J + A

Reference Materials

2012-02-15T16:44:00.000-05:00

College sports allegiance by region:

Reality tv shows:

Housing Humor

2012-02-12T20:51:00.001-05:00

Our area has a lot of open houses. A LOT. It's like Parade of Homes every weekend. So this afternoon we decided to get in on the action and tour some open houses.

Below are some of the more interesting features we saw.

At least they refinished the floors to remove the chalk body outline.

DO NOT drop your sandwich and back away from the fridge.
Although, it would make getting to the basement much faster.

Gargoyle upholstered chair and ottoman...

... to match the gargoyle mirror, of course!

Old school vice grip / torture device.

Yes, this bathroom has a bench, lamp, and curtains.
And a stylish accent pillow.

Another gargoyle, this time in the yard.
Different house than the gargoyle mirror and upholstery.
Gargoyles are the next big thing... you heard it here.

Excessive display of electrical use.

Does the recliner come with binoculars to see the television?

A very literal laundry room... the washer and dryer is in the room next to it.

Every master bedroom needs a wet bar, right?

Auto Show

2012-02-06T21:12:00.000-05:00

Photos from this weekend's auto show:

Two floors of the convention center were filled with cars.
The top floor was domestic cars and the bottom floor was imports.

Every car manufacturer we could think of was there - except BMW.
I'm not really sure what that says about BMW.

Indoor Fiat track with parallel parking, speed bumps, and roundabouts.
We didn't watch long enough to see one break down,
but it probably happened.

Ford's latest space-saver model. Great for narrow parking spaces.

Everything is bigger in Texas.
Even the side mirrors on the King Ranch series truck.

Doggie Fat Suit

2012-02-06T13:37:00.002-05:00

It's like The Biggest Loser for dogs -- cheating dogs who wear fat suits at the beginning of the season.

And if you're ready to have your mind blown, check out the new OK Go video:

So Much Pun

2012-02-02T07:02:00.000-05:00

I stole this cartoon from the Facebook page of our church's associate pastor. It's originally from So Much Pun which is affiliated with I Can Haz Cheesezburger? and FAIL Blog.

Uptown Downstairs Abbey

2012-02-01T07:57:00.000-05:00

'Downton Abbey' has apparently become enough of a PBS hit that parodies have started being made.

This two-part parody from the BBC Comic Relief Night is hilarious, even if you aren't very familiar with the series.

Part One:

Part Two:

(Not) Lame

2012-01-25T20:44:00.000-05:00

That's the last time I link to a video from The Soup. The Indie video was removed just one day after it was posted. Lame.

You know what's definitely not lame? PINTEREST!

I just love wasting my time looking at ways to spend money. Light bulb... the previous sentence just made me understand why husbands HATE Pinterest.

Oh well, I still enjoy it. Like this awesome living room decor. LOVE the ceiling:

And this cute kitchen color scheme:

Warning: do not look at Pinterest unless you are prepared to become addicted.

Tri-Tip Steak

2012-01-22T19:53:00.001-05:00

We've never had tri-tip steak - until today. And we love it.

Our butcher recommended that we try grilling tri-tip steak with a dry rub. I found a recipe online that had both a dry rub you use to marinate the meat, as well as a sauce you baste the steak with while it's cooking.

Since it looks like this outside...

... we grilled indoors using our Cuisinart Griddler. Have I mentioned again lately how much we love this little grill?

Enough uncompensated advertising - back to the meat. I didn't take photos, but our steak looked much like this before cooking.

And after following this recipe for Santa Maria Tri-Tip, it looked like this...

... only with less red/pink because J knows that grosses me out.

It was incredibly juicy inside with a delicious charred crust on the outside thanks to the dry rub.

Tri-tip tip: slice the meat at a 45 degree angle for best results.

We will definitely make this recipe again... probably in the near future since we have another Groupon to use at the same butcher... along with some 4,000 other people. Metro DC is apparently inhabited by carnivores. Or tri-tip steak addicts like us.

Ice Ice Baby

2012-01-21T18:36:00.000-05:00

This morning, we were greeted by a fresh layer of snow and ice.

Especially on our cars. Props to J for removing the solid layer of ice surrounding our vehicles.

And I can't use the Ice Ice Baby title without posting the classic Vanilla Ice interview about his song.

Ultimate Organization

2012-01-18T16:59:00.001-05:00

This video is simultaneously amazing and frightening.

Albert

2012-01-12T18:30:00.000-05:00

Burning off all those Buckeyes from the Gator Bowl:

Snow Firsts

2012-01-09T16:39:00.002-05:00

Today marks:
- our first sticking snow since we moved to Virginia
- my first experience driving in snow
- my first time walking through falling snow since I was... maybe 4?!

And yes, I did take some time to play in the snow today.

Baby Shower - Engineer Style

2012-01-07T19:36:00.001-05:00

Colleen and I (both industrial engineers by education) threw a baby shower for our friend Jessica (mechanical engineer by education).

Colleen with one of our youngest shower attendees.

Soon-to-be mom of 2, Jessica.

We used our background in statics to help us build diaper cakes for centerpieces.

And our facilities planning class helped us create an efficient room layout.

Our knowledge of statistics led us to create a pool.

I never took art in college, but if I had, I think I would deserve an 'A' for the onesie that I decorated.

And the most important skill came from learning about atomic packing factors in our materials class. We fit all of this stuff into Jessica's car after the shower!

Holiday Adventures in DC

2012-01-02T10:10:00.000-05:00

Here's what we did while my parents were visiting for the holidays.

We went to the Udvar-Hazy Museum, which is the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum annex.

Checking out the exhibits.

My dad's plane.

My grandpa's plane.

This computer was used by the Air Force until 1990.
Technology fail.

The space shuttle Enterprise.

We also celebrated my mom's birthday with her favorite cupcakes: German chocolate with coconut pecan frosting.

We toured the Pentagon. Luckily, we all had briefings planned.

And we visited my Grandpa at Arlington National Cemetery.

We toured the U.S. Capitol and sat in the House and Senate Galleries.

Last but not least, we went to Mount Vernon.

We had lunch in the Mount Vernon Inn.
Check out the wallpaper!

We got to tour the 3rd floor of the mansion,
only available for tours at Christmas.

Lady Washington was telling us about her
life and answering questions.

Whew! That was a busy, but incredibly fun holiday!

Christmas #3 of 3 (Recap)

2012-01-01T20:04:00.000-05:00

Our Christmas #3 was with my parents who visited last week.

We couldn't resist getting my dad an airplane - did you know that Santa has a pilot license?

And we had to get my mom something with owls since she collects them.

J and I got matching Navy sweatshirts - aren't we cute as twins?

Still to come: Holiday Adventures in DC!

Christmas #2 of 3 (Recap)

2011-12-31T20:11:00.000-05:00

Christmas #2 was our J + A Christmas.

J got a new jacket...

... and a scarf that I knitted for him (doesn't he look positively dapper?).

I got a 2012 calendar...

... and a pair of new coffee mugs (or in my case, hot chocolate mugs).

Coming next: Christmas #3 of 3 (Recap)!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T13:21:00.000-05:00

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

- Isaiah 9:6

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T09:51:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve!

Christmas #1 of 3

2011-12-22T13:19:00.000-05:00

Our first Christmas celebration was with J's parents who came to visit over the weekend.

We began by unwrapping presents, and everyone got some fun gifts!

We also took a trip into the city to visit the National Museum of American History.

In front of the Capitol (and 'Santarchy').

This guy is juggling a basketball, a bowling ball, and a tennis racket!

The First Ladies exhibit - awesome.

Michelle Obama's Inaugural Ball gown.

13-ton piston in the 'Power Machinery' exhibition.
Used in a 1904 steam engine to supply electricity
to the New York City subway.

More of the piston.

Of course, there was also a visit to Mount Vernon for the special Christmas additions. Like Aladdin the Camel.

And the presidentially-pardoned turkey, Liberty.

Don't worry, Liberty. We ate pork for our Christmas dinner.

Merry Christmas!

The Christmas Spirit

2011-12-21T13:31:00.001-05:00

I caught whatever has been going around lately (unfortunately, it's not just the Christmas Spirit). It involves a sore throat, cough, and loss of energy - as in, I spent two entire days laying in bed or lounging on the couch doing nothing. If this had kept up much longer, I was going to ask Santa to bring me a Forever Lazy.

Luckily, I've had Season 2 of Modern Family to keep me company, thanks to our friends Chris and Colleen.

The fact that I'm updating the blog today shows that I've gained some energy back - a very welcomed change. Which brings me to the weird item of the week. We went into the city on Saturday and were greeted by hundreds of people dressed as Santa on the National Mall.

After doing some research, it seems that we stumbled upon "Santarchy," which is described as, "...a non-profit, non-political, non-religious & non-sensical celebration of holiday cheer, goodwill, and fun."

Umm, okay. Whatever the reason, seeing a carousel filled with a bunch of Santa look-a-likes was an amusing sight.

Yule Loggin'

2011-12-15T07:49:00.001-05:00

I am currently serving on our church's staff as the Interim Director of Welcoming Ministries. As my first major duty of the position, I helped with the church's annual Yule Log Dinner.

As you can probably guess, it involved Yule Logs.

It also involved dinner, dessert, and 170 people.

Oh, and even more yule logs (in the form of fire wood) during outdoor caroling.

On an unrelated topic, we'd like to thank C & D for the awesome Christmas presents they sent. J is pumped about his mittens and hood / neck warmer / headband for outdoor winter running (although, he might need a lesson in proper wearing techniques).

And I just love the awesome necklace and hand-made glass ornament (in orange and blue!).

The Christmas season is definitely here!

Winning

2011-12-09T12:49:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was the annual open house at J's work. We got to see Santa and Mrs. Claus, eat some good food, and enter a raffle for door prizes.

Guess who won a door prize?! Me!

I feel some Italian-themed meals coming in our near future.

How Lovely are Thy Branches

2011-12-05T10:25:00.000-05:00

The evolution of our Christmas tree, in photos:

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2011-12-04T17:32:00.000-05:00

"...The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there..."

Black Friday-ish

2011-12-01T08:55:00.001-05:00

We're not really Black Friday shoppers. There have been a couple of times when I went shopping on Black Friday, but I woke up at a reasonable time and didn't have crowds like this to fight.

Unknowingly, a couple of weeks ago, J and I found ourselves in a Black Friday-ish atmosphere at Old Navy. We had received a coupon on a previous shopping trip that we wanted to use so we headed to the store.

The parking lot was crowded, but it usually is... however, the inside of the store was just SLAMMED! At first I thought everyone else was using coupons, but then I noticed a sign that said:

75% off all outerwear from 12pm - 5pm

Ohhhhhhh, that's why everyone was there.

Well, we were there anyway, so we might as well grab a bunch of jackets to try on like everyone else. And we ended up finding some great ones! J got a casual jacket with a thick lining for work, and I got two dressier jackets since most of mine are more casual. And J also found a couple of sweaters.

So with the 75% off deal plus our coupon, we ended up spending $47.18... and saving $209.88!

That's what I call a Black Friday-ish deal!

And while we're on the topic, I've got to post this hilarious video of Black Friday shopping pranks.

Our Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T09:31:00.001-05:00

It must be Thanksgiving weekend because I just ate a turkey sandwich for breakfast.

We spent the holiday with our friends Chris and Colleen. Chris (or Master Chef Chris as we've decided to call him) cooked an amazing meal. We had a perfectly moist turkey with apple cranberry stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and homemade cranberry sauce.

J and I brought Green Bean Salad with Walnuts, Fennel, and Goat Cheese. This is a new recipe for us, but it turned out being really good. It's a great alternative to mushy green bean casserole which grosses me out.

As if that wasn't enough deliciousness for one day, dessert consisted of chocolate silk pie, pumpkin pie, and apple pie, along with homemade butter pecan and cinnamon ice creams. (Are you drooling yet?)

After dinner and dessert, we all fell into a food coma. I mean, we all watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. "Are you serious, Clark?"

Luckily after all that eating, we were able to burn calories while playing with the cutest little guy!

Pictured: a positive influence (comment by J).

Gag

2011-11-16T18:06:00.000-05:00

For all you Real Simple readers out there (you know who you are!), don't waste your time making the bok choy and apple slaw. It gets two thumbs down from us.

Sad scooter is repulsed by the bok choy slaw.

After the slaw experience, I'm convinced that bok choy needs to be cooked before eating. Otherwise, it has a really bitter taste. Although the apples help offset the bitterness a little, it isn't nearly enough.

In the magazine's defense, this is the first Real Simple recipe we haven't liked.

White Bean Stew

2011-11-14T19:18:00.001-05:00

Another 'thumbs up' review for a Real Simple recipe... and this one is extra exciting because it uses the slow cooker.

I'm slow in trying this month's recipes since I just received my replacement November issue. The original issue was either never sent to me or the mailman stole it for his wife. Luckily, Real Simple customer service was great about sending another copy.

Little-known factoid: Real Simple's customer service department also serves Fortune Magazine. I don't really see the connection, but whatever works for them is fine with me.

The white bean and kielbasa stew was inexpensive, simple (real simple!), tasty, warm, and satisfying.

I made cornbread on the side (shout out to Mount Vernon's Grist Mill for grinding the corn meal just like in the good 'ol days), which was scrumptious with the stew juice (the term 'stew juice' sounds gross, but you get the idea).

The next Real Simple recipe on our list is the bok choy and apple slaw.

Glove Testing

2011-11-12T08:40:00.001-05:00

J ordered a pair of much-needed winter gloves that arrived via the hot UPS guy.

They felt comfortable, but he wanted to make sure they were going to be warm enough.

So he stuck his hand in the freezer for a while.

Do we make it too obvious that we're new to this cold weather thing?

Veterans Day

2011-11-11T08:50:00.001-05:00

Happy Veterans Day to the brave members of our armed forces, and especially to my dad for his service in the USAF.

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." -Elmer Davis

11-10-07

2011-11-10T08:10:00.000-05:00

On this day in 2007, J proposed to me.

Throwback photo - at the top of the St. Augustine lighthouse.

Four years later, we have conversations like this:

A: "I need to get dressed up for the hot UPS guy today."
J: "Now I know why you wanted to order those things..."
A: "I only order from companies that ship via UPS."
J: "Yeah, well, I'm going to start ordering from companies that ship FedEx, and get the hot FedEx girl to deliver on Saturdays."
A: "You mean the geezy, gross FedEx girl? Go ahead."
J: "Oh, speaking of geezy and gross, I called UPS and they said that the normal guy is out today and he's been replaced by Joe Paterno, who needs a job."

I love being married to my best friend!

63 and Sunny

2011-11-09T14:27:00.000-05:00

Today was a beautiful day for a picnic - and I was lucky enough to have Colleen and Isaac visit for the afternoon!

We picked up some Firehouse Subs (YUM!) and headed down to the lake for a picnic. The fall leaves continue to become even more beautiful, and although some trees are starting to lose their leaves, many more remain.

I just love the rainbow of colors. Vibrant reds...

... gorgeous oranges...

... and lovely yellows...

Guilty Pleasure

2011-11-08T16:19:00.000-05:00

I admit it. I love watching "The Sing-Off" on NBC.

I'm so amazed by what the groups are able to do without any music or instruments. It just blows my mind!

Since I've watched every episode this season (I admit that, too), here are my favorite performances of the five teams remaining in the competition.

Pentatonix (Arlington, Texas) - "Video Killed the Radio Star"

Dartmouth Aires (Dartmouth College) - "Queen Medley"

Afro-Blue (Howard University) - "Killing Me Softly"

Vocal Point (BYU) - "Life is a Highway"

Urban Method (Denver, Colorado) - "Airplanes"

Personally, I hope Pentatonix is this season's champion. If for no other reason - because the guys in their group sang Britney Spears songs.

Pentatonix - "Britney Spears Medley"

Delicious TJ's Finds

2011-11-03T10:32:00.000-04:00

Since moving from Florida, I miss Publix just about every day.

But I've started falling in love with Trader Joe's.

As an example, J and I are both addicted to the white cheddar corn puffs. I mean, how could we not enjoy them - they're the world's puffiest!

I've also recently discovered their organic creamy tomato soup. It's rich, creamy, and incredibly satisfying - especially on a cold day.

And since it's fall, I just HAD to get some pumpkin butter.

Thanks, Trader Joe's. You've lessened my Publix withdrawl and for that I will be forever grateful.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-30T20:25:00.000-04:00

The evolution of our pumpkin (with help from our friend Jeff):

Go Gators!

October Snow

2011-10-30T08:34:00.000-04:00

What's all this blue stuff on our weather radar?

Yep, you got it... SNOW... on Oct. 29. What were we thinking when we moved to the weather twilight zone also known as DC? After four months we've had an earthquake, a hurricane, and snow in October. What's next?

We spent the day with our friends who live near Baltimore. This video shows what the weather looked like for nearly all of the afternoon.

Luckily, we were celebrating German Fest (a holiday that Colleen and I made up last week to coincide with the Florida/Georgia game) so we had an amazing assortment of hot, delicious dishes to keep us warm. I challenge you not to drool as you read the menu:

- bratwurst

- apple sausage

- warm potato salad

- red and white cabbage

- spaetzle with mushroom gravy

- apple strudel

Guten Appetit!

Cooking Resources

2011-10-28T14:44:00.000-04:00

I've recently found a couple of exciting cooking resources on the web. The first is Foodbuzz.

The Foodbuzz main page highlights the most popular posts by food bloggers. Top picks are based on how many people have decided to "buzz" it. I especially like the Top 9 dishes which are updated daily.

If you're looking for a specific type of food blog, you can check out the 2011 Foodbuzz Blog Awards Nominees. Topics include healthy living, baking and pastry, general cooking, and more. I have especially enjoyed looking at the Best Photography nominees... who doesn't love awesome photos of beautiful home-cooking?!

The second resource I've found was posted by one of the Foodbuzz bloggers, Brown Eyed Baker. She compiled a list of her 150 favorite fall recipes, which is broken down into categories. When I think of fall food, I usually think of baked goods that use pumpkin. And although some of these are on the list, there are also a lot of main dishes, side dishes, and appetizers.

I don't know about you, but the Italian Sausage, Red Pepper, and Mushroom Risotto looks to me like a big bowl of warmth on a chilly fall day.

www.browneyedbaker.com photo

Happy cooking!

YouTube

2011-10-27T09:46:00.001-04:00

I feel like I should be in a commercial for YouTube. By watching videos posted to YouTube, I learned how to knit a scarf!

I had a round loom that had been sitting in the closet for a while.

I had previously used to it make winter hats. Mine didn't have beards attached, but what a brilliant idea!

When I started doing research about things I could make on the loom other than hats, I came across a video showing how to knit a scarf. So I tried it. And I made a one-strand periwinkle scarf.

Then after reading responses to the video, I saw someone mention using two strands to make a thicker scarf. So I tried it, too. And I made a thicker blue and grey scarf.

I'm pretty excited about this new use for the loom. Not only is it MUCH less time consuming than making hats, I feel like it's something more useful.

Autumn Wreath

2011-10-25T18:19:00.002-04:00

Using supplies from the craft store, I made an autumn wreath for our front door.

Here's what I bought:

- Grape vine wreath ($3.74 - includes 25% off promo)

- Sunflower garland ($1.79 - includes fall flowers sale + 25% off promo)

- Wrapped floral wire ($1.49 - includes 25% off promo)

I attached some wire to the top of the wreath (using the metal loop that the price tag was attached to) to hang it from the door. Starting at the top, I secured one end of the garland using floral wire and then started wrapping it around the wreath. After making sure the wraps were even, I secured the other end of the garland using floral wire.

After hanging the wreath on the door, I pulled off any of the sunflowers that ended up on the back side of the wreath (and prevented it from hanging flat against the door). And there you have it... a five minute project that can easily be redecorated by simply changing the garland.

Total cost of project = $7.02.

Halloween Costume Planning

2011-10-23T09:38:00.000-04:00

We've decided to wear the same costumes this year as we did when these photos were taken...

Super J!

A says, "I'm a mouse, duh!"

No, not really.

Taste the Rainbow

2011-10-22T20:28:00.000-04:00

Enough said.

Fall is in the Air...

2011-10-20T21:01:00.001-04:00

... and leaves are on the ground.

1980s throwback! Toddler J (right) and his brother D (left).

This has become very apparent due to the number of leaves we've been tracking inside lately.

A rainbow of leaves in our neighborhood.

I think it's worth it.

Pumpkin Palooza

2011-10-16T14:04:00.002-04:00

Thanks to an awesome Joy of Baking recipe, I made some DELICIOUS pumpkin cupcakes yesterday.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup (75 grams) solid packed, canned pumpkin puree

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Place rack in the middle of the oven. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray each cup with a non stick vegetable spray.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ground spices, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and pumpkin puree, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Fill the muffin cups evenly with the batter using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Place in the oven and bake for about 18 - 20 minutes, or until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Instead of making icing, I used store-bought whipped cream cheese icing and added toasted walnuts. I love the simple yet elegant look of the white icing and nuts.

Since I was using a huge can of pumpkin, I made pumpkin bread with the rest. It passed J's taste test.

The pumpkin bread joined the pumpkin cupcakes, cayenne and cheddar potato chips, tortilla chips and salsa, and chili dogs (not pictured) as our indoor tailgating spread for yesterday's sad, sad Gator football game.

But regardless of the game outcome...

In all kinds of weather, we'll all stick together... for F-L-O-R-I-D-A!

UF vs. Arkansas game on 10/17/09

More Fall Foliage

2011-10-13T06:34:00.000-04:00

I couldn't resist taking a few more photos of Fall leaves around our neighborhood.

Spooky?

2011-10-11T13:10:00.000-04:00

We apparently missed the neighborhood memo regarding over-the-top Halloween decorations.

Our neighbors have gone all out.

I guess this means we'll buy some candy this year - something we never needed to do while living in our college apartment complex.

Our Poor Tire

2011-10-11T07:45:00.002-04:00

"Halp!"

What Became of Our Veggies

2011-10-10T13:01:00.000-04:00

We thoroughly enjoyed the veggie delivery Groupon we recently redeemed.

What did we do with all the veggies, you ask?

Here it is... a veggie montage:

Green beans (with bacon!)

Sweet potato fries

Spaghetti squash with roasted tomatoes and mushrooms

Eggplant parmesan (mentioned in a previous post)

We also had some delicious grapes, bananas, and oranges. I think our favorite part was the roasted crimini mushrooms with olive oil and sage - they had a great flavor and texture!

Cousins Reunited

2011-10-08T18:00:00.000-04:00

After growing up on opposite sides of the country, I've recently been reunited with my cousin Lauren who also lives in the DC area.

Our first photo together since...

... this photo in 1992. Lauren is in the green shirt
and I'm in the orange shirt.
Tom Selleck (aka my Uncle Greg) is in the red shirt.

We met up with Lauren and her family to tour Mount Vernon today. It was a beautiful day and the girls were so much fun to play with.

J + A with Lauren's girls.

"Cousin J" with Zoe in the distillery.

"Cousin J" showing Claire the gristmill.

The girls outside the distillery - they're so cute!

This was my third visit to Mount Vernon (J's second visit), and we continue to learn new things each time. It's such a beautiful place with so much history and so many neat things to see. We might go back later in the fall once more trees start changing color, and a Christmas visit is also on the horizon.

Fall Foliage

2011-10-07T08:21:00.002-04:00

Crisp mornings, football, pumpkins,...

... leaves changing color...

... it's FALL!

Animal Explosion

2011-10-06T07:43:00.000-04:00

I had a fabulous day at the National Zoo yesterday. Great company, beautiful weather, active animals, and small crowds combined perfectly.

Here are my favorite animal photos of the day:

Eggplant Parmesan

2011-10-04T09:01:00.000-04:00

One of the veggies we received in our recent delivery was eggplant. I've never cooked with eggplant before, but I love eating eggplant parmesan at restaurants.

I found an eggplant parmesan recipe online that turned out really good. It wasn't hard to make, just a little time consuming - it was basically like making lasagna with eggplant instead of noodles.

Breaded eggplant slices after initial baking.

Assembled dish going into the oven.

The finished dish after baking.

The plated dish!

This recipe is worth a try if you love eggplant or have some delivered to your door and don't know what to do with it!

Pops Visits DC

2011-10-03T08:46:00.000-04:00

Last week, my dad came to DC for a conference. Once the conference ended, he was able to spend a couple of days with us before he flew home.

We spent one day at Mount Vernon...

Making friends with Washy.

In Martha's garden.

And the other day at the National Air and Space Museum...

Airline version of the plane he flew in Vietnam.

In front of a cool wall mural.

He picked the right day to fly back to Florida since it got COLD here over the weekend. Yesterday's high was 52 and today's is expected to be 56. However, highs should warm up into the 70s later this week. I'm not ready for the cold yet!

Tortellini with Butternut Squash

2011-09-26T19:31:00.001-04:00

The Real Simple magazine recipe for tortellini with butternut squash and mushrooms turned out fantastic!

Mushrooms prior to roasting.

Butternut squash prior to roasting.

The finished dish.

Instead of shredded fontina, we added grated parmesan on top since we had some in the fridge.

In the end, this dish was definitely worth making - we recommend giving it a try. However, I have a couple of recommendations:

The sage leaves have an overpoweringly bitter taste, so you'll want to pick them out either after roasting or before eating.
The butternut squash is quite challenging to peel. Maybe our peeler is just dull, but I ended up peeling with a knife. It's time consuming, but seemed to eventually work.

Fruits and Veggies Galore

2011-09-23T13:38:00.000-04:00

I'm really excited about redeeming the Groupon we bought to South Mountain Veggies! Our order will be delivered next Thursday, and we had a great selection to choose from. We got the medium family share bag which includes 12 items. Here's what we'll be getting:

Yum! I see some delicious meals in our future.

Eating Acorn

2011-09-22T20:31:00.001-04:00

Trader Joe's has some beautiful pumpkins and squash right now. And thanks to the latest Real Simple magazine, I actually know what to do with them.

Acorn squash.

Tonight with dinner we had parmesan-roasted acorn squash. I substituted dried sweet basil for thyme (since we had some in the cabinet). It turned out delicious!

Before baking.

After baking.

We paired it with lemony olive oil pasta, substituting chicken for tuna.

The next recipe we have planned is tortellini with butternut squash. I have high hopes for it since the other recipes from this month's issue have been excellent.

Cornbread and Chili

2011-09-20T08:59:00.001-04:00

Now that fall and its heavenly temperatures have arrived, I decided it was time to have cornbread and chili for dinner.

The cornbread was made with cornmeal from Mount Vernon, using a Nelly Custis recipe that was included.

It turned out being delicious!

This month's Real Simple magazine has some great looking recipes. I used a chili recipe to go with the cornbread and have two more recipes planned for later this week. The chili recipe is Chipotle Beef and Beer Chili.

Since I couldn't find chopped chipotles in adobo sauce anywhere around here (this is when I particularly miss the Cuban cuisine influences in Florida), I substituted home-grown jalapenos from my friend Colleen's herb and vegetable garden. I'm definitely not a spicy food person, but with the seeds and ribs removed from the jalapenos they were pretty mild... and tasty.

I predict we'll be using this recipe again during fall and winter.

United States Botanic Garden

2011-09-18T18:42:00.001-04:00

We met my high school friend Bill at the United States Botanic Garden today. It was an interesting garden, with both indoor and outdoor areas to explore.

A view of the main building from a garden/fountain area across the street.

With Bill inside the "jungle" greenhouse.
It has a second story walkway around the perimeter of the building.

Courtyard near the entrance of the building.

We couldn't resist getting a photo of Capitol while walking through the National Mall.

J is a local in his Washington Nationals shirt.
And like every trip into the city, we got a "Go Gators!" for J's hat.
More proof that the Gator Nation is everywhere!

It was a nice visit with a long-lost friend and a trip down memory lane talking about our hometown.

Money, money, money, money... MONEY!

2011-09-14T21:16:00.000-04:00

I went to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing today with Colleen, Jessica, and their adorable boys.

We went on the official tour which shows the entire process of bill production. It's amazing how much money is printed each and every day, both in the DC location as well as the Forth Worth location.

As industrial engineers, Colleen and I were horrified when we heard on the tour that 4% of the bills produced are destroyed due to quality control issues. In our expert* opinions, we recommend a process redesign.

The coolest part of the tour was viewing the new $100 bill that will be in circulation soon.

After the tour, we had a picnic at the National Mall. The weather has been beautiful, and it's so nice in the city now that the summer tourist season has ended.

*By expert, I mean two engineers who spent 45 minutes touring the facility and have no previous printing experience.

They Say It's My Birthday!

2011-09-12T21:05:00.003-04:00

I had an awesome birthday this year!

It all started yesterday when we had dinner with our good friends Chris and Colleen. They made an amazing Italian feast. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

For dessert we had a cookie cake made by J along with Chris' homemade malt ball ice cream and toasted marshmallow hot fudge. I'm pretty convinced it's the dessert served in Heaven.

REAL kitchens have creme brulee torches to light candles.

That's right, I blew them all out in one breath. Boo yeah!

Not only did we have fantastic food, we also had the absolute cutest "nephew" to play with.

Reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Today, J brought me birthday flowers on his way home from work.

A nice summer to fall transitional bouquet.

He also got me a pair of winter boots so my feet won't freeze.

It was either these boots or electrically heated socks.
I think J made the right decision.

And tonight we went mini golfing.

I have no comment regarding who won.

Thanks to everyone who sent cards, emailed messages, and called today - I feel so loved!

Talking on the phone with my parents while opening the gifts they sent.

A Day at George and Martha's

2011-09-10T22:44:00.003-04:00

Our final venture over the long weekend was to Mount Vernon. We were amazed by how much there was to see and do on the property. After touring the property for most of a day, there were still areas of the property and exhibits we weren't able to explore. But fear not, because we now have annual passes so we can go back whenever we want!

Here are the areas we toured, in photos:

The Mansion.
No photos were allowed inside, but there is a virtual tour here if you're interested.

View of the Potomac River from the porch.

Garden house and pleasure garden with flowers and trees.

Produce garden - included some more exotic veggies such as artichokes and asparagus.

Blacksmith shop - there was a real,
actual blacksmith there working on a fireplace log holder.

Outside the gristmill.

Top of the gristmill.

Bottom of the gristmill.

Exterior of the distillery.

Interior of the distillery.

We have a bag of stone ground cornmeal produced in the gristmill to use, so look for a cornmeal post sometime soon! No whiskey from the distillery, though - apparently the whiskey produced on-site is only released once a year and sells out within hours.

A Different Kind of Presidential Race

2011-09-08T18:42:00.001-04:00

On Saturday we went with J's parents to see the Washington Nationals play the New York Mets. It was the first Nats game we had attended and it was a lot of fun. The ballpark is located right by the Navy Yard Metro Station. It's easy to figure out which Metro line goes by the park because everyone on it is wearing red.

There was a good turnout at the game. Attendees included us,

Thomas Jefferson,

and a crazy guy who likes to shout and dance.

The highlight of the game was the Racing Presidents.

Tom pulled out the victory over Teddy, George, and Abe.

And the Nationals beat New York!

This post approved by LT Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell

2011-09-07T14:34:00.000-04:00

Over the Labor Day weekend, J's parents came to visit us. We started the weekend with a visit to the Udvar-Hazy Center, which is the National Air and Space Museum annex. It's a HUGE hangar full of planes and spacecraft.

Overlooking the WWII planes.

Space Shuttle Enterprise.

The prettiest satellite I've seen.

Is this the entire Star Wars universe?

SR-71 Blackbird

Observation deck overlooking Dulles Airport.

Next post: Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln in a footrace.

Hurricane Irene Recap

2011-08-28T21:26:00.003-04:00

Yes, we're still here.

No, I'm not writing this by candlelight or from a canoe.

The storm actually wasn't very bad in our area. We have a lot of tree debris and small limbs scattered around, as well as a few large branches that snapped off trees. The worst damage we saw were a couple of trees that fell, but we didn't see any that caused property damage.

We saw some news coverage of flooding in Old Town Alexandria (which seems to be a frequent occurrence), but our area didn't have any issues with rising waters. We also didn't lose power throughout the entire storm - amazing!

I took photos throughout the storm to show the conditions. You'll notice the ground collecting more water and the wind moving the trees in some of the photos:

Our squirrel friend Horatio came by to see us around dusk. We were glad he survived the storm, but he looked as if it had been a LONG day.

I'm very glad the storm was not as catastrophic as anticipated, but I hope this doesn't mean people in the mid-Atlantic and New England areas stop taking future storms seriously. Take it from me (and Erin, Opal, Georges, Ivan, and Dennis) - these storms can be devastating.

Hurricane Checklist

2011-08-26T16:43:00.002-04:00

Hurricane preparations are ongoing at the J + A household. Here's our checklist:

1. Camp stove and fuel - check
2. Bottled water - check
3. Gatorade - check (If the UF student health care center taught me anything while I was a student it's that Gatorade heals all illnesses)
4. Non-perishable food - check
5. Sanitizing wipes - check
6. Lighter - check
7. Water and fire resistant filing box - check (this isn't really because of the hurricane, but it's something we should have gotten a long time ago anyway, so we got one for important documents)
8. Flashlights - check
9. Batteries - check
10. Extra ice in the freezer in case of power outage - check
11. Fridge and freezer turned to coldest temperature setting - check
12. Outdoor plants and furniture put in the storage shed - waiting for J to get home
13. Laundry finished - working on it
14. Bathtub filled with water - waiting until tomorrow
15. Vehicle gas tanks filled - check
16. Disposable plates, cups, bowls, utensils - check
17. Toilet paper - check (arguably one of the most important items on the list)

Hopefully we won't need to use most of our supplies, but we have them just in case. And anything that doesn't get used for the hurricane becomes part of our blizzard survival kit - along with other stuff that I don't even know enough about blizzards to realize we need yet.

Jim Cantore, Human Hurricane Magnet

Jim Cantore is currently in Manhattan (NOT D.C.) which makes me feel better. You know you're in for a wild ride when he shows up in your town!

Irene Anticipation

2011-08-25T16:45:00.005-04:00

Factoid of the day: this photo was taken by Ron Garan, an astronaut who graduated
from the University of Florida with an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering. Go Gators!

As Hurricane Irene heads our way, we've been getting ready... hurricanes are definitely something we're used to preparing for. I grew up on the Gulf Coast of Florida and J spent his high school years in Miami.

Personally, my hurricane experience portfolio consists of:

1. Hurricane Erin (1995)

I think I can see my parents' house through Erin's eye.

Erin was a category 2 storm, and my family (as well as all our neighbors) stayed for it. We had hurricane panels on our windows, but left one off the front door so we could at least get a bit of light and see what was happening. The storm was a direct hit on our area, so the eye of the storm went right over us. This meant that during the first half of the storm, all the trees were blown to one side, then there was a short time with beautiful weather during the eye, and then during the second half of the storm the trees were blown in the opposite direction. What an incredible (and scary) experience.

2. Hurricane Opal (1995)

Opal following Erin's lead towards the panhandle of Florida.

Two months after Hurricane Erin, Hurricane Opal was another direct hit on our area. After staying for Erin as a category 2, there was NO WAY we were staying for Opal as a category 4. We evacuated and weren't really sure whether we would have anything to come back to. Luckily, we only had minor damage, including losing just about all the trees that Hurricane Erin hadn't already taken with it previously.

3. Hurricane Georges (1998)

Georges making landfall.

Georges was a category 4 storm, so once again we evacuated from the area. Our neighbor across the street didn't, so he was able to check on our house after the storm. From the coverage we had been watching on television, we weren't sure that any part of our house would still be standing. But amazingly, our neighbor let us know that not only was our house still there, it had only sustained minor damage.

After leaving for college, my parents ended up dealing with two more major storms. One of them was by far the worst storm to hit the area...

4. Hurricane Ivan (2004)

Hurricane Ivan about to make landfall over Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Hurricane Ivan hit just west of the Florida panhandle as a category 3 storm, and it devastated the entire area. The houses along the water in my parents' neighborhood had a 12-foot storm surge hammer them. The damage caused by the storm left many people living in their driveways in FEMA trailers for years afterward. To this day, there are still empty lots where houses once stood along the water.

5. Hurricane Dennis (2005)

Hurricane Dennis following the path of Hurricane Ivan the previous year.

A year after Hurricane Ivan, when many houses that survived the storm still had tarps covering their roofs and families were still living in FEMA trailers, Hurricane Dennis made landfall.

While we don't think that Hurricane Irene will cause the sort of damage to the DC area that these other storms did to the Gulf Coast, we aren't taking chances in our preparations. We're ensuring that we have everything we need in case there is a prolonged power outage, and making sure all our outdoor plants and furniture (known by hurricanes as 'projectiles') are secured. We can only hope that our neighbors are taking the same precautions.

Earthquake Humor

2011-08-24T11:53:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's earthquake was certainly unexpected... and a little scary for those of us who:
1. Have never experienced an earthquake before
2. Live in buildings not meant to withstand earthquakes (ahem, the entire East Coast)
3. Realized afterward that they really didn't know what to do during the earthquake

But scariness aside, there's also been a lot of humor following the earthquake, which is some much-needed comic relief for many. Here are a few of my favorites:

Too true - so many of my friends (myself included) were on Facebook right after the earthquake.
I also got a text from my mom in Florida asking about the earthquake before I had confirmed that was what occurred.

"Devastation in Downtown D.C. Following Earthquake"
This was sent to me by a former co-worker in Florida.

And now we prepare for Hurricane Irene. At least this is a natural disaster we're familiar with.

We Survived...

2011-08-23T16:43:00.005-04:00

... the Great DC Earthquake of 2011.

That's right, we're both okay! Thanks to everyone who checked up on us, we really appreciate your concern.

When the earthquake occurred...

J's experience:
J was at work in the new lab he's been setting up. He was heat shrinking gas lines at the time, with a heat gun in one hand and 9' of stainless steel tubing in the other hand. His main concern was to stabilize his body enough that he didn't heat shrink himself, and once the worst of the shaking stopped he was able to turn off the heat gun.

Surprisingly, a fire sprinkler cover above his desk was knocked loose by the shaking and bounced underneath his computer monitor.

A's experience:
I was at home washing dishes, doing laundry, and making chocolate chip banana nut muffins. I'm pleased to report that we now have clean dishes, clean clothes, and delicious muffins to eat despite the earthquake:

Although these look like cookies, they're actually muffins - you just can't see the stumps.
I can't mention muffin tops and stumps without using a clip from the Seinfeld episode.

I initially thought our washing machine was unbalanced and had started to shake the floor, but then realized much more than just the washer was shaking. Our chandelier started swinging from side to side and I decided to stand in the front doorway. This was because (1) I'd heard to stand in a doorway during an earthquake - thanks, Saved by the Bell and (2) I wanted to be able to run out of our building if it collapsed.

Luckily, the building didn't collapse and we don't appear to have any damage. On the bright side, I got a chance to talk with several of our neighbors that I rarely see since everyone went outside after the earthquake to make sure everything was okay.

Innovation

2011-08-22T20:31:00.000-04:00

How to add more seating in your boat:

As seen on the Old Town Alexandria waterfront.

Old Town

2011-08-22T09:04:00.002-04:00

From A:

Over the weekend, J and I took our first visit to Old Town Alexandria. It's a nice place to walk around for the afternoon, with a wide variety of shops and restaurants.

We had planned to take a trolley from the Metro down to the waterfront, but ended up walking instead. It was a nice walk (just over a mile, in and out of shade) that gave us a chance to check out what stores are there.

For lunch we went to a pizzeria near the waterfront. It didn't live up to Blue Highway deliciousness (nothing ever does), but it was still a tasty lunch.

The only photos I got were from a dock on the Potomac River. We had a great view looking across the river from Virginia to DC:

That's the Capitol in the distance.

A view of National Harbor across the river.

Sunbathing on a docked boat. Really?

Finally, we'd like to give a shout out to one of our favorite bloggers, Chelsea. She has a new blog called Theology and Geometry - you should check it out!*

*However, since J + A isn't on its blog list, we can't make any official guarantees about its awesomeness.

Please Do Not Feed the Animals

2011-08-19T18:20:00.001-04:00

From A (captions by J and A):

Feeding wildlife is a bad idea.

Trust us, we did it... and now a squirrel living behind our condo thinks we are his family.

"Are those...nuts that I see?!?!"

"I'll be here if you have any nuts you want to get rid of."

"Will autograph pictures for nuts."

"Oh hi! I's just laying here, hoping for a nut or two..."

We've named him Horatio.

Banana Muffins

2011-08-18T13:56:00.004-04:00

From A:

Somehow we ended up with a lot of bananas last week. Looking for a way to use them, I found a recipe online for banana muffins.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large bananas, mashed

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.

Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.

I followed all the measurements and instructions in the recipe, with the exception of adding some chopped walnuts for texture. The batter was easy to make and the muffins baked up perfectly. I made large muffins and cooked them for 25 minutes.

J and I both LOVE them. It's definitely a recipe to keep around for those times we end up with more bananas than we can eat before they become mushy. And since the ingredients are things we usually keep in the fridge or pantry, it makes this a very practical recipe.

I might experiment a little the next time I make them, by either making mini muffins or by adding cinnamon and/or nutmeg. But overall, I highly recommend this recipe!

The Ikea Experience

2011-08-16T15:23:00.001-04:00

From A:

J and I went to Ikea for the first time this weekend. This was no ordinary shopping trip, it was nothing less than an experience all its own.

The parking garage entrance.
We parked in row L.

Before we knew what we were getting ourselves into, we made our way to the garage entrance... then up a flight of stairs... then up an escalator... then to a lobby with a restaurant and kids' play area.

The main entrance.
Nobody actually uses this because it's really far from the parking garage.
Unless husbands use this entrance to drop off their wives and go watch football.

Once inside, we had a choice of whether to go to the "showroom" or the "marketplace." Not knowing what we were doing, we walked into the showroom. We apparently went the wrong way because everyone else in the store was walking towards us. We were swimming upstream in a sea of home furnishings!

Anyway, the showroom has a bunch of rooms set up using all Ikea furnishings.

J liked this kitchen in the showroom.
I thought it looked a little small.

And no, the rooms aren't miniaturized. The mini kitchen is meant to be a child play area.

We saw kitchens, bedrooms, closets, offices, living rooms, etc. There were even bathrooms. The main theme of the store is how to make the most of small living spaces.

How to fit enough stuff in a small bathroom to make it usable.

This has to make you wonder if there's been problems in the past.

After we finished in the showroom, we went downstairs to check out the marketplace. The marketplace is a huge, one-way store with racks and bins full of all the smaller items that were showcased in the showroom. After walking forever through a ton of smaller items, you end up in a huge warehouse where all the bigger, assembly-required furniture is kept.

And then at the very end of the store is the checkout. Thank goodness we didn't find anything to buy because we would have been waiting a very long time. It's all self-checkout with the help of a few employees assigned to the area.

That was it - except for the refreshment area on the way back to the parking garage - brilliant!

Our condo is pretty well set up, so there wasn't really anything that we needed. But we enjoyed looking through the store and getting the full Ikea experience.

flora

2011-08-15T12:37:00.000-04:00

"Just because" flowers from J...

... the very best kind of flowers.

G'ville

2011-08-12T15:20:00.000-04:00

From A:

Other than J's graduation, which was the reason for our trip back to Gainesville, we also had some time with our family. We spent one evening on campus with J's brother and sister-in-law reliving our time as students.

The new Tim Tebow statue.
Next to the Steve Spurrier and Danny Wuerffel statues.
All are Heisman-winning Gator quarterbacks and sons of ministers.

On the field along with a bunch of other people
who ignored the "keep off field" sign.

Getting chomped!

Sorry, Chelsea - this was way too funny to keep to myself.

For J's graduation dinner we went to Blue Highway. It has the best pizza in the universe. In fact, my mouth started watering at the mere thought of the margherita pizza.

Since we went to the Blue Highway in Town of Tioga, we walked around a little after dinner. It's such a nice place with the trees, sidewalks, and natural areas.

My parents are so cute.

What a great weekend!

Dr. J

2011-08-09T20:42:00.002-04:00

From A:

J's PhD graduation from the University of Florida, in photos:

Zookies

2011-08-03T19:18:00.000-04:00

From A:

I spent yesterday at the National Zoo with my good friend Colleen and her son Isaac.

We had a great day seeing nearly all the animals in the park, including the lions:

Most of these are cubs, although they're getting pretty big.
This looked like a real-life Lion King scene.

and the goats:

This is quite an elaborate goat playground.
Where did all the money come from to build it?

Oh. Question answered.

Posing with Isaac in front of the goats.

I also learned several methods for reapplying sunscreen to a toddler:

1. Surprise attack.
Start spraying before the child knows what's going on.

2. Distraction.
Petting zoo animals work quite well.
Zookies (zoo cookies) might also work.

3. Speed.
If all else fails, spray while running after the child.

Office Reveal

2011-07-30T17:30:00.002-04:00

From A:

It's time for our final reveal!

I present to you, beloved readers of J + A, our Office / Guest Room:

Our extra kitchen table was re-purposed as a dual mega-desk.
I have to give props to J for the amazingly neat cabling job he did.

Queen size sleeper. Also very comfy as a sofa, which was difficult to find.

This is where J + A blogging occurs!

And that's it, the last of our condo tour.

What will I blog about now?!

Bedroom Reveal

2011-07-29T21:08:00.000-04:00

From A:

Once our bedroom furniture arrived it made finishing off our bedroom really easy.

And here it is!

The entire room - I especially love the panel bed with low footboard.

J's night stand with one drawer and a large door. He thinks it looks manly.

My night stand with four drawers - so cute!

The dresser, mirror, and chest.

We're really happy with how the room turned out. And we don't think the red walls look too overwhelming now that we have more furniture and a few wall hangings.

Only one room left to finish: the office.

Done

2011-07-29T13:03:00.001-04:00

From A:

Check off all the boxes because the last of our furniture was delivered today!

The final piece to arrive was our sleeper sofa:

I was a little nervous about it since we had chosen the fabric from a small swatch and weren't able to see it on a large surface. But I think it turned out looking good - a very versatile piece that should serve us for a long time. And the throw pillow fabric ended up looking nice with the sofa fabric.

So now that all our furniture is here, J and I can spend the weekend getting our last two rooms completed.

Bedroom and office reveals are coming soon!

Furniture

2011-07-28T15:44:00.000-04:00

From A:

The bedroom furniture we ordered from Gat Creek was delivered today!

After I finished doing a happy dance, I did a furniture photo shoot:

We had seen the dresser and chest in the furniture showroom, but we hadn't seen either of the night stands or the bed in person before - we picked them out of a catalog. It's so neat to finally see them all together, as well as the stain, finish, and hardware that we chose - and it looks beautiful!

Choo Choo Chewies

2011-07-25T15:47:00.001-04:00

From A:

As mentioned a while back, we took the Amtrak Auto Train to relocate from Florida to Virginia. And here's the long-awaited recap of our experience!

When we drove into the Amtrak station in Orlando, staff members took each of our cars to the loading area where they were driven onto the auto carriers (I'm pretty sure the drivers arm wrestle each other to see who gets to drive the luxury vehicles - such as the new Corvette we saw). We weren't able to watch the loading process, but we watched the cars as they were unloaded in Virginia. In the photo below you can see the front of the first car about to be driven out of the carrier and down the ramp:

I don't know why the drivers wear hard hats. Unless they're afraid of people like us to pack so much stuff into their cars that a quick stop might mean flying household goods. Anyway, the slickest part of the vehicle loading / unloading process is the 360 degree camera that documents the condition of each vehicle when it's pulled into the station. If a damage claim is filed once a car is returned, the vehicle condition is compared to the video taken prior to loading. Good thinking, Amtrak.

Now to our accommodations. We reserved a sleeping room for 2 people. There are also larger sleeping rooms that can accommodate 4 people. Our room had two chairs that faced each other, along with a fold-out table:

J decided the table was for taking out contacts - which he did like a pro! No lost lenses or inadvertent eyeball stabbing:

Each sleeping car has its own attendant who helps with whatever the passengers need. Our attendant was named Kenny - and I forgot to get a photo with him. Let's just pretend that Kenny looked like this guy:

Anyway, Kenny asked us what time we would like to have our beds made in the evening, as well as what time we'd like to have our wake-up call and our beds put away in the morning. We decided to have our beds made while we were at dinner (since only the latest dining time was still available when we checked in) and then have them put away while we were at breakfast.

And this is the really cool part - the two chairs in the sleeping room slide together to form the bottom bed, and the angled ceiling in the room pulls down to form the top bed:

Before - the top bunk is pushed all the way up to allow for more head room.

After - the bed is folded down to form the top bunk.

So while our beds were being made, we had dinner. It was surprisingly good! There was a menu with about 8 different entree options, plus about 5 different dessert options. The kids menu includes "Choo Choo Chewies" which are chicken tenders - pretty cute. J had steak with a baked potato, and I had chicken with rice. And we both had hot fudge sundaes for dessert - yum!

The train had wine tasting and snacks in the evening, as well as a showing of Gnomeo and Juliet. There was also a continental breakfast in the morning.

And 17 hours after we had loaded the train in Florida we were unloading in Virginia - amazing!

Kitchen Reveal

2011-07-20T15:36:00.001-04:00

From A:

Our kitchen / dining area is now organized and decorated, so it's time for the big reveal!

We are just loving the layout of the kitchen. Both the counter and cabinet space is easily three times as much as in our old place - which means that our kitchen supplies, appliances, and gadgets can all be stored in the kitchen!

And thanks to all the cabinet space, we were able to re-purpose our old kitchen overflow / other randomness storage shelves as display shelves.

We're pleased with they way our kitchen table, chairs, and shelves fit into the dining area. And with the addition of two bar stools, the space works very well for us.

Living Room Reveal

2011-07-15T16:40:00.000-04:00

From A:

It's been a productive week around the condo. We:

Removed the last of the moving boxes and packing paper from the living room.
Moved the rest of our "stuff we don't use regularly but will still probably use at some point" stuff into our storage cage (have I mentioned this wonderful surprise yet?).
Found out that the rest of our furniture should arrive by the end of the month (hooray!).

So, time to tell the storage cage story. When we rented our condo, we knew there was an outside storage area off our back patio, but we didn't know about any other storage. Once we moved in, there was an extra key called "upper storage" which confused us. As it turns out, it's the key to a storage cage on the floor above our condo - awesome, right?! This storage cage has proven to be a huge help for storing sports equipment, holiday decorations, extra boxes, etc. I don't know how all our stuff would have a home without it!

And now that our living room is box free, we're excited to reveal the finished product. The couch and rug are new but everything else came with us:

The photo makes the walls look really bright, almost a "grinch" green, but it doesn't look quite as bright in person.*

Overall, things are coming together. Once our sleeper sofa comes we can finish the office and once our bedroom furniture comes we can finish the master bedroom. More room reveals to come!

*Reminder: we didn't pick the wall color - it's what the owner had when we moved in.

200!!!

2011-07-14T08:38:00.002-04:00

From A:

This is our 200th J + A blog post!

insert cheering crowd noise here

Since I'm currently writing our 2nd anniversary update newsletter (yes, it's late), I'm not really much in the mood to write an actual post today. I will, however, share with you a photo I came across while searching for newsletter images in our digital files.

J and I had never seen a squirrel sleeping before - have you? Here is one sleeping in the tree behind our condo:

Also, as a related question: where do squirrels go when it rains?

Playground?

2011-07-12T15:59:00.000-04:00

From A:

Playgrounds are so last year. The cool place (and I mean that literally) for kids to go now is the SPRAYGROUND!

That's right. It's a playground with water. Big jets of water, small fountains of water, unpredictable streams of water, ships squirting water, and the list goes on.

No, I wasn't a creepy adult hanging around children on the sprayground. I went with my friend Colleen and her adorable son Isaac:

I think his face says it all - it's a really fun place for kids. It was a pretty hot day, but it really didn't seem so bad once you were in the water.

Although, I'm not the best person to complain about the heat to - considering that I was still living in Florida a month ago. I've stopped a lot of cashier small talk in stores lately when they complain about how hot it is outside. Once I answer that I just moved here from Florida, they become very motivated to just finish my purchase and get me out the door.

Sorry, local cashiers, but I can't sympathize with you just yet. Perhaps after I've experienced my first Virginia winter.

July 4th Recap

2011-07-05T11:14:00.001-04:00

From A:

Saturday:
We had a busy and enjoyable July 4th weekend. It started on Saturday with a trip to Eastern Market. We met one of J's high school friends and her boyfriend there. We didn't really know what to expect, but we ended up finding the market very interesting. It has an abundance of fresh fruits and veggies from farmers in the region - and many of them cut samples of their foods so you can try it before you buy it.

There are also many other vendors selling flowers, hats (I got one that I'll show in a photo later in this post), pottery, jewelry, and other hand-made crafts. We will definitely return another weekend to shop some more. One of the most important lessons we learned was to bring a backpack so you can carry home all the stuff you buy!

Sunday:
On Sunday we spent the afternoon and evening helping our friends from church work on their house. They bought a foreclosure and have completely gutted it over the past year. J helped re-frame the back deck while I helped with some painting and Adirondack chair assembly. I still don't know how J and one other guy were able to set 6 x 6 posts weighing about 250 pounds each, being lowered from the second floor of the deck. Somehow they got it done, with only a few minor bumps, bruises, and splinters.

Monday:
We spent the 4th of July in Maryland with our good friends C&C. We also met new friends who live in Virginia and have a son about the same age as C&C's son. We played bocce ball for the first time, which is basically like curling using balls - and with no goofy brooms to sweep on ice. Here are a couple of photos from the action (as mentioned earlier, I'm wearing the hat I got at Eastern Market):

No worries about the small child who looks like he's about to get hit in the head with a bocce ball. He had just thrown that ball himself and it landed in the grass right in front of him after the photo was taken.

Ahhhhhhh

2011-06-30T10:27:00.000-04:00

From A:

Our recliner sofa was delivered yesterday!

I'm pleased to report that it reclines very comfortably:

In work news, J had a good first day. He had the difficult tasks of ordering himself a computer and picking out his office supplies. He also learned not to eat the bananas in the cafeteria because they peel and taste like plantains.

First Day

2011-06-29T08:01:00.000-04:00

From A:

Today is J's first day of work! Here he is looking all handsome and work-like:

Resident Tourists

2011-06-26T16:08:00.001-04:00

From A:

Now that we've had our vehicle safety inspection, emissions test, and have mounted two Virginia license plates on each car, we consider ourselves official residents. So yesterday we took our first trip into DC as residents. It's a strange feeling to emerge from the Metro station and have the Washington Monument right in front of you:

Since the Smithsonian National Museum of American History was closed when we visited DC back in 2007, we spent some time checking out the exhibits. And they didn't disappoint! Here are two of my highlights (J's highlights differ, I'm sure):

Julia Child's Kitchen:

Kermit the Frog and characters from Sam and Friends:

After the museum, we stopped by the White House on our way to meet one of J's friends for dinner:

Not surprisingly, there were several protests going on. The protest topics of the day were:

Zero Tolerance for Torture
Stopping Wars
Not all Iranians are Terrorists

Dinner at the Old Ebbitt Grill was delicious!

It has quite a history, including:

"The F Street location was just two doors away from the Rhodes Tavern, which occupied the northeast corner of F and 15th Streets. Having a considerable history of its own, its bar was reportedly the site where British generals toasted one another as they watched The White House burn during the War of 1812."

Condo Updates

2011-06-24T13:03:00.001-04:00

From A:

The moving company brought all of our stuff a week ago, so we've been hard at work getting boxes unpacked, furniture arranged, and everything put away. We've made a lot of progress so far!

When we arrived, we were very pleasantly surprised by the new kitchen counter tops that had been installed, as well as a new sink and faucet:

We picked out a new mattress and box springs that was delivered earlier this week. As you can see, we're trying to embrace the red wall color in the bedroom so we hopefully won't need to paint. We've found that as long as the lighting isn't too bright, the red isn't all that obnoxious:

Another thing that will help tone down the red bedroom is the new bedroom furniture we've ordered! I'm talking real, actual bedroom furniture here - the kind that's hardwood, custom ordered, and made in the USA. More details to come when our furniture arrives in about 6 weeks!

In other furniture news, we've ordered a sleeper sofa (take note, people who would like to come visit us!). We were able to pick out which sofa and accent pillow fabrics we wanted - from hundreds of choices. Here's what we picked. A chocolate brown sofa with accent pillows like the one shown below:

In a completely unrelated side note, Happy Birthday to J's brother Daniel! Have a great day and enjoy your birthday gift - Amazon promised us it would be delivered today.

Anniversary Photos

2011-06-22T19:58:00.000-04:00

From A:

Although we spent our 2nd anniversary packing and moving, we were able to take some time the previous week to have photos taken.

For those of you who attended our wedding, you will recognize the photo shoot location as the chapel and church grounds where we were married.

Here are a few of our favorites.

Virginia

2011-06-20T17:03:00.000-04:00

From A:

We're here! We made it to Virginia and so did our stuff...

... some things in better condition than other things. Poor Albert.

As you can see, we really had to rough it on the train ride up here.

More updates about our new place to come!

Moving

2011-06-09T18:48:00.002-04:00

From A:

Ways to tell you're in the process of moving...

1. There are boxes EVERYWHERE.

2. Your husband spent the afternoon building a television crate.

3. There are notes taped to random items throughout your residence.

4. You only have a few random things left in your pantry, including Shake 'n Bake, peanut butter, Nutella, and Chipotle Tobascso.

Dr. J

2011-06-02T18:00:00.001-04:00

From A:

I am very excited to announce that J passed his dissertation defense and is now Dr. J!

Here he is right after his defense:

I'm a very proud wife!

Seeking Inspiration

2011-05-31T14:57:00.002-04:00

From A:

Look away if you're feeling queezy. This is what the master bedroom in our new condo looks like:*

The furniture and wall tapestry will be leaving with the previous occupant, but that leaves us with a RED room (the wall behind the tapestry is red also). The room is 14' by 12' with a door to the front patio (as seen in the photo) on one end and the bathroom and walk-in closet on the other end.

So here is my question: What should we do with the room? We're looking for ideas about paint colors, furniture arrangement, etc. We have ideas of our own, but we're curious to hear others!

*I had incorrectly labeled the second bedroom (soon to be our office) as the master bedroom in the previous post. It's the blue and brown room. Since the red room has a walk-in closet, it will be the master bedroom.

House Hunting

2011-05-15T20:04:00.001-04:00

From A:

We're back from our house hunting trip in the DC area and I am very happy to report that it was a success! Below is a preview of the place we found.

1. The kitchen (new counters will be installed before we move in):

2. The living room, complete with a gas fireplace:

3. The master bedroom; we plan to repaint the blue walls a more neutral color:

4. The back patio, complete with locked outdoor storage area and electric barbecue grill (further left than the picture was able to capture):

We're so happy that we found a wonderful place to move into. We also feel very blessed to have good friends in the area who we'll get to spend much more time with (and who were such great hosts during our trip)!

Mom's Day

2011-05-08T07:59:00.000-04:00

From A:

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Ultimate Dog Tease

2011-05-05T23:13:00.000-04:00

From J:

If my old dog could have talked, the conversation would have gone more or less like this. Just, you know, without the actual teasing, because I would have just fed him. Then he would have asked for more.

Cooking

2011-05-03T10:39:00.004-04:00

From A:

Yesterday, I received the digital photo DVD of the childhood photos I sent away to be scanned. It's been fun looking through all the photos and sharing them with family and friends.

I also noticed that there seems to be a cooking theme running through a good amount of photos. Perhaps I still enjoy cooking thanks to the early exposure I had as a child.

For example, as a 4 year old I began creating gourmet lunch delicacies:

I knew at age 5 the benefits of home-grown, organic vegetables:

And later began baking fresh bread:

And worked to provide golfers with ice cold lemonade and snacks:

Finally, I understood at an early age the importance of using fresh-ground black pepper:

Graduation Dinner

2011-05-01T19:29:00.001-04:00

From A:

On Friday night we celebrated the graduation of J's lab and office mate. We started the evening with appetizers and a toast to the new doctor:

Then we had a delicious dinner at the Paramount Grill:

I just have to show a photo of the festive blue and orange centerpieces:

It's hard to believe that we'll be celebrating the soon-to-be Dr. J's graduation in just a couple of months!