scenes from the cold month of january

So I promise we haven't intentionally gone quiet here on the blog, it's just that it is January. And with January always comes the quick disappearance of a month and a bit of a haze as to how that happened. There's always such a build up to Christmas and New Year's that once they're both over, it's like time keeps going on around us and we're all still standing still. Or at least that's how I feel about the month of January. It's too bad I feel that way, too, considering my birthday falls in January...

To make up for the lack of posts, here's a recap of all the things we were doing in our absence here. We strolled around the District the day before the inauguration and admired the long and plentiful line of porta-potties on the National Mall (we're talking thousands). We tried new places to eat around Old Town Alexandria and the District, like the Crumbs cupcake above (who can pass on a yummy red velvet cupcake? Not this girl). I've been making a lot of doodles trying out new fonts. We've taken lots of walks around our new neighborhood admiring all the old and pretty brownstones. Husmate joined the oxford-wearing-cool-kids party (another score for wifey and her influence!). I made my first pie by trying out this yummy Chocolate Chess Pie recipe from the delightful 1canoe2 blog to (quite randomly) celebrate National Pie Day (not to be confused with the ever important Pi Day on March 14... Nerds unite! 3.14159265359...). I mailed a fun little happy to my sweet nephew. And I celebrated my birthday with a delicious breakfast at Founding Farmers and pink tulips from the husmate (Side note: I will be reporting back on our second experience to FF for their red velvet pancakes. Yes, you read that correctly- red velvet pancakes).

And now you're all caught up on our whereabouts for January! Best wishes for better accountability for blogging next month (fingers crossed)!

bewildered by the rain and fog

So let me preface this post with a few facts:

1. My mother had a conference in DC this past weekend.

2. She asked for my advice on packing as far as weather goes.

3. Even though I consulted my Weather Channel app 3 times, I pretty much made my mother freeze by telling her all the wrong things to pack therefore resulting in a daughter fail.

So despite the weather being at least 15 degrees (or more) cooler than was forecasted, as well as it raining like every day since she landed (when the highest chance was 30% for maybe one day), it has also been incredibly foggy. As in where is the horizon in the picture above?? Love must be in the air for some hot and heavy dementors in the area...

In trying to make the best of things and show Mom something in all this fog and rain, we hit up Mt. Vernon this past weekend. Apparently hardly anyone goes there when it's 40 something degrees out and the sky resembles a white screen (I couldn't imagine why)... On the upside, the guides do offer more information when fewer people are shuffling through the house. 

So after our fun and chilly walk about Washington's plantation, we headed to the National Harbor to drop Mom off to register for her conference. And while we were trying to avoid paying for parking driving around aimlessly killing time waiting on her, we decided to be all spontaneous and hit up some open houses. What are we... 30?? Ha, it was pretty fun I must say. Well, except for looking at some of the asking prices (especially the $400/month HOA fees...). 

But I think my personal favorite from this weekend is the car in the last picture above. Please take as much joy fathoming whatever it is the owner was going for as we did Sunday morning. That van's roof had at least three solar panels, a propeller, and a chair covered in camo. Any thoughts??

And after braving the cold and wet weather for as long as we could, the Berry's finally caved and made our first fire in our new apartment. Now all we need are s'mores :)

Our sweet Riley

Comparison may be the thief of joy, but so are sick puppies. And our sweet pup, Riley, was a very sick puppy. Along with his adorable speckles and gentle spirit came his exhausting case of distemper, and with distemper came a lot of maladies and sadness. After showing the signs of dehydration, lack of appetite, a terrible sinus problem, and unforgiving neurological ticks that prevented him from holding his darling head up, we decided that it was best for our gentle Riley to be put to sleep.

But there is a silver lining to this story.

Riley was a shelter dog. One that apparently had been left to survive walking about south/west Montgomery and who entered the shelter life with a cocktail of problems. Not only did he have distemper, but also a case of bordetella, a gastrointestinal infection, and a respiratory infection. He was quite the pup to want to try everything apparently, but despite being laden down with what seems to be everything you could possibly get sick with, he still wagged his tail and fought his hardest to get better.

My sweet parents gave him the best home that a shelter dog could ever dream of for ten days of his life, and he soaked up every minute of it. From discovering what excitement toys and playing with other fun dogs could hold to putting his front paws on the sofa until someone picked him up and put him in his own spot, Riley had a wonderful adopted life. And even for the short period of ten days, he got to know what it feels like to have a master love and care for him, even when he got scared to sleep by himself or needed someone to wipe his nose.

Riley, who knew that in the space of two days of being around you, I could get so attached? Even in our brief meeting, you taught me so much about how fleeting this life is and how even in the bad, you can find the silver lining. You were a great pup. And I hope that wherever you are, you are experiencing an existence free of pain and your milk-dipped tail is able to wag all day.