pennsylvania.

stephen and i ventured out of town this past weekend up to PA for a college friend's wedding. meg and i became good friends the end of my junior year when we both happened to take a blow-off intro to biotechnology class in towne. being different engineering majors and in different sororities, we had never really crossed paths until that point, but we quickly bonded when we realized just how alike we were. meaning, we were more often than not the exception to the rule in our various campus cliques and loved every minute of it!

she and her now husband, ryan, similarly braved the "impossible" long distance relationship for over 3 years. by the time i graduated in december 2004 and was ramping up to my own wedding, she was donning a gorgeous diamond ring. for the past 2 years, the distance only grew as she remained at penn to get her law degree and while he wrapped up his own in illinois. he's since graduated in may and moved to their posh rittenhouse apartment which they now call their newlywed home - i can't wait to see it at homecoming!

all this to say, it was very special to be able to see such a dedicated couple survive the wait and be able to celebrate their patience through a gorgeous wedding! now, meg is the epitome of all things classy so it was no surprise it was quite a classy affair...from the stunning estate to their first dance (the foxtrot!) and all the lemon drop martinis in between. but really it was their opening program quote that made the most lasting impression on me; it summed up the pair perfectly, and i've adopted it as my new favorite love poem - it's deep, true and just beautiful:

all the breath and the bloom of the year
in the bag of one bee:
all the wonder and wealth of the mine
in the heart of one gem:
in the core of one pearl
all the shade and shine of the sea:
breath and bloom, shade and shine,
--wonder, wealth, and--how far above them--
truth, that’s brighter than gem,
trust, that’s purer than pearl,--
brightest truth, purest trust in the universe,--all were for me
in the kiss of one girl.

--robert browning

oh, but that's not all folks. instead of heading straight back down the 95 corridor on sunday, we took the scenic drive west to hit up some serene pennsylvania countryside. after passing through amish country (yeah lancaster!) and a slew of outlet malls, we made it to carlisle, pa - home of the army war college. stephen's family lived here for a year during his freshman year in college as his dad went through commander training. over the past 5 years, stephen's spent a total of 8 months at the base for various wargames through his old job at booz allen. so it was quite the treat to FINALLY see this place i've only heard about. to be honest, there wasn't much too it - it's a quaint historic town just outside of the state capital, harrisburg, but it was a stop well worth it....especially getting to experience the famed fay's country kitchen breakfast!

after getting our fill, we continued south on route 15 that runs from north of pennsylvania, through maryland, into virginia and southward. this historic highway has been around for well over 200 years - in fact, we got married right off it at the oatlands plantation just south of leesburg. stephen, being all too familiar with the drive, pointed out all the landmarks as i tried to sneak in mini power naps before we reached our next destination.... gettysburg.

that's right, i've never been. so why not? after stopping the NPS visitor center, we picked up a driving map of the 2 hour course and went off to tour the infamous battleground where 50,000 americans died over a 3 day period. whew. and they talk about iraq being high in casualties! anyway, it was definitely educational and enlightening... it's just too bad steve's dad couldn't have joined us. we called him up halfway through our tour, and he was so jealous we went without him! being a retired army colonel and military historian, he could probably take a full week to teach the battle of gettysburg, explaining every tactical maneuver and offensive strategy in succinct detail. ha!

but it wasn't until we returning home sunday evening when stephen popped in the 4 hour movie (ugggh) - gettysburg - that i finally started to see the sites we saw come to life. westpoint generals fighting old commanding buddies on that rich pennsylvania soil. one for freedom of slavery and one for a way of life, resulting in a country divided, with the battle of gettysburg as the turning point in changing our country's history forever. it's pretty fascinating even if you aren't a civil war junkie. so thanks honey for the history lesson... makes me love the keystone state all the more - hurrah, hurrah penn-syl-van-i-a!

feigning foodie.

this past week was one of my favorites of the year....along with the rest of dc. everybody loves restaurant week! a tradition i fell heart over stomach for back when i poor college student in philadelphia. your biannual chance to get an AMAZING meal for a steal of a deal - well, relatively. with a prix fix 3-course lunch/dinner menu for $20/$30 you at least know how much that gourmet cuisine is going to set you back. in fact most cities do some version of this restaurant promotion - after all, it's great way to attract new customers and bring in some hearty revenue. but for the dining consumers, well, there are a 3 simple rules that any dc foodie will tell you...

1) pick the most expensive restaurant out there and one that has a reputation to uphold (get your money's worth and skip the lackadaisical service)

2) make sure the restaurant doesn't have a "special" (ie. limited) menu for the week (trust me, you will want the signature dish)

3) book your reservation far, far in advance unless you want to eat an exquisite meal at 4:30pm on a tuesday...or after 10 (why bother?)

all this to say, i did pretty well this summer - i scored a great lunch and a fabulous dinner this past week. the first, i just got lucky. spending half of wednesday morning introducing my cubemate to the ingenious concept of open table (where has he been??), enough RW buzz was generated to spur a last minute lunch booking at one of hottest restaurants in dc...for a party of 8! we were able to snag that noon time slot at kinkead's. i don't know how it was done, but i was sure glad - i was STARVING. and with it just being 5 blocks away from the office how much better could it get - especially in the 100 degree weather we've been having! so i stuffed myself full with a salad of soft lettuces with gruyere and dijon vinaigrette (and i normally hate salad?), pistachio crusted salmon medallions with garlic mashed potatoes, crispy fennel, arugula with tomato butter (i cleaned the plate) and lastly, bittersweet molten chocolate cake with caramel ice cream. after such a feast, we were all but ready to head back to "work". eh, it's restaurant week - you gotta indulge.

but last night rounded out the epicurean adventure in totale. i booked 7pm dinner reservations for 2 at zola almost 6 weeks ago, and it was sooooo worth it. associated with the international spy museum, this restaurant combines the sleek style of espionage prowess with some serious eats. and unlike most, zola offers their entire menu, with no upcharges, plus their presentation and service is beyond commending. i got the grilled asparagus with crispy mushroom and brie stick, orange hollandaise and black walnuts (a-mazing), pan roasted sea scallops with tomato stuffed zucchini, crisp blossoms and maiitake mushrooms with chenin blanc glaze (omg, i should have take a picture of this plate - just beautiful) and ended with 3 sculpted scoops of raspberry sorbet. ohhhhhh yummmm. and of course our $50 open table dining rewards cheque definitely came in handy - hooray for 1000 point restaurants!

but the best part was the end of dinner.... stephen, being the sophisticated diner he is, decided it was definitely more fun to play with fine food than to eat it. i mean, who past the age of 9 sticks raspberries with cream on their nose and leaves it for a full minute? right, my husband :P maybe he'll learn some better table manners in time for january or maybe i'll need to find another dinner date. na...

ode to charlotte.

today turned out to be a sad day. my hubby's childhood pet of 18 years had to be put to sleep this afternoon. she was his little black cat, appropriately named charlotte, of e.b.white's celebrated spider. with her birthday only yesterday, she made it one more year but she just couldn't take it any longer. cancer claimed her tiny 7 lb body, spreading too fast to control. over the past few years, she's battled quite a few medical maladies, including bouts of epilepsy; it truly is amazing she has lasted this long.

even so, reality slowly sinks in. if you've ever lost a family pet you know how deep the loss can hit. this once frisky kitty will no longer pounce onto stephen's top bunk and snuggle up for the night as in the days of old. throughout thick and thin and all the phases of life, she has been there for him. a constant companion during the rough days of adolescence and welcoming comfort to embrace upon returns home. she was one of the family, and she will be missed.

to charlotte...one very special kitty.

hoyapolitik.

my husband is brilliant. no bones about it. so when i found out today that he had been formally asked to be a commentator on a georgetown blog, i was thrilled he finally found a suitable medium to share his thoughts with the world!

he had started a blog long well before i started mine, but after three excellent posts, he stopped. it just wasn't fulfilling. he's the kind of person that feeds off the insights and intellect of others - a "thought vulture" as he calls it. he needs the real-time feedback and discussion, and let's face it, most blogs can be a bit lonely in that department. so what better way to engage online than on the hoyapolitik - a dynamic forum filled with lively exchange between the top minds in his field.

truth be told, he has yet to make his posting debut, but if you are at all interested to read passionate dialog on all things related to international security, this is the blog for you. alright steverod!

the other a-rod.

so i'm still nursing a nice sun-burn from attending the legg mason tennis classic finals yesterday afternoon, but oh was it worth it. we first caught the doubles match at noon between the #1 american team, identical twins, bob & mike bryan and the #1 israeli team, jon erlich & andy ram. it was so fun to see them tag team across the court!

and then at 3pm, the match we had all been waiting for commenced. top american player and tennis hottie, andy roddick, faced up against the newest american tennis sensation, john isner! what a thrill it was to see this rookie persevere all the way to finals and have two americans battle for the title! and, of course, to see andy play up close and personal... sigh :)

i'll keep this post short and sweet, but in the end, both mens doubles and singles titles went to americans claiming their 3rd legg mason title yet! that's right, both first seeded bryan brothers and the other a-rod went home with their rank reinforced and confidence confirmed.

i'll leave all the match highlights to the pros (sorry could only find the footage in spanish!), but i did take a few snap shots of the event. enjoy!

taken with tennis.

yesterday steve and i went to our first ATP tennis tournament ever... i had been wanting to go to the legg mason tennis classic in dc for years now but the timing just never worked out. but this year, it did, and i surprised stephen with a pair of tickets friday's mid-day match.

after stopping at our favorite sandwich shop, jetties, to split our usual "surfside" (yummmm) for lunch, we headed to rock creek park to catch a mens singles quarterfinals round. we got lucky with a great pair-up, close scoring game and an underdog win. recent college grad turned pro and wild card entry, john isner, battled the court with german favorite and number 2 seed, tommy haas. between john's killer ace serves and tommy's consistent playing, this match was neck and neck through all 3 sets and 2 tie breaks. in the end, isner clinched the win and rookie advanced. yessssss.

after racing home to try to beat rush hour traffic, i hopped in the shower for 10 secs and then rushed out the door for some girlie time with my old boss jen. we had a faaaabulous evening catching up over pedicures and cheap chinese food - perfect combo ;) i even ran into my book club buddy, sarah, at the nail salon who was beyond shocked that i had trekked the 45 minutes out to sterling on a friday night! meanwhile stephen stayed on the gtown waterfront and hung out with his buddy john mccary and his old iraq friends. at least there was no hurry for either of us get home at an early hour...

we both came to the realization late last week that our original weekend plans would probably have to be put on hold, yet again, due to encroaching work deadlines. this will be the 2nd time we have had to reschedule our trip out to assateague island within the last month. :( since june, we have been scheming and dreaming of making it out to the eastern shore to set up camp on the beach with the legendary feral horses. sigh...one day. and our packs remained stuffed with our gear, sitting by the door, ready to go once we are. whenever that we'll be.

but i guess one good thing has come out of our predicament. now we'll actually be in town this sunday to catch the LMTC finals match up!!!! i would love love love to see andy roddick in action. i mean, who wouldn't?? i think i'm hooked.

ps. believe it or not, but stephen and i made it onto espn! our friend sally spotted us on the tube while working out on the treadmill. ha! i guess isner's big upset made it to the highlights. sweeeeet.

all smiles.

yesterday was a big day - normalcy to my life returned, finally.

after a few rounds of happy hour drinks with coworkers at tony and joe's on the waterfront, stephen took me to the cutest restaurant in georgetown to celebrate... since the spring, he has constantly raved about this dc gem so i was thrilled when he surprised me with 8pm dinner reservations to ristorante piccolo!

we got lucky with a romantic balcony table for two, overlooking the historic c&o canal. after we split linguini with mussels (which was soooo good i can still taste its velvety texture) and some white wine, we headed next door, literally, to check out stephen's new office! the sentia group has been in the process of moving locales this last month, and he's been in charge of all the transitionery details... on top of his actual work, oh, and grad school. sometimes i don't know how he does it.

but wow - all the hard work was definitely worth it - this new place is so sweet. a renovated historic townhouse combine the charm of the past with the modern style and conveinence of today. plus, leather couches, persian rugs and swanky office furniture complete the package. all this and only steps from m street. compared to my current corporate digs, i'm beyond jealous! great job honey!!!

truly, yesterday was a great day, full of restored confidence and new found hope... i'm baaaaaaack and i'm all smiles.