chef jeff.

my darling husband did it again.  he created a favorite this weekend - mango salsa for our pork chops.  this recipe was divine on our fresh from the grill pork.  a perfect spring or summer time meal.  fresh light and delicious.

Mango Salsa:
one small red onion (diced)
juice of two limes
two mangoes (chopped)
one red bell pepper (diced)
one jalapeno (finely diced)
one clove of garlic (minced)
1/4 cup of orange juice
1/4 cup of cilantro (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste

combine onion and lime juice in small bowl and set aside.  prepare all other ingredients while onion and lime juice wait.  then, combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  enjoy :)

easter prep.

to help us get ready for easter, we dyed some easter eggs this weekend.  one of my favorite holiday crafts.  we had a lovely evening of getting creative with our sweet friends, katie and dave.   

 {katie, dave and jeffrey}

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