Could it be???

Yesterday I was checking out one of my usual Hollywood trash websites and came across a posting about a possible NKOTB reunion; Not 100% trusting it, I tried not to get my hopes up too high...Until, I also caught a piece on Channel 9 News this morning about a reunion tour!!! Apparently, Danny Wood's MySpace page has some talks about the possibility. I'm half ashamed to admit that there's a strong likelihood that, if the rumors are true, I MIGHT be in attendance! Talk about the RIGHT STUFF! ;) HA!

A Night of Carnies

For Rachel's 29th birthday, we decided to do something different...very different. The night started out normal enough, with a tasty dinner at PF Changs in Arlington. From there, we headed to the NE ghetto of DC (upon telling our cab driver our destination, he replied "Are you SURE that's the right address? It's pretty bad over there.") to the ONLY dedicated vaudeville stage, museum-of-oddities & full bar in the WORLD, The Palace of Wonders! Upon arrival, we knew we were certainly in for an adventurous evening - The crowd was quite 'different' and despite being much smaller than we had envisioned, the museum itself housed some pretty interesting items. We saw a unicorn, sea 'worm', wedding dress of the world's only half woman - some stuff that was pretty believable and some stuff that was...well, let's just say I wasn't buying the story about the sea 'worm' eating the cat! The Daredevil show started at 10pm and included sword swallowing, fire eating, snakes, chainsaws, and broken glass - very entertaining! These are some pretty unique people - We all loved the show and I'd say it was a pretty successful birthday celebration!

Kate's 1st Birthday

It's hard to believe it's already been one year since our first niece was born - On Saturday we celebrated Kate's first birthday, which was the real reason behind our weekend trip to NY. (My mom rode up with me since Frank wasn't able to make it.) Kate's grown so much and is crawling around like crazy - It seems just like yesterday when I held her for the first time and was afraid that I would break her - How time flies! Happy Birthday, Kate!!

I made the tabloids!

Early Friday morning, my mom and I left Arlington and headed to NYC for our second Rachael Ray show - Rachael Ray on Ice! We arrived in the city around 9:30am, quickly found parking on 42nd street and headed to the ice rink at Bryant Park, only a few short blocks away. We had our tickets in hand and were standing in line by 10am. Luckily it was fairly warm for a January day since we ended up standing outside for about 6 hours! (We were only able to snag tickets for the standing-room only audience.) Around noon, the line finally started moving as they filtered us through security and inside the ice rink. Mom and I ended up scoring decent standing spots directly behind Rachael's stove (made of ice!) and only one row back. The taping started around 1pm and guests included a New York Ranger, Denis Leary, Emily Hughes (Olympic figure skater), some arctic animals (lynx, penguins), and an ice-breaking World Record Holder. We munched on some Sara Lee cheesecake bites for the snack of the day and got to try some of Rachael's 'delish' potato leek soup. As excited as I was, 6 hours of standing outside in 45 degree weather and clapping/laughing/yelling on queue was a bit too much and I started to get a little cranky towards the end. I have to say, in the end, it was all worth it...As I was scanning the Internet for pictures of the event today, I found this pic with my mom & I in the background (circled in red)!

Restaurant Week - Night #2

It's baaaaa-ck! This week is the winter Restaurant Week here in DC, and since my new year's resolution was to try at least one new restaurant each month, I decided to take advantage of the great deals that RW has to offer! On Tuesday night, Frank and I met up with Mike, MK, Chuck, and Kristin to give Cafe Atlantico a try (a first for all of us, except MK). The overall dinner was great (always a great time with that crew); however, the food was just so-so. We all ordered from the limited RW menu, so perhaps their full menu offered some tastier options. I started with the Oyster Pizza...very different and quite lip-smacking good - 3 oysters in their shells topped with mozzarella & tomato sauce. I opted for the chicken breast which was an odd Mexican-Italian pairing with capers, tomato sauce, lime, avocado, and tortilla chips - ok. Then the chocolate cake with bananas and Venezuelan flan to top off the evening...Ok, ok, I'll admit it - there's not a chocolate cake that I don't like! :) I mean, it was all just average.

Tonight I'm meeting Kelly and Jamie at the Melting Pot for my RW #2 meal; Not quite a new experience, but one that will surely satisfy...I can't wait for the cheese and chocolate fondue! Wow - I'm getting hungry just thinking about it - Is it dinner time yet???

Nothing like a lil' reminiscing

Last night I had dinner with one of my college girlfriends that I'd lost touch with over the past few years. I think we figured that it had been about 5 years since we'd seen or talked to each other! She moved to San Diego after school and unfortunately we just fell out of touch. Luckily her new job has her frequently traveling to DC so we'll be able to catch up more often! It was great to reminisce about our old college memories - We met Freshman year, so had plenty of crazy times to chat about (Pheasant Run parties, Browning, CF, the river, Europe, the jeep, crazy 'eye' guy, etc etc)! Ahh...the memories! I'm already looking forward to the next time she's in town!

Let's Go Giants!

In support of my Dad and Frank, I have to say...LET'S GO GIANTS!!!! What a game yesterday - Now, let's see what they can do against the Packers next weekend!

Relaxation

Ahhh...After all of the commotion that surrounds the time leading up to the holidays and the hectic-ness of Christmas and New Years, Frank & I were able to spend this past weekend simply relaxing (kind of). Saturday morning started off by taking down our Christmas tree and packing away all of the ornaments. We broke around 10 so Frank could run to soccer and I met Kelly for brunch at Harry's Tap Room which was exquisite! We each started off which an early morning cocktail - Kelly choose a special mimosa-type drink while I opted for Harry's Weekend Coffee which was spiked with Kahlua and Bailey's and simply delicious! After mulling over the menu for quite some time and enjoying the melt-in-your mouth biscuits, we decided on the baked brie for a starter and then each ordered eggs benedict - Kel went with the crab cake benedict while I tried the New Orleans, complete with sausage, chicken, and shrimp. Half way through, we started to realize that our eyes were bigger than our stomachs! After brunch, we strolled over to a few shops in hopes to walk off the 5 pounds we surely would gain from our feast! After our gift exchange (where I scored an adorable personalized "DeMarco" Christmas Tree ornament plus a fab candle and holder) and brunch, it was back to the house to finish de-Christmas'ing for me! After all of the decorations were packed away with care, Frank and I actually had a chance to sit down and veg and watch TV! We planned for a lazy evening in with Chinese and a movie...We managed the Chinese part, but were then called over to Mike's place to catch the 2nd football game. (I was pretty busy gabbing with the girls the whole time so couldn't even really tell you who played!)

On Sunday, after church and a quick trip to Costco and the grocery store, I decided to be a homebody. Since the weather was unseasonably warm, I tackled the project of cleaning off our back porch and finally parted with a lot of unnecessary junk that we'd collected over the years. I also (finally!) unpacked a lot of our great wedding shower gifts and swapped out the old kitchen ware with the new. I had forgotten what great stuff we got! I only wish we had a cabinet of some sort to display our beautiful china and crystal in - I can't wait to unpack that!

Now begins my first 5-day work week in quite some time...I hope I make it through! :)

Happy New Year

It's officially 2008 - Hard to believe that a year has come and gone, and oh, what a year it was! Frank and I became an Aunt & Uncle, husband & wife, and homeowners! Will 2008 ever live up to the excitement that last year had in store for us? The New Year definitely started out on a more exciting note - Last year, Frank & I decided to stay in on New Year's Eve and celebrated with just the two of us...This year, we rung in 2008 at a small get-together with a few friends, where I learned an important lesson...I am officially getting old and certainly cannot drink nearly as much as I used to. After only a few cocktails on New Year's Eve, I wasn't feeling too hot on New Year's Day! Think I'll remember that lesson throughout the new year?? Doubtful... ;)

Christmas - Round Two!

Last Friday, Frank & I left for NY to celebrate Christmas with our fam up north. Frank was able to leave work early on Friday so we got to unexpectedly spend more time with his sister and our niece! We spent Saturday opening presents with his family and enjoying a yummy prime rib dinner. Sunday we headed over to Huntington to see my family - We had a HUGE lunch (that turned out to be my dinner, too!) of eggplant parm, chicken francaise, and penne alla vodka - topped off with tiramisu and...well, does anything else matter when there's tiramisu??? We started back home at 3:30 and made it back in 6 hours...Now Christmas is officially over until 2008. :(

Kate at Christmas Time!