Cause the parents don't instagram...

NH they know how to do Christmas here.

Georgia's 1st tea.

We LOVE diners.

Newport, RI a.k.a. Where I am going to retire...

Nino swimming, boy it was cold.

Mystic, CT (yes where they filmed the movie)

Coffee is taken very seriously up North.

Da Bomb!

Every single time...

Some of the Fam...

Christmas cocktails...

I love Newport...

New coffee cup, perfect size.

Clam pizza in New Haven...

Christmas 2012…

My family is spread pretty far apart and is a bit small. My mom lives locally which is great. My dad and brother live in Australia which is great when you need a free place in Australia to stay BUT WAAAAYYYYY SUCKY during the holidays. I am not close to my parent’s families, I mean I am not close enough that we visit them during the holidays nor did we when I was growing up. 

When Jedd and I first started dating he got Christmas as his families holiday and I got Thanksgiving. After the first year I realized it was actually a win for me because his family does Christmas like you think Christmas should be done. First off Jedd has a large family. From his Grandmother to his cousin’s kids everyone shows up. It is chaotic, it is loud, it is full of food and booze and shopping and people stopping by and IT IS FREAKING AWESOME!!!! 

Every Christmas I think how lucky I am because not only did I score in the “who has the cutest, funniest, best man ever" category (yup, this girl) but he came with an awesome family. No one has ever given me a better gift than letting me a part of such an awesome bunch of people. Merry Christmas!!!!

Happy Hour: Cider Orange Bourbon Chiller…

As found on Bran Appetite:

Ingredients:

§  2 oz. apple cider

§  2 oz. orange juice (your favorite brand or fresh squeezed)

§  1.5 oz. bourbon

§  1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1.    Add a handful of ice to a glass.

2.    Pour the apple cider, orange juice, bourbon, and lemon juice over the ice.

3.    Stir together and serve.

This is the perfect drink for the holidays. I always buy a big jug of apple cider but after the first night of heating a cup on the stove it usually goes to waste. I liked that the bourbon and lemon juice cut the sweetness of the cider. That’s typically why I don’t drink more than a cup at a time it just ends up being too sweet for me, which is saying something.

This was also a perfect way for me to end what was a hellish day. I did one of those stupid things that makes you want to kick yourself; I missed the last step on our stairs and severely twisted my ankle.  It’s currently the size of a fist. I actually missed the last two steps which is probably why not only is my ankle swollen but my knee hurts. I was in a rush carrying laundry and I just stepped out in the air thinking I had gone down all the stairs but nope I had not. I crashed down and the boys came running in for the attack confused because they could not find the assailant. I had to call Jedd down to get the dogs under control which made it all the more embarrassing.  Nothing a hot bath and a cool drink can’t cure but embarrassing still. Hopefully you’re not as much of a klutz as I am.  Happy Friday!

Taco Pizza…

Not going to lie to you but when I first saw this pizza while I was intrigued I just didn’t think it was something I could get behind. I like tacos and I like pizza but together it was beyond me how it was going to work. Especially after baking up the crust…the second step is to slather it with refried beans instead of tomato sauce. 

Now I realize that typically when something looks incredibly gross it turns out to be quite tasty but refried beans on what is basically bread seemed a little fat assy to me. I envision Paula Dean nodding approvingly and she would too! Did you ever catch the episode where she made that pizza with mayo as the sauce? But I didn’t want to waste the pizza dough as I’d already rubbed it down with beans and all….

Turns out Taco Pizza is pretty good, made it twice in two weeks.  If you’d like the recipe please visit Life as a Loft House.

Cause the parents don't instagram...

Believe it or not but neither of our parents instagram so we're starting a little semi-monthly post (hopefully I'll remember) so the folks can see the random stuff we've been up to. If you follow me on instagram you've probably already seen it.

New lunch spot on H.

Gia wanted to go to the mall

Need to do laundry more often.

The Pincher

Emilio can drive!!!

Showing Kat my braid headband.

I babysat...

Perfect end to the night...

One suitcase he said...

Taco Pizza is better than it sounds..

I despise this gate:(

It's all about the boots.

Happy Hour: Sunshine Dazzler…

As found on Teloforma.com:

·         part vodka

·         1 part fresh OJ

·         1 part fresh mango juice

·         2 parts dry champagne

·         lots of ice

·         orange slices

Mix ingredients in a pitcher adding champagne last & give a quick stir. Immediately serve over ice.

I’m on a bit of a vodka kick. Probably because I purchased the biggest bottle available. We had a few days where it was almost 70 degrees which caused me to want to celebrate summer with a drink starting with “sunshine” and by popping open a bottle of champagne. I had high hopes for this one with two different types of juice, but honestly this wasn’t for me. I like a sweet drink and the dry champagne completely offset the sugar of the juice just leaving it a little bland. I can honestly say this isn’t one I’ll make again, but if you’re not into overly sweet drinks maybe you should try it.

Summers obviously over. I’m actually writing this post while waiting at the airport to go to Kansas City. Every single flight is delayed at least two hours due to “weather” or has been completely cancelled. Though Kansas City (as in Missouri, not Kansas) isn’t necessarily a "be in a rush to get there destination" I can think of better things to do with my time than sit in the airport. It’s cruel, especially since I overslept by an hour this morning and woke up in a mad panic. Now I’m sitting in the airport sans makeup and I didn’t do my hair. Nothing like being here for three hours to allow everyone coming to or leaving from our city to catch a glimpse of me in all my unmade up shame. Combine this with the fact that I’m leaving out of gate 35A. For those of you not familiar with gate 35A it is the little plane gate. I have the smallest of phobias, not really of flying, but of landing. Little planes don’t help, so every time I see this gate I’m dreadful. Little plane landings are the worst. In addition because I drank champagne last night (it’s currently Saturday morning) and woke up alarmed and an hour late I’m chugging dunkin’ donuts coffee like no bodies business which also means that I am going to have to use the little bathroom on the little plane. I think that might be more mortifying than the plane landing. Happy Friday!!!

Personal Gift Lists…

So today while being nosey around a friend of mines blog, website, something she keeps that has pictures and updates I come a crossed a section marked wish list. I’m like huh what is this. So I click it and it’s basically like a gift registry type of thing. But it’s not for anything, not because she’s getting married, or having a baby, or her birthday, it’s just something she keeps and updates with stuff she would like people to buy her as gifts. By people I’m pretty sure it’s basically for her husband, but I haven’t asked so we’ll go with “people” There are things like hair rollers and a $30k SUV on the list. I find it strange to keep something like this. Well I do at first but as the day goes on I realize it’s actually kind of genius. I am considering keeping one. Because you do not know how many wedding and baby registries I have received and purchased things off of. I’m an “I want to get people exactly what they want” type of buyer. I have way too much on my plate to add determining what the perfect gift is for x person for x occasion to it. We actually do not exchange presents for Christmas with anyone other than my mother and that’s only because she gives us a list….oh and she is a great gift giver (cause she buys off of our list, haha).  I on the other hand get gifts from clients, friends and family members just because they saw it and thought of me and sent it my way. Those are appreciated, but most, especially gifts from clients are not things I would put on my list. I also have a very easy to read gift opening face.  I try the whole “oh my I am so excited you bought me these socks” kind of face but I can never pull it off, instead it ends up being the “oh socks” face.

So I bring this up to another friend who is like “you do have a list like this”.  So I’m racking my brain trying to figure out what she’s talking about and she goes “you have a pinterest board called things I deserve”. I find this extremely funny, if you want to get the joke please use my pinterest button to follow me on pinterest, make sure to go to the things I deserve board…but I’ll give you a clue, I’m pretty sure they outlawed buying people a while ago.

How do you feel about personal gift lists? Do you keep a personal gift list? Do you know anyone who keeps one? How would you feel knowing your significant other kept one?

Happy Hour: Matt's Lemon Drop...

As found on The Boys Club:

1 part vodka

1 part fresh lemon juice

½ part simple sugar

The simplicity of this drink amazed me. And it does taste just like the candy. Found a new little blog (meaning new to me) that is destined to ROCK MY FREAKING WORLD. The Boys Club is a blog about cocktails. Seriously the person/people who invented this must have had me in mind. Caused me to pin a massive amount of drinks for future Happy Hours and come to a realization that maybe we should have “Happy Hour” a few times a week to stockpile blog posts. Is this cheating?  I would love to tell you we had a hard week, but I’d be lying. This week included me doing an obnoxious amount of laundry in order to be ready for my trip this weekend, starting “Downton Abbey” (I know I’m behind), scanning crap in the loft, and researching things to do in Connecticut (you know the place I plan on retiring). Hope you have a good weekend. 

Loft clean up: Roller skates…

It’s funny what you find when you straighten up. These are my skates…yeah that’s right I have skates. You’re not surprised are you? What 34 year old woman has pink and black skates she’s never worn, yup this girl. In 2010 I became slightly obsessed with roller derby, I think maybe that was the year that movie came out about the girl from Juno being a roller derby girl. Then I found out that DC actually had a roller derby league because I saw them arm wrestling people during the H Street Festival. I started making people accompany us to roller derby matches. I bought a fan shirt…yeah I know you think you see where this is going.

  

So my friend Megan and I decided we should be roller derby girls for Halloween. Now most people would have rented or borrowed skates but I had a specific look I was going for. Pink and black. I got pink and black everything; I even have a hot pink fingerless leather glove from Hot Topics to complete the look. But the skates, the skates are key. If you’re going to put a costume together it has got to look authentic and no roller derby girl is going to be caught dead in someone else’s skates (Jedd shakes his head as I tell him this). So I did what any girl would do, I poured over endless websites looking for the perfect bad ass roller derby skates in pink and black to complete the look.

They arrived in June of 2010…and by October I decided I didn’t want to dress up for Halloween because dressing up was stupid. Yes that’s right I never even took them out of the box. BTW if you’re in DC and want a free pair of skates let me know. I tried listing them on Craigslist and no one wanted them.

Gin Lives Here...

What could possibly get me up, bathed and dressed (by dressed I mean with something other than sweats on) and out of the house before 10:45 am? Finding out they are making gin seven minutes (or 1.4 miles) from our house. So I’m in the middle of working and the printer runs out of paper which automatically means I need to goof off. I flip over the Washingtonian’s online page and see that they have run an article on NE gin distillery, New Columbia Distillers. Excuse me…someone is making booze in my hood and this is the first I’m hearing about it. This generates a 30 minute manic Google search to find out everything I needed to know. Deciding to follow them on twitter produced the best freaking surprise ever… today is Repeal Day which means for every bottle of gin you buy you get a free tour. My eyes literally almost popped out of my head. This is better than work I said, running up stairs, taking a shower, grabbing every freakin’ camera I own, I set out to figure out who was making the gin and where.

Now there are a lot of articles and other bloggers who have covered this, so if you’re looking for all the facts go here:

1. The Brookland Bridge

2. DCist

3. Thrillist

I arrived at the Distillery not really knowing what to expect. I’ve been to both the Breweries but neither was right in the mix. I liked that the Distillery is in NE really close to the bars that should be carrying the gin (need to support our local NE businesses). Easiest way to describe the location is off New York Ave. (think where club Love used to be). The owners John Uselton and Michael Lowe were beyond friendly, especially for two people working 12 hour days six days a week. Turns out I was the only one to show up for a tour at 10:45 am on a Wednesday so it was one on one. Things I found out:

1. Grain is bought locally

2. Process of making Gin takes days, literally DAYS!!!

3. If Heaven doesn’t smell like coffee then it’s got to smell like New Columbia Distillery

4. John Uselton is a cool guy and lives in the District (I believe in NE but I thought it would be kind of stalkerish to be all “now where exactly in the area is your house”). Michael Lowe is probably cool too, he didn’t give me the tour, but he did come over to introduce himself which was nice

5. You can do tastings on Saturday from 1 to 4 pm (I did my tasting today at home at 12 pm; must admit Gin at noon is the way to go).

6. You can help bottle and label on Saturday’s but you have to register. Currently they are booked two months in advance; you might want to get on that list.

7. They do now take credit cards.

So about the gin…. Let’s start with a description of who I am as a drinker I do not like two things red wine and gin. I know right. Well I guess I like one kind of gin Green Hat, because the first thing I noticed is the pine needle smell I associate with gin was not over bearing here. I mean it smelled like gin, but a cleaner version maybe. I tried it straight and it was smooth, didn’t leave me with that this is going to burn going down feeling that most gin I’ve tried leaves me with. Now maybe this is because of their process OR maybe it’s because it’s not cheap gin. Either way I can’t wait to go back for a Saturday tasting and to do a few Happy Hour drinks with Green Hat. Follow these guys on twitter for upcoming events and buy local whenever possible.

Loft clean up: Golf clubs...

Jedd is REALLY into golf. We met in Charleston and in Charleston golf is a big deal. Now I’m going to tell you something…when girls meet a boy they like they will sometimes pretend to be interested in the same stuff they are interested in to establish something in common. It’s not exactly lying; I mean I did think it was possible I could eventually be interested in golf. I remember having a conversation with my friend Kylie about how it made sense we (her and I) take up golf because being that we were in the accounting field it would be useful since a lot of people (men) in accounting play golf. Kylie and I had actually been to numerous lunches where the client, partner and guys on our team would discuss golf. Do you know how many men were caddies during the summer when they were younger? A freaking lot, yeah surprised me too. While I was working waitressing jobs and babysitting these men were on the golf course all summer.

So I meet Jedd and oh my freaking word is he into golf. So we would have these “dates” where we would go out to some random field (wait don’t get your hopes up this is going to end way different then you’re expecting) and hit golf balls for hours. That’s right, in silence, hours of hitting balls, chipping balls, walking out and picking them up with this little ball pick up thing, and do it all over again. I’m pretty patient when I want something (Jedd) and after a couple of these dates I did start to really believe I could get into golf. You know with the right outfit anything is possible. As we would be out there silently hitting away I would be mentally making a list of all the cute outfits I needed to buy to make this hobby happen. Everything had to be pink and black. The key would be finding the right golf clubs…

In the 8 years that I’ve owned these clubs I have played with them once. I won that time, we went with another couple and Jedd & I were a team and it was best ball or something like that, most important thing is we won. Jedd’s dad has also played with them once. So they have been used twice in 8 years. Great buy haha. As I clean up the loft I realize we have moved these clubs four times, hahahahaha, I am so not taking up golf. 

Randoms...

I seriously had the following thoughts today…

1.       At least once a week I complain to Jedd about how paying for cable makes no sense since nothing is ever on and because all I watch is Netflix, blockbuster movies and red box. It’s so overpriced. As I drive to the grocery store I find myself wondering if while I think this is a conversation every couple has found themselves having is it really. I mean can you imagine Beyoncé and Jay Z having this discussion on Sunday morning?

2.       Oh how I wish I was a lactose intolerant vegetarian. For the obvious reasons mostly but also due to the fact that why the hell is a gallon of milk $4.19 and a package of ground turkey $4.99? While I appreciate milk we get the skim, so it’s not completely milk, its like watered down milk, are they charging me for the water to? Plus how are milk and meat almost the same price. I don’t think they are equal at all in the nourishment and satisfaction scale.

3.       Oh how I hate to be this type of woman but am I the only one who upon seeing on the tabloids at the checkout line that Jessica Simpson is already pregnant again thought “oh she is never going to lose that baby weight”? Come on you know what I am talking about, no woman I’ve ever known who has had two babies within a two year period of each other ever reaches that initial pre-baby weight. And by no means am I being judgie, if you have two babies regardless of the number of years in between I honestly don’t think anyone should have a desire for you to reach any weight. Sane women with more than one child amaze me.

4.       I think my resolution for 2013 should be to not shop for a year….hahaha. Breaking that.

5.       My God are phones making us dumber? I’m not sure if this is only a DC thing but a "don’t walk" sign at the light is not a suggestion. It means if your ass should choose to cross anyway then you are in fact walking into traffic. So if I have the green now I’ve assisted you in your obvious suicide you sicko…and get off the phone.

December Project: The Loft...

You’ve met me right? I am probably a pretty accurate picture of what is wrong with America. I love excess as is evident by our loft which has gotten completely out of control. I’m the type of person who opens a fridge full of food and declares I want to go out to eat.  I’m the type of person who if I ran out of underwear (never going to happen I probably own half a year’s worth) rather than doing laundry (I probably wouldn’t feel like it that day) would just go to the store and buy another 30 pairs. Every drawer, bin, storage area of our house is crammed full of stuff to the point that it has exploded into the loft.

This is a problem since the loft isn’t a storage area; the attic is a storage area, the loft is our office. Yeah that’s a bit important since we both work from home. With tax season on its way I’d love to be able to work up there. Jedd has been working up there, bless his heart, but it’s gotten to the point that he’s crammed into his little cubby hole with my stuff slowly but surely edging him out (sadly the thought of him all comfy up there surrounded by my possessions put a smile on my face).

Since I’m pretty sure this is how hoarding starts; with an inability to get rid of even one meaningless possession, I’ve decided this is the December Project, to get the loft completely cleaned up before the end of the year. Now I know you’re thinking couldn’t you just do that in a weekend, um no I have important shit going on… well I do. I have to finish the 4^th season of the Wire and watch all of Downtown Abby because a friend of mine just informed me there is going to be a viewing party at her house in January. Oh man I just found out our friends don’t watch TV (more on that later)… can you imagine how much time I would have if I didn’t watch TV? Plus I’m going to be taking several trips in December so really I only have like two weeks in December to get this done.  I know you feel sad for me, wish me luck. 

Tide is F*-ing Expensive….

So I get up this morning and am watching the news when I see this little tid bit of information: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpps/news/offbeat/nationwide-thefts-of-tide-laundry-detergent-baffle-police-dpgonc-20120312-fc_18491018. Police are “baffled” by nationwide thefts of Laundry Detergent. I’m assuming these “baffled” police are men. Men who don’t go to the store and pick up laundry detergent. I’m not baffled name brand laundry detergent is outrageously priced. I saw the news and was like “oh my god I need to be on the lookout on my way to work for people selling it out of U-Hauls” cause you know that’s how they do it in the ghetto. I kid you not on my way home from work there is always a guy selling stuff out of a U-Haul at a gas station. During Valentine’s Day he had all these flowers; I have no idea where he gets the stuff. I often wonder if the U-Haul is also stolen or if he considers it a business expense when he does his tax return. Cause yes its tax season and all I think of is business deductions right now. According to this article “Tide is the thing to steal” and it’s liquid gold. The only way we’re getting name brand laundry detergent is if it’s stolen. Or wait….my birthday is tomorrow “hey honey if your reading this I want some Tide for my birthday”…. Gosh I’m romantic.

Christmas cards and such….

I used to mail Christmas cards until the year we reached 100 cards to send. At that point I kind of gave up. It’s hard to put a cheerful little message to each and every person. You start getting repetitious. I feel bad because so many of you lovelies have sent us cards. I know I should try harder….

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Also if you’ve sent a gift and I haven’t called to Thank you than the calls on its way. I’m staggering opening presents because I like to really savor each and every item.

I’ve caught up my Google reader now what….

Christmas is a mere one work day away (and several non-work days) which creates a bit of a dilemma. I’ve got no work to do; well I do but no pressing need to do it. People I’d need to link up with are either off, unavailable or wasting time so what am I to do. Yesterday I caught up my Google reader. I’m all caught up on my work reading (reading about new hypothetical tax laws makes me want to change professions), the gossip rags aren’t reporting anything of interest, and Pinterest has lost me (the shock). So now I’m looking for recommendations. What blogs are you reading? Be detailed in your description and please provide a link.