One Fine Piece of Table

So the tales of our exciting days that kept me from my computer continue with a chock-filled weekend. Saturday morning brought quality time for me with Mom Q. at Leesburg Outlets. My birthday gift from my parents this year was a shopping spree (hello...yah!). And since we spent girl time with Grandma Basile on my actual birthday, we postponed our retail therapy day to this past Saturday. And I can tell you...some damage was done. The goodies flowed from William Sonoma, Cole Haan, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Crate and Barrel and many more. There was so much that we had to make 2 trips to the car to unload bags ~ Thank you Mom and Dad!


Our Saturday evening was spent up in Tacoma Park, MD visiting with cousins Mike and Alisa Mangiaracina. Wouldn't you know that Ed had some family close by! They have an adorable condo filled with fun trinkets from their broad travels and more books than I've ever seen. We enjoyed great food and great company and look forward to seeing them again soon.

Along came Sunday and we had some BIG plans. One of my most favorite things to do in DC when the weather is nice is roam around Eastern Market. This HUGE open air market is filled with farmfresh produce and handmade arts and crafts. I love sampling the food (especially the cheese!) and seeing all the beautiful artwork and jewelry. On this trip, I paid special attention to the flea market area in hopes of finding some fun, unique trinkets for the house.

After loading up on veggies from Sunnyside Farm, home made salsa from the lovely ladies at Wisteria Gardens and all kinds of cheese from Bowers Fancy Dairy Products, we found ourselves at a familiar stand. We had been here before and took this picture:


I've had it in my phone for close to a year...if you can see the date it says 2010/08/08. We knew what we needed to do. May I present, our new improved entrance hallway:


We are SO excited with how the table looks in the hall. It's not a wide space so we needed something slim enough to fit, but large enough to look like it belongs on that long wall. I think we did good. :) Have I mentioned how much I love Eastern Market?!

The weekend ended with a neighborhood BBQ at the Newland house. We feel very lucky that we moved into a house that is surrounded by good people. Good food, good drink ... and even better company. Here's to many more this summer!

It's a Beautiful Day

One of our favorite things is to enter a weekend with zero plans and see where the days take us. That was the case yesterday. After 3 consecutive weekends of being out of town, Ed and I were very excited to have a weekend home to catch up on house projects and catch up on local flavor.

We spent Friday night hanging out with Grandma Basile while Mama and Papa Q. were at a wedding. It was a classic date night - dinner (pizza) and a movie (Grandma friendly "Morning Glory"). After a great night of sleep, we awoke to a gorgeous day. Ed had plans to go to the shooting range with some of the neighborhood guys, so I decided it was time to trek out to Tyson's Corner to pick up the plant stands I have been eying from Crate and Barrel. Of course the purchase turned into more than just plant stands...but how often do I get to go to one of my favorite stores!!! And I didn't stop there. I then headed over to my new love, West Elm, and picked up all kinds of stuff that I was lusting over in the catalog. The shopping outing ended at Pier One where I needed to pick up a dish that we broke and found a few cute things along with way. All in all, I say it was a BIG success!


P.S. I'm OBSESSED with owls lately and West Elm fed right into my obsession!




After my shopping spree and Ed's shooting spree (in a gun-range mind you!), we decided it was time to get down and get dirty. More dirty then down. :) It was time to finish our landscaping project in the front of the house. Luckily the weather was not at brutal as it was when we dug the flower bed out. So here is the before:


...the digging...


...the plant purchases...


...the planting...


...the Lucy...

and finally, the after:



We are LOVING the way it looks and can't wait for the plants to perk up a bit now that they are in the ground. And how much are we loving the JMU garden flag?!?!?? A job well done!

Our Saturday continued with a visit from my bestie Beth Belluzzo who happened to be in the neighborhood for a baby shower. Beth is not only one of my dearest friends from college, but one of the MOST fun people I know. It was so good to see her...but I think Lucy was the MOST excited. She gave Auntie Beth LOTS of love and kisses.

The evening then carried on with an impromptu BBQ with some of our neighbors - Mr. Chris Newland (who was sans wife and kids for the weekend) and the Miller family, Shawn, Laura and their beautiful daughter, Ariana. The adults shared in a delicious meal (complete with venison steaks and wine) and some great company, while Ariana basked in the glow of "Toy Story" and her new Barbie doll. We are SO lucky that we not only have our dream house, but that it is in a neighborhood with such wonderful people. Seriously...a house is just a house. It's the people that fill it that make it a home and we are so happy to have people like Chris and Kim, Shawn and Laura, and Ed and Michelle (who sadly were out of town) over to make it swell with joy and laughter. It was a great night and we look forward to many more.

Day 7 - Shopping!

Today started out the same as all the others - sunshine, cool breeze, amazing views. Pretty much the best way to wake up. I highly recommend it! After a delicious breakfast we headed to our room so we can lay out on the patio. I borrowed a book from the Excellence library since I already sped through the 2 that I brought. The day went by without a care in the world. But there was something to look forward to - SHOPPING IN PLAYA DEL CARMEN!!

We met our tour guide and group at 4 pm and were whisked away to the cozy beach town of Playa Del Carmen. Their famous "Fifth Avenue" boasts many a souvenir shop along with wonderful restaurants and quaint hotels. It's like being in Rehobeth only in Mexico! We have 2 1/2 hours to roam the streets, take in the scenery and purchase all the Mexican goods one can afford! I landed myself some beautiful scarves while Ed was in search of the perfect Mayan calendar. Seems that we should have taken advantage of the $1 deals while at Chichen Itza earlier in the week!

We made a pit stop at an adorable outdoor pub and took advantage of the 2 for 1 deal on Dos Equis XX. After several beers and some delicious enchiladas we were on our way. We met back up with the group and headed back to the hotel where we enjoyed a 5 Star dinner at the resort's French Restaurant Chez Isabelle. Another great day/night in Cancun - how is it that there are only 3 days left?? Tomorrow I turn the big 32 - getting old is easy when you are in the Caribbean!

Video of our shopping trip to Playa Del Carmen: http://www.flipshare.com/view.aspx