Ladies Night

The last thing I remember winning is a cake, from a cake walk.

I was eight.

Looks like I'll be kickin' it with Brandon Barklage (I heart alliteration!)
this weekend.

Yeah, I'm stoaked.

Mr. Manners

Persian coworker + movie + well, you know = the following text exchange.

Him: Please excuse me. I feel bad.
Me: It happened. No need to fret about it.

So, this is my demise into 30 something promiscuity. Should I be worried?

Weekend Roundup

One of the best things about living in the Nation's Capital is having visitors.


My sister (and her boyfriend) popped into town this past weekend. It was the perfect visit for a few reasons 1) They were only here a short while, 2) They stayed with someone else (however my bathroom shower endured a thorough, overdue scrubbing), and 3) Saturday morning one-on-one sister time included three of my favorite activities, one of which was...spending time with my sister.

Glad you came.

Chapter 11

In all the theatrical productions (both film and stage) I've seen of this seminal work, this sequence is always omitted.
Pity.
It just happens to be one of my favorite parts.

"In a flash Atticus was up and standing over him. Jem buried his face in Atticus's shirt front. "Sh-h," he said. "I think that was her way of telling you everything's all right now, Jem, everything's all right. You know, she was a great lady."
"A lady?" Jem raised his head. His face was scarlet. "After all those things she said about you, a lady?"
"She was. She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine, maybe...son, I told you that if you hadn't lost your head I'd have made you go read to her. I wanted you to see something about her, I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew.""

Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird

Z is for...

Last night's dinner.

Zucchini Pancakes

This recipe is from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa at Home, with few alterations. Though very similar to potato pancakes, these have a lighter flavor and are great in the summer when you can easily buy local zucchini. I like to keep the just-cooked ones in a 300°F oven while I make the rest. They’re delicious served plain, but I’m partial to eating them with sour cream or applesauce.

1 medium zucchini
2 tablespoons grated red onion
1 scallion, white parts only, finely chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3-6 tablespoons all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
unsalted butter

*(I added a couple tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese and omitted the scallion)

Grate the zucchini into a bowl, and immediately stir in the onion and eggs. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the flour, the baking soda, salt, and pepper. If the batter gets too thin from the liquid from the zucchini, then add the remaining tablespoons of flour as needed.)

Proceed as you would with normal pancakes: Heat a medium-sized sauté pan over medium heat and melt butter, about ½ a tablespoon, into the pan. When the butter is hot, lower the heat slightly and drop spoonfuls of the zucchini batter into the butter. Cook 2 minutes on each side, until browned.

Eat hot.

Color Me Happy

In addition to those darling M&M® minis, which I love, over the weekend (at M&M World, NYC) I discovered M&M® coconut (complete with tiny white palm tree).

A d o r a b l e.

My world will never quite be the same.

30 Things While I'm 30

* Climb the National Cathedral steps
* Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at night
* Maryland Renaissance Festival
* George Washington's Old Grist Mill
* Free summer Saturday at Corcoran Gallery
* Read Atlas Shrugged (in process)
* Soar to the top of the Empire State Building
* Pay off credit card debt
* Visit dear friends and Yosemite in sunny CA
* Take a wheel throwing pottery class
* Day trip to Fallingwater
* Bahamas
* Hike Calf Creek Falls* Triathlon
* Spend a Saturday hiking the Appalachian Trail
* Washington Printmakers' Gallery
* Monthly visits to Miriam's Kitchen
* Nationals game
* Transcribe Dad's journal
* DC Roller Girls
* Learn how to bake croissants
* Tangier Island
* Niagara Falls
* Skydiving
* Read the New Testament (all of it)
* Phillips Collection
* Colbert Report
* Ride around the National Mall in a Segway
* Wolf Trap
* Fall in love 

DISCLAIMER: list is subject to change at the author's discretion.

In Celebration

A Lady Who Thinks She Is Thirty
By: Ogden Nash

Unwillingly Miranda wakes,
Feels the sun with terror,
One unwilling step she takes,
Shuddering to the mirror.

Miranda in Miranda's sight
Is old and gray and dirty;
Twenty-nine she was last night;
This morning she is thirty.

Shining like the morning star,
Like the twilight shining
Haunted by a calendar
Miranda is a -pining.

Silly girl, silver girl,
Draw the mirror toward you;
Time who makes the years to whirl
Adorned as he adored you.

Time is timelessness for you;
Calendars for the human;
What's a year, or thirty, to
Loveliness made woman?

Oh, Night will not see thirty again,
Yet soft her wing, Miranda;
Pick up your glasses and tell me, then
How old is Spring, Miranda?

10 Things I L O V E August

It's been a week...here's to starting a better month.
1. Getting lost in my annual read...

2. Enjoying hand shucked and naked (making up for years of none, due to metal mouth accessories).


3. Making space for Huntley Meadows at sundown, accompanied by a few east coast delights...



4. Indulging: warm off the vine or swathed in cool dollops of cream. Either way, you can't go wrong.

(Can't you just hear Carol Channing? Razzzzzzzzzzberries!)

5. Recalling summer theatre, but especially UFO.

6. Celebrating a fellow Leo, that still gives me the giggles.


7. Dreaming of those days of yore. Okay, I freely admit it.

8.Sipping my WoW friendly summer tonic...

(Vanilla Bean Frappuccino with a shot of Peppermint. Oooo.)

9. Supporting Screen on the Green, any green. Pull up a blanket and relax.

10. Hearing the story one. more. time.

*Note: All images are courtesy of Google Images. Non-commercial, so please don't prosecute. 

**Second Note: Thanks to fellow blogger for post idea. 

*** Final Note: Notice my concerted efforts at not making every one a food post. Ahem, I think kudos are in order.