wahooooooo.

 

my sweet friend kat made her goal!

she raised $50,000 to continue recording her album

that she has been working so so hard on.

bravo dear friend!

we CANNOT wait to hear

the final product!

smooches from dc!

xoxo

middle school art projects {part three}.

and here are some middle school art projects....

 

{Ceramic Mexican Suns - created by the 5th grade}

 {Ceramic Greek Pots - created by the 6th grade}

 {The Roy Lichtenstein Project - created by the 7th grade}

Students were instructed to create their own comic...

{Art Through the Ages - created by the 8th grade}

Students learned about art history as they painted a piece of fruit from different art eras - Realism, Impressionism, Cubism, Fauvism, Surrealism and Abstract.

lower school art projects {part three}.

here is what we have been up to in the art room recently....

 {Eric Carle inspired collages after reading Mister Seahorse - created by the 1st grade}

 {Ceramic Pinch Pots turned into Four Legged Animals - created by the 2nd grade}

 {Japanese Fish Banners that hang from our ceiling - created by the 3rd grade}

{Terrific Toucans - created by 4th grade}

a lovely sunday afternoon.

{jeffrey, blair, jane and gary}

my sweet sweet parents made a last minute trip up to dc this past weekend

and hit the peak bloom of the lovely cherry blossoms!

while the weather is still too cold for my taste

the cherry blossoms were looking beautiful.

we hit them at the perfect time - sunday afternoon

when the crowds had all gone home.

it was a memorable trip with my parents

and loved having them here visiting us in dc.

 {b and mama}

 {daddo and b}

 {jeffrey advocating the protection of the blossoms}

come again soon mom and dad

we had a blast!

xoxox

pho.

{pho deliciousness}

have yall tried the amazing vietnamese noodle soup called pho??

well, if you haven't you should because it is delicious!

mags and trav introduced me to this lovely soup
the last night i was in san fran.

i ran home to tell jeff about it because it was scrumptious.

jeff told me he knew of the perfect pho place (in our area) 

that he has been wanting to try.

so after our date to the dentist earlier this week,

(no cavities, which is a huge achievement by the way!)

we treated ourselves to some wonderful pho.

it was a little hole in the wall place in arlington, va

and i can't stop dreaming about the amazing beef broth.

the meat was super tender, rice noodles were perfect and

i love all the toppings: basil, mint, lime, bean spouts and plum sauce.

(and hot sauce if you like things spicy)

so if you haven't tried the pho - go do so right now

and report back!

p.s. - the salty lemonade was ummm interesting.

jeff seemed to enjoy it more than i did.

congrats congrats!

{sarah and bryan}

congrats congrats sweet friends!

college friend - sarah and her now fiance bryan - got engaged sunday evening.

on the beautiful beaches of kiawah, south carolina at sunset.

we look forward to celebrating with these cuties in the coming months.

here is to all the fun we will have in 2012!

xoxo

mag's bachlorette adventure.

our dear dear friends, maggie and travis, are getting married in april!  mags is my oldest and dearest - friends since the second grade.  so this past weekend, i ventured to the san fran area to celebrate maggie's bachlorette weekend.  this weekend was full of adventure - filled with lots of fun and a ton of snow!  we headed to an adorable cabin in the mountains and experienced the last few days of winter.  about four feet of snow to be exact.  it was a winter wonderland full of delightful views, delicious food, fabulous company, many hours of just dance 2 (such a fun game by the way), snow sculpture fun, and some great girlie time celebrating the bride to be - mags!

here are a few scenes from the eventful weekend: 

 {susie and mags-the bride to be-playing "just dance 2"}

 {kim, jelena, and blair}

 {jamie's adorable family cabin}

{sexy camping gear for the bride to be}

on sunday, we spent about 4 hours shoveling 4 feet of snow off our cars in order to get back to san fran.  it was a crazy fun adventure that created some hilarious memories.  

shoveling snow = the perfect bachlorette adventure for our outward bound instructor bride to be!

smooches mags.  i love you.

xoxox

shamrock fun.

 

 isn't this shamrock tin adorable?

find out how to make this festive tin here.

hope everyone is having a lovely st. patty's day!

we are off to dine on corned beef and mashed potatoes with friends!

xoxo

they are a coming.

and we are so pumped!

the hubby has been tracking these babies on 

bloom watch to get the latest update on the peak bloom, 

which this year is projected from march 29 to april 3!

we snagged these beauties from the farmer's market on sunday.

our very own cherry blossom branches at home for us to enjoy.

(i promise they didn't come from the tidal basin.)

xoox

then and now.

 then...

 now...

i love you z-man!

xoxox

the weekend continued.

the weekend fun continued as we toured around dc's monuments,

enjoyed some st. patty's joy at the cheeks (thanks friends!),

  ventured to a wizards game, 

dined at pizza paradiso

and enjoyed a delicious meal by chef jeff!

{jenn, zachary, blair and jeff}

 

 

{jeff and jenn}

 

 

 

 {the swedes trying to not get sunburned}

 {mushroom risotto with asparagus}

smooches zachary and jenn!

xoxo

friday night fun.

my brother, zachary and his fiance jenn, came to visit us in dc this past weekend.  on friday night, we had a rockin' good ole time dining at masa 14 on their delicious tapas.  we then came home to delectable cupcakes from the new (to our area) cupcake store, sprinkles - which i have to say has the best cupcakes i've had thus far!  the cake is so perfectly moist.  it was a great way to kick off this weekend o' fun!   

scenes from friday evening.

 

{jenn and zachary}

 

 {sibling love}

 

{the boys getting annoyed about getting their picture taken}

 

 {cupcakes from sprinkles}

on my wish list.

 

my love for jonathan adler

combined with my love for my iphone.

what a perfect combination.

happy weekend friends!

xoxox

moroccan lanterns {diy}.

 

love these diy moroccan lanterns

i saw on design*sponge.

step by step directions found here.

another project to add to my list 

of "to dos" during my spring break

(a mere week and half away!)

wouldn't these look darlin' at a dinner table or 

outside once the weather gets warmer?

happy ash wednesday friends!

xoxox

ski trip 2011 {well sort of}.

{jeff, blair, dave, katie, matt and nell taking the picture}

our sweet friends, dave and katie, invited us to their family's 

charming ski cabin this past weekend. 

 and it was a delightful little get-a-way.

sadly, we woke up on sunday morning to tons of rain

and news that the slopes were closed for the day.

while we didn't get the chance to ski

we did enjoy lots of games, home cooked meals, wine

and each others company.

of course it started to snow in the afternoon

just as we were starting to leave....

oh well, maybe next year.

thanks dave and katie for the good times!

xoxox

congrats congrats!

these two cuties, becca (jeff's sister) and chris, got ENGAGED last thursday!

chris took becca on a surprise trip to new orleans 

where he got down on one knee and popped the question.

we couldn't be HAPPIER for these two!

we LOVE LOVE LOVE them.
we love them separately
and even more together.

we cannot wait to help them celebrate in the coming months

and look forward to all the family memories we will continue to create.

we love you two

and send big hugs from dc!

xoxo