Weekend Wonderful

In portuguese, they put the adjectives after the noun they are describing and it makes perfect sense, and I think it works occasionally in English, like the title I just used, for instance. This past weekend, we were so relieved that Friday had arrived, because I have been staying with Paige and her week was so crazy at work, so the weekend was so welcome.

Friday I had lunch with Michael Gottlieb, the dear man I worked with on my internship with US Citizenship and Immigration. It was great to see him again and catch up. I also hit up the building museum and decided it is my favorite museum for several reasons. First, the building is incredible, a brick exterior with a carved frieze, and inside it is ornate and yet cozy simultaneously. The exhibits, one currently on the symbol of DC to the world. Peter Charles L'enfant, the original designer of the district, wrote of the city's plan, "This mode of taking possession of and improving the whole district at first must leave to posterity a grand idea of the patriotic interest which prompted it." Fascinating how the architecture evokes feelings of stability, certainty, and solidity. And that's exactly what it was designed to do.

Friday night Paige treated me to La Tasca tapas in old town Alexandria, and it was reminiscent of brazil, with a lovely meat selection, and I really identify with the tapas concept because you get to try lots of things and eat them all together. My absolute favorite thing was the bacon wrapped blue cheese stuffed dates. We had a solid convo over dinner and I so enjoyed just spending some quality time with my precious friend.

Saturday morning we braved the line at Eastern Market and scored the blue bucks.



The pecan topping is so worth it. And I loaded up on fresh pasta for sunday dinner. I discovered a new cheese which is gouda parmesan. I never knew such a hybrid existed and Paige introduced me to it. Delicious.
Saturday night I started cinnamon roll dough, and Sunday morning when we got up I took it out, punched it down, rolled it out, and put it on the sun porch to rise again. Then we went for a walk around Arlington to look at houses and get our outside time. When we came back the rolls had grown sufficiently and we baked them. I was a little nervous to see if they turned out becauseI had never made them before by myself. But the smell wafted through the house and they had that soft texture from the potato, and the delicious cinnamon taste with a touch of nutmeg just hit the spot.

We went to the ward and it was overwhelming, because it was very large. We came home after and made our dinner with fresh gnocchi, sun dried tomato ravioli and pesto ravioli; roasted green beans, onions, mushrooms, and grilled chicken. It was enjoyed thoroughly.