A Simple Saturday.

You know those days that you don't have any real set plans; maybe a few things you'd like to do, but nothing actually scheduled?  Aren't those the best?  We call them "Take the day as it comes," days and they always end up being some of our favorites.  Yesterday was one such day.  Take a look...

 On our way to grab an early am coffee, we stopped by our favorite "hugging tree" to show it some love.

One of the many beautiful fountains in our neighborhood.

We strolled over to the Courthouse Farmer's Market for some berries and cherries!

 Admired the flowers.

After Wes painted the kitchen back to a sterile white, I packed up some boxes and lounged poolside, we headed to The Kennedy Center for their 6:00 free show.  We couldn't resist stopping to take in the beautiful scene on our way to the show.

Check out the unbelievable sunset we were able to capture as we crossed back over the Key Bridge from Georgetown back to Arlington.

The Starbucks Bum

Even before we officially lived in Arlington, we met him - The Starbucks Bum (a.k.a. "SB").  Who is this mysterious  and illusive man, you ask?  Well, feast your eyes on the one friend we don't want to make, but keeps coming back...

SB first came into our lives when we were dining at one of our favorite local restaurants, Pete's New Haven Style Apizza.  While sitting outside enjoying the ridiculously delicious arugula pizza, SB stopped next to our table to chat.  After an awkward few minutes of meaningless conversation, SB looked down at our pizza and said, "So, uh, you gonna finish that?"  Dumbfounded, I looked back at him and in my most authoritative tone replied, "Umm, yeah."  Well, that didn't deter him from asking a 2nd time.  *awkward* And this was just the beginning of what we now know as SB's relentless persistence.

*Ding, ding, ding!*  Round 2.  While grabbing a coffee at the Clarendon Starbucks, SB came into our lives for the 2nd time.  Right away, I recognized and remembered him and thus, tried my best to avert eye contact.  However, Wes was not so quick to the draw.  Like a hawk spotting a turtle, SB went in for the kill.  This time, Wes was lucky enough to hear his pitch for the "latest" speaker system. Seriously, he tried to sell Wes a set of desktop speakers.  

Ladies and Gentlemen, round #3.  The day after capturing this picture (we liken this picture to the rare, yet infamous Yeti photograph), I was walking across that very same crosswalk on my way home from a yoga class.  Lucky for me, SB was crossing in the opposite direction, at the exact same time.  With every ounce of my being, I tried my best to look as busy as one can while crossing a street.  I was proud of myself as I just made it past him without any interaction....but inevitably, he got me.  As I made my first step of freedom beyond him, he turned to me and yelled out, "Hey, nice shirt!  Namaste."

In an effort to learn from our experiences here in our nation's lovely Capital, this is what we're taking away from our encounters with "jack of all trades," SB:

1. Pizza lover
2. A casual salesmen
3. Peaceful warrior

    

The Little Tree that Could...

Last school year, as in 2011-2012, I stopped at Wegmans early one morning to pick up a few things.  While there, I decided to purchase a cute little plant that was on sale for like $3.99ish.  It adds such a homey feel to have some greenery in the classroom.  Well, I have to say, it was the best 4 bucks I've spent in a while.  With a little love and care from the absolutely wonderful Carla, the custodian who cleaned my classroom, the tiny plant blossomed into a tree!  Unfortunately, I don't have a photo from when I first got it, but for perspective, it was about the size of the basil plant below...  

Check it out now!

Carla was in love with this plant - she would water it for me each day and even watched it over the summer last year so I didn't have to lug it back and forth.  As I'm writing this, I'm feeling more and more guilty about not leaving it with her.  She even came into my classroom on the last day of school to kiss it goodbye.   I considered leaving it with her, but I guess was feeling attached to it myself.  Instead, I plan to buy her a new plant to tend to, with a note, written in spanish (thanks to the translator at my school), thanking her for the love and care to the little plant that could and my classroom, of course. :)  She always reminded me about the happiness that can come from the simple things in life! The world needs more Carla's. :)

The avocado - our new best friend.

Wes and I, like most of America lately (if you haven't noticed: Subway  avocado commercial), are obsessed with avocados!  We have been adding them to everything.  Our latest craze, which Wes dreamed up, is using the tasty fruit as an alternative to mayo when making egg salad.   It's d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.

Did you know that the avocado is sometimes referred to as an alligator pear, or the fertility fruit??  Can you guess why?  If not click here.  I'll never look at an avocado the same again. :)

Random Funny Signs

...are the best!  Check out one that we spotted at the local bike shop recently. :)

Well, Wes and I do want a puppy.  Hmmmm....

Introducing: Married Mondays!

Wes and I have decided to start a new weekly (ish - we'll try our best to be consistent!) tradition!  Every Monday we will feature a post about the moments when you realize YOU'RE MARRIED!  One thing you'll probably remember, if you're already married, or will for sure experience when that day comes, if you so choose, is this question (or something similar):  "Congratulations!  So, how is married life?!"  An expected, justified, understandable question, right?  Definitely.  But what we've found kind of funny, is how pressured we feel to give a big, sort of animated, response.  Perhaps it's the emphasis on the word so.  Like we for sure are about to reveal something really exciting or shocking about our new relationship status.  I suspect that we've let many inquiring folks down with our less than over-the-top responses.  It's not that we aren't thrilled to be married.  Duh; it's great.  I guess we just don't feel all that different really, which we believe is a mostly good thing.

Nevertheless, the question has got us thinking.  First, we brainstormed some funny, unexpected, responses to the question:

• "Hate it."  (said in a loud, stern voice, followed by a long awkward pause and a sad face - like the kind that kids make when they don't get their way)
• "OH MY GOODNESS!  IT'S THE BEST THING IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!!  WE WON THE LOTTERY WHEN WE SAID I DO!!" (obviously said in a loud, excited voice, while jumping up and down, pumping our fists in the air)
• "Well, everything was going great until Jaime brought home this f'n ostrich about a week ago.  The thing is running around sh*tting all over the place."

Then, we stopped and thought...how is married life?  And so, Married Mondays came to be.  We'll share some of those "oh my goodness, we are married!" moments (we mean that in a good way), and some funny stories about our life in another tax bracket.

Stay tuned for our 1st official Married Mondays post next week!

A Dose of Family & Friends is Good for the Soul.

Wes and I traveled home this past weekend (and then some) to take care of some job business.  We of course squeezed in as much family and friend time as we could!  It was just what we needed to kick-start our summer of happy transitions!

 The Orient Express was playing down at the beach on Wednesday night!

 We stopped for a drink at Pier 45 afterwards.

Mark and Wes made a delicious clam dinner (salmon for my mom and I :)) on Thursday evening.

On Friday, we ventured over to Steve & Karyn's new house to celebrate Steve's birthday!

It was raining Home Depot gift cards that night and apparently funny cards. :)

And of course we squeezed in fun times with friends!  Happy Birthday Ashely!

Can't wait to do it all over again, soon!

Another Year in the Books

I sure am going to miss these faces.

One of my best classes to date - although, I think I say that every year. This one was really special though, as they transitioned with me from Miss Limoli to Mrs. Juliano. Oh, I'm tearing up just thinking about them. 

We had fun with shaving cream today!

Chilled out a bit...

...and had a candy award ceremony!

All-in-all it was a wonderful last day together. I love my job. 

Another Beautiful Weekend!

Arlington has experienced some weather extremes these past couple of weeks, but luckily for us, the weekends have been absolutely beautiful.  So, Wes and I have taken advantage and squeezed in as many walks, bike rides and poolside afternoons as possible!

So, join us on our journey through the beauty we've encountered...

This is a canal in Georgetown which separates M Street, a shoppers heaven, from the Georgetown Waterfront, one of our favorite picnic spots!  Surprisingly, it's usually very quiet without many crowds.  Which is great, because M Street, while fabulous, is a claustrophobics nightmare. 

Our favorite and frequently photographed fountain.

Last weekend we visited the National Building Museum , which was breathtaking.  To our delight, they were having a backyard bbq with live music, authentic southern cooking and the most delicious beer we've had in a long time!

Enjoying the path along the canal.

Love, love, LOVE this!  I now plan to have an entire patio with leaf imprints!  Wes just doesn't know this yet. :)

Yay for reusing!

Some of the backyards in the Arlington neighborhoods are just plain breathtaking.  Check out this pergola - another plan for our "someday backyard."

Pretty flowers I captured while waiting for my yoga class to start this morning.

Thanks for taking some time to enjoy a bit of our world.  We're off to find some more pretty things to share!

Happy Weekend!

We Miss You Costa Rica!

With the weather warming up (it's going to be a hot, hazy and sunny 92 degrees today!), Wes and I have been reminiscing/missing, Costa Rica.  We both agreed that while we thoroughly enjoyed our honeymoon, when we returned home, we were really happy to be back to a more sane routine (i.e. not balancing life and wedding preparations).  It hasn't been until recently that we've started to really miss the wonder that was Costa Rica.  So, we thought we'd relive some of the beauty, albeit virtually, here today...

 The open-air lobby overlooked the Pacific Coast line.  It was the perfect arrival scene!

This friend fella visited us each morning for breakfast on our balcony.

Swim up bar.  Need we say more?

A pretty tangled mess.

Our favorite thing to do each evening.

Ok, maybe walks on the beach were my favorite thing to do each day.  Wes was a huge fan of the swim up bar. :)

Brasilito was the local town about a 1/2 mile walk down the beach from our resort.   Extremely simple bars and restaurants, shops, motels, homes and soccer fields.

Vibrant was the name of the game.

Horseback riding up and down a very muddy and steep mountainside, in the beautiful rainforest, was both terrifying and exhilarating.  It was a very proud accomplishment for me.  

After horseback riding, we took a little detour (compliments of Rafael, as seen below) to see the natural waterfalls!

My one true love-hate relationship.

Done with horseback riding, on our way to the hot springs.  That's our buddy Rafael in the back.  He was an awesome local tour guide!

This was the path that separated our resort (to the right) from the beach (to the left).  The locals would setup shop, selling jewelry, massages on the beach and tours.  Eric Garcia is the man scratching his neck in the blue and white t-shirt.  If you're ever staying at the Westin Playa Conchal in Costa Rica - book a tour through him - he's super reliable and friendly!

And finally, the best part of all...THE SUNSETS!

*sigh*