Zara Has a Spell On Me

So, I've already made a few trips to Zara since I've been in D.C. Both times I have tried on about 15-20 different things. I love how their clothes are slightly different than pieces you would find in other stores. That being said, they are influencing my style to be slightly different than usual. Right now they have all of these cool printed graphic t-shirts. Most have sketches and drawings of models or florals. 

I am randomly obsessed with these t-shirts. This denim pencil skirt is my other random obsession. I need, I want, I think I will buy it today. I feel like I am reverting back to the days in the 90's where it was jean everything. 

printed t-shirt/denim pencil skirt

Just a quicky fashion post to show off the strange spell Zara is putting me under. I'm planning another Zara post soon because the store is just full of goods right now. 

Annie

Bites of My Life

Another week in D.C. has passed. We are trying to plan all the things we want to get done this summer that I am quickly realizing how fast it is going to go by. 

Last week I felt more like a real resident of D.C. I know my way around better and can manage the Metro for the majority without having to use my app-success! 

It was a wonderful week at work. I am constantly inspired by the people I work with and the environment at the office. I love getting to know everyone better during our chatty lunch breaks, happy hours and daily meetings! 

Last week consisted of more delicious food, more exploring to find hidden D.C. gems and the arrival of the summer humidity. My hair is loooooving it...

-The Georgetown Anthropologie has their whole BHLDN wedding line in the store...swooon

-Coordinating my breakfast with my outfit

-I love when co-workers bring their leftovers to work. The best flour less chocolate cake.

-SCOUT happy hour!

-Brain Food Friday is being installed at work to keep us working hard! Whole Foods juices were provided for everyone! 

-My first Jazz in the Garden. Think live music, thousands of people and $6 sangria.

-These may just look like quesadillas, but they were strangely the most delicious shrimp quesadillas I've ever had in my life. A little tex-mex from Tortilla Coast was a fun taste of home. 

-The famous Luke's Lobster for lunch on Saturday. Best lobster roll hands down.

-Spent all day Saturday walking about every square inch of Georgetown! 

-"Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy gelato, which is pretty much the same thing!" This easily lured us into Dolcezza for some espresso and pistachio gelato!

-Explored the Union Market Saturday night. It was the coolest, most modern little food market that pops up right in the middle of nothing. My friends thought I was leading them to a dead end when we got off the Metro, but luckily it turned out to be a success.

-A southern gospel buffet brunch on Sunday. This was just plate 1 of about 4.

I have no doubt it is going to be another great week! Mom, dad and oldest sis get here Friday so it will definitely be a great weekend! 

Annie

Strawberry Salsa Shrimp Tacos

I was so excited to be moving into a dorm with a little kitchenette. I pictured myself cooking dinner most nights and baking up some treats every once in a while. First off the kitchenette is tiny, not a huge deal, but I also can barely figure out how to use anything. Second off, I didn't even think about not having pots and pans or just the basic ingredients you need to make anything. That being said, I was still determined to cook something. 

Last Saturday, after a week of eating out for every meal, I decided it was finally time to cook. I decided to make Strawberry Salsa Shrimp Tacos, adapted from How Sweet It Is. 

The meal was actually super simple and totally manageable to make in the baby kitchen. We did frozen shrimp, thawed and then roasted in the oven. The strawberry salsa consisted of strawberries, cilantro, red onion and lime juice, then topped with some avocado!

I bought foil to make a make shift roasting pan and got a $9 kitchen knife at whole foods to chop up the ingredients for the salsa. I made due and it actually turned out great! So if you ever are in limited cooking quarters, this is the meal to make! It was easy, summery, and won over all of the roommates!

Strawberry Salsa Shrimp Tacos

4 servings

Ingredients:
1 1b. bag of frozen shrimp, thawed, peeled and devained
salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic for roasting
8 yellow or white corn tortillas, warmed

For the salsa:
8 oz fresh strawberries, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
juice of one lime
salt and pepper to taste

Additional toppings:
salsa
avocado
feta cheese

Directions:
First make your salsa so the flavors have time to marry together. Chop up all your ingredients, squeeze lime over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix together and keep in the fridge while the shrimp cooks.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place your shrimp on a roasting pan or cookie sheet in a single layer. Drizzle about 2 Tbsp. olive oil over the top and sprinkle with salt, pepper and chopped garlic. Toss them around then roast in the oven for 8 minutes. 

Warm your tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then everything is ready! Let your guests put their tacos together as they please! 

Annie

D.C. Diary Part I

My plan is to try and make a "diary" entry every week or every other week to update you guys on all the exciting happenings of my life. Well at least I find them exciting, if you don't, just ignore my diary posts. My bites post just aren't enough to share everything I've been up to.  I'll be giving you a taste of what I've seen, done and most importantly, eaten. 

I've seen Memorial Day celebrations take place in the most appropriate city.

I've seen where Mr. President lives. And then proceeded to get the DCOM classic "my date with the president's daughter oooooh yaaaa" song stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

I've seen the capitol and walked more miles than I think I ever have. 

Olivia Pope are you in there?

I've seen the Supreme Court up close and personal.

I've seen the Capitol from the steps of the Supreme Court, all while the lady taking the picure couldn't wrap her mind around the idea of an intern.

I've seen Oklahoma's mark at the WWII memorial.

I've seen big 'ole Honest Abe perched on his chair. 

I've seen almost all of the monuments now so I can proudly check that one off the bucket list and stop acting like a tourist. 

I've seen the immense amount of names remembered in the Vietnam Memorial. And, even cooler, I've seen the Washington Monument in the reflection from the Vietnam Memorial.

I've seen the White house from both views, and yes I got the my date with the President's daughter song stuck in my head again. 

I've acted like a fool in awe of seeing a cart escalator for the first time. These two-story Targets are a new thing for me, so I think a freak out was acceptable. Now when I go across the street from my dorm to the two-story Whole Foods, I'm a little more relaxed with the whole cart escalator thing.

I've successfully cooked in our tiny little dorm kitchen. The roommates and I also attempted to make it feel a little bit more homie with some patterned plastic plates and a baby orchid!

I've explored the streets of Georgetown and think of it as my little hood now. I love getting to walk through the quaint neighborhood on my way to work every morning.

I've found my place at Barre 3 DC and have loved the few classes I've taken so far. 

I've done as the DCers do and indulged in happy hour. This town believes in two things, happy hour and brunch. 

In order to fit in, I successfully brunched my first weekend in DC. Happy hour and brunch are two things I can get into.

  Now for the food. I had the most delicious Crab Cake salad at Serendipity 3 in Georgetown.

I had the BBQ style oysters at Hank's Oyster Bar in Dupont Circle for a pre-first day of work meal with the greatest roommates.

I've downed the Unicorns & Rainbows cupcake from Baked and Wired, as well as (not pictured) the Dirty Chai cupcake. The cupcake pictured above was from everyone at work so it would be rude not to eat it all, right?...

 I've eaten the AMAZING Mushroom Scallops with Barley Risotto from Founding Farmers.

I washed it down with complimentary birthday cake from Founding Farmers.

I've had the best Watermelon and Arugula salad at the University Club.

I then scarfed down the Ahi Tuna and Tuna Tartar from the University club as well. 

I've eaten the Blazin' Barn burger and THE BEST FRENCH FRIES everrrrr from Good Stuff Eatery in Capitol Hill. I even got regrammed from Good Stuff themselves.

I had the Smoked Salmon Scramble for brunch at Kramer's Books in Dupont Circle. My favorite restaurant from my last visit in DC and it still reigned supreme!

I treated myself to Fro.Zen.Yo after our grand tour around the monuments. Coconut, Pistachio, Strawberry Shortcake and Cookies & Cream topped with oreo crumbs, banana chips, granola, almonds and yogurt covered pretzels.

I ended my first week in DC by fulfilling my asian food craving with Lemongrass Chicken Curry from Asia Nine. 

So there is a glimpse at my first week in the district. Come back in the future weeks for more D.C. Diary posts! 

 Annie

p.s. In between my posts, check out the work I'm doing on the  Yo Deb! blog.

Bites of My Life

Hello whirlwind. Last week was amazing, busy, short, but long. I've officially been in D.C. for a week now. I am trying to squeeze as much as I can into the two months I'll be here, so I am warning you now there may be a lack of posts for the next few months. I am determined to at least post every Monday so you can get a big bite out of what's going on in D.C. I have a few other post ideas still, so don't think I'm writing off the blog completely!

Last week we got all moved into our dorm, or the penthouse as we like to call it. No one had work on Monday because of Memorial day so it was the perfect opportunity to explore our new city! 

I started work on Tuesday, it is amazing. I'm surrounded by the coolest people, working for the coolest company, doing something that doesn't even feel like work. 

Most nights, the roommates and I would get home, take a quick nap or relax a bit then go grab a late dinner. Over the weekend we forced ourselves to push through the tiredness to get out and check things off our summer bucket list. 

Here's to week two in D.C!

-Memorial Day celebrations in front of the National Archives building.

-Cheesy picture in front of my office while we were exploring around Georgetown. 

-Baked and Wired. After Ben & Jerry's we got cupcakes...We got them to-go to not make ourselves feel too disgusting. I got Dirty Chai!

-I love still being able to do Barre 3 in D.C. The studio is conveniently right around the corner from my office!

-Working on your birthday isn't so bad. I was surprised with a little birthday celebration and another Baked and Wired cupcake!

-Came home to flowers and champagne from the sweetest roommate! We quickly popped it to celebrate our first day of work and being 21!

-Finally the birthday celebrations came to a close. Free dessert to end the night didn't make it so bad.

-Look there's wine in there! Being 21 is fun. 

-After dinner stroll by the White House.

-My fellow intern! We both had birthdays last week so we celebrated with Godiva birthday chocolate! I told you, you were going on the blog Savannah!

-Doing like the locals do and getting our Happy Hour on. 

-Bonding over belting Elton John at our new favorite place. 

-Good Stuff Eatery. The best burger and fries hands down. Look! They even regrammed my picture. 

-First meal in the penthouse! I made shrimp tacos with strawberry salsa! Look forward to that recipe post this week!

-WWII memorial. Cliche' pic in front of our home state!

-The big man. 

-Walking the monuments is tiring and it deserves frozen yogurt afterwords. Fro.zen.yo has banana chips as a topping, so I'm sold. 

-After craving asian all week, we ended the weekend with a little sushi, fried rice and curry!

I am going to start doing more detailed D.C. posts so you can know all about what I'm doing, seeing and most importantly, eating. 

Annie