Date Night Recap

So date night was a big success...but not because it went as planned, but because we had a very "go with the flow" attitude. We arrived at Ozzie's around 6 pm which I thought was way too early for there to be a wait...but I was wrong. I forgot that suburbia goes to dinner before 9 pm. :)


The 45 minute wait would not do...especially since we already had movie tickets for a 7:40 pm showing. So while Ed parked the car, I found out that they serve the full menu at the bar so I grabbed 2 stools and turned in our pager.

We were greeted by Bartender Jason whom we later found out is the Executive Bartender for the entire Great American Restaurant group. And we could see why. Not only was he extremely friendly and comfortable behind the bar, he can make a MEAN drink. There was a gentleman sitting to our right that was clearly a regular. When he sat down he told Jason to "surprise him" and he did with a delicious drink made with Absolute Citron, Cucumber Water and something lemony. Of course I had to try it!

We ate a lovely meal - Ed had Veal Piccata and I had Rigatoni Gorgonzola Dolce. We were also entertained not only by the busy bar staff, but by our fellow bar patrons. As I mentioned, there was a regular on our right who happened to be very chatty. He gave us many a recommendation on the menu and some history of both the restaurant group and our friendly bartender, Jason. On our left was a lovely older gentleman who forgot his glasses and asked me to read portions of the menu to him. This is one of the reasons I LOVE sitting at the bar. Not only do you skip the 45 minute wait, but you find yourself interacting with the people around you. After our free dessert courtesy of our new favorite bartender, we were ready for our movie.

We took a quick walk over to the movie theatre and made our way to the concession stand. If you know Ed, you know that he can't see a movie without popcorn...even if he was 100% full from a yummy dinner. Why didn't we get our tickets first, you ask? Well, Ed won some free movie passes so we already had our vouchers in hand. We just needed to find the theatre...but for some reason it was not listed on the board. We found 2 employees that looked like Managers and asked them where our movie was. They took one look at the vouchers and smiled telling us that we were at the wrong theatre. DOAH! Source Code was playing at Fairfax Town Center and we were in Fairfax Corner.

With a look of disappointment in our eyes, we were ready to head to the car, but then the Manager said something that made us very happy. She would honor the tickets we had and allow us to pop into any movie we wanted to see. It may have helped that we already had popcorn in hand! Since I had no interest in seeing Thor, we were escorted to a theatre that was showing The Conspirator. It had already started and we missed the first 10 minutes, but who cares. We were so appreciative that they let us in! And I have to say, the movie was really great...go see it if you haven't already. We also learned a fun fact about the movie business. Apparently the movie companies don't want to create unfair competition amongst local theatres, so they make them share their profits...even if they are different brands. Very interesting.

So there you have it. Our date night didn't go as planned, but it still ended up being great.

Date Night

Ed and I decided to kick off the weekend with an old fashioned date night - dinner and a movie (sans Grandma this week!). I always love date night. Even though it is only the two of us plus Lucy and every night should really feel like a date night the reality is that it doesn't. Between work and chores and home projects we get caught up in the routine of our so called life. So when we decide to get gussied up and go out for an evening of enjoying each others company, it gets me excited.

Tonight we are headed to Fairfax Corner for what I'm sure will be a delicious dinner at Ozzie's (the newest addition to the Great American Restaurant group) and then out to see Jake Gyllenhaal in Source Code. A fun little evening to unwind after what has turned out to be a very long and busy week for both of us. Nights like this remind me of our first date which was almost 5 years ago. It's hard to believe that so much time has gone by since that fateful day when Ed worked his magic on me.

I was living in Forest Hills, NY and Ed was out on Long Island in Wantagh. He took the train and met me in Queens where I was waiting for him on the platform with a hot Starbucks tea in hand. It was a chilly day and a hurricane was coming up the coast so I did my best to put together a cute, cold weather-friendly outfit. I was nervous, but as soon as he arrived and we started chatting, I relaxed immediately. We clicked right from the get go which made the day all the better. We took a quick subway ride into Manhattan and visited the Guggenheim Museum to see the new Zaha Hadid exhibit...but to be honest, I was more excited about the Jackson Pollock's. Ed brought his camera with him and actually saved the pictures...apparently it wasn't just me thinking we clicked. :)


Unfortunately there are no photos of us together on that day...we didn't want to go too overboard! It was a great first date that turned into many dates after that. And to this day, we have reminders all over the house of our trip the Guggenheim. There is the ticket stub from that day that hangs in our Wall of Frames...


...the awesome coffee table book of museum art given to us by my Aunt Linda...


...and the beautiful hand drawing done by our good friend Allison Hunt. She gave us this amazing piece of art on our wedding day and it now hangs on the wall between the kitchen and the living room so we see it all the time. If you look close, she even drew in 2 tiny people.


Tonight's date may not be at a New York landmark, but it will be just as fun and flirty as that first date almost 5 years ago. Time to get ready!!

Lucy's Big Blog Takeover

Hi everyone. My name is Lucy. I'm a Mangiaracina too, so I wanted to tell you about my fun spa day today. I am a Silky Terrier and have hair like my Mommy so I have to go to the salon to get it cut just like she does (although I tend to go more often than Mommy does). The name of my salon is Red Dog Spa and Boutique and it is the most fun place to go...well other than the dog park. Not only is it where Miss Toi cuts my hair, but it is also a store filled with really cool toys and clothes and treats.

I am pretty cute no matter what my hair looks like, but it was time to get it cut because it is getting hot outside. I think Mommy showed you a picture of how I looked before my haircut, but just in case she didn't, here I am:




That was this morning when I was watching my boyfriend Matt Lauer on TV. I love watching TV especially when I see my puppy friends...or any animal for that matter! After Matt Lauer, I took a nice long nap while Mommy worked at her desk. But after my nap, we hit the road and headed to my appointment. I love being in the car ~ especially when Mommy and Daddy roll the window down a little bit. When we got to the salon, I said hello to everyone and gave Miss Toi a BIG kiss and hug. It was time to go in the back for my bath, blow dry and cut. I even got a mani/pedi while I was there!

When Mommy came to pick me up I was so excited to see her! Toi put a really cute bandana on me instead of a stupid bow in my hair. I hate those stupid bows. I was so happy to see Mommy ~ she seemed to really love my new haircut. I love it too! What do you think?


I think the best part was that Miss Amy, the owner of Red Dog Spa gave me some yummy treats and Mommy bought me my favorite Texas Toothpicks. It was a good day!!


All this typing has made me tired so I'm going to go take a nap. Since I love TV so much, I had Mommy make a video of me tonight for you to see my new doo. Maybe next time I can get Matt Lauer to star in it with me...even a doggy can dream! Woof!!!

Holy Frame Wall Batman

I had to put Batman in the title in order to get Ed fully on board with the little house project I'm ready to share with you guys. What, you ask, is Ed not 100% in love with in our humble abode? That would be the Wall of Frames that I put together in the basement...inspired by my new favorite blog Young House Love. He is slowly warming up to it ~ especially since it is filled with special photos and trinkets of our life.


The wall is in the basement across from my office on the way to the rest room so I pass by it no less than 10 times a day (TMI...sorry) and it makes me smile every time. One of my favorite items is the shadow box with Joey's and Lucy's the first collar.


I also love how the plot of our property looks on the wall rather than in a folder buried in my desk. It's been a dream of ours to own our own place so why not showcase it on the wall!


This view shows a really cool picture of the boys (Joey and Little E) watching tv, the menu cover of our old local breakfast hot spot, Thomas' Ham and Eggery, and the Guggenheim Museum ticket stub from our first date.


I'd like to say the wall will continue to grow, but I promised Ed that I would not add any more frames. BUT luckily these photos and trinkets are interchangeable so as we develop new memories, we can put them up on the wall. And who knows...maybe Ed will change his mind about the wall one of these days...:)

Guess Who Is Getting a Hair Cut?

It's not me...and it is certainly not Ed. :) That's right...little Lucy is headed to Red Dog Day Spa later in the week for a little pooch pampering. Summer is on the way so it's time to cut all that hair off her so she doesn't sweat to death. Here is a little "before"...the big reveal comes later. Stay tuned!

Dinner Done

As some of you may know, I am a big fan of cooking. And lucky for me, Ed is a big fan of eating so it seems we are the perfect pair. Tonight's meal turned out spectacular and I firmly believe it is because of the fresh herbs from our new garden. There is nothing better than cutting herbs from your own yard and then use them in your meal. The fragrance and flavor they offer is unmatched...UNMATCHED I TELL YA! :)



On the menu, Balsamic Glazed Roast Beef (sorry, Ina's recipe is not online!) with Broiled Zucchini and Potatoes with Parmesan Crust (courtesy of Giada). Ed had a rough day at work, so I knew I had to cook something that would make him smile. And I think I was successful. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the final product. It smelled so good that we dove right in. But here is a peek at what it "looked" like. Thanks Ina and Giada for the yummy recipes - both are definitely put into the full rotation!


P.S. It really did look like this. :)

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.