy, so tasty.  I love pasta sauce from fresh tomatoes.  I'll never eat canned tomato sauce again.  Plus, the bigger the mess you make, the better it tastes.

Pumpkin Bread  I've made this for every family gathering for several years.  I try a different combo every time, the only one I didn't like had molasses in it.

Megan's Borscht  I requested this specifically at my pot-luck wedding.

Iced Mochas  This combines three of my favorite things, chocolate, milk and coffee.  Plus, this is usually a safe bet at any coffee shop.  It's pretty hard to screw up.

Double-Dipped French Toast  I got this idea from Emily at The Front Burner Blog.  You just fry your french toast, dip it and fry it again.  Double-dipped and twice as tasty.

Café Miel  It's a latté with honey and cinnamon.  It's basically a hug in a cup.


Speaking of Iced Mochas, I've been trying to make them at home, using my Italian Moka pot.  It's pretty close, but a little weaker than the real thing.  I can't have my coffee straight any more because it tastes like burnt rubber from leaving it on the stove too long, too many times.

Enough about me.  I know you've all been wondering what the heck is up with the Little. 

She's getting very strong.  She has been holding her head up on her own very well.  She gets a great workout from all her fussing.  When we go out for walks, she loves to look around at the leaves and the lights, and she always makes people's heads turn when they see her big round blue eyes  She still loves to talk, and she comes up with new sounds all the time.  I've even caught her giggling once or twice.  

Unfortunately, the poor little precious has outgrown her baby-zantac, so her acid reflux has come back with a vengeance.  She tells me about it every day.

 We have been primarily been using the Baby Bjørn to carry her, but lately I've started using the Moby d Wrap.  I didn't realize how much more comfortable this was until after weeks of using the other carrier.  Unfortunately, it is also a lot warmer and since the temperature has been near ninety all week, I haven't been able to really use it.

 Now I'm off with the peanut head to see her daddy.  He promised me we'd have family painting night.  I really need to make something to fill our condo.  As David said,  it's looking a little too institutional.

Top Ten Ways to Spend Too Much Money

Yesterday I did a silly thing.  I thought, "since babysitting yesterday was so easy, I'll go shopping today!"  Bad idea.  I attempted to run to the grocery store a mile away for dipes between feedings, but ended up getting home late.  I had to practically run home before the kids had a fit, and it was up hill the whole way.  So that combined with trying to tote around a baby that's twice the size that I'm used to has me completely worn out today.  Not to mention that it's hotter than sin in Alexandria today.  I'm going to start a rule that I don't leave the house if it's hotter than 85 degrees out.  I need something to rebel against anyway. 

Now, for day two in the best of the Top Ten series.  Today's is a mix of Minnesotan and Virginian, since we haven't been out much lately.

Top Ten Restaurants


Luna Rossa Trattoria, Stillwater MN:  I may be a little biased, since I worked there for three years, but seriously, I've never had better Italian food in my life.  I had some variation of the Penne Villagio almost every day that I worked there.  I just could not get enough of that goat cheese!  Plus I must have had and entire loaf of homemade bread a day, besides the stuff I brought home with me.   I dearly miss all the fresh Italian cooking and the oodles of gelato samples I had when I ran the Espresso Bar.  Those are sweet memories indeed.

Kopplin's Coffee, St Paul, MN  Okay, so it's not technically a restaurant but the coffee is seriously the stuff of daydreams.  Mr.  Kopplin  roasts his beans on site, has won roasting and barista competitions, and has a beautiful list of single origin coffees and espressos that look like a tablet written from God himself.  All sac-religiousness aside,  if you drink coffee, you really need to stop here.  You will believe you'd died and gone to heaven.

The Tea House, St Paul, MN  I was born a picky eater and have been trying to coax myself out of it for years.  I swore I hated Chinese food for a long time, and I think this place truly converted me.  The meals are served family style, so even though the food's not cheap,  You can split the bill with as many people as you decide to invite.  I love their beef broccoli stir-fry.  yummmmm

The King Street Cafe, Alexandria, VA  There are a lot of expensive places here, but none seem to be worth the hype in my experience.  This place is probably the cheapest place in town, and it has amazing wrap sandwiches.  I've had their California Wrap, cool and refreshing and just a little spicy.  Their smoothies are good too, but pretty overpriced.

Random Irish bar on King St, Alexandria, VA  I know, I should know the name but I don't.  They have a cheap Sunday Champagne Brunch for $9 that comes with a lot of food and a glass of champagne.  I got french toast that was probably the best I've had, and I'm picky about french toast.  Not so wild about the potatoes I got though.

Perkins Restaurant, Old Hudson Road, St Paul, MN  Delightfully bad service, open at all hours, conveniently located.  David and I usually split the Fantastic 12.

Al's Breakfast, Dinkytown, Minneapolis, MN  It's only open for breakfast, and it's not for the claustrophobic.  It's built into an alleyway and you have to stand against the wall to wait for a seat at the bar.  The servers are full of BS (that's short for banana splits, Mom) but the food is great.  Great no-frills diner with horrible coffee.

Denny's Restaurant, Hudson, WI  I used to go here with my friend Anna during my rebellious days.  (I mean DAYS, literally.)  They were open 24 hours for the drunk kids and they had a smoking section for my chain-smoking friends.  I, of course, was the mature, sober person.

The Nova, Hudson, WI  This is a fairly recent addition to Cassanova's Liquor store.  They have good appetizers and a huge wine selection.  It's also the classiest place in Hudson (by default, of course; there's not much competition in that category.)

Selma's Ice Cream, Afton, MN (RIP)  After a long day at the beach, I always stopped by here for my Zanzibar ice cream.  I even convinced some of my crazy friends to bike there from Hudson with me.  I will miss you dearly, Selma's.