D.C. Diary: The Sequel

My adventure with D.C. didn't end this summer. Before I left I had already booked a ticket to go back a month later. The excuse for my visit was to attend the 10th anniversary of Go Bo, an amazing night full of food, friends, fun and most importantly, giving back. More on Go Bo here.

Friday morning included a much need visit with all of my SCOUT peeps, then that afternoon I got to hang out with the Georgetown University Grilling Society (GUGS). My friend I was staying with currently goes to Georgetown and talked all summer about how amazing these burgers are. The fact that they have a grilling club is legit, and their burgers are even more legit. I think I was the only there in a skirt, but I salted and sauced those burgers like a pro.

Took a darn big bite out of that GUGS burger and loved every minute of it. Full and happy, it was time to start primping for the party. 

The theme for Go BO this year was tacky wedding. From the Jordan almonds to ranch dressing fountain and numerous amounts of taffeta, everything was tacky to a T. My boss sure knows how to throw a party.

The whole event was held outside under a huge wedding tent. The fabulous band led to me dancing and sweating, and more dancing and sweating, for the majority of the night. 

'Twas the best night, with the best people, all for a great cause!

Now for some DC dining. I hadn't planned anything, very surprising, especially to myself. This summer I had reservations weeks in advance, but this time I was just so excited to get back I hadn't really thought about it. 

This doesn't mean I didn't treat myself to some fabulous district eats. Saturday brunch on 14th street with my girl Sav and Sunday brunch in Gtown with my little piece of home, Jillian. Savannah and I interned together and Jillian is my old family friend who is currently residing in D.C. 

Party-going on Friday and brunching on Saturday, left Sunday for an afternoon of exploring. My favorite part of D.C. is the scenery. I could walk the streets of Georgetown for hours snapping pictures of the beautiful row houses.

I just can't get enough of these old, painted shuttered, brick homes. Please o' please let me live in one of you someday.

'Till next time D.C.

Annie

Bites of My Life

-Ready for fall, but holding on to summer by snacking on a big juicy watermelon.

-Can't wait to dig into this cookbook c/o Blogging for Books!

-A getaway weekend back to D.C. calls for nothing but SCOUT bags to help me pack!

-So Georgetown U. has this incredible grilling club; I'm tossing around the idea of bringing it to OU because it is just too wonderful. I pretended to be a Georgetown student on Friday so I could chow down on one of their incredible GUGS (Georgetown University Grilling Society) burgers. 

-One tacky bridesmaid coming up! I've always loved a good theme party. 

-#GOBO2014, the point of my trip back to D.C. Best night getting dressed up in ridiculous outfits, eating and drinking tacky themed wedding food, and dancing and sweating with the SCOUT team.

-My free birthday drink. LOL at the time I signed up to be a gold member a few Septembers ago and thought it would be convenient to get a free drink that week. Starbucks does not let you change when you say your birthday is, so now I celebrate in May and September.

-MASA 14 brunch. Favorite area of D.C. and favorite meal of the weekend. Curry potato pancake, sautéed spinach, poached egg and chipotle hollandaise. 

-Sunday brunch at a Cafe Bonaparte. A frenchie spot in Gtown I wanted to try all summer. My egg and sausage crepe was the perfect finale to my weekend in the district; followed by shopping on M St. and picking up goodies from Trader Joe's and Baked and Wired!

A weekend well spent in my favorite place. Now for a week of sticking my nose in my school books to get caught up!

Annie

p.s. A return of D.C. Diary is happening tomorrow! 

DIY Happy Birthday Sign

I kind of hate the whole term "crafting" or "crafty" or "crafts." Thanks to the sorority world "crafting" has become a stereotypical pastime. I associate these words with new mommies or middle age women making burlap wreaths or detailed scrapbooks. You know what I mean? Those people who scour the aisles of Hobby Lobby and have a whole room devoted to "crafting." 

This isn't saying I don't like to be creative or making things with my hands, but the word "craft" just makes me squirmy inside. I like creative and well made things not crafty painted canvases with mushy gushy pinteresty quotes. Pardon my rant, moving on.

A couple of weeks ago was one of my roommate's 21st birthday and the house was in need of a little celebratory decorations! I came up with this little birthday sign and it just turned out so cute! 

What You Need:
craft colored paper
paper cutter
scissors
hole punch
tissue paper
twine
printer

To Make:

1. Create a word document with the page format in landscape. Using a bold block font in about a 450 pt. size type out whatever you want your sign to say. (Make the font large enough so two letters fit on each page).

2. Print your saying onto the craft paper. Trim each letter into a rectangle then angle the bottom to crate a pennant like design. Essentially just cutting a triangle out from the bottom.

3. Hole punch the top corners of each letter.

4. Using my instructions on how to make a tassel, create one to go between each letter. I cut my sheets of tissue paper in half to make mini tassels. 

5. Now that you have your letters and tassels string them on to your twine. You can make one long sign or split each word up like I did. See below.

So this isn't a craft, but instead a creative project! You can get even more creative and use this DIY for a holiday, or include someone's name, or for a shower or party! Use green and red for Christmas, orange and black for Halloween, etc. 

Annie

Bedroom Reveal

I have been pinning bedroom images for years just waiting to have the chance to finally decorate a room exactly how I want. I couldn't wait to move into my little campus house and finally bring my ideas to life. 

Patchy walls, a bare bed and hand me down furniture just waiting to be brought to life.

White, white and more white. Oh, and a few touches of navy and gold. Now follow me as I give you a 360 tour of my room. 

Along the wall across from my bed, my clothes and TV are displayed prominently for easy viewing. The clothing rack serves more as a decorative piece being that I actually have plenty of room in my closet. As for my TV, you can expect Food Network to be playing 24/7. 

Moving around the room we come to my dresser and mini gallery wall. This dresser has been in my room since I was born. Gold handles and a coat of shiny white paint have transformed it from the hand painted pink, blue, and green Laura Ashley design that it had when I was 6.

I've never been much of a bedroom person. I would rather be in the middle of the action hanging out with anyone who is around in the central room of the house. Now that I have this perfectly curated space, I can hardly get out of bed. I eat, study, blog and create in my room at all hours of the day.

If I'm not in my bed, I actually sit at my desk. Most people have a desk in their room just as a place to throw junk on, but I actually use my desk on a regular basis. I'm more productive if I'm sitting up with a table space in front of me. Yes, the drawer of my desk is filled with random knick knacks, but I try to keep the top clean of clutter. I have a crush on my room. It's my favorite thing right now and I'm always enveloped with positive vibes when I walk into it. 

"My bedroom is my sanctuary. It's like a refuge, and it's where I do a fair amount of designing - at least conceptually, if not literally." -Vera Wang

You and me both Vera.
Annie

Zucchini, So Hot Right Now

Zucchini bread, zucchini salsa, zucchini cakes and now zucchini fries. I'm on a zucchini kick, but apparently the rest of the world is too.

After having a casual discussion about zucchini with one of my roommates (we are strange like that) and both mentioning how we've always wanted to make zucchini fries, it seemed like the time was of the present. I googled a recipe, adapted it a bit to make them healthier, then found myself sitting down to a whole plate of z-fries for dinner. 

Baked Zucchini Fries
yields 16 fries

Ingredients: 
1 medium zucchini
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
whatever seasonings you have in the pantry (I did a combination of salt, pepper, dried rosemary and garlic salt)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg white

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry your zucchini and cut the ends off. Cut your zucchini in half. Then slice each half down the middle. Slice into fourths so you end up with about 16 fry shape pieces. 

Mix bread crumbs and seasonings in a shallow dish. Pour flour in a separate dish, and beat your egg white in another dish. Dredge each fry in flour, egg, then bread crumbs and then place on your baking sheet. Once all your fries are coated, bake for 25 minutes until brown and crispy! 

I served mine with a spicy sriracha/ketchup combo! Extra tasty guilt free fries people!

You can serve these as a snack, side dish, or like me, a main dish! I find this totally acceptable considering all the health benefits of these little summer squashes. Low in calories, help prevent cancer and heart disease, have more potassium than a banana and can even help reduce constipation :0. Here are 35 more ways you can use this constipation reducing veggie. TMI? nah.

Annie