UNDER CONSTRUCTION

As of now, I am trying to clean this space up a bit so please be patient as I figure it out.  However, if you want to HELP me, I'd happily discuss.

Mo & Jo

Pinterest Fail

That time I tried to make my favorite "flourless chocolate cookies" that Whole Foods stopped making, and I not only almost mysteriously somehow burnt the apartment down but the goo just stuck to the paper and I couldn't even eat it in pieces.

On the left is what it should look like and on the right is what mine looked like.  

Washington D.C. Wedding Weekend

A very good friend of ours was getting married in Washington D.C. so we took the train down there on Friday afternoon.  It was actually really easy to take the train, I would definitely do that again.  We smuggled the dog for the ride (shhh, don't tell) and arrived at our dog-friendly hotel, The Fairmont; also where the wedding was going to be (so convenient!).

We went out to dinner at Farmers, Fishers, Bakers and then we went to right next door to The Sequoia, a beautiful room where we had drinks and dessert with the out-of-towners.  It was a really cute spot right on the water.  There was an ice-skating rink and pretty lights.  Apparently this is where the couple had gotten engaged and I could see why.  

On Saturday we went to brunch at the newly re-opened Art and Soul.  I got the BLT Benedict which was great but even greater was the scones before the meal.  O.M.G. !!!!    

After that meal, we thought it would be best to walk it off a bit.  It really sucked that it was so cold so after we made it to the Capitol, we beelined for the first place we could find which happened to be the National Gallery of Art.  Then we decided to head a little further down the Mall to the Smithsonian American History Museum.  I wanted to stick around but my college roommate C. picked me up as soon as we got there so I'll have to return to see Dorothy's Ruby Red slippers!  

We went and got Gabriel and attempted to go to the dog park right outside her house in Adams Morgan but it was too cold and we only stayed 10 minutes.  I found that D.C. is a pretty dog-friendly city.  All along Rock Creek Park (which runs from the Potomic River, 12 miles to Maryland - even the National Zoo is along the path!) there are cool trails and dog parks.  I'd love to go back in warmer weather to really explore - it's very neat to see this thing run all along the middle of the city.  C. did however get a great shot of Gabriel which later ran in a local blog!  Check him out on popville.com!  

It was time to get ready for the wedding and I was really excited because I used Renttherunway.com and ordered a dress and earring combo.  I have never gotten so many compliments on a dress in my life!  Here I am in my Mark & James by Badgley Mischka Sapphire Star Dress and Dannijo Cecile earrings.  

I thought about making a separate blog entry for what a great experience I had with RTR.  It was so easy and saying I am impressed with the company as a whole is an understatement.  Really glad I rented!  

The wedding was absolutely beautiful.  The space at the Fairmont was unique with its elevated dance floor.  It was also really nice to be at a wedding and just be guests.  The last wedding we were at was our own and the past couple, either one of us were in the wedding.  And just a side note, it's heartwarming when you see how happy the couple is to be getting married.  Both the families were just awesome and we were really happy to see them all happy.  OK corny part over, :) 

Joanna V. Devorah

LA Weekend

I ran away to LA this past weekend.  Every winter I find that I need to take at least a weekend to just get away, but somewhere with sun.  I've started to call it my "Sanity Trip".  A little sun, some adventure, good people...ahhhh.  

Tickets happened to be super cheapo out to LA on Virgin and long story short, my best friend ended up joining me.  She's never been to LA so my other friend, our host, helped us with a little flash tourism.  Unfortunately, the sun was in no mood to come out but we made the best of it.  What did we do?  

Day 1: Arrive at LAX and cabbed it to Chateau Marmont.  After a relaxing lunch (burger was good, service excellent), a friend of a friend who works there showed us around.  It was cool to get to see the place.  I can see the appeal for celebs - it is very private, pretty, historic and secluded considering its location.  The hotel was packed for the SAG Awards and we could have just stayed there all day people watching.  We did have our first celeb sighting but that will be a secret now. :)

We were antsy to get out and about despite the weather, so we put on our ponchos and walked over to The Grove.  We took a route that passed through Melrose, where there are a bunch of shops.  The second we walked into The Grove we saw actress Emmy Rossum.  Such a gorgeous girl.  We walked over to the Farmers Market as well, got some coffee and headed back to get our bags.  We were run down.  Our friend picked us up and we had a quick dinner at Kitchen 24.  

Day 2: Drove around LA and made it up Mulholland Drive to the Hollywood Bowl Outlook. (Really great cuz you can just drive and see everything instead of hike, like by the Hollywood sign.)    

Then we headed down the hill into Hollywood to see the Walk of Fame & Grauman's Chinese Theater.  We also stopped into Roosevelt Hotel.  We drove through Beverly Hills, passed "the Witches House" and then on to Venice.  The sun had finally started to come out but once we got closer to the beach, the marine layer just never lifted and it was foggy and cold.  We walked through the Venice Canals,  

and onto the beach.  

We had a quick lunch at the Sidewalk Cafe and headed over to Santa Monica.  You could barely see anything with the fog.  After heading back and resting up, we set off to dinner at Tortilla Republic.  It was dineLA Restaurant Week - good timing on our part!  Next, we headed out to the gay bars.  We hit up The Abby and many others and had a blast.  

Day 3: Brunch at The Hudson, which was cool because it was literally built around these giant trees.  Then we headed over to LACMA, which is also next door to the La Brea Tar Pits.  We decided to take it easy and make tacos at home.  Even something like this was fun though because we got to go to a real supermarket, something I miss in NYC.  

After thanking my most amazing host, we headed home taking the Flyaway, which was very easy.  Can't wait to head back.   Everyone is so nice.  Even the bad weather days are nice.  I just love California.  

Could be...

...Kate Hudson.

Photography

  Call it a New Years resolution, or just a hobby I have been talking about pursuing and now just getting around to for serious.  For my wedding gift, my husband got me a fancypants Canon EOS Rebel T3i.  Photography has always interested me and I had been thinking about getting one myself for quite some time.  Ain't he thoughtful?!

   I was speaking with a friend the other day who also got the same camera recently and told her I still hadn't taken it off of automatic yet and she was horrified.  She said it was such a waste of the camera and it really made me want to finally devote some time to figuring this thing out.  So, here I go, on my journey to a new hobby.

   I am completely overwhelmed trying to not only find quality tutorials and tips but also remembering everything as I go.  I know this is not something you can just study and get overnight, and I am excited to practice and master this camera.  I'll be posting some trials to document my (hopeful) progress.

   So far, I have found this blog, iheartnaptime.com, and look forward to finding others.  If you know any - please feel free to share in the comments!

D met me at Central Park with a huge surprise.  He gave me my wedding gift, the camera, and this was the very first photo I took it! 

Yup, That New Years Post

Happy New Year!  Once again, one of my resolutions is "to blog more".  It's therapeutic for me and I enjoy it.  I'm trying to be positive and less lazy and that will be reflected in this blog now - by not only more posts but more positive ones too.  Cheers!

My cousin looks like Amy Poehler and other lookalikes

Someone sent me this one of Gabe Lewis & Paul Ryan.

Mac Miller and this guy could be brothers. 

Just something about Quentin Tarantino & Randy Quaid.