Happy Easter!

Logan Circle style.

Embroidered Easter eggs. I'm beginning to believe that this person actually hand-makes these decorations.

xoxo, natty ♥

Paring knife.

We received a very nice knife set for our wedding and have been lovingly using it ever since. 

We received many wonderful items, actually, and we've been fortunate enough, considering our Big Move, to not have broken or lost very much. I think the count is maybe one wine glass, two drinking glasses, and a ceramic pot of some sort that cracked.

But somehow we've lost our paring knife. It's the littlest one that came in our set and happens to be Mike's cutting utensil of choice {I favor the big cook's knives we have - we were gifted an extra and love it because those get the most use}. It's NOWHERE to be found in our apartment. We've visited some gnarly places {under the stove, hands in the garbage disposal} in our search but can't find it. 

Where could it be?

To top it off, Michael is a sweet heart and recently bought me a book that is right up my alley, "Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat" by Bee Wilson. It's an awesome exploration of, exactly as the title says, the history of the tools we use {or don't use} in our kitchens and the meals we eat. 

Last night I began the chapter on knives and started to feel a strong need to find.that.knife.

Maybe later this weekend.

Have a great Saturday!
xoxo, natty ♥

More gratuitous skies.

Such gorgeousness.

This is what spring is like in the sky.

May you have had a peaceful and contemplative Good Friday and enjoy a blessed Easter! 

And may your weekend also be full of basketball and baseball anticipation.

And dogs holding their own leashes for themselves.
xoxo, natty ♥ 

Fun times ahead.

Today was a dark and light sort of day.

I got excited when I saw these signs on my run.

It's a beautiful thing that we have these wonderful monuments and museums but to have a pet-friendly options like this?

 

Wonders never cease.

xoxo, natty ♥ 

Sky.

xoxo, natty ♥

Figured it out!

A while back I mentioned my theory on "fake cherry blossoms", trees that have these bright pink blossoms that look like cherry blossoms but that I am convinced are not. I think that the news would be buzzing about the first blossoms {they are a big deal here} if some had started to pop up all over the city and these "fakers" are all over the place.

And I figured it out.

After yesterday's snowfall, the Weather Gang had people tweeting pictures of snow around the district and someone had a beautiful picture of these bright pink blossoms draped with snow and the tweet mentioned DOGWOOD blooms. 

AHA!

I figured it out.

These are Pink Dogwoods.

I can breathe easy now.
xoxo, natty ♥

And it's a snow day.

This is what we woke up to today and because it's DC, it's a snow day and school is cancelled.

In other good news today...

1} I'm going to the YMCA later today to get BACK ON THE WAGON. I've been a deadbeat runner and it's time for it to stop. And there's a yoga class I'd like to go to but I've developed this warped relationship with yoga and turned it into a post-running treat so I feel like I have to run right before going to yoga. It's dysfunctional. But it's me. And since it's snowing out and I'm weak {mentally [physically too, probably]} I'll be running on the Y's indoor track {just like that tiny old one at the field house for all you Mac people! I loved that thing.}.

2} I have extra hours to get extra laundry and dishes done today. Last week was a bit much and Mikey really took up the slack, but it was his spring break and it's now time for me to face the music and dance take care of s#$%.

3} I think & hope that this weird early spring snowfall {which seems to be the heaviest we've had in our entire time here} is really and truly old man winter's last hurrah. Again, I fully acknowledge that things have been downright dandy here compared to other places but it still doesn't make it pleasant.

4} Cherry blossoms are just around the {proverbial} corner.

5} And so is BECS!!!

What's going on in your life this Monday? I hope that things are spring-like and productive for you.

xoxo, natty ♥ 

A new toy...and food.

Today I used a Sephora gift card I had {thank you in-laws!} and I picked up something new to play with.

I had seen reviews of this eye shadow palette and thought it looks like a fun way to try some new looks. What I'm drawn to is the plethora of YouTube tutorials outlining how to create certain looks because I would have no idea where to start on my own. I've got the basic look down pat but anything new or different I need a bit of guidance for. This might also help me with one of my 101 /1,001 goals, trying out a smokey eye.

In other more practical news, the menu for this week...

Sunday : we had a birthday dinner at Open City with Mikey's brother...buffalo chicken sandwiches for the win.

Monday :  leftovers from Saturday's BBQ sandwiches.

Tuesday : black beans, rice, and salad.

Wednesday : sunchoke soup.

Thursday : pasta with red sauce and salad.

Friday : we have a Potbelly's date planned for after happy hour at Mikey's school.

Saturday : tbd.

Have a great week! We're expecting some snow tonight/tomorrow morning {?} {will the weird weather never stop?} but it's shaping up to be s good couple of weeks :).

xoxo, natty ♥ 

20-something years ago.

This man came into the world.

And I'm so happy that he did.

And grateful to his wonderful parents for the great job they did raising him and guiding him into the supportive and thoughtful man that he is today.

Happy Birthday to the best husband I've ever had! I love you so very, very much and I'm thrilled to be able to spend this day with you {and the next one, and the next one...}.

xoxo, natty ♥ 

It could be worse. But still.

I know full well that we have things better that those in the far north {Becs}.

 

But it would be nice for things to be nicer here.

Soon enough.

Have a fabulous weekend!

xoxo, natty ♥   

Bracketology.

Someone made her first NCAA men's basketball tournament bracket.

And the winner is...Louisville.

I actually made one yesterday that I did wrong-ly, no surprise, so I made my real one today.
I based my predictions on a gut feeling when I looked at each pair of teams playing.
Are you following along this year?
xoxo, natty ♥  

Spring Valentine.

xoxo, natty ♥  

Maintenance.

It's one of those busy weeks where I feel like we're just sort of maintaining our daily existence.

Not in a bad sort of way but it's a quick dinner sort of time and that's ok.
That's what tuna melts are for!
I'm also enjoying my NINE amaryllis blooms.

And, as always, Jeopardy. 

xoxo, natty ♥ 

Smells so sweet, tastes so good.

It's Monday which means it's time to do a quick focus on what's making me happy, or at least what's helping me to feel happy.

1} Reese's!

 

That's the "good taste" from the title. 

2} Gardenias.
That's the "sweet" from the title.

 

My love for these blooms knows no bounds. Keeping this plant on the table behind our couch makes for a beautifully perfumed TV-watching and relaxing experience these days. 

3} Weather-wise today, it was NASTY. BUT the random snow flurries and heavy rain are merely portending what will be a glorious spring in just a matter of weeks. {Right?}

4} Becs is coming soon!

5} Someone {not I} has a birthday this weekend. Then I won't be the older person in my marriage. Happy early birthday Mr. Mike ♥.

I hope that your week has started nicely and that you too are looking ahead to warmer days.

xoxo, natty ♥ 

Pink, Not green.

On my run this morning I got a picture of this.

 

I think that this is one of those "fake" cherry trees. It's pink and blossomy but I've seen them before and I don't think it's legitimate.

In other news, we had our corned beef and cabbage, watched Dateline, and are ready for a new week.

I hope you are too!

xoxo, natty ♥ 

Social.

We had some friends over for a drink and then we all headed out to a restaurant in our neighborhood for dinner.

What was left over from our evening.

It's a nice perk of living in DC that we have people our age that we spend time with. It's not that there isn't anyone our age in San Jose but...I don't know what, there is no excuse; we're much more social in DC than we were in California. Maybe because we don't drive places? Ugh. Maybe we were just geriatric before our time. Maybe it's because our area of DC is full of people in our ten-year age range and also in similar life circumstances.

Anyway.

It's a Good Thing to be here.

On tomorrow's agenda, a handful of things, including corned beef & cabbage. 

xoxo, natty ♥ 

A light Friday evening.

I wrapped up working at the school I've been at since January. 
It was hard to say <> to the students.

Then we decided to watch the documentary "Which Way Home" through which I cried. Honestly, I cried pretty consistently through most of it. It's about two young boys who are trying to travel from Honduras to the U.S. on the top of trains {certain former coworkers of mine might recognize the story from "Enrique's Journey"}. It's gut wrenching to watch but something that both Mikey and I are interested in and an issue near and dear to us.

So, it's been a heavy day.

But it's the weekend and there's a corned beef in our fridge waiting to be cooked.

Friends to visit with.

Miles to run {through the rain}.

A dog to be roughhoused.

And I'm grateful for it all.
xoxo, natty ♥

Impromptu randomness.

We've been doing a semi-vegetarian thing since we moved to DC; it's cheap and good for our hearts. We'll eat meat here and there but I've enjoyed trying new recipes and saving money and being conscientious, etc.

But when I told Mike I was stopping at the grocery store on my way home tonight {for grilled cheese accoutrements} and I asked if I should pick up anything else, he said "steaks?" 
 
So I did. 

And they were delicious.

Some other things floating around in my mind...

- We just watched "The Office"; I love that show and am going to miss it when it wraps up this season.

- I just emailed in to reserve a spot in a spring/summer CSA. I'm really excited about this once since it's going to be more varied produce {not just squash, apples, & potatoes!}, it will be each week from June through October, AND it includes a little potted plant every other delivery or so.

- I just KNOW that the trees and shrubs will explode with green in about three weeks' time and I am anxiously awaiting that development.

- Easter so soon?

- I don't visit Target as much as I used to in San Jose. Mostly because it's not conveniently located on my route home. But that means, apart from saving some $$$s by not buying useless stuff, that we haven't had ANY Easter candy. We didn't have any Valentine's sweets either. Me thinks I can amend this. 

I hope that your week has been productive {but not quite productive as in The Vatican? Habemus Papam. [#we♥Jesuits]} and that you have a nice little weekend planned.
xoxo, natty ♥

Dressing.

xoxo, natty ♥ 

A bundle of real sunshine.

A student today told me that I dress like a bundle of sunshine. I think it was the pink sweater I was wearing?

In an effort to remember this compliment {I take them when & where I can}, I'm taking a "real" picture. 

Not that my pictures are very staged anyway.

But.

Dirty mirror.
Open dresser drawers.

Bed un-made {by the dog during the day!}.

Huge pile of laundry in the corner.

But a sweater of sunshine.

Happy Almost Wednesday!

xoxo, natty ♥

The Boss.

My amaryllis is blooming!
And quite prolifically; three blossoms on each shoot.

In other news...

1} 5 mile run + Bruce Springsteen + 60 degree weather = Happy Nathalia.

2} My gardenia has another new blossom...I'm thinking, with the amount of tightly packed blooms I can count, that there will be a new one or two each day for at least a week. #nature'sperfume.

3} DC is known for its cherry blossoms each spring. The trees were a gift from Japan way back when and there are tons of activities that center around the blossoms. Check it out HERE .

The official prediction of when the blossoms will be at their peak is March 26 to the 29, as you can read at their Twitter feed HERE.

I've actually never seen them all in their splendor, being new here and all, but I'm finding myself wondering when the first ones will pop open. It's a quick jaunt down to where they grow and I've been choosing that route for my runs recently.

 

But what I'm loving right now {before the major splendor begins} when I go to run around the mall and tidal basin is the glow. Though there are no blossoms yet {although I have seen some [?] but I think that there's a tree that mimics cherry blossoms...}, the little buds on the cherry trees are there and they're dark pink which results in a rosy haze around the branches. It's ethereal and so promising of spring and all it has to offer.

Sigh.

4} Tonight's meal plan got scrapped for breakfast-for-dinner; something that we don't do too often but which I love.

5} Becs is coming soon!!! AND today is her birthday. Happiest of twenty-something birthdays to an amazing, beautiful, talented, MOTIVATED, and over-all fabulous friend; we love you so much!!!

I hope that you're all having a lovely and peaceful start to your week, wherever you are.

xoxo, natty ♥

Greenery.

Today was an even more beautiful day than yesterday; what a tonic those first few nice days are! Heck, ALL nice days are a Good Thing.

Let's think about food this week. Part of doing menus, even when I don't stick to it, is that it helps us to eat at home rather than out. Oddly enough, with the myriad carry out options around us, we have been eating out a lot less than when we lived in San Jose. I think it's because we wouldn't drive just to get dinner {too much traffic here} and it's been either too hot, too cold, or too tiring {we're weak} to venture out the half mile or so to get food. But we've started to dabble in delivery {every place does it; amazing!} so it's especially valuable for me to plan out these meals.

Sunday: tuna melts and roasted bell peppers.
Monday: curry simmer sauce with tofu, bell peppers, and zucchini, along with rice.
Tuesday: pasta with pesto and a bit of a salad.
Wednesday: steamed green beans and sunchoke soup; I've had these guys languishing around for a while and this soup needs to happen.
Thursday: left over soup and salad.
Friday: black beans and rice with a salad.
Saturday: frozen pizzas {they're much fancier than they sound} from TJ's and a veggie.

Also, last night at Trader Joe's I picked up this gardenia, adding to our apartment garden.

Gardenias are a love language of mine and I'm so glad to have this addition to our home; that blossom up there just happened this afternoon and there are many more little buds waiting to open up - amazing!

I need to get a  decent looking pot to put this guy into since that plasticky stuff just isn't sustainable as far as how I try to decorate our home.

Have a great week y'all!

xoxo, natty ♥

It broke 60!

We had a Nice Day here today.

 

People were everywhere and the birds were singing.

In early March is there anything more pleasant than the prospect of Spring?

xoxo, natty ♥

Busy bee.

After a full day of teaching and meetings today, I'm off to do some volunteering and hanging out...Happy Friday!

And Becs, I took this picture for you in a gift shop in Savannah.xoxo, natty ♥

Looking up.

I did something really stupid to get this picture a few weeks ago, but I know that my dad loves getting texted pictures from me and I felt as though this sky was too much to pass by. Literally - I was driving to work.

Filthy windshield.

Poor driving habits aside, there is something irresistible to me about a beautiful sky. There have actually been some amazing ones in the past week. Much better than the monotonous grey that can be so depressing about winter.

In non-cosmos related matters I also am trying to look up {safely!!!} these days. There's just.so.much.to.see.

xoxo, natty ♥

How we all feel on a snow day {even though it turned to rain}.

xoxo, natty ♥

A better late than never but still uninspired menu plan.

Who knows what the weather gods will bring us in the next 24 hours but I am trying to control our eating a bit...and by the way Becs, nice title on today's post; that's one of my favorite phrases!

Sunday
Left over chili from our cook-off on Saturday night; someone brought {& left a lot for us!} white chicken chili that was delightful and went quite well with the salsa we made.

Monday
Same as night before but with steamed broccoli to add some vitamins.

Tuesday
Boxed mac & cheese, steamed kale, steamed green beans with lemon pepper.

Wednesday
My guess is black beans & rice with roasted bell peppers.

Thursday
This could be a left overs night or perhaps quiche if I get my act together.

Friday
I'm volunteering at a church event that includes dinner so that's taken care of!

Saturday 
That's a great question! I've really been craving chicken and I have a delicious Turkish lemon/green olive chicken recipe that's been wanting to be tried out so hopefully that's what will happen.

Happy eating!
xoxo, natty ♥

Snowquester 2013.

I'm going to milk that title as much as I can, not that I can take credit for it, but...still.

Everyone here in DC is gearing up/freaking out about the upcoming Snowquester but there are many things to be happy about today!!!

As a quick aside, I LOVE our Capital Weather Gang {they have a live blog for Snowquester!};  it's a blog of weather lovers {& experts, boy, do they know their stuff} at the Washington Post. I love love love them. Have I said that I think they're great? They adore weather and talk in detail about each day's forecast. They even provide a daily weather number, as in "today is a 4". Now that I've expounded on them I seem to recall having mentioned them before. Oh well, I'm not going to shy away from my weather emotions!

Other Good Things...

1} No joke, this is what our dog does on his own.

 

2} The neighborhood March window display is as seen below.

Where did this person get these window decorations? How did {s}he finagle getting three of each? Will I ever get a decent picture without glare? Read about the past few months HERE, HERE, and HERE.

3} Late winter skies and the red brick that is so prevalent in our neighborhood.

Is there a prettier thing at which to look up?

4} After a fierce internal battle {it comes to that these days...my running mojo is barely flowing} I got myself out the door for some miles and I am SO glad that I did.

5} I even got in a quick 20 minute yoga session thanks to YouTube...the next best thing to actually going to the Y or an actual studio.

What's going on in your week Reader? If you're a certain Minnesotan friend, I know that you'll appreciate the weather goings-on over here!
xoxo, natty ♥

To the Y!

Mikey and I are venturing over to the YMCA later this morning. In San Jose, we belonged, though I don't think that either of us made great use of our membership. We would go intermittently; I used the treadmill if it was yucky out or took yoga and then sat in the hot tub.
When we got to DC, one of us being a student and all, we decided a YMCA membership is not something we need; if we weren't using it in a very dedicated manner in San Jose then we certainly weren't going to do so here.
But at the start of March, feeling defeated by day after day of grey skies, I think we're taking the plunge. If even to get in a few much needed miles on a cr&#$y day or to take yoga without exorbitant costs, hopefully it'll be worth it.
Do you own a gym membership, reader? As mostly runners, it's never been a huge need but it does come in handy.
xoxo, natty ♥

Chili.

We had a little chili cook-off/pot luck dinner tonight.
One very full tummy later, I'm also a very happy girl - it had started to feel like a looooong time since we instigated some real socialization.
Thanks to everyone for coming over tonight!!!
xoxo, natty ♥ 

A month in pictures; February 2013.

1. Savannah apartment. 2. THE Lady Chablis. 3. Big Mikey. 4. Package! 5. Dear sweet envelope. 6. Hearts. 7. Poor Old Guinness. 8. More hearts. 9. Nails. 10. Another Guinness shot. 11. Cookbooks. 12. Bulbs. 13. Sun. 14. Strawbabies. 15. La tele. 16. One Love. 17. Hearts 2.0. 18. Bags? 19. Screen. 20. All-in-one. 21. Comic. 22. Dog on a couch. 23. Hunay. 24. Sky. 25. Table. 26. Doggie biscuits. 27. Talk. 28. Facial.  

xoxo, natty ♥