Costume Party

Gotta love a good costume party. Chad and Randi threw another fantastic Halloween party and we had a blast! We also stole their costume idea. Randi told me what they were going to be and I just happened to have an old sheet and a sewing machine. Thus the togas were born. Thanks for letting us copy you!

I stole this collage from Randi's blog. Our friends are all so creative and I loved all of the costumes, especially with all the little babies that are joining our group of friends.

 

Tyler dubbed himself "Claudius Maximus Can'tResistHimus Octavius." His sword he named "Fidelitus."

Delicious spread.

The group that stayed to play Telephone Charades.

We sure love all these wonderful people!

Pumpkin Carving

 We got together with some of our new friends, Kelcie and Taylor, for a pumpkin carving party.

We did a double sided pumpkin. One with a goofy smiley face and the other a vampire biting a woman's neck. So seductive...

This is our reenactment.

North Carolina

My parents had some timeshare points that were going to expire and they were gracious enough to let us use them. After Tyler's crazy weeks of testing we were so excited to hit the road towards the sunny Outer Banks in North Carolina. The Outer Banks is a strip of long skinny islands off the coast of NC. It was so beautiful. Because we were there during off season there weren't very many people there and it was so laid back and relaxing. The place we stayed was a pretty small town, about 30 minutes from a grocery store. It was a great respite from city life. 

View from our deck.

We loved eating our breakfasts overlooking the ocean.

Wildlife refuge we found on a Sunday drive.

Darling beach houses by our place.

There were crabs ALL over our beach. Tyler wanted to find one so he thought it'd be a good idea to try and dig one out of its hole. He said he wanted to feel what it was like to get pinched because he had "seen Bear Grylls do it and he survived." My husband is sometimes a bit crazy.

He was able to catch a couple of the baby ones.

What's a beach vacation without seafood? It was SO delicious and fresh.

There were some sand dune on one of the islands that were pretty cool.

Beach by our condo.

Cape Hatteras lighthouse. Believe it or not, they moved the lighthouse from its original location on the beach because it was sinking  into the ocean after over 100 years.

It was such a great time and we're so grateful to my parents for giving us this opportunity. We had a blast!

The drive home was also just beautiful with the tree-lined highways changing colors.

Lately

I was lucky enough to get an iPhone recently and have loved always have a camera close at hand. Here are some of our latest happenings. 

I love that we live in an area where we get to see deer so often, even in this busy city.

Tyler is quite the handyman and fixed an issue we were having with our shower. 

Paddleboarding on the Potomac...risky business.

Girls' night while the hubbies are at Priesthood Session. Thank heaven for Cafe Rio and Target.

Tyler had four tests in two weeks, which equaled crazy studying for three weeks. We celebrated the end of his tests with a stroll through Georgetown and some free cupcakes.

I got a job with a new company that is housed in this darling building. It's great to get out of the house a few days a week.

They reopened the reflecting pool on the mall! We have fun hanging out down there and making fun of  watching tourists from all over the world.

Costco

I know it's seems silly but I love my drive to Costco. It reminds me that I live in such a cool city. This is my route: I drive through Georgetown, across Key Bridge over the Potomac (from which I have a view of the Washington Monument and Kennedy Center), right past Arlington Cemetery, and then the Pentagon. 

The way back is pretty similar except I get to see my favorite view of Georgetown University:

But the best part is that if you "like" Georgetown Cupcakes on Facebook they send you the "super secret" free flavor of the day. Yes, they give out free cupcakes every day. And guess who drives right past there on the way home from Costco? You guessed it...yours truly. Love me some free cupcakes.

Kennedy Center

Another thing we like to do is head down to the Kennedy Center for the free performances that they have every night. Sometimes the performances are a bit strange, but when you find a good one it's worth heading down.

 Plus, check out the view of Georgetown from the veranda.

Dumbarton Oaks Park

One of my favorite things about DC is the random patches of forest that dot the city. There is a forest right by our house that runs for over a mile down to the medical school. It is so great to be able to walk out the front door and be enveloped in beauty so thick it drowns out the sounds of the city. I love it.

Another one of these forests that we love is called Dumbarton Oaks Park. We like to head down there for Sunday strolls.