Miami Heat

The weather was perfect in Miami, sunny 75-80 degrees each day. Beautiful. Steven and Julia enjoyed Cuban sandwiches. We had octopus, scallops, and tartare that were super delicious. The restaurant served us Vichy Catalan sparkling water; it was salty and we loved it! It is from Spain.

South Beach was busy, loud, and beautiful. Steven went into the ocean; he said it was ~72 degrees, not bad. The hotel pool on the 18th-floor roof deck was like bathwater. Pictured below is the Bayside Banyan tree--a monumental tree native to India. The roots grow down from the branches and once on the ground develop into tree trunks. We visited the Wynwood Walls, artsy and interesting. We saw some free-range, roaming chickens along the park. And, there was plenty set up and ready to go for the super bowl coming this weekend. Most importantly, Steven remained in good health throughout the trip. Success!

Birthday, Meme, and Dog Walking

We celebrated Steven's birthday on Monday, January 13. During the week, we finished the puzzle and enjoyed the company of Meme for dinner (thanks for trekking out in the rain!). Julia has been walking around the neighborhood like crazy as a new WAG employee. :) Some of the dogs are really cute, but all of them (and their owners) love Julia. The weather has been super cold...can't wait to head to Miami.

 

Copper Mountain, Colorado

Julia met up with her Ohio State University atmospheric science friends at Copper Mountain this past week. They had great ski conditions and a good time hanging out. The pictures are gorgeous. DC had a little snow blip on Tuesday, which caused the Federal government, World Bank Group, and many schools to close early. The snowflakes were big, but no accumulation in the District. Surrounding areas were closed on Wednesday, but not the Federal government or WBG. This past weekend we reached 70 degrees! Crazy climate change!

Post-Holiday Grind

While the office still feels a little quiet, we are in fact back to a normal routine. I assembled a new closet rack for my suits at work--drawing on my dad's engineering brain, it wasn't too hard. Julia is at Copper Mountain in Colorado skiing for the week. I started my January Jump Challenge, which is a real pain to document on Instagram. Steven committed to going to Tbilisi, Georgia, for the US gov in February; hopefully, he will continue to make progress. I made crispy duck quarters (from White Oak Pastures!) in my Ninja Foodi--so delicious! Other than that...we will keep on, keeping on.

New Year Celebrations

Don, Laura, and Skyler came to DC after Christmas on the 28th (dad's birthday). The Austins are so much fun--each day was an adventure! We went to the Renwick Museum and really enjoyed two exhibits in particular, the Reforestation of the Imagination and David's Best Temple. Thanks to a trip to Costco, I now have a 16 oz bottle of pure vanilla that I never knew I absolutely had to have. It was wonderful just hanging out with family and friends, catching up and playing around--the perfect way to ring in the new year.