Jenny Goes to Washington!

Over the past weekend I finally made it down to Washington D.C. to visit an old college friend. She actually lives in Alexandria, VA which is about 30 minutes outside of the city. I should I say 30 minutes without traffic and in the DC area- there is ALWAYS traffic so it actually takes about an hour! We tried to cram as much sight seeing in as possible, while still making an effort to have a relaxing weekend.

I arrived late Thursday evening and Melissa had the perfect place in mind to kick off my trip: a speakeasy! I am fascinated with American history and part of that history includes prohibition, where it was illegal to serve alcoholic beverages in the 1920s-1930s. This is when speakeasy establishments came into fruition. Think F. Scott Fitzgerald, jazz music, candlelight and of course, the unmarked door. In Alexandria, VA, there is a restauranteur who recently opened a modern speakeasy known as PX. Of course, there is not a sign so it's really a word-of-mouth type advertisement. It is so awesome! You look for the blue light and if it is on, ring the doorbell and a hostess will decide if they will let you in. It only has space for 30 guests so it's not a guarantee. Once inside, you will be led into a small apartment-like setting, with cozy couches and a beautiful wooden bar where they're serving up the best cocktails in DC- and in my experience, the best cocktails of my life! Of course, it's gotten a lot of attention, making "best of" lists and receiving many rave reviews throughout the blogosphere and in local magazines. The cocktails are magnificent and even if you do not drink- you'd be impressed with the artistry. They make many of their own bitters, sodas, and herb infused liquors. The PX in Alexandria is definitely an experience!

Friday morning we took the metro into DC and had brunch with Barack and Michelle... oh right, that didn't actually happen. How freaking cool would that have been?!? We did see the White House though- and I caught a glimpse of Alan Greenspan leaving the West Wing in a town car. He was probably still scratching his head, wondering where he went wrong in his free market regulatory strategy. The picture above is the front of the White House- pretty nice digs.
This picture was taken from behind the White House- you can see the Washington Monument in the background. There was a major protest going on asking Obama to help end the genocide in Sri Lanka. It made me feel a little ridiculous for saying things like, "why am I feeling like I'm being pulled in so many different directions!?!" Can you imagine being the President of the United States? Still, it is really awesome that we are allowed the freedom to protest and assemble- right outside the White House especially when you think about genocides and other horrific things going on in other countries. It amazed me at how much I take these freedoms for granted.
This picture is of the US Capital taken from the top of the Newseum. The Newseum is the only museum that I visited this trip. It is actually fairly new and it's where This Week with George Stephanopoulos is filmed every Sunday morning. Incredible museum- it has a news history gallery which includes historic newspaper front pages that span from 1545 to today. I found it really fascinating to see the headlines from the day after the events took place. For example, seeing the newspaper from the day after Lincoln was assassinated, made it seem more real than when I read about it in a history book. Looking at all of those news stories, one after the other, was interesting because I sometimes forget about all the news I have witnessed in just 30 years! I have to admit, I teared up a few times. It's just a lot to take in all at once.

The Newseum also has a "Today's Front Pages" gallery- where they post a local paper from each state. And- wouldn't you know, on Friday they had posted The Kitsap Sun for Washington! I thought some of you from Kitsap County would get a kick out of that!

I took a public tour of the US Capital building- so beautiful. The tour starts off with a video, which I have to admit I was thinking it was going to be really lame, that it'd be cliche tourist stuff- instead, I was really impressed with it. The video explains how our government was formed and it is astounding to realize how much foresight the founding fathers really had in establishing the method for how many representatives and senators each state would have. It then goes over all the legislation that had been passed. Again, I felt somewhat ashamed for spending so much time complaining about how our government works when I should be writing to my congress person. If we are unhappy with our representation - we need to step up and get involved. That was the "take-away" of my whole trip.

Other than that- here are a few other photos from my trip! Enjoy!

Washington Monument, Reflecting Pool
Oh Abe!- Lincoln Memorial
Front of Lincoln Memorial

Alexandria, VA

Recent New York Observations

Driving in NY:
Adam and I often have the same conversation about driving in this town: Albany drivers are insane! Not only are the drivers insane but the overall set up for moving traffic is unbelievably frustrating. We live on a main street which is Western Avenue. The street has more traffic lights than any other street I have traveled. The lights are not timed so driving 2 miles could seriously take 20 minutes. Because of this, most drivers run red lights. I have to admit that I have ran a few myself. This absolutely defeats the purpose of lights because you learn very quickly that just because the light is green doesn't mean you have clearance. It's very important to look both ways before crossing the intersection.

It's not Yuge, it's Huge:
I have an absolute pet peeve with how New Yorkers say the word HUGE- it has an H and not a Y- come on!

Is there anything more disgusting than combined fast food restaurants?
This one is not specifically a NY observation but I feel it should be addressed. The other day I passed a Taco Bell/Long John Silvers- something about a soft taco supreme and a side of fish sticks will make anyone want to vomit. I think I might have to start a campaign to shut these "restaurants" down immediately.

I wear sunglasses in the winter!!
I absolutely love how sunny it is here. The sun reflects off the snow and it's just cheerfully bright. Even though we've only had a handful of days above freezing- it makes me feel just a bit better when I pair my Dior sunglasses with my puffy coat!

Why I Love Being a Mom!

Ok, so this is my first attempt to put a video on the blog. I just happened to film Gavin when we were all playing in the kitchen last night and he was being pretty silly. I cannot figure out how to get the video right side up- I think I need to take a class at the Apple Store. Gavin finds the simplest things to be the most fun to play with. Last night, an empty soda box was the object of his affection. He had fun chasing it around the kitchen. So- just tilt your heads and you'll get the idea! I will work on getting better at the video portion - maybe if use an actual video camera instead of my little camera that will help. Anyhow- enjoy!

Comfort Food- Pseudo Shepherd's Pie

I have had a few requests for easy meals to make after a busy day. This one is just the trick to fill a hungry belly and give you that warm and fuzzy feeling we seek when craving comfort food. Growing up we just called it Hamburger Green Bean Casserole- I have no idea where this recipe originated. My mom said that my grandma used to make it all the time when she was growing up. There are many variations on Shepherd's Pie but this one is great for its simplicity.

Grandma Heather's Hamburger Green Bean Casserole:

1lb ground beef

1 onion, diced

1 can cut green beans

2 cans tomato soup

3 russet potatoes

1/4 c milk

1 tbs butter

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1) Peel and quarter potatoes and boil until tender

2) Brown hamburger with diced onion, drain fat, season with salt & pepper

3) Add tomato soup, green beans, and mix

4) Mash potatoes with milk and butter, add 1 cup shredded cheese

5) In a casserole dish, pour in hamburger mixture, top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle remaining cheese

6) Bake for 30 minutes or until potatoes are lightly browned

* I recommend placing a cookie sheet underneath the casserole in the oven as it has a tendency to boil over

This may sound like kind of a strange recipe but I encourage you to try it out!

Heat Wave??

I am sort of addicted to my Blackberry. I use it to text, email, check Facebook, read the NY Times, and also to check the weather forecast. I went to weather.com today to see what to expect this upcoming week and was excited to see warmer weather on the horizon. I read the forecast off to Adam: Monday 41, Tuesday, 49, Wednesday 52 and raining! I was delighted! We were talking about how the snow would finally melt and we could walk the dogs a bunch. Even the thought of rain made me smile... 52 and raining! Wow! It's going to be like living in Seattle!

An hour or so later I went upstairs to get ready for the day and turned the news on. The meteorologist was all baffled because he couldn't predict how a particular storm pattern was going to move. He started to explain that depending on how the pattern moved it could potentially hook up with some cold air from Canada and cause large accumulations of snow. WHAT?!? I thought we were going to see temps in the 50s... only then did I realize that late last week I had pulled up weather.com to see what type of weather Seattle was getting. No, that forecast was not for zip code 12203 but it was for 98115. That sucks! It's like I played an April Fool's joke on myself. Damn.

An update from Gavin

Hi Guys! It's me- Gavin! I have been so busy lately. Walking has made my life awesome! I have so much fun being chased around by my parents! Plus- I can see a lot more stuff from way up here! The other day we went to the mall so mom could try on shoes. Dad and I were so bored until we found these cool trucks to play on!
I really like this ice cream truck! It would be way cooler if it actually served ice cream!
Today mom took me back to the museum- I guess she wants me to learn stuff! This time she let me run around though so that was better. I love the Sesame Street stuff!
Dad met up with us after work- I showed him this cool elk exhibit. "Whoa!"
I'm crazy!
Here I am sitting on the old "A" Train- sweet!
I don't know why my mom had to keep pulling me away from the cool trucks! I can easily walk under those ropes!
I guess she thinks it's cute how little I am. She kept taking these pictures of me! Well, that's about it. We're going to get more snow tomorrow so we're going sledding again! Yay!

A winter day in Vermont...

Over the past weekend we decided to go for a drive somewhere and thought that Vermont was as good a destination as any. The beauty of living over here is that we really don't know much about anything so every experience is new and fun. I had taken this particular drive in the fall- you might remember from a previous post. It was cool to see everything covered in snow and the trees without their leaves. We just headed east and got lost in the rural woods of Vermont. Maybe we weren't lost- if you don't have a specific destination in mind, then getting lost leads you to interesting gems that you may never have seen otherwise. Somehow we found ourselves in Shaftsbury- where you will find the Robert Frost Stone House Museum. While Frost was actually born in San Francisco, he lived in this house from 1920 to 1929 and much of his work was inspired by this part of the country. His grave is in nearby Bennington. Apparently the museum doesn't attract too many tourists on winter Saturday afternoons because it was closed. Oh well, at least we all got a little history lesson about Robert Frost. Glad I could help you out with a little trivia!
After we passed the Robert Frost museum- we stumbled upon The Chocolate Barn! I just love finding places like this. I believe my exact expression to Adam was, "Oh let's stop! They always have the coolest crap at places like this!" To be clear, they do not have "crap" here. They actually have wonderful chocolates and candies. We purchased an assortment of truffles that are delicious. I am not really a chocolate lover but even I can appreciate a really good truffle.
We then headed through Bennington and grabbed lunch at a little pub. Gavin thoroughly enjoyed his grilled cheese sandwich and with Vermont White Cheddar Cheese- who can blame him!
I made Adam drive an hour and a half out of his way because there is this really cool store where they sell cheese, maple syrup and handmade mittens. I had gone into this store last fall and did not buy the mittens- which are $12 lined with fleece. I have been regretting it ever since. I know that I can knit myself mittens but these ones were really awesome. Anyhow, after driving the 45 minutes past Bennington- we found the shop and it was CLOSED. Total bummer- but the above picture is really cool because you can compare the same shot from the fall.

In these troubling times- we cannot afford a bad hair day!

Confession:  I spent the majority of the past week in my pajamas. The first couple of days is sort of a "Yes, I am free to do this!" By Friday, it's more like, "Jenny deMars- take control of your life!" I'm all for a nice pajama day and snuggling up on the couch but if you spend too much time doing this- it's a slippery slope to Frumpville my friends! I came to this realization yesterday when I looked at myself in the mirror. I immediately booked a hair appointment.

Now for those of you who know me well- you know that I like to change my hairstyle frequently. I am fairly confident that I've tried most hair colors and cuts over the past couple of decades- from "the Rachel" to "the Posh" -not to mention all the Meg Ryan debacles!  I actually consider myself somewhat of an expert on the subject. I have a general rule for myself which is if I catch myself wearing my hair pulled back five days a week- it's time to see a professional. And on this specific subject- seeking a hair stylist- I have set some ground rules that I thought I'd share with you all!

1) Loyalty is only as strong as the quality of haircut. I am very serious about this- I know a lot of people who continue to be disappointed by their cut or color and keep going back to the same person because they feel bad. We are not looking for a new friend- we are looking for good hair.

2) Be Specific: the second part of this rule- don't say "oh, whatever you think will look good!" Believe me- I have burned by this one many, many times! I suppose it can prove successful at times, but is it worth the risk? 

3) Dump the over-booker: Listen, unless we're getting a complimentary spa day as a part of our visit- i.e. massage, facial, pedicure- we do not need to spend our entire day at the salon because our stylist overbooks appointments.  

4) Try the newbie- I have had a lot of success with this one. Basically, the new stylists charge the least amount of money because they are new and still proving themselves. If you choose to see this person, often times they will give you an awesome haircut and color. They have less appointments booked so they spend more time making you look fabulous. They still need to build a client base so they are aiming to impress. A couple of side notes here- first, only attempt this at a nice salon where they actually had to prove themselves to be invited to work there. Secondly, refer back to rule 1 once you've been seeing this person for a while and they start getting sloppy.

Now this may all seem superficial and ridiculous but I think we can all agree that our spirit is higher if we are looking our best.  We are more productive and confident. It all starts with a good haircut.  I personally can't afford to be going to the salon as often as I used to. Therefore, I have stuck with dark color closer to my natural shade. I was very happy with the first stylist I went to since moving here but she decided to change salons. She had told me that she was considering this and I told her that I would follow her so long as she stuck with Aveda (where my true loyalty lies).  She did not stick with an Aveda salon so I cut ties. I tried rule number 4 at the salon yesterday- and for $35 I got an excellent haircut. Let's face it- in these troubling times, we cannot afford bad hair.

The Chef's Manolos- a comfort food dream!

I received many lovely Christmas gifts and I am highlighting two as part of my tribute to comfort food. I received TWO Le Creuset dutch ovens... one small and one large! For those that do not cook- I must explain that Le Creuset cookware is to a cook- what Manolo Blahniks are to those who love all things shoes! Or what pocket aces are to a game of Texas Hold Em. You get the idea...
This comfort food season I have been obsessed with braising- slow cooked meats with root vegetables, herbs, wine and broth. My new dutch ovens are coming in particularly useful. Today I am braising short ribs- I have made these once prior to today and recently ordered them in a restaurant. Short ribs have jumped high on my list of comfort food. What is fun about braising is that you can really experiment- sometimes I flour and season meat, sear it, and then put in the dutch oven. Whereas today I roasted the short ribs for 15 minutes and then added to my vegetables. You can add whatever herbs and vegetables you think sound good. I have combined several recipes for today's concoction! Here is my experimental recipe- should you wish to indulge!

Ingredients:
8 Short Ribs
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Celery, 4 stalks - chopped (fairly large)
4 Carrots- peeled and chopped
1 Fennel Bulb- chopped
1 Spanish Onion- chopped
2 Leeks- white and light green portions- coarsely chopped
10 oz Whole Button Mushrooms
4 Cloves Garlic- chopped finely
Thyme- fresh bunch
1 Tbl Brown Sugar
1 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon
4 cups Beef Broth

1) Roast Short Ribs seasoned with Salt and Pepper for 15 minutes at 400
2) In large dutch oven, saute vegetables in olive oil for 20 minutes
3) Pour wine in and bring to a boil until alcohol has cooked out and liquid is reduced by half
4) Place short ribs over the vegetables
5) Add beef broth, brown sugar, thyme and season with salt & pepper

Cover dutch oven and bake at 300 for 4 hours until meat falls off the bone...

I recommend serving these with garlic mashed potatoes.

We are expecting more snow and ice tonight- can't think of anything that will taste better on a cold winter's night...

What to do on a cold winter day? Play tourist!

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street? Well, not really but I can tell you that the New York State Museum has the original street scene from the beloved children's show. Adam had the day off on Saturday so we decided to head downtown and check out more of Albany.  Not too surprising, the New York State Museum is the largest and oldest state museum in the country.  We decided to pay it a visit.
The museum is made up of three sections - New York Metropolis, Adirondack Wilderness, and New York Native Americans.  It's takes up four floors and admission is FREE! We started in the Metropolis section and that is where we ended as well. Keep in mind- 16 month old boys don't quite appreciate museum visits. We will return another day to see the other sections. The New York City section is awesome- it goes through the history of how the city developed and neighborhoods were formed based on immigration and class warfare. The exhibit is broken down by neighborhood and you can see original taxi cabs, bicycles, subway trains, replicas of store fronts, and more. On a more sobering note- there is also an exhibit on the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.  While the exhibit is impressive with its memorabilia- it is really gut wrenching to look at. 
We left the museum feeling a little somber so we decided to go get lunch. Gavin enjoyed a chocolate milk shake that the owner, a nice older gentleman, made for him. He said just seeing Gavin made his whole day! I think after the chocolate shake- Gavin can say the feeling was mutual.

This brings me to the title of my post- it's amazing how we take our own towns for granted sometimes. There are plenty of "tourist attractions" that I never saw/did in Seattle because I lived there and just never thought about it. I never visited the new Seattle Library, never took the underground tour, never took a tour of the wineries. My point is- if you find yourself bored one afternoon, go play tourist of your hometown. You might be surprised how fun that actually is! 

**Side note- the camera left a crazy glare from Gavin's stroller straps... we did not dress him in metallic... nor did we strap glow sticks to him, as Steve Davey suggested!