leafing through

Didn’t think you’d ever hear me say that huh? This week, I’ve gone shopping at DSW, Lord & Taylor, and Macy’s. Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday (today). My mom and I were planning to head to another mall tomorrow but we both looked at each other and decided to scratch that plan. We’re all shopped out. That’s a rare thing for me to say but I think I’ve reached my limit for the week. I guess a big part of it is the lack of sales. Without good deals to bait me, I’m unimpressed. $50 shoes just don’t quite do it for me. Where are the sales?! Aren’t we getting ready for the Fall-Winter season yet?! Where are the Christmas decorations!? It’s August!

Our Metro train driver told us a joke today.

There’s a cop stopped by the highway looking for traffic law violators. He spots a car with a driver who has neither hands on the steering wheel. He’s knitting. The cop turns on his sirens and chases after him and when he comes upon him he tells the guy, “Pull over!” The guy yells back, “No, they’re socks!”

I’m hanging out today with the two little munchkins, Lunch and Dinner. Just kidding. They’re not meaty enough.

That, and Sims 2. A lot of it. Dawn til dusk. Hey, at least it’s a step or 10 above Farmville but still another mouse clicking exercise.

So Left Glove, tell me, what were you up to all day?
Chewed some wood.
Left poops all over the floor.
Chewed on some wires when no one was looking. I’m badass like that.

Wut?

RAAYYY-ZIN!!

Doesn’t it seem like all I talk about these days is food, food, and more food? It’s like all I do is eat. I guess it’s partly true, I do love me some food.

So I diligently packed my trusty point and shoot camera with me today and when I tried to take pictures I realized there was no memory card in there. I had taken it out during the Europe trip and never replaced it. No matter – lately, I’ve been blogging just fine without the pictures, though how can you imagine it without seeing it, right? I mean, a big part of the enjoyment of the food is the looking. That’s why we love buffets. Strolling through the displays and admiring all the wonderful possibilities you can shove into your mouth… ahhh.

Ok, I’m going off on a tangent. FOCUS! Lost Dog Cafe. Pizza. Mmmm…. We shared a large Rin Tin Tin (mushrooms, tomato, basil, cheese, and other herbs and greens on a whole wheat crust). The crust is crispy and thin and we both agreed it was tastier than John’s Pizzeria. Sorry NYC, apparently, burb yups can eat as well as the rest of you. The toppings were generous, cheesy, and we loved the uncooked basil leaves sprinkled all over the pizza. The two of us almost managed to finish a whole pie. Had I not had the gimongo lunch at Amina Thai today, I would’ve been able to have more. I noticed the other peoples’ dishes and sandwiches all looked equally delicious. I think this is definitely worth going to and it’s my new favorite pizza place.

This past Sunday, I joined a friend for lunch in Alexandria. Bombay Curry Company. Their buffet was small with very little selection, but what they had was fantastic. I ate EVERYTHING! Three times! I should’ve stopped at plate two though. A. I felt stuffed. B. They stopped taking my plate away after plate two. C. They stopped refilling our water glasses. Yeah if that wasn’t a subtle hint to stop eating, bringing us the check before we even hit dessert made it crystal clear. No matter, it’s a buffet. I wasn’t expecting top notch service. The food alone left me very satisfied. Usually I prefer the rice but their naan here was so good I couldn’t stop myself. I would come back – though I’m not sure they’d want me back since I eat like Sonia Thomas. After lunch we went shopping at all the little boutiques along the road. It was over 100 degrees and we walked about, ducking from one air conditioned shop to another. I don’t know how these businesses stay afloat selling some of the old-lady clothes and tchotchkys and trinkets. I guess folks are still unaware of the magic of Etsy. Still, we both enjoyed window shopping, appreciating the fun of just browsing random shops one after another. I did buy one useful thing – a lightbulb. Finally when we could take the heat no longer, we headed over to the Dairy Godmother. I got their lime mint sorbet. So refreshing! I like this little town, Alexandria.

Saturday night, we had a surprise birthday dinner for a friend in a downtown restaurant called Eatonville. It’s named after Eatonville, FL and the food is southern comfort. Hushpuppies, pork chops, fried green tomatoes, shrimp creole.

The evening was HOT! I mean we walked from 16th Street, through Meridian Hill Park, to 14th Street – a short 15 minute walk left me hot and sweaty. I was hoping for a gush of cold air walking into the restaurant but it was hot inside too. I grabbed a menu and started fanning myself as we worked our way to the table. I thought, yuck, I can’t eat anything, it’s too hot.
Shrimp Creole

I guess southern food was made for hot weather. It’s so good, it brings your appetite back. The hushpuppy appetizer is one giant round of fried corn bread, served with a very delicious shrimp and tomato sauce, and the fried green tomatoes were amazing! And I’m so glad we decided to share an entree because their portions would make the Cheesecake Factory blush.

Giganto Pork Chop
One person joked after he ate all he could of his pork chop that it was now a normal sized chop. Our shrimp creole came in a bowl as large as a large pho. It was filled with rice, a tomatoey sauce, and a generous amount of shrimp and crawdads – I think those are crayfish. It was delicious and we were both stuffed to the gills.

In short, I would go back and I would recommend others to try it.

Everyone’s been talking about the unusually hot and long heat wave we’ve been suffering but I guess up until yesterday I didn’t go outdoors much aside from the short walk from Metro to the office. But yesterday evening, we had dinner with a friend and just walking around the area even at 7:30 in the evening, it was still cookie-baking hot. By 11PM it got a little more bearable but wow I hope we get some relief rain soon.

Months back I told a friend about Etsy, this website I love to browse. They sell handmade items, from clothes to handbags, to jewelry and paintings. Many of the sellers create the items at home as a hobby. I had never ordered anything from Etsy. I guess part of my reluctance was that it’s a conglomeration of sellers. I don’t know how reliable they are or the quality of the products. This friend I shared it with however went ahead and got addicted to Etsy and went on to actually buy things from there. She got these stacked fine silver rings and I saw them and had to have them. So here I got my own. They’re from a seller called buyhappiness. Indeed I’m happy. She even emailed me to ask me what my favorite color was so she could add the ring with stones as a bonus. How generous! I’m now hooked on this website. Uh-oh.

And I wonder why my pants are all too tight.

Last week, at Northside Social, I had the tastiest grilled cheese sandwich ever! It had 4 different kinds of cheeses and some tomato spread. The creamy tomato soup went perfectly well with it. I’m still smacking my lips. Next Friday I will have it again!!

Yesterday, because I had such a mind-blowing grilled cheese experience last week, I decided to order the same thing again at Luna Grill in Shirlington. It would have been an otherwise perfectly fine lunch except it was ordinary. They made it with one cheese – American. Northside Social has ruined me to the ordinary grilled cheese sandwich.

Work today was as crappy as ever any Monday could be. I wound up staying a bit longer which sucked as usual. But! BUT!! We had plans to go listen to a guitarist who was playing at a restaurant tonight so I had something to look forward to. La Porta in Alexandria. An Italian place – semi fancy but not to the point of schmancy. What I mean is, $30 entrees, but no tablecloths. Without a reservation, we were promptly seated. It’s Monday! The guitarist was wonderful. We enjoyed him immensely and so did a certain little 4 or 5 year old boy who came up more than once to drop money into the tip jar and even requested Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. If you’re ever free on a Monday or Tuesday night, they have $30 specials which includes 2 dinners and a bottle of wine. Can’t beat that! And if you can make it on a Monday night, live music. The music alone would make this place a worthwhile visit but even the food is better than say, The Wharf’s. We had a fish of the day and ravioli. Both dishes were simple, yet delicious. What a way to make an otherwise dreary day, better. I’ve had a headache all day today and still it was a wonderful, fun evening.