The District Darling: The Home Front

So, now since I have caught everyone up on our Ireland and NYC adventures, here's a quick recap of what's been going-on on the home front over the past few weeks.

It's officially spring in the District. The cherry blossoms have come and gone, but the tourists are here to stay. Since it's our first spring here, we have been tourists in our own city and joined in on all of the spring festivities including the Cherry Blossom Kite Festival. It was SUPER windy and chilly, but the kites were a sight to see-especially the professional grade ones.

Our friend Stacy moved back to Wisconsin (boo) to pursue a dream job, but before she left- we celebrated her at La Tasca. The Chinatown restaurant and bar is known for its various types of sangria, which are mixed daily and housed in large glass jars. I enjoyed trying a few (including the namesake, La Tasca, which had sliced apples, red wine and cinnamon) and taking a few bites of their tres de leche cake for a sweet after dinner treat.

Afterwards, we went to Hamilton Live! to see Horse Feathers. I had been to the venue before but it had been months and it was my first seated show. John and I scored seats up in the balcony which offered an excellent birds eye view.

That Friday we had a special dinner at Rose's Luxury. The restaurant doesn't take reservations. So, the line forms early and is super long...like an hour and a half wait outside on the street long, BUT it's worth it!! The menu changes frequently based on what's in season and available but there wasn't a single thing (drinks included) that we had that wasn't superb. We both agreed that it was probably one of the best dinners that we have ever had and hands down some of the best service. It's a must try dining experience.

Afterwards we went to a huge art show opening at Blind Whino called Cherry Blast. It was full of art from local artists, live screen printing, and a live D.J. So much stinkin' fun. Oh, and did I mention that Blind Whino is housed in a painted church?

The cherry blossom extravaganza continued the next day when I watched Blossoms and Baseball at Nats Park with our small group while John was at work. The Nats suffered a nasty loss to the Yankees (I blame it on the super winds that were blowing through the park that day), but there's no such thing as a bad day at the baseball park. Later that evening, I met back up with my small group and some more friends to catch the Cherry Blossoms Fireworks Show at the SW Waterfront. Beautiful!

The next week, my friend Ashley's entire family came in for the Easter holiday weekend. Since John had to work for the majority of the weekend, they adopted me as a Kenyon for the weekend and invited us to dinner on Friday night and then invited me for Easter brunch on Sunday. I've got good friends, this I know.

A few weeks ago one of my favorites, Gregory Alan Isakov played a sold out show at the 9:30 Club. John and I watched him at Workplay last year-but it most definitely wasn't a sold out show. So, it was fun to see just how much he's grown (while I secretly muttered under my breath that I knew him before he was a big shot (:).

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of deal websites. Groupon, Living Social, Travel Zoo...I like them all. So, a few weeks ago John and I found a Groupon for a restaurant located a few blocks from us that had good reviews- Nage. I was surprised to find that it was practically a part of the Dupont Marriott, but hey- the food was pretty good and especially for the price.

Afterwards, we walked over to nearby 14th street and wandered into BakeHouse where we had a delicious homemade whoopie pie. My only regret is that I didn't know go into the quaint bakery sooner. On second thought, maybe that's a good thing...for my hips at least.

We then randomly went to the Gibson Speakeasy, located just a few blocks away. While the drinks aren't cheap, they are inventive and some of the best in the District. Plus, you can never go wrong by going to a speakeasy on a date night.

The next day we went to SE for a roof birthday party to celebrate our friend Caitlin. It was a bit windy, but the hot grill and blue skies made it feel like we had stepped into June.

That evening, we went for a romantic river boat cruise on the Potomac to get a peak at the cherry blossoms. We went just as the sun was setting which made it all the better.

The next day, the cherry blossom celebration continued as we battled the crowds to find a picnic spot at the Tidal Basin. There were THOUSANDS of people, heck-probably hundreds of thousands of people, but the blooms were stunning in the spring sunshine.

The next evening, we couldn't stay away from the blossoms. So, we took a huge walking tour of the city (~8 miles to be exact) for a look before the rain took the pretty blooms away. We started by walking to Love and Faith Community Cafe for some liquid nitrogen ice cream. Yes, you read that right. Liquid nitrogen+kitchenaid mixer= some outstanding oreo and pb ice cream. Then, we walked around Meridian Hill Park at sunset before going to the Tidal Basin for one final look at the blossoms. Luckily, by going at night the majority of the tourists were gone and we were able to walk around at our leisure.

Last Friday night John and I went to one of our favorite date night locations, Nats Stadium where we watched the Nats get a W over the Phillies. Woo hoo!

The next morning we had brunch with the Browns at Meridian Hill Park. The park is just beautiful and there's nothing like eating outdoors with friend with a follow up game of frisbee.

That evening, while John was at work- my friend Ashley and I grilled out and then went to the Gibson. So, more yummy outdoor eating and speakeasy drinks for me! The following day, I woke up bright and early and hiked the rocky Billy Goat Trail with my adventurous friend, Devorah. The trail usually takes 2-3 hours, but we hiked it in an hour and a half. It was quite a work out and more of a climb than a hike, but the views were killer and worth the hard work.

That afternoon, me and some of the girls made a day trip into VA for a wine tasting at Quattro Goomba winery. The winery is also a brewery and a pizzeria. How cool is that? After we fueled up on pizza and wine, we went back to the city-making a pit stop at Nicecream Factory in Clarendon where they too make delicious ice cream with liquid nitrogen.