My two best girlfriends, Mary and Caroline, and I thought up a plan to do a girls trip to Mexico in celebration of turning 30. We have known each other since we were freshman roommates in college, so we knew this trip would be epic. Well last year we turned 30, but I was knocked up, so Mexico was put on hold. Finally we settled on June 2018, once I got the plans in place for my parents to come help hubby with the bambinos. We were going to Tulúm, Quintano Roo, MEH-HEE-CO!!!! I have to admit I barely did any planning for this trip, since both my friends got…

Fall is creeping its way in and with it comes all of my favorite things: my birthday, halloween, pumpkin-spiced everything, apple ciders donuts, etc. I attribute it to being raised in New England (specifically Connecticut) and experiencing the perfect fall…so I have high expectations for this season. I try to visit an orchard or pumpkin farm almost every year, so that I can happily check a bunch of my fall-favorites off the list. This year two of my friends suggested we check out Fall Festival at Cox Farms in Centreville, VA. Usually the best time to go to these farms is mid-October, but since they knew the impending arrival of…

One of our go-to spots in downtown Bethesda is Silver. Yes, it is named Silver, and yes it serves diner-fare….but don’t get this place confused with Silver Diner (although it is founded by the same folks). The restaurant opened in 2015 and we’ve eaten there at least half a dozen times.  Our first Silver rendezvous was  unplanned, and rather serendipitous.  We were going to an evening movie showing at Bethesda Row Cinema (“Room” if memory serves), and stumbled upon Silver located across the street (at the corner of Bethesda Ave and Woodmont).  What we thought would be an average diner turned out to be a pretty impressive culinary experience. They…

We were invited by my husband’s coworker to attend the Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point races on Saturday afternoon. From DC it’s about an hour and half drive out to Ben Venue Farm, in Washington County, Virginia. I definitely had to do my research to find out what exactly we were about to see. In my head, I envisioned this fox being released, a pack of hounds chasing after it, and people on horses riding behind them…like I had seen in Downton Abbey. In fact, this particular event was just the horses racing around a grass track over hurdles and timber. Steeplechases and point-to-point races have been around since the 1700’s originating from…

When the weather is nice, we love spending an afternoon in historic Old Town, Alexandria VA. Our first stop in the morning is to attend worship service at our church home, Alfred Street Baptist Church on the corner of Alfred and Duke street.  As one of the oldest African-American baptist churches in the nation (est. 1803) with less than 200 members at its inception, the congregation has now grown into the thousands. Pastor Howard-John Wesley has an incredible ability to reach and impact people of all ages through preaching and teaching the Word. Even the Obama family has stopped by two years in a row at Easter service! Bottom, it’s a great place to worship.  …

I moved to DC at the beginning of March in 2011, just in time to witness my first Cherry Blossoms season.  I lived in the heart of downtown DC, just blocks from the national mall, which made it a walkable distance to the Tidal Basin. The sight of hundreds of these blush-pink trees lining the water was breath-taking. Then you also have the MLK, Jefferson memorial and Washington monument perfectly positioned in the background, practically begging tourists to take a photo. And that’s the only thing I wasn’t crazy about…the massive amount of tourists infiltrating this small area detracted from the natural beauty of this seasonal event. Nature is best appreciated with…

When the results rolled in on November 8th, I shared a similar sentiment with most of my friends: devastation. But I’m not one to sulk for very long over losses or disappointment. I’m also not one to engage in bitter protests that would do more damage than good. Many of my friends were planning to attend the Women’s March on Washington that was to occur the day after the inauguration.  I was worried that my husband wouldn’t agree with me going from a safety standpoint, but to my surprise he was completely in favor of me being a part of history. I parked my car near the metro station and…