Monday, January 25, 2016

Blizzard 2016

Julia had a good week. She is really enjoying her classes. This week's blog will be overshadowed by the blizzard of 2016!

Washington, DC, did not fair well when one inch descended upon us last Wednesday. It was during rush hour and it was a mess. On Friday, many schools closed preemptively--with everyone else closing at noon...it started to snow at 1pm and didn't stop until Saturday night. The District was blessed with 22.4 inches, white-outs, and whipping winds. Steven kept pace with the storm shoveling every few hours. Today, he dug out the car and back parking space. The neighbors all got together and shoveled the street--yes, the entire street--from 2pm - 6pm today. Steven was a shoveling hero this weekend. Check out the before picture of our street down below.

I'm hoping for one more meeting-free day...come on World Bank, take another day to recover. We actually had a lot of yummy food while shut-in. Steven brought home Peruvian chicken and a bunch of meat from Wagshal's--rotisserie chicken, liver pate, boar, pork. I completely forgot to take pictures.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Cava, Pitmaster, and Schmidt's

On the food front, our college girl is packing her own lunch--so proud! She is busy with her 18-credit course load and making memories with her girl pack. They enjoyed dinner at Schmidt's--the best German restaurant in Columbus by far. Caitlyn and Jules are live at 5pm on Saturday's: Alt Expose with Ruth and Rose.

Steven and I enjoyed CAVA Grill this past weekend. It was my first time and I am hooked! It is the Mediterranean version of Chipotle. I loved the braised lamb; do they allow for double protein portions? YUM! We also finally got Wagshal's Pitmasters Back Alley BBQ. Steven got the half-smoke and I got the pork 1/2 rack of ribs. The amount of meat on the ribs was impressive and so tender and delicious.

We celebrated Steven's birthday by attending A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder at the Kennedy Center. Hilarious! It was in the Eisenhower Theater and we had great seats. Go see it; on stage in DC until January 30, 2016.

I love the Snapchat photos from Julia. It always brightens my day. Check out the cat pic; I think she is trying to be more like Quiet.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Loving Lisbon

The food was amazing. The city is chill and the people are friendly. The hills and bridge (just like the Golden Gate Bridge) reminded us a lot of San Francisco. My dear friend, Magda, gave us guide books and a lot of great recommendations. Steven, mom, and I tried the famous cherry shots, our walking tour guide showed us some highlights and places to eat and shop, visited monuments, cathedrals, and palaces. On our way up to Saint George's castle, we found the tile store and went crazy! The pottery and jewelry are beautiful. And did I mention the food? Yes, it was that good. We had a lot of seafood and pork. The sweetest part of the trip, however, was spending time together.

Christmas in London

What a great city to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ--LONDON! It was nice to attend the Christmas service at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church. We saw a lot of Christmas festivals and shopped the Christmas markets. The weather was mid-50s. Besides seeing the usual sites, we saw "Sunny Afternoon" and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Both were good, but Willy Wonka was especially entertaining--highly recommend.

Happy 2016

A few hours after landing at Dulles, we headed over to the Sarrges for a wonderful New Year's celebration. Mom, Emmie, Chad & Jorge, the Biggers, the Breens, the Sarrges, the Simpsons, and the Westfalls all gathered to ring in 2016. It was the best way to conquer jet lag--staying awake and eating a ton of food. There is nothing like spending time with dear family and friends.