U.S. Botanical Gardens Holiday Magic

On December 12, we went downtown to the U.S. Botanical Gardens to check out their Holiday Magic display which includes replicas of major Washington, DC monuments and a magical train display weaving in and around miniature recreations of fairy tale homes like where the 7 dwarfs live. It was beautiful and definitely a must do if you are in the DC area for the holidays!

Noah with Mike and me in front of the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument . . .



The White House including the latest Obama additions - the girls' swingset and the First Lady's vegetable garden . . .


The 7 Dwarfs (from Snow White) house by the train tracks . . .

Jayden's 4th Birthday

For Jayden's 4th Birthday on December 12, we went to Jammin' Java, a music club/cafe in Vienna, VA to watch Agent 23 Skidoo who sings positive hip hop for kids. Noah has been dancing lately, but he was a little shy at the show. It was great fun for all! Definitely recommend it if you are looking for birthday party ideas.

Jammin' Java in Vienna, VA . . .
Noah and Mommy . . .

Agent 23 Skidoo singing songs like "I Like Fruit!" . . .

Kids having fun on the dance floor . . .

Jayden's Birthday Cake . . .

Blowing out his candles . . .
Noah making his stage debut . . .

First Snow of the Season

Some pics of Noah and Shea from Saturday's first snowfall of the season.

November/December Update . . .

So much going on, so much to share, and so little time to blog. We spent Thanksgiving at Jason and April’s new condo with her family and Mike’s family. We had a feast! And Mike made a very tasty Sweet Potato and Banana Puree topped with Pecan Crumb Topping. Noah loved every bite! His favorite was stuffing!

The spread for 11 adults and 3 kids (and this didn't include the desserts!) . . .

The Munoz and Balagot clans . . .

QT with my boys . . .

Noah and Mike enjoying some wine and cheese . . .

The day after Thanksgiving was Mike’s Mom’s Birthday so we went to Woo Lae Oak in Tysons Corner for dinner to celebrate. We arrived early and decided to stop by the mall to check out the sales. As a parent, this quickly became my worst nightmare! We didn’t have Noah’s stroller so we carried him around but since the mall was SO crowded I didn’t want to put him down for a second should he run off or be grabbed by someone in the hordes of shoppers! Anyway, after fighting our way out of the parking lot and arriving at the restaurant, we had a wonderful Korean BBQ dinner and Noah again LOVED everything. On Saturday, we hit up Ticonderoga Farms to pick our Christmas tree and this year, Mike and his dad cut it down! It was a little muddy from all the recent rain but luckily we found a nice Scottish Pine not too far from the path.

We found it! . . .

Finally cut down - Good job, Mike! . . .

Ready to bring our tree home . . .

Noah with Lola . . .

Three generations . . .

On Wednesday, we went to the Smith Center to watch GW vs. Mason Men’s Basketball with RJ and Patrick. GW crushed Mason and Noah had a great time although it was a LONG night for him. He even got to meet Big George!

Noah in his GW colors . . .

Go GW! . . .

Final Score - 66-49 . . .

On Thursday, Mike baked some yummy Cherry, Macadamia, White Chocolate Christmas Cookies. They were SO good. Saturday, after being snowed in all day, Randy and Daphne came by to hang out before hitting up the outlets on Sunday. Noah was surprised and I think a little freaked out by the snow. We ended the weekend by FINALLY decorating the Christmas tree. With the Winter Wonderland as our backdrop, it is DEFINITELY starting to feel like Christmas around here. I can’t wait!

Happy Holidays!

It's been a busy November. Last weekend we had our Annual Holiday Wine and Cheese Party. It was a little early this year because the big Pacquaio/Cotto fight was on November 14. The party was quaint but fun. We had a ton of food and cheese and wine, but we had a problem with our cable at the last minute so unfortunately I was on the phone with Verizon for most of the night. At around 10:30 we finally gave up on the cable, grabbed some desserts and wine and watched the fight over at Mae and Dennis's place. It was a great fight and I had a great time catching up with everyone. However, unfortunately, since I was distracted most of the night I didn't get a chance to take any pictures :(

Pumpkin Gingerbread

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and clove.
3. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.

My thoughts: Great seasonal bread. Made it for Noah's Halloween party. Very easy.

Marine Corps Marathon

Last weekend we headed downtown to check out the Marine Corps Marathon and take some pics around downtown . . .

Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair

Ingredients

Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
8 thin chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts packed in water, rinsed, drained, and quartered
2 tablespoons rinsed and drained capers
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces angel-hair pasta
1/2 cup parsley leaves

Directions

1. Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Place flour in a shallow dish, and season with salt and pepper. Dredge cutlets, shaking off excess. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Cook chicken in batches, adding remaining oil as needed, until light golden, 1 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to a dish.

2. Add broth to skillet, and bring to a boil; cook until reduced by half. Add artichokes, capers, and the chicken with any juices. Gently swirl to combine, and bring just to a boil. Remove skillet from heat. Swirl in butter, and cover to keep warm.

3. Add pasta to boiling water. Cook until al dente; drain. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta, topped with parsley.

My thoughts: LOVE this recipe from MarthaStewart.com. I used palliard chicken breast instead of culets. Used Italian Bread Crumbs instead of flour. Super fast. Super easy. Inexpensive, few ingredients. Great for a busy week night. Pasta is nice and light.

Marine Corps Marathon

This past weekend we went took Noah downtown to watch the Marine Corps Marathon. The weather was great and Noah had a lot of fun. Took a lot of pictures. Will upload soon. Lots of festivities planned for this coming Halloween weekend too including Ella's Birthday party, trick or treating with Noah, and a couple of parties with friends and neighbors.

Ignorance

During my morning commute, I heard a caller to the Junkies show on 106.7FM refer to a woman as "colored". The Junks stopped him immediately and said "What is this the 50's?!" The caller proceeded to say that he was not trying to be politically correct, but rather polite for the show. I can't believe that in this day and age, people can be so ignorant! Sorry but one is still racist even if malice is not the intent when using certain words by virtue of the connotation and definition of that word! Ignorance is not an excuse. Get a clue and an education, People!

Pics Update. . .

Lunch at Lupa in NYC for my birthday. Definitely brought us back to our vacation in Italy two years ago. We started off with a salad and ravioli. Mike had a spinach salad with pancetta and the dressing was the drippings from the pan! I had the special pasta of the day - butternut squash ravioli - SO good, SO fresh! We loved the appetizers so much, we decided to order another pasta, the gnocchi to go with our entrees - skate and chicken diavolo. Even though we were running a little late for our 2:00 show (we had to go from Greenwich Village to Times Square!), we decided to stay for dessert, the panna cotta which did not disappoint.

We hopped into a cab and the traffic sucked. So after going only 10 blocks in 20 minutes we hopped onto the subway at MSG.

When we got out of the subway, it was down pouring! Luckily I knew right where the theater was and we made a run for it. Got in 10 minutes late and luckily only missed the first ensemble song. The show was amazing! The set, the plot, the songs, the voices - LOVE, LOVE, LOVED this show! I only wish we could have gotten better seats. We were in Row W orchestra Stage left.

After the show, we hopped back on to the subway and headed back down to Tribeca for my brother and Brenda's engagement party at Matsugen, some hot Japanese restaurant. The food was delicious. Noah ate just about everything but the sushi from the tofu to the tempura to the soba! I think we had about a zillion courses, we were SO stuffed! It was great to see everyone.

Noah got to meet his Tito Vince! . . .

Girl pic minus Brenda, Aim, and Katrina . . .

Too bad we didn't get a pic with Alv and Brenda :( Afterwards the gang headed out to some random bar named Neighborhood down the block which turned out to be a Karaoke Bar too! Since the night was pretty young we had the whole place to ourselves. It was interesting but fun times as always with the cousins. Got on the mic a couple of times, but nothing eventful. Fave moment of the night had to be Januel's La Bamba duet with Brenda's friend. Don't hurt yourself Januel! See you guys during the holidays!

Sharona and Jonathan's wedding was at a beautiful mansion in Upper Marlboro. Here she is walking down the aisle.


The ceremony was usper romantic. They exchanged love letters and placed them ina momento box to open later.

Here I am with Deardra and Sharona. Together again . . .

Congrats sharona and Jonathan!!! We had a fantastic time at the wedding. The food and music were excellent!

Weekend Recap . . .

This weekend, Mike's parents came to visit so since we had a babysitter we went downtown to see Amal who was visiting RJ for the weekend. It was my first time at a bar in eons! We went to this place called Public Bar. Nothing too crazy, just a casual, loud sports bar. We didn't stay out too late cause Mike's Mom couldn't put Noah to bed so we headed home early but grabbed some empanadas from Julia's on our way out - yummy! Saturday, Noah and I met up with the Gordons for a playdate in MD. It was at one of those indoor gyms for kids. It was Noah's first time and he loved it! At first he was a little shy but soon enough he was getting into the ball put, running around, playing musical instruments, building towers, and doing simple puzzles. Afterwards, I dropped him off to spend some time with his grandparents while Mike and I went to our neighbors' crab feast. It was awesome! He has a buddy who is a crabber in Annapolis and so the crabs were HUGE and had literally come out of the ocean 4 hours earlier AND his mom made these awesome homemade hush puppies. Once I got Noah to bed, it was finally time to catch up on some errands at home. On Sunday, we went to the new Hooked in Sterling which just moved to Potomac Plaza. It was quite a disappointment to say the least, even though for now I'll chalk it up to the new location I still plan on posting a pretty nasty review onyelp. Spent the rest of the afternoon running some errands (got our Halloween costumes!, drycleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, etc.). Going to try to post some pics and then head to bed.

October Events

Wow, can't believe it is already mid-October. So much going on, so little time to blog. The first weekend in October, we headed up to NYC to celebrate my birthday and Alvin and Brenda's engagement party. First we had lunch at Mario Battali's Lupa - AMAZING!!! Then off to the 2:00 show of Wicked. And then met up with the fam at Matsugen for the engagement party. Ended the night with drinks and karaoke at a bar called Neighborhood. Last Tuesday was my 32nd birthday and we celebrated by having the fam over for Maggiano's. This past weekend was a long weekend. On Friday we hit up PassionFish for happy hour. Saturday we went to my friend Sharona's wedding in Upper Marlboro - beautiful outdoor ceremony, yummy food, and great music! Sunday we threw an Oktoberfest party on the patio. We lucked out with perfect weather. All out neighbors and some of our friends came out. Mike worked the grill and made his first attempt at brats. Monday, we headed downtown to check out Founding Farmers for lunch. Tuesday I worked from home. Pics of everything soon to come.

Wegmeyer Farms

On Saturday we went pumpkin and raspberry picking at Wegmeyer Farms in Loudoun County with our friends, the Ellicotts. The farm is a little off the beaten path so we were pleasantly surprised to have the pumpkin patch all to ourselves. The boys had a fabulous time and we came home with some great pumpkins and yummy raspberries. On the way we also passed by Pumpkinville at Leesburg Animal Park. Can't wait until Noah is old enough to go there so we can try the haystack slide!