George Washington, DC

What a great weekend we had in (as Zoe says), George Washington, DC. I had some miles that were to expire soon so we decided to use them on a trip to DC. I let Zoe choose a museum that she thought sounded interesting, and the rest was all an adventure. We stayed in Old Town Alexandria, which let me say right now, was AMAZING. What a great little neighborhood. There were all kind of cool little shops; restaurants, bakeries, and they even had a weekend Farmer’s Market right across from our hotel. Oh, and did I mention the Lavender Moon Cupcake shop?

After checking in the hotel, and oohing and aahing for a bit we decided to hit the town and see what we could find to eat. The hotel in itself was an absolute treat. Kid friendly, dog friendly, family friendly, you name it. We were met at the curb by the valet, who immediately asked Zoe if she would like to have a goldfish in the room, and what would she like to name it? Zoe was hooked from that point on she just couldn’t believe she was getting a goldfish at the hotel! The rooms were superb, and so comfortable. We opened up the closet and lo and behold there were 3 robes waiting for us, one for Mommy, Mimi, and even for Zoe. (Zoe and Mommy had matching ones) Those big comfy robes were just perfect after a swim in the heated pool.

On Saturday we got up early and ventured out to a really neat French bakery for breakfast. Fresh strawberries, croissants, coffee, and I even scored a fresh chocolate croissant for later. After breakfast we headed to the museum, which was about 10 min away. We went to the National Museum of Natural History. Wow, it was huge, I can only imagine how Zoe must have felt, Lori and I were overwhelmed. Dinosaurs, cavemen, pyramids, oceans, earth, and we even saw the Hope diamond. Way Cool!
After all that we were not only exhausted, but starving! Lori found a cool place called Café Green. It’s an all-vegetarian restaurant, with an extensive menu. It was amazing; we tried several things and shared them all. It was neat to see all the different dishes and how it was all put together. We got some really great ideas for things to try at home too!
http://www.javagreen.net/

We headed back to the hotel for a little rest before dinner and meeting up with one of my oldest and dearest friends Lisa. I’ve known Lisa since I was in second grade and we went all through school, played several sports together and have managed to remain close friends for almost 40 years. Lisa lives right outside of Alexandria, so she came over and met us for dinner. Zoe, ever the adventuress eater, decided to have escargot for dinner. We all had a great time watching her experience her first snail. All I could do is chuckle as I watched her try to figure out exactly what it was she was eating.

After dinner we said farewell to Lisa and went back to our hotel for a little after dinner swim and some dessert from room service. Zoe was really blown away by the fact she got to order dessert AND they brought it up to the room. I told her, oh just wait, this is nothing compared to what you’re going to get for breakfast! Zoe didn’t know we ordered a huge spread for breakfast to be brought up before we got ready to leave for home.

It was nice to spend some time away with the one person Lori and I love most in this world.

Boys

I miss 'my' boys!

Reunion

We got invited to see Gnomeo & Juliet with Shawn. It’s been ages since we’ve seen him (in Zoe’s words, “16 years!”) so, we gladly accepted! When we got there, we found out it was in 3-D. What could be better???

The kids had a great time getting caught up on what has been going on in their lives over the past couple months. Turns out Shawn and Zoe are both in Karate so, that was way cool. They are both in Kindergarten too so they had a chance to compare homework notes as well!

We had a nice afternoon and hope to see them again, soon!

Parfait delight

This morning we had a special breakfast. I cut up bananas, strawberries, kiwi, peaches, and added some fresh blueberries and grapes along with granola and vanilla yogurt to make some delicious parfaits.

Yummy!

Sushi Madness

For the past couple months, I’ve wanted to check out this new restaurant, Noboru. I wasn’t sure what it was all about; all I knew was that it was Japanese. Well, Well, Well, low and behold it was an Asian food paradise. All you can eat sushi, hibachi, crab legs, oysters, all the Japanese and Chinese food you could imagine, Vietnamese, and then some. It was overwhelming !

When Zoe saw all the goodness laid out for her to eat, her eyes got the size of quarters. She had a plate full of all kinds of different sushi, crab legs, oysters, mussels, and soup. I haven’t seen her eat with that much gusto in a long time.

Zoe’s karate uniform didn’t restrict her from hitting the buffet more than once, that’s for sure. She even saved room for desert – soft serve ice cream with fresh strawberries.

Pledge of Allegiance

My Valentine

Roses are red,

violets are blue,

Sugar is sweet,

and so are you.

Sushi is what my Valentine wanted for dinner... And sushi is what she got!
xoxo

Chef Zoe

Tonight’s dinner wasn’t any ordinary meal. It was a very special Valentine meal made by my favorite Valentine, Zoe. Yes, Zoe made dinner! When I say she made dinner, I mean, she really made dinner. All the help she had was a little chopping – everything she did all by HERSELF!

Last week Zoe got a new vegetarian cookbook so she wanted to pick something out of there. She looked through all the different recipes checking out what was in them, how long it would take, and how hard it would be to make. After narrowing it down to two, the winning recipe was, African Stew (2 STARS). The difficulty levels are displayed in a star system; one star means “Beginner”, two stars “Intermediate”, and three stars “Advanced”.
When I'm in the kitchen with Z, I have flashbacks of being in the kitchen with my mom when I was younger. Zoe loves everything about being in the kitchen (except the cleaning but, who likes that part?) I would give a little direction by commenting on everything that went into the dish. “Now we have to add the sweet potato”, “Oh the smell is filling up the house!”, “You can also add this or that for a different taste”… And so on and so forth. The best part is, ZOE DOES IT TOO!!! I had the biggest smile on my face. We are two peas in a pod.

While we were letting the stew simmer, Zoe set the table complete with heart shaped napkins and a candle. I don’t think Valentine’s Day could get any more special. My heart is filled with love for my special Valentine.

African Stew

1 Onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups diced, peeled sweet potatoes
1 cup chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
½ cup brown rice
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup peanut butter
2 cups chopped kale leaves (no stems)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp soy sauce

1. Heat a little oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and 2 tbsp vegetable stock. Sauté for 3 – 5 minutes until onion is soft.

2. Add the remaining stock, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, rice, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered 45 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter with ½ cup liquid from the stew. Stir into a smooth paste.

4. Add the peanut butter mixture and the kale to the stew. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and soy sauce.


A special cranberry/kiwi (with purple sugar on the rim of her glass) cocktail made by mommy for her special hard working chef.


After dinner, chocolate covered apple, and a few Valentine goodies.


In Zoe words, “Dinner was delightful!”. I have to agree 100%. (two thumbs up)

Happy Valentine's Day to all our loyal readers!
xoxo

Valentine Pals

It’s been a long time since Zoe and Jaylyn had a play date. It’s not always easy to get together with hectic schedules but this weekend the girls got some well needed one on one girl time. We went over for a little Valentine play time.

The girls played tea party, colored, took a PINK bubble bath, watched a little TV, made Valentine cookies, ate pizza, and had fancy ice cream treats.

Fun! Fun! Fun!