Behold the greatest craigslist score ever!

A beautiful wood island that will increase our counter space by over 600%! With beadboard! And removable panels in the cupboard doors that can be replaced with glass!

That island plus the 12 hour marathon of Pawn Stars to keep me company while unpacking made this weekend a serious success.

Losing steam.

This move has been in motion for a solid week. We're relocating from Arlington to Vienna so I can be closer to the office during busy season and beyond. It'll be great to start over in a brand new place together instead of feeling like his things are taking over "my place."

While sorting through an old box I found this candle which seems to have given up sometime in the last year, spilling the wax contents all over another candle box. I couldn't help but snap a picture since that's pretty much how I feel right now too.

Movers arrive any minute now. I really hope they're energetic and positive and not overwhelmed by what they see. Maybe I can justify a quick power nap??

No Matter What

Today a real storm finally descended on us here in DC. Serious enough to close the government, and therefore my office and Ken's office, at 3 pm today to alleviate some of the rush hour madness.

Side note - Ken has started his externship working three days a week downtown at the US Court of Federal Claims. It's right on McPherson Square across from the White House in those awesome houses which line the park. He promised he'll take photos and do a blog post soon.

My 15 mile drive home took 1.5 hours as did Ken's usually 20 minute metro ride took the same. I just heard from Steve that he's been on the road for 5 hours coming home from client meetings in MD!! And he's still a long way from home!

A snow day is just what I needed though. We made pizza together, caught up on Chopped, and oh yeah PACKED for our move on Friday.

In case you haven't checked ESPN today, there's a game on tonight. Ken had plans to watch the huge BYU basketball game in Annapolis with his good friend Kevin, but the snow killed that plan. He tried to get the channel he needed added to our cable but no luck. Then, the power went out at our apartment. Too bad we hadn't charged our phones more!

Determined to watch his cougars, Ken decided we'd trek out to a sports bar. At the car we realized we were trapped inside the garage with a garage door that wouldn't open due to the power outage! Are you kidding me?

Luckily, ken had randomly parked his car outside the garage door. Phew! Off to Buffalo Wild Wings where we were informed that the snow knocked off their satellite dish thus no game.

Would you be ready to call it off at this point?

A couple more sports bars later and here we sit with two dozen other Cougar co-eds taking in the goodness.

Here's to hoping the power comes back on soon so I can take advantage of tomorrow's snow day by packing for 12 straight hours!!

This man loves his meat!

For our date this weekend we tried Ray's The Steak, the sit down restaurant associated with Ray's Hell Burger. The food was spectacularly good and I hope we go back sometime.

But, um, do you see the bone on Ken's steak?? I don't understand the appeal in having that anywhere near my plate. But look at the genuine smile on his face!

So cute.

Kitchen Success - Beouf Bourguignon

I don't have a lot of time to cook for my guy during the week, so I like to spend the weekend making up for it. This weekend I decided I wanted to tackle Julia Child's Beouf Bourguignon. It did take 5-6 hours of kitchen time, but it was very, very good. And it was cheap! We paired it with egg noodles and breadsticks. I would definitely do it again sometime!

Before

After

If you want to give it an attempt, the recipes are here and here.

Another highlight from the weekend, Red Pepper Risotto from my Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook. This was my third time making this recipe and I think it needs to make a weekly appearance on the menu. This recipe is SO GOOD! Try it out.

This photo from Pioneer Woman

In other news, we found where we will be living for the rest of 2011, a little place by my office with an extra bedroom for guests. I have all of January to get it ready before we move in. I am SO excited about the new decorating opportunities my mind has been spinning all weekend! I can't wait to show you what we do.

Best of 2010 - August

I never really understood what people meant when they said short engagements are best. Or when they talked about things getting harder for a while after you're engaged as the forces of darkness contend against you. But oh man did I figure it out! It's hard to explain, but the strangest things started going wrong at every turn in August. I can't even remember what they all are now, but in the moment it was very clear.

• The first step of the wedding prep had to be finding the dress. I tried on SO many, visited tons of dress shops, etc. It was a discouraging process. DC is not used to the concept of adding sleeves or needing a dress in less than 9 months.
  
  
  
• Mom & Dad visit DC with Zack & Ana and the Earnests. I already posted about it here.
  
  
  
• Zack & Ana are SO SWEET and bring cake samples from their favorite bakery in LA. Yeah, they brought cakes on the airplane from LA to DC!! We have an impromptu cake tasting in the office. Those cakes were SO GOOD!!
  
  
  
• I work A LOT. This fall busy season ended up being crazier than Spring. It was quite shocking.
  
• I work on planning, mostly coming up with an idea/central theme for the wedding with Amorology. It's a struggle...
• At the end of the month I fly to Utah for a jam-packed weekend where I find a nice dress, take engagement pictures and begin working with my fantastic invitation designer! And Happy Birthday CZ!
  

Because I'm proud of her.

Did you see this awesome bag my sister made?


Check it out. She left detailed instructions so you could make one too!

Best of 2010 - July

JULY. What an epic month!

• Ken came to DC for the 4th of July and his birthday. We watched fireworks on Capitol Hill
  
  
• Ken heads to Boston to teach for Kaplan.
• I find a rocking chair in perfect condition in the complex with a free sign. Score!
  
  
• We daytrip to Williamsburg and scope out its old historic charm.
  
  
  
• I update my world and get the iPhone 4.
• Ken officially talks with my dad.
• Win the 4th of July baked goods competition at work with my BTS Cake! (As you can see, I did not win based on my terrible blue stars...)
  
  
• CZ and I spend a weekend in North Carolina with the Earnests. I try on wedding dresses.
  
  
• Ken proposes at The W Hotel in DC. Such a special and thoughtful day.
  
  
  
  
• I contact Jonathan Canlas to secure our photographer. I begin working with Amorology on planning the wedding.
  

Best of 2010 - June

June! Here are a few things I want to remember...

• Dawn's brother spent the month with us. Three is a bit of a crowd!
• We spent the weekend in Assateague beach camping with wild horses
• I bought a new fancy bed! Such an adult thing to do.

I didn't choose the crazy red walls & curtains, I just left them when I moved in.

• I tested out Polyface Farms from In Defense of Food fame. They have a monthly buying club where they deliver produce and poultry from their farm in Southern VA to Arlington. I'm trying to convince myself it's actually better/healthier/socially responsible and not just better in my head...
  
• Logan & Caitlin visited DC! (Possibly the hottest week all summer BTW)
  
• CZ & I made cupcakes for Mei Li

• Mi Na was born!!
  
• I went to Utah to visit. Ken and I went ring shopping and found THE ONE(S)! I chose a stack of bands instead of the more traditional solitaire. People keep asking me where I got the idea, but it's just what I've always liked best, I didn't really get the idea from anywhere other than my own head.
  
  
• Spent a week in Carlsbad with Ken and his family. Got more tan.
  

Best of 2010 - May

I already told you a lot about May since that was the month of the year I did "One photo a day in May." I also did that in 2009. May is usually a big travel month for me so I guess that explains it. Maybe it'll become an annual tradition?! I better think of something exciting to feature in 2011, I don't think it'll be an overseas excursion because I'm committed to making 2011 a "lean year" in every way, but I'll share more about that later...

Now that I look at May 2010, I realize May 2011 will be strikingly similar.

2010 -- I visited the Z's in Boston
2011 -- We'll head to Boston for Zack's HBS graduation

2010 -- CZ moved to DC for her internship at PwC
2011 -- CZ is moving back to DC for good!

2010 -- I went to Duck beach with CZ, Courtney, Kirstin, & YSA's of the East Coast
2011 -- We'll head to the Outerbanks with the entire JAZBAND for our annual beach week!

2010 -- I took and passed my last section of the CPA exam
2011 -- Maybe this May I'll finally take that pesky Virginia CPA ethics exam!

2010 -- I went to Brazil
2011 -- Ken I guess we better go to the Bahamas this year, right?? ;-)

Best of 2010 - April

April should be broken into two parts, pre-15 and post-15. Pre-15 I worked. The end. Then I bought flowers and a new dress and got a pedicure.

On April 16, I decided to make strawberry freezer jam. I was craving time in the kitchen and, for some reason, jam. I've never made jam before but I feel like it's something I'm supposed to be able to do, ya know? Am I alone in that?

I went to the farmer's market to buy strawberries and then I spent all day coaxing those strawberries into the darling little jars. I took a lot of photos because I really meant to blog about the whole thing. Darn.

The next day I made pizza dough from scratch and baked some pizzas on my stone.
Jill and I visited the Cherry Blossoms. There were A LOT of people trying to take pictures. It's definitely a beautiful spot for a family photo, but next spring I'll let you in on what I think is the best kept secret location for pictures along the Potomac. Get excited.

High: On April 16th I secured my visa at the Brazilian embassy!

Low: On April 17th I had to visit traffic court for a speeding ticket. The reckless driving charges were dismissed (a fact Ken seems to ignore whenever he wants to insult my driving record).

Ken came to DC after finals and we spent more time around the city.


At the end of the month, I entered a cupcake competition at work, made Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes and WON best taking cupcake! Lucky me! Recipe and recap here.

I would link to the other posts I made in April, but there are none. Oops!

Best of 2010 - March

March brought more snow days and office closings! I got to take a quick trip to Utah for some PwC recruiting on BYU campus.

My friends and I went to Communal one night while I was there. Ironically, the make-up of this photo has changed quite a bit since that dinner...

Two of the marriages depicted have ended, one couple has added a baby, and one couple has gotten married (us). Crazy how much things can change in a very short year.

March brought a lot of good running. Ken and I ran the Rex Lee 10K in Provo. Later in the month, Ken came out to DC and we ran the National Half Marathon, which was an amazing course snaking all through DC. He was on track for beating his 1/2 marathon PR but woke up race morning with the flu. So sad! I set off on the race and didn't think I'd see him til I got home.. Instead he popped in and *ran* as much as he could with me. It was a nice change since we usually don't run our races together (I'm slow).

One random story from March, I misread an email at work about an upcoming "Jeans Day." On Thursday, I arrived at work in jeans. I quickly noticed I was the only one in less than business casual. Apparently jeans day was Friday. Oops! A quick stop into JCrew's clearance section before the group meeting fixed the situation...

I suppose I should mention that March was a very busy work month with the March 15 filing deadline and I spent most evenings and Saturdays in the office. One ray of sunlight amidst that gloom? Finding an open spot next to my brother's car. How many people are lucky enough to work with their brothers? Even though I don't see him every single day, it's a comfort to know he's there.


Most notably, March brought butterflies and excitement as Ken and I decided it was time to move forward and get married. (Actually I think it was the end of February when we started setting that in motion?) As we began working towards that goal, we both felt amazing progress and transformation in other areas of our lives; it was a grand cosmic click into place. Ken invited his family into the process at this time and they were very kind and welcoming towards me. Huzzah!

Oh and as you may remember I already posted about books and movies and weddings and cookies, where to go in DC and some things I'd like to learn.

(Speaking of that learn list, after 9 months I've only knocked 1.5 off the list... They are basically all still outstanding. Maybe resolving those should be a 2011 resolution??)