Happy Vacation Eve

Today we grabbed dinner and came home to pack and clean the house a bit. It's always nice to return to a clean and happy home! After checking and double checking that we had everything, we grabbed the dogs and headed to Fburg to sketchy's parents. This is convenient because it also puts us an hour closer to ATL.

I'm going to miss our doggies. We're actually not going to get them back for a couple weeks since we're out of town basically the next three weekends!

We're hoping to head out by 5:30am to get to ATL around 1:30-2:00. 

We have some big goals for things to do and we also want to spend lots of time with family so we'll see how this goes. 

Ultimately, we'd like to:

- visit the one bar rescue place
- visit one of the two man v. food places (Vortex more than the other)
- eat at only ATL/GA-like places
- go out at least one night in ATL
- have a game night or bbq day/night with family
- visit Sanjay and Manisha and the boys
- tailgate and go to the falcons/jags game
- fanzone/team walk-in and go to the tech/alabama game
- visit centennial park
- visit one of the two breweries

We'll more than likely be back late Monday night so I probably won't blog our trip until Tuesday or maybe later.

I hope everyone has a great labor day weekend. 

Happy Birthday Sketchy!

Today is Sketchy's 28th birthday. Happy Birthday Sketchy!

I'm usually all about the deep and thoughtful birthday posts, or thoughtful gifts but this year has been crazy! Honestly, I couldn't think of anything sketchy needed or wanted other than going to ATL to watch VT kick off the college football season in the GA Dome. So that's his gift, ATL trip with lots and lots of fun activities to look forward to!

After writing sketchy a note every single day for our first year together (one a day) of reasons why he's important to me, and previous birthday posts and cards I think i've said everything i can, lol. 

So, what i'm going to do today, is go back to the things i've said in the past and repost, because the fact of the matter is, no matter how long we're together, no matter how much he drives me crazy or vice-versa, our foundation and compatibility makes me confident that everything i've said in the past and felt  will always remain true. 

Also, sketchy is ridiculous. I told him i was reusing old birthday posts and his response was "i honestly wouldn't have noticed." thanks for NEVER READING or REMEMBERING anything sketchybear, thanks. lol

Ode to sketchy!

Y ou're truly the best, there's no doubt
O ne person I never want to live without
U nderstanding, caring, funny, entertaining and smart...

M anly, dependable, and quirky, u're everything that speaks to my heart
A lways there to pick me up when i'm feeling blue.
K ickass, diligent and patient in everything you do
E specially when dealing with Lucy Lou!

M y time with you is always filled with laughter and joy.
E ven when you act like a 5 year old boy.

S o excited for the future and what it may hold
M y faith in you is unbelievable.
I 'm so lucky to be able to call you my own
L ife as I know it has been completely turned upside down
E veryday I wake up thankful to have you in my life!

26 memories (some fantastic/some not so pleasant lol) that make me
exceptionally grateful for your birth 26 years ago! 

**i shall add 2 more to make this fitting for 28!

H arrisonburg and driving through the mountains with you!
A ttending the National’s opening day game even though G Dub ignored me.
P ub trivia at Front Page. Allergic reactions and food poisoning… lolz.
P izza hut night meeting the parents!
Y ou in a tux at Jason and Yen’s wedding!

B lack and yellow black and yellow.
I s that the Potomac?
R estaurant week at Bistro Lepic in Georgetown
T he night I showed up at your place at 1AM just to say Happy Valentine’s Day. Fail.
H ugs. All of them! make me so happy.
D elicious wine and cheese at the Virginia winery in January!
A ll your giggling during UNO.
Y ou moving alllll my stuff to the new apartment.

M y first Washington Wizards game!
Y ou all dressed up for an interview

S eeing you so excited for your first Coney Island Nathan’s hotdog!
K ayaking on the poto. Such a happy cute baby in your lifevest!
E ighteenth street lounge. You and that couch! And our recent date night. =)
T he best Miami hotel.
C harlie the manatee at the ny aquarium
H ow you giggled that time Lucy was eating the table.
Y elling at the top of our lungs at each other about football. always.
B ethesda for our first real date!
E very date night you've done with me!
A ll those crazy wild horses at chincoteague
R eally and truly watching the entirety of The Toothfairy.

!

**Purchasing our first home together.

**Purchasing our first car together. 

Tonight we went out to Stoney's for the best buffalo sauce ever. Had a couple buffalo chicken pizzas and hung out with Melanie, AJ and also got to catch up with Hirsh and Pratibha!

Good time, good pizza, good people!

Birthday Shenanigans Begin

This weekend we went to our first preseason football game of the year. We got to the stadium a couple hours early to tailgate for the Redskins v. Bills game. 

I was super super excited for tailgate environment. I think i seriously countdown the days from the end of the season to August when we can go to our first game again. We bought a new folding table, prepped beer battered chicken drumsticks to throw on the grill, cleaned out our coolers and grill and went to bed excited for Saturday. When we got there, we realized we had tons of beer and no table for games. Fail. Only half of our party was there for a bit so things were moving a little slowly and the parking lot of was a bit empty. Guess Skins fans are not the kind to go out for the fun of tailgate in preseason. 

Once the rest of our party showed up things picked up a bit. Once we started packing up, i dragged out the surprise half melted birthday ice cream cake for sketchy. 

he's not actually 30. lol I love how melanie was able to get them to write "sketch" on the cake! Thanks Melanie for picking this up.

We sat in some empty seats by the Redskin's tunnel in the endzone. 

not sure what was blocking this picture. weird iphone picture.

The row infront of us won the KFC bucket thing where everyone gets free grilled chicken.

our view.

players a little closer. don't think there was any zoom on this.

To continue our football frenzy weekend, we did two of our three drafts on Sunday. But first, we went out for a Birthday Brunch! We went to Front Page in Arlington. They have an all you can eat brunch that is always sure to please. The variety of food is ooc and Sketchy had never been.

sketchy and his omlette

better view of his make your own omlette

my little bit of everything plate. their salmon was pretty good!

some more breakfast staples

There were lots of other plates, moreso of lunch-like foods that i did not take pictures of to avoid us looking SUPER fat. lol 

After brunch, we headed to diana's for our first league draft. Six of 10 members of the league were there. It's always much more fun to draft in person with folks so you can all make fun of one another and pressure each other into panic-picking randoms people! 

After that we headed straight home to get ready for our second league draft of the night. 

I was happy with both of my teams. Was more happy with my later draft when i had 3rd pick vs the smack dab in the middle 5th pick in the earlier league. I find that 2,3, 8 and 9 (out of a 10 person league) were the best positions to be picking in this particular year! 

I'm in three leagues while sketchy is in four. I feel this is going to be a bit overwhelming. I'm never going to know who i'm rooting for anymore, lol. But it should be interesting! I'll do a post on JUST fantasy football later with all the players sketchy and i drafted. 

Today we took it easy in preparation for our upcoming ATL trip. We finally cashed in on that Papa John's Redskin's deal. For each touchdown they score, you get a free topping, if they win the game that doubles. They scored three touchdowns on Saturday so we got a 6 topping pizza for 10 bucks! 

We'll probably go out tomorrow for Sketchy's birthday and then Wednesday night is going to be packing and heading down to Fburg to his parents' place to drop off the dogs! 

Friday Happiness!

So this Monday I started a new job which i really actually like. I'll write more about it next week, but I only mention it now because Fridays seriously feel so different when you're working. They're not necessarily any better but they feel different! Even when i wasn't working i was excited for Fridays cuz that meant a wkend for more Sketchytime or friend time since the rest of the world WORKS. lol

Really all i ever wanted throughout my wedding year of planning was to spend time with the friends i don't see that often. I thought that in the planning phases i'd be spending much more time planning things with people or at least weekends here and there for dress fittings/bachelorette party and bridal shower with the girls. 

Time spent with them means far more to me than any materialistic aspect of the bridal shower and/or bachelorette party! It can be pretty or in a fantastic location, but what does that really matter? At the end of the day, spending time with the people you want around you is what is awesome. 

Having said that, bachelorette party planning is in full effect and the countdown is legit at this point. I'm excited for friends getting into town and seeing everyone more than anything else!! =) I can't wait for a whole weekend with fun people in a fun place and also just lots of leisure time on a shoreline! 

Diana has been amazing throughout the whole process from getting the house booked to coordinating everything with the girls so i don't have to (re travel of everyone/car trips up to brigantine) to making me feel like my opinions matter/things won't be too crazy or making sure it'll be just what i want plus working  to plan surprises and fun stuff so i have nice things to look forward to... even if i 'won't have nice things' those nights. lol

In just 35 days I'll be sharing this view/backyard with some awesome people doing awesome things:

Tomorrow is our first official tailgate. Going to the Skins game. Excited to break out the tailgating items. Afterwards we're going out with friends (we haven't done this since i don't know when... but definitely not in the past two months)! Sunday we're going to Diana's for a draft party for our first fantasy draft! Every week football season gets more and more real! 

Here's random end of blog item for today (although not that random since it's on tailgate topic):

Top 10 Tailgate foods according to Bleacher Report.

My Fancy[Suburban]Dinner with Sketchy

Tonight was the first night this week that Sketchy and I actually had dinner together alone. It's been a really busy week between the happy hours and restaurant week. 

This afternoon sketchy wrote on my wall and i joked about wanting to be taken out to a 'fancy' dinner. We were going to do a RW this week but driving out to DC and not being able to pick a restaurant last night was a fail. 

Instead, sketchy suggested Red Lobster. I haven't been there in forever. Having enjoyed outback the other week i thought Red Lobster would be fun and SEAFOOD! Their menu seems much more appetizing as an adult than as a kid. Their portions are much larger than i remember too! 

their cheddar butter biscuits are still as delicious as i remember! 

we got these buffalo chicken bites because we saw someone else get them and they looked so good. they tasted even better than they looked. It was one of those tangy thick buffalo sauces. mmm

since discovering that he's a fruity drink kinda guy, he's been trying all sorts of malibu things. This one was really delicious. Seriously tasted like juice.

CRAABBBB. sigh. 

We had a really awesome and relaxing dinner, everything tasted good and our server was super sweet and fast! Before dinner, i actually got a new haircut! I've been considering giving bangs a chance again. I wanted side bangs which are always difficult to explain to people. I love them so i feel the lady did a great job. I think the key was to make sure she thinned out the bangs A LOT. i just don't like THICK straight across bangs.

at dinner

right after the haircut -- hair still a little wet so they're a bit shorter than this. side.

straight across. i like how she cut them so they can be worn either way! 

I'm definitely a fan and happy that i didn't have haircut remorse immediately after. Still kept the length since i want it long enough to cover shoulders/arms in January for wedding!

Since i've been ending posts with random things lately. Here you go:

amazing Pepsi display at a publix in Jacksonville. Badass! If only the team were as good as this display.

CEIBA!

Tonight Diana and I did our annual restaurant week bet situation. I lost this time. The Nats failed me. 

We went to Ceiba which was unbelievably amazing. Probably one of my new favorite restaurants in DC. We started at the bar (as usual) and got a drink while we waited for our reservation. The bartenders here were some of the nicest i've ever encountered. They greeted you and immediately got you all the menus and a glass of water. It wasn't even that dead there, so it was amazing that they still paid attention to you. 

We got a carafe of the sangria rojo. I like to try sangria everywhere. It was really tasty... very smooth! They also were running deals on bottles of wine during RW. I always like restaurants that do that. 

CEIBA offered their entire entree menu for RW. This set them apart from other restaurants with the pre-fixe menu right off the bat! Not only was this one of the best selection of items, but it might be one of the tastiest restaurant week experiences I've had so far! 

So that's saying that CEIBA tops:

Bibiana
Tosca Ristorante
Dino
District Chophouse
Georgia Browns
Bistro Lepic & Wine Bar
El Centro
Taberna Del Alabardero 
Tony and Joe's Seafood Place 

There was lots of sharing happening so i was able to try a couple other things that Diana ordered. 

Appetizers:

I got the Spicy Lamb Flautas with fresh masa, jack cheese, jalapeno dill creama and Diana got the Yucatan Shrimp Ceviche "Cocktail" with pico de gallo, avocado and crisp corn tortilla! They were both delicious items. The lamb was so so perfectly juicy and tender. The jalapeno dill creama sauce was also fantastic. Feel like i want to make that as a sauce combo one night with chicken or something!

Entree:

I had the seared duck breast with wild mushroom "tacu tac" risotto cake , plantain, and aji panca honey glaze. Diana got the Slow braised pork shank "feijoada" with black beans, collard greens, rice and traditional accompaniments, since the bartender talked it up. It definitely looked really appetizing. 

duck breast

pork shank

Dessert:

I got the warm sugar canella dusted churros with dark rich hot fudge and cinnamon marshmallow and diana got the traditional flan with honey-tequilla oranges and brazil nut biscotti. 

yes, the oranges were SO GOOD. lol

As you can see the portions were quite large and i did not manage to get pictures of the apps or desserts because they looked so good, i ate them immediately! lol

CEIBA has restored my faith in the purpose of restaurant week. To go out and try the more expensive restaurants to see if they're even worth going back to regularly. I had not necessarily thought some of the other RW experiences were fantastic and worth going back to regularly. Ceiba is DEF a place i would go back to regularly for deliciousness. They also have a really awesome happy hour which is not only the hours right after work but they also have a late night happy hour situation around 10! 

CEIBA gets all 5 stars and 10 thumbs from me! =) 

Random Act of Kindness, GA Planning & Wedding Decorations and a New Song!

Yesterday we went to Mr. Days to celebrate Lindsay's first official day as an assistant commonwealth attorney! Super super proud of her and extremely happy for her since i know this is just what she wanted in life. =)) As one of the most genuine and literally NICE people in the entire world, she absolutely deserves it. 

We caught up on life and ignored the first quarter and some of the skins/steelers game. 2.00 Blue Moons ftw. Mr. Days is always a good option. i also keep trying things you should not try at a bar and being pleasantly surprised! I've now had some sort of pasta that was actually good and a blackened tilapia fish fillet sandwich. The fish was actually really tasty! Their brunch is also very good for anyone looking for a clarendon spot. I'm sure there are better, but it's definitely a solid choice. Great for sundays with all the TVs too!

This afternoon I went to subway for lunch. Got a 6inch tuna sandwich and had a bag of chips in my hand as i approached the cashier. The guy in a military uniform in front of me looked over at me and handed me a folded up piece of paper. I first said "oh no, sorry, I didn't drop anything!" He said "i think you did, just take it." So i open it up and find a free 6inch sub with purchase of drink and chips coupon! He said he had extra coupons. The coupon was evidently a redskins deal. If they score a td you get a free 6in! Good deal for me. Anyways, i walked out with a free 6inch. First time a random act of kindness was done TO me instead of me doing it to someone. felt really nice. definitely makes me want to continue doing onto others in this manner!

Tonight I went to Stoney's in DC (dupontish area) with Catherine and Kelsey. I'm always super impressed with their buffalo sauce and surprised all over again about how much i like it. I need to put it in the superlatives section so i always remember when looking for a buffalo wing place! They had full pizza specials and they always have half price wine at happy hour (5-7). This is a really cool place with the decor. Lots of cop and firemen patches and such. Taps decorate the place too! It's kinda run down but also good food. 

Tonight I came home to a fedex box! We ordered some wedding related items i'm super excited about.

these are a little darker in color in person. the lanterns will also be a tiny bit darker in color once there are candles and/or lights in them!

i love the straws! this is def a darker teal

straws will be for the seating chart 'drinks' (mango lassis and something caribbean for my family)

Since i found this awesome sale, i decided to tag on some purple and gray things for kaitlin. i figured even if she didn't use any it was not a loss! These things can be used on a porch/patio or random parties if not at the bridal shower or whatever. But i do think they'd be pretty decorations for bridal shower!

can spiff up the dark purple banner with silver glitter. was thinking one of those cute "miss to mrs" banners or something of the sort. Again, the colors are a bit more rich in person!

We bought a lot of teal, gray and pink lanterns for reception. I'm thinking of either clustering them in a certain area like over dance floor or under the tented area -- something like this:

but obviously not purple and white -- more our colors.

Sketchy also got a FedEx package of his own! We had to go to the actual fedex store for his though. He's super paranoid ever since the jersey debacle where the guy delivered to 6212 of the other street! Anyways, he was so excited about his package that he met me at the fedex store on my way home. 

it's ridiculous how excited he gets about anything sport related that is delivered (jersey, tickets, etc.). Sketchy with his VT v Alabama opening game at the GA Dome (also sporting his VT shorts) tickets.

I also took a look at some GA activities for our trip NEXT WEEK!! In addition to the VT game, Jags/Falcons preseason game, Comeback Bar (was on bar rescue) which is just a bit outside of Atlanta, we've added Vortex (a place that was on Man V. Food) and the Red Brick Brewery! 

Vortex has this crazy burger that is basically a burger sandwiched between two grilled cheese sandwiches. heart attack.

I found this awesome deal for the Red Brick Brewery which was 11.00 a person for a tour, tasting, souvenir glass and t-shirt! 

I feel this trip is for Sketchy's birthday but i'm getting to check off a lot of items. Another stadium (GA Dome) and a brewery (trying to hit 10 around the country)!

I have been really liking this song I heard on radio lately, so i'm going to share!

Some of my fav lines: 

"Well we all have faith and we all have hope

but we're all a little lost in the same damn boat.

it's a helluva life, it's a helluva life"

"pennies make dimes and dimes make dollars

dollars buy gas and longneck bottles."

House Cleaning and Super Indian Things

The thought of really truly cleaning the house is dreadful, but then once you start, you begin feeling productive and find all sorts of things in life. I found this dress that i bought a while ago. it was SUPER tight and thus i must have hidden it under a pile of other clothes in life. I tried it on again and it actually wasn't AS tight. still tight but we're almost there. Maybe for next spring -- lol. 

 i love how bright it is! 

i really like the sleeves because it's springy/summery but also has real sleeves.

I slowly tackled the kitchen, office and 'closet room' earlier last week and finally finished up the house with the living room, dining room, transforming basement for space for religious ceremony and finally the disaster that is the craft room. I really really wish i had taken a before picture. Most people know what it looked like, but it basically had TONS of boxes and garbage all over the place filled with old photos/cards/everythingintheworldonecanhoard and tons of crafty things.

While it's still a work in progress... behold... the craft room:

it's a completely different place

for now this is the clutter that is on the 'desk'

will toss some baskets on the wall (like those that are in our bathrooms) to store some of this stuff!

our homemade GW and VT cornhole boards are decorating the other wall. Just need to get the white GW and VT decals to put on bottom center!

made a little corner i'll dedicate to storage of 'seasonal' items and crafts. can't wait to buy ALL the xmas things. bought quite a few things last year at after xmas sales in anticipation of completely decking out the house in every single christmasy thing possible this year!

in our productive mood, we finally got the foyer wall together. I had made the NPS monogram thing a while ago and had framed the pictures of us since engagement. The LOVE picture above is something sketchy got me for anniversary or valentines or something like that. Dorsa actually made it! The letters are actually pictures of things in life, like the L is a crack in a sidewalk, O is a flower, V is a tree and E is some broken board/fence thing.

it looks better and straighter in person. but i'm happy with it.

view from upstairs/living room.

lastly we moved all of the alcohol/bar/empty craft bottles out of the basement to make space for the religious ceremony.

this was the pundit setting up

materials for the 2.5 hour ceremony!

more stuff

We only had a few family members over so that was nice not to have too much of a full house. The day was successful. The weekend was OOC exhausting! 

Hope everyone's weekend was productive!