A Greener Clean and Other TV Goodness

I should probaly never have gotten cable. It was a luxury that due to a year end special I was able to afford on my budget. I love coming home from home from work, flopping on the couch and watching an episode of House Hunters, Say Yes to the Dress, The Bachelor/ette, etc. Obviously this can get very out of control if I am feeling lazy. Today was massive lazy afternoon. (I did have a productive morning prepping for some things I have upcoming this week). But then I took a quick nap and it all went downhill from there.

So in honor of my wasted hours this afternoon I figured I could turn it into some sort of productivity and write about a few things that have caught my eye on TV lately.

First off. I always thought the Beggin Strips commercials for those rediculous bacon shapped dog treats where hilarious. (The poodle loves those things). They recently came out with a new version of the Bacon! commercial and there is a poodle. Must share.

 Second, I have seen the commecial for the new Scotch-Brite Greener Clean sponges. I have started looking for them in the grocery story and Target and I have yet to seen them. I can't wait to try them out! Made with natural and recycled fibers these seem like a great thing to incorporate into my household as I seem to have a clean/new sponge fetish since I have to hand wash every single on of my dishes. Check out the products here. If anyone finds these let me know where!

Found @ hiphomeowner.com

Last, but certainly not least, since I could watch (and laugh) this a million times in the new Geico commerical. Hopefully this brings back some childhood memories and makes some of you laugh.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I just wanted to take a moment to wish my wonderful mom a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Wish I was there to celebrate with you today!

I love you mom! I know this is the start of another wonderful year full of adventures, love and happiness!

XOXO,

Andrea

Virgina Peaches, Apples and Wines. Oh My!

A few weekends ago Sam organized for a few people to meet up and go peach picking out in Virginia. As I am sure most of you have witness and/or heard at this point, DC's summer heat issues have been out of control this summer so we dragged ourselves out of bed early on Saturday morning to get out to the orchard. The drive out to the orchard was beautiful. Ashley and I did have to set Sam straight about "mountains" vs. "rolling hills" but once we all came to consensus we all could appreciate the rolling hills. We went to Stribling Orchard and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to go pick peaches or apples. We had a great time and the staff at the orchard was incredibly friendly and helpful. We are already thinking about an apple picking adventure and I have some ambitions to make some apple butter!

I was surprised at how small the peach trees were. The peaches were easy to pick from my 5 foot advantage point.

Picking some peaches

 The beautiful Virginia rolling hills and view from the orchard.

My loot from the adventure. I brought home about 18 pounds of peaches for under $20! What a deal!

After picking peaches we found some shaded picnic tables and chowed down on our eclectic lunches that we packed for the day. The highlight was the childhood enjoyment of my fruit rollups that I had purchased earlier in the day.

(Ashley, Sam and Sarah- You can thank me later for posting these. And don't worry...we didn't let Ashley eat the plastic as much as she wanted to)

After lunch we decided to check out a vineyard that was just next to the orchard. Chateau O' Brien does  wine tastings for $5 and we were able to sample a variety of their wines. Their venue is very nice and they have an on-site dog who is a mascot! We all really liked their Virginia Apple Wine and purchased bottles for $20. I am sipping on some tonight!

After we finished our wine tasting there we decided to try out one more vineyard since it was a lazy Saturday, hot as can be in DC and why not, right? Luckily we had Sam with us and he remember there being a vineyard just down a dirt road and over a few rolling hills. After a non-conventional driving route we found Linden Vineyards.I am not even sure I want to write about this place because it was such a treat!

The vineyard was set just far enough off the main road that you really felt like you had "gotten away". We were warmly greeted when we came in and did another $5 wine tastings. These wines were really good! We all seemed to really like many of them and knew we would have a hard time picking just a few bottles to take home with us. After the normal tasting we also were allowed to taste an amazing desert wine they had that was incredibly fragrant and savory. After our tasting we were told about their membership that allowed people to come and sit on their beautiful veranda that overlooks the vineyards and drink wine and dine on cheese and bread. We lucked out and due to the heat, the normal membership requirements (the purchase of a case of wine) was waived and we selected a bottle of wine to split and enjoy outside. We also ordered two portions of fresh chevre with some fresh baked baguette.

I can not rave enough about Linden Vineyards. We had such a great afternoon enjoy each other company, the wine and cheese and a day away from the busy DC world. I would have to say that we are still thinking about the case membership so we can go again and have another wonderful afternoon.

3 Year DCversary

Today is my 3 year DCversary. T.H.R.E.E. Y.E.A.R.S.

Oh.

My.


Is all I can say. I never ever ever ever ever imagined I would still be here. I am not really sure what to focus on writing this post. How three years feels like the blink of an eye? How three years feels like eternity with no end? How these three years have been the most challenging and life changing in my life? The highlights of what has happened to me here? Favorite memories? Why I am still here?

I guess the following ramblings will have to do as I sit here wondering how time possibly got to this point.

Three years ago Alex and I moved into our one bedroom apartment. We lived with a desk as a kitchen table. Mismatched chairs. A bedspread that was too small for our bed. Camp chairs. No TV (but a TV stand). A GIANT desk. Hardly enough money (well I hardly had any money). And an ambition to  buy blue plates. Almost a year later we divided the assets, realized we never found blue plates, which was maybe a sign, and went our separate ways. I ventured out to find myself in a city that I never thought I would find anything in.

After that I somehow found a roommate off of craigslist and lived in an apartment that was worthy of a TV show. Battled some roaches (a lot of roaches). Learned how to brine a turkey. Really started to understand the power of friendships, especially the ones that conducted from opposite sides of the country. Learned to fall in love with a lot of things. Started to figure out what wearing big girl pants was all about. And then decided that it was either me or the roaches. The roaches won.

My first attempt at living on my own. Talk about being an adult. I now 100% understand why people say that if you can, living on your own before you get married is one of the most valuable experiences. I have learned a lot about how to live: I now get excited about recycled sponges, laundry detergent that is on sale, dishwashers seem like unicorns, and I have learned to appreciate making a space that you love and can call your very own. But also have started learning about being your own best friend and realizing it is okay to have whatever life you have and to not be self conscious of who you are and what you enjoy.
I also learned how to paint stripes. I am a pro stripe painter. I am constantly shocked when I open my front door and see that I own an apartment full of furniture,  books, kitchen things, lines and clothes.

It is moving into year three that I can officially say I am a "DCer". Whatever that means. It feels a bit like a battle scar. A reminder that this was never the life I saw. But above all


it is an accomplishment.

It is a tale I will always tell.




And that is the end of me sentimental sappy post.

Today.

It was stunning out today. I started the day with a three mile run. Sustained my first blister from the new pair of shoes and successfully bled all over them. Yuck. After that I whipped a fruit smoothie with a few kale leaves thrown in for good measure. After showering and watching some food network I headed out to Buzz Bakery in Alexandria (one of my favorite places to hang out) and put in about 2 hours of GMAT studying. I then headed over to King Street so I could check out the Gap and Nine West outlet stores. I also took the Nikon along to practice with what I learned from the Pioneer Woman yesterday and shot the above two shoots. Again...nothing amazing. But progress. Perhaps.

After old town I headed to Target to pick up some of the apartment essentials and a random shirt I saw. Then I swung into Old Navy, found a clearance pair of summer sandals and then dashed in and out of B&N to pick up a Math practice book so I can keep plugging away with this GMAT studying.

Earlier in the day on Food Network I had seen a show about homemade falafel. For some reason this really stuck with me and on my way home I just had to stop at the store and get the ingredients to try this out. Never mind the fact it was 9:30 by the time I got home. But I did it. I used this recipe and enjoyed one of my first completely vegetarian meals that I have ever cooked. (My whole day seems to be a bit on the vegetarian side). I have to say...it was really tasty. I do need a food processor. I did the whole thing in a blender but I am thinking a new kitchen appliance is going to make it into my 415 sq. feet before I know it.

Tomorrow is a HP date with Sam and Ashley-- "Samley", perhaps dinner or lunch with them as well. And then I just have a pile of Laundry, a dirty apartment and some new GMAT studying materials to attack. This weekend is flying by. I don't like it.

Not. One. Bit.