Tis the Season

So, it's been a while since I've had some time to actually sit down and just write. So, let me catch you up:

We celebrated Thanksgiving with our sweet friends, the Browns. John was working nights at the time, which meant that he slept for a large majority of the day. Therefore, we weren't able to go home and couldn't really plan to play host at our place for any sort of Friendsgiving festivities. Therefore, our friends the Browns invited me over to their place to celebrate with their family, who made the drive up from Alabama. It was so much fun and John even got to stop by for a few hours before heading off to work. Afterwards, the Browns were kind enough to let me hang around and go to the movies with their family. If there's one thing that I'm thankful for, it's wonderful D.C. friends.

We also had our first snow here in the District. I truly showed my Southern colors too when I sprinted outside of my office to snap photos of the "dusting" and catch a few snowflakes before returning to my desk.

Once John was off of nights, we were able to get some Christmas shopping done in Georgetown. We made an impromptu stop at Paper Source to make each other free Christmas cards and another stop at one of our favorite D.C. eats, Stachowski's for a delicious Butcher Shop Dip sandwich for lunch.

At first, I was unsure if we were going to have a tree, since we left our artificial one back in Alabama. However, John (aka Clark Griswold) insisted that we must and therefore, we lugged a 7 foot tree 0.8 miles to our home. I must say, I'm glad that we did when all was said and done because it's pretty beautiful and brings so much warmth and spirit to our home.

Last week my ladies small group met up for our monthly get together at a restaurant that had been on my wish list for quite a while, Hanks Oyster Bar. The restaurant has quite the reputation and sits only a few blocks from our home. So, I was happy to finally go! Even though they are known for their oysters, I wasn't in an oyster kind of mood and opted for their buttery, warm and delightful lobster roll with Old Bay fries instead (go big or go home, right?).

Last week also marked our annual holiday party for the kids who are in inpatient care at HSC. I must say, I think that my coworkers and I had just as much fun as our kids!

This past weekend, I was beyond excited to go to the historic Hotel Tabard Inn for brunch before going to peruse the local Christmas market. The Inn is famed for its brunch, especially its homemade cinnamon-sugar doughnuts with fresh whipped cream and therefore it is strongly recommended that you make reservations 2 weeks in advance. Ladies and gentlemen, I must tell you first hand that the hype is right and the wait was worth it.

On Sunday, John and I attended the Logan Circle Holiday Open House and got to take a peak inside some of the swankiest homes in the area. The event kicked off at the State Theatre with a wassail reception and continued with live performances tucked along the tour route.

This week the holiday festivities continue at work. Throughout the week my secret holiday buddy has been dropping gifts, hints, and Alabama swag at my desk. Today I get to find out who he or she is and celebrate with my department at our department holiday party!

I must say, the District is pretty sweet this time of year and there are so many things that we have yet to do! Here's to another fabulous week in the District-discovering more new things and celebrating this holiday season!