More Adventures in the Capitol

Well, I thought I was going to post great stories each day of my many adventures here in our nation's capitol, but that just has not happened. You may think this is due to the fact that I have been diligently working my way around the city, studying every monument and museum from top to bottom. Well, I have been making my way around the city, but I have not been super thorough. I leisurely stroll through a museum or two in the morning, come home, eat lunch, and rest for awhile, and sometimes go see something in the afternoon. Once Josh gets home from work, we usually go out to dinner or eat at home, then go walk around town or visit a museum.

Ordinarily, I would be buzzing around town at a somewhat frenzied pace, but my leisurely pace has been inspired by a new development...I am pregnant! Right now I am six weeks along. The due date is March 7. So, this baby is definitely making its mark on my D.C. experience (which is just fine with me)!

Everyone says that once you have kids your life is forever changed. Now I would venture to say that once you are pregnant, your life is beginning to change. My routine is already becoming less of my own, as what I eat, how much I sleep, etc., all effects this baby, which in turn, effects me. I cannot walk around this city briskly bouncing from one spot to the next without feeling tired. I cannot go without breakfast without feeling nausea. I am much more okay with spending much of my day resting in my room, which, for those of you that know me, this is not typical. I usually like to be out doing things. But at this point in time, my body, and my baby are telling me to SLOW DOWN!

So, I have slowed down (at least for the most part). I still plan on seeing all the sites in this great city before I leave, but knowing that I have five weeks and most of the museums are free, I am not in too big of a hurry!

All that to say, posts from now on may look a little different as I attempt to figure out what is best for me to eat and do.

So, back to my tasty travels here in Washington! The picture at the beginning of this post was taken this morning. This is the Supreme Court. As a history teacher and the wife of a law student, I have much respect for our nation's highest court. It is really fascinating to me. I walked around the Supreme Court building today and enjoyed seeing the inside of it, especially the court room. Who knows, maybe one day Josh will be a Supreme Court Justice (okay, so maybe it is just a dream of ours, but you never know)!

While there, I sat in the court room as a woman gave myself and other tourists details about the court. During her little lecture, I started feeling a wave of nausea. "Oh no!" I thought. "What if I vomit in the Supreme Court? They will never let my husband practice law in this country!" Well, I did not have to worry about that, it was only nausea (praise the Lord)! However, this is a common thought running through my brain as I visit these museums. Yesterday I was at the National Archives, and it was "What if I throw up on the Declaration of Independence? They might throw me out of the country (even though it is enclosed in a glass case). And later that day, as I strolled through the National Gallery of Art, it was "What if I can't make it to the bathroom in time and ruin one of Rembrandt's masterpieces?" I have yet to ruin any historic documents, government buildings, or pieces of art, but I don't think the fear will subside. And I will persevere in my tourist endeavors!

On Tuesday I visited the National Museum of American History, which is really amazing. One of the highlights of the museum was seeing Julia Child's kitchen. These are pictures of her simple, yet fabulous kitchen. This may sound cheesy, but I felt a little inspired just being there!


On Tuesday night we ate dinner at the place we are staying (just a simple pasta, nothing too exciting), but for dessert, I went to Pitango Gelato. It was delicious! They had really unique flavors. I had cardamom gelato, which I never would have thought of, but it was delicious!

Last night we met a friend at Matchbox, which was really great as well. We had one of their wood-fired pizzas, and for an appetizer, we had the mozzi carrozi. It was so good! It was basically like a mixture of fried mozzarella and a caprese salad. It was mozarella and tomatoes fried with fresh basil and tomato sauce, you can't go wrong with that, right? For dessert we all split the chocolate chip bread pudding...yum! It was so moist and delicious!

On Wednesday night we ate at Good Stuff Eatery. It was a great, casual burger place. Chef Spike Mendelsohn from Top Chef runs it along with his family. We had the Spike's Sunnyside Burger which had a fried egg, bacon, and special sauce on it. We also had their Village Fries which are seasoned with fresh thyme, rosemary, and sea salt. They also have a mayonnaise bar where they have different flavors of mayo like chipotle and sriracha. It was great food in a really cool atmosphere, and since we split all of that plus 2 drinks, we ate for about $12. Not bad! They also had great looking milkshakes there, which I think I am going to get right now...

A Capitol Fourth

Here are a few pictures from around D.C. on the Fourth. Above is a view of the Capitol from the Botanic Gardens on the mall (which are gorgeous)!

We were able to see the most incredible fireworks display! We were standing below the Lincoln Memorial, looking toward the Washington monument. This picture is towards the beginning of the show.

This picture was during the grand finale...incredible! I have never seen so many fireworks in my life!

Washington Weekend

Josh and I arrived in Washington, D.C. on Saturday for his summer internship here. He will be working here for six weeks. Since I am a teacher, and do not have to work right now, I get to stay here with him during his internship. It's a great set up, I am not complaining one bit! So, while he is at work each day, I will be exploring everything the city has to offer, and at night and on weekends we will get to do some exploring together.

Yesterday was a federal holiday, so we had a nice 3 day weekend to start off the trip. We got in late Saturday afternoon, and after getting settled at our place, we walked around and enjoyed the evening. All the museums on the mall in D.C. are free, so it is really great, especially when you are living here, because you can just go in for an hour or two whenever you have time, and you don't feel guilty about paying a hefty entrance fee. That night, we got a little hot and tired walking along the mall, so we went to the Air and Space Museum for a little while, then found a good restaurant for dinner, Rosa Mexicana. It was "upscale Mexican." For those of you from the Dallas area, think Mi Cocina style. The food was really good, a little pricey, but not outrageous. One of their most popular dishes (judging from the fact that it was on almost every table), is their guacamole. The order is a huge bowl of fresh, delicious guacamole. Some of the best I have ever had.

Sunday morning we slept in, then got an early lunch at Tortilla Coast. It is about 2 doors down from where we are staying, and was highly recommended by many friends. It is basic Tex-Mex in a good atmosphere. We enjoyed sitting by the big window, and watching everyone out and about enjoying their Fourth of July. I ordered the Lucy platter, which had a chicken taco, a chicken flauta, and a guacamole tostada. I thought the food was good, nothing spectacular, but very similar to the Tex-Mex I am use to from home. The prices were very reasonable.


For dinner last night, we ate at a great restaurant, Vapiano. I thought it was maybe just a D.C. chain, then when I looked at their website, I found that they are actually a European chain, with locations throughout the world. They even have one in Dallas. Once I learned they were European, I wasn't too surprised, since they were blaring techno music. It is in the genre of "fast casual" restaurants, but this one is different than any I had been to. When you enter, they give you a "chip" card, which you take with you to order your food or drinks. They have a wide variety of pizzas, pastas, and paninis. You take it directly to the cook, place your order, and he will swipe your card. If you would like a drink, you do the same thing at the bar. Then, as you leave, you take your card to the cashier at the front, who swipes it and tells you your total.

We ordered the chicken barbeque pizza. It was delicious, and at $11, a pretty good deal! The ingredients tasted very fresh, and we will definitely go back! The atmosphere was modern and very comfortable. The area we sat in had big comfy chairs. The only thing we didn't like too much was the techno music (although, it wasn't completely unbearable).

Easy Fresh Breakfast

I made this quick and easy breakfast the other day. Top a tortilla with a fried egg and 2 slices of bacon. Spread sliced avocados around the plate, and sprinkle with pepper. It was great!

Yummy Treats!

The other night we had a friend over for dinner. I baked a cobbler using a recipe I found in Southern Living a couple of years ago. It is a great recipe because it is so simple and easy to make. Other than the fruit, the ingredients are all items you would normally have on hand. The recipe is for a blackberry cobbler, but this time I also added some peaches. It was really good (especially with some Blue Bell vanilla ice cream!). You can find the recipe here.

Wednesday was our anniversary, so I stopped by Peace O' Cake Cupcakes and picked up some yummy cupcakes to celebrate. Peace O' Cake has different flavors everyday, and this time I picked "Raider Red Velvet" and "Milly Vanilly." They were really good! For more information and flavors, you can go to their website.

Hill Country Breakfast

Last weekend Josh and I went to San Marcos, Texas to see his brother and sister-in-law, as well as to meet up with Josh's parents. We had a great time enjoying the beautiful Hill Country. We ate at some good restaurants, and one I have pictures of. The Root Cellar Cafe is in downtown San Marcos and has an excellent breakfast. If you are ever in the area, give it a try!

Josh ordered the Brazilian French toast, which was soaked in a vanilla rum sauce.

I ordered Migas, which is a favorite of mine, and their version was excellent! Very fresh and delicious!

Before our trip, I made this breakfast dish one day, which is similar to one I have made before. I did not have the green bell pepper, jalapeno, or green onion, so I just topped the tortilla and fried egg with black beans, roasted green chiles, salsa, cheese, and chili powder. It was very good, healthy, and cheap!

Taco Time!

Today I made tacos. I decided to make them at lunch time so that I could use some of the meat for lunch, and then Josh and I could have it for dinner. It worked out well, so that I didn't have to spend too much time worrying with dinner once Josh got home from work.

When I used the meat for lunch, I topped some tortilla chips with taco meat, black beans, my homemade salsa, and shredded Mexican cheese. It was very good!

We ate the taco meat in corn tortillas with black beans, salsa, cheese, and fresh cilantro. I got the tortillas at Amigos Grocery Store, which is United's Latin Foods Store. It has all the regular items you would find at a grocery store, as well as specific Latin items. They make fresh tortillas there everyday, and that is what I got for us. I also bought these tortilla chips there. They make them at all United chain stores. They are so good! They have some great seasoning on them.

Bacon is Back

I am back from my bacon hiatus. I know, it was short-lived. I bought this delicious peppered bacon from Red Raider Meats the other day. If you live in Lubbock, you can buy it at the Meat Sciences building at Tech, or at any United or Market Street grocery stores. It is really good. I think I have mentioned Red Raider Meats before. They are great!

So, for breakfast Sunday morning, I made bacon and scrambled eggs. I had a little Rotel left over, so I put that and some shredded Mexican cheese on the eggs. It was really good!

For dinner we did not have much around the house, so I made us grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches. I used havarti dill on mine...yum.

Eating & Burning Carbs

Last night I used the leftover (uncooked) ground beef from Wednesday night to make a meat sauce for pasta. I put about 1/3 lb. of lean ground beef in a pan, and cooked it most of the way, breaking it into small pieces as it browned, then added a jar of pasta sauce. This time I used Newman's Own Sockarooni (pictured below). I like this sauce because it is fairly inexpensive (I think the jar was about $1.30 at Target), it's all natural, and this particular flavor is filled with peppers and spices, giving it a little more flavor than plain marinara. I did add a little garlic salt and crushed red pepper to it for an extra kick.

After I added the jar, I waited for it to get bubbly, then turned the heat down to low and covered it. Meanwhile, I cooked the pasta, which was Full Circle organic bow tie pasta. Full Circle is a generic organic brand that is usually cheaper than other organic options. When the pasta was cooked, I put some in each bowl, added sauce, and topped it with fresh basil and fresh grated parmesan.

I am a teacher, so right now I am not working (hallelujah!), which is giving me much more free time to work out, eat breakfast, and live a more balanced life. Sometimes I wish I could just be a housewife all the time! I sure am enjoying it. Each morning after I take Josh to work I go to the Texas Tech rec center and work out, then come home and eat a good breakfast. This has been a great way to start each morning. I am planning on continuing this routine for the next two weeks, then we are off to Washington, D.C. for about six weeks. Josh will be doing an internship there, and while he is at work during the day, I will be exploring around the city. I will be posting lots of pictures with travel tips and local restaurants while I am there. I am really excited!

Bacon Day

Yesterday was unofficially National Bacon Day (well, at my house at least). I did not plan it this way on purpose, but I ended up eating bacon at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Ridiculous, I know. I am now on a self-imposed bacon hiatus (at least for a day or two).

For breakfast I had bacon with scrambled eggs, and topped my eggs with shredded havarti dill cheese. One little hint I have for making some great scrambled eggs is to cook the bacon in a pan first. Then remove the bacon, drain the grease, but do not wipe the pan completely clean. Cook the scrambled eggs in the same pan, and it gives the eggs great flavor.

For lunch I had some leftover pasta from Sunday night with half of a grilled turkey sandwich. For the sandwich I put turkey, guacamole, dijon mustard, some chipotle cranberry cheddar, and of course, bacon on a slice of whole wheat cut in half. I grilled it in a pan in olive oil. This sandwich was fantastic! It was full of great flavors, and just half of a sandwich was very satisfying!

I made the guacamole before lunch. Here is my recipe for easy guacamole. Mix together 2 large avocados, 1/2 can rotel (drained), 1 clove of minced garlic, juice of one lime, Julio's seasoning, and pepper. It is very easy to make, and has lots of flavor.

If you have made guacamole before, you probably have figured out that it has a tendency to turn brown after awhile. Some people say squirting lime juice on top will keep it from turning brown, but that does not work. One time I was watching Tyler's Ultimate on the Food Network, and he gave a great tip for keeping guacamole fresh. When you need to store it in the fridge, cover it with plastic wrap, and press tightly on the guacamole so that none of it is exposed to air. Then you can put the regular lid on your container. He said the reason guacamole will turn brown is exposure to air, so covering it tightly really helps. This was my first time to try this, and when I took it out of the fridge at dinner time (about six hours later), I took the picture above. It looked perfectly fresh and green!

For dinner we made burgers. For the patties, I combined about 2/3 pound of lean ground beef, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Josh grilled the burgers, and I made some homemade fries. I cut baking potatoes into wedges then drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled them with chili powder and Julio's seasoning. I baked them at 425 degrees until they were brown (I didn't pay attention to the time because I was a little distracted). We topped our burgers with colby jack cheese, diced roasted green chiles, guacamole, and for the grand finale, bacon. Let me tell you, this was one delicious burger!

I bought a pound of ground beef for the burgers, and since I would not need to use it all, I took out about 1/3 pound before making the patties, and put it in the fridge for dinner tonight, which was pasta with meat sauce (more on that in my next post). When buying meat or other ingredients that will expire within about a week, it is helpful to plan out multiple meals you can make with those ingredients so that they don't go to waste hanging out in the fridge too long.