I woke up around 9:45 from itching, went to the freezer and rubbed some ice cubes over my contact dermatitis. It really helps, I recommend it. Sadly, while I was tending to my wounds Marc called and I missed it. Thanks a lot fabric softener, thanks. Genny got up shortly thereafter and we watched some MTV until we were motivated enough to go to the beach. On the way we stopped at Starbucks and Bagel Nation. I had the most amazing egg and cheese this side of the Mason Dixon Line (I was in SC, so it was the Confederate side, NYC is not included).

The beach was super windy, again, and the waves were bad for surfing, so we sat with some of Genny’s surfer friends and had some miller lights (with sand in them). We went for a long walk, but didn’t hold hands, and then finally left around 2pm because it was just too windy, and we had something important to do: Manicures and Pedicures.

After rinsing off pounds of sand, which had blown on us due to the wind we went over to Nail Palace, where they worked their magic. Genny’s lady was an honor roll manicurist and spoke perfect English. I mean I think they all speak good English, but they just hide it. So, we talked with her the whole time. She grew up in Boston too, after coming here from Vietnam.

Once we were polished we got some ice cream and then headed to the airport, where the real fun began. My flight to Atlanta was supposed to leave at 6:35pm where I was then flying stanby on an 8:30pm flight to DCA. However, there was also a flight at 11pm, so regardless, I would not miss my connection. Well, due to weather in Atlanta they issued a ground stop, meaning no planes headed to Atlanta could take off, nor could any leave. This went on for 3 hours and (to take a term from Marco) wheels were up at 9:30 pm.

Obvs I missed the earlier connection, and was quite excited that I would not even have to wait that long for the later flight at 11pm, only about 30 minutes. Boy was I wrong about that too! Because of all the delays, and groundstops, and vagstops the flight attendants for my DCA plane were stuck on another one that didn’t arrive in ATL until about 11:50. Wheels were finally up at 12:30, and I arrived in DC at the ungodly hour of 2am. I managed to share a cab home with some people in my area, and only paid $12 for the ride, cheaper than usual.

One home I got right into bed, dreading the next morning…

I woke up with some bumps on my leg, but figured it was just some weird South Carolina bug, and thought nothing of it. We all went to Hominy Grill for brunch, a Charleston staple that serves up a mean plate of grits and to die for biscuits. I had some blueberry peach pancakes, and half a biscuit, to add to the carb intake. We took a sib pic before brunch, I look mini.

After brunch we bid adieu to Paul, who was heading to USC for orientation and high-tailed it to Foley Beach on James Island. It’s the cool kids beach, mainly because it has good waves for surfing. It was super windy, but that did not stop Gen and I from tanning profusely. My legs were a little itchy at the beach, but I figured it was just sun and sand, or something.

On the way home we stopped at Sonic, that legendary place you always see in commercials, but never actually see the real place. Welp, they have them in Charleston and they are awesome. You just drive up, read the menu outside your car, order, and they bring the food to you on roller skates. We all got milkshakes.

Once home we rinsed off and went to King Street for some shopping, hitting up all the usual spots. I bought a cute dress at a store called Francesca’s and Genny got a dress at White House Black Market. We did dinner at a little cafe on King Street and both got the same thing: Homemade butternut squash ravioli with a Parmesan cream sauce, bacon, mushrooms and apples, sounds like a lot of flavors, I know, but they worked and really hit the spot.

When we got back to Genny’s house we both took a power nap and then began getting ready for a night on the town, that’s when I realized what happened…. I had broken out into a rash all over my legs, the cause? FABRIC SOFTENER.

This winter I washed all my clothes in detergent that had a touch of fabric softener in it and I broke out in bumps all over my body. Back at the time I was pretty sure it had been the detergent and Genny had washed her sheets and towels in the same type of stuff, boom, rash on legs, neck and ears, yes ears, since they had been touching the pillow. This girl had a major case of contact dermatitis.

Contact dermatitis aside, we got all ready and were having really good hairdays that we had to document, look at the hair not the accidental cleavage…

Before calling Genny’s favorite Moroccan cab driver we had some beer and Red Bull, then headed to the Pavilion hotel to their rooftop bar. We walked in at the perfect time. One of Genny’s friends has a very rich Uncle named Larry who owns a tobacco company and a yacht that he brings to Charleston. He likes to buy his nephew’s friends, especially the girls, lots and lots and lots of drinks.

The nephew flagged us over and we sat down. We were told “order whatever you want, get Grey Goose.” It was amazing, the Veuve Clicquot was flowing like water. If Marc had been there he would have most def ordered a Blue Label.

A bachelorette joined the fun too. On any given weekend night in Charleston there are probably 69 bachelorette parties going on. Genny and I made a pact that we would not let each other wear those bachelorette sashes, tacky. It looked cute on her though.

We had so much fun drinking top shelf booze and sister bonding. The weather was perfect, not humid and even a little breezy, and my Grey Goose martini was amazing. I think it may have been better than Russia House, sorry DC.

We lasted long enough so that Genny’s boyfriend could pick us up. He happens to work as a valet at the hotel, so we waited for him in the lobby and had a photo shoot.

Free booze really gives you energy. On the way home we stopped at the 24 hour Harris Teeter for some anti itch cream and Cool Ranch Doritos, then called it an itchy night. I slept in some knee socks to protect my legs from the sheets of death.

Viernes Santo is just Good Friday (the Christian holiday), but today was just plain good and warrants a good title. I got to work nice and late since our boss was gone, worked my little butt off for awhile, read some blogs, and did a lot of google-ing for my work project.

My flight to Charleston was a little delayed, so I went to happy hour with some coworkers, chugged a glass of wine, and made my tipsy way to the airport. I was flying AirTran which meant flying out of ghetto Terminal A. Terminal A was the original terminal at National Airport and it still feels like you are flying PanAM in 1964, complete with the food choices of 1962. I waited until I got to Atlanta to have a quesadilla at Moe’s, a mediocre Mexican chain akin to Chipotle or Baja Fresh.

I made a new friend at the airport. She sat next to me on the plane and then sat next to me at Moe’s and we got talking. We were both going to Charleston, her for a wedding, both live in DC, are the same age, and had fun chatting. We exchanged numbers, so maybe we’ll go to TangySweet sometime. We’ll see.

Genny and Paul picked me up at the airport and we just vegged and caught up into the wee hours then snuggled into bed, which turned out to be a bad decision….. To be continued.

Today I drove into work since I had an event to go to in the evening. It took me 10 minutes, I’ve said it before, oh how I wish I could drive to work every day. Perhaps if I get a huge raise I’ll spring for the $150 a month parking garage…

While I was g chatting with Melinda she had the best idea evs. She wants to open a restaurant called Something Delicious. If you and your friends want to eat there you can just say “Ohhhh I want Something Delicious for dinner,” how perfect. I think the motto should be “Something Delicious this way comes.” A play on the infamous Macbeth quote “Something wicked this way comes.”

Something Delicious would probably serve mac and cheese, cinny buns, ruby red cocktails, and really yummy roast chicken. Probably also arepas with that awesome cotijo cheese. Melinda would want pomegranate juice with soda along with chocolate lava cake. What else would we have?

After scheming I did do a little work. During lunch I had my public speaking thing and I got to do word of the day. I was choosing between borborymi (a rumbling sound caused by gas moving through the intestines), aspidistra (any plant belonging to the lily family) or bumptious (offensively self assertive). I settled on bumptious. Used in a sentence one could say “I was enraged when the bumptious young republican cut me in line at The Rookery.”

(image courtesy of Prep-Unit)

After work I made my way to Clarendon to attend a Kaplan marketing event disguised as a business school fair. It was actually really great and I’ve decided to take a class. Yeah okay the marketing worked. But, for me, I think I need it in order to get a score that will get me into a top school.

I got home late, packed for my trip to Charleston tomorrow, watched some Sex and the City and went to bed!

This morning I slept in a little, bringing my total nights sleep count to 9 hours. Ahhh, refreshing. It was a beautiful summer morning (minus being at camp) and the bus came on time. Work was somewhat uneventful, though I did get my revenue goals for the rest of the year. They were a little high considering the economy we are in, but we’ll see. I’ll just have to work my behind off a little more.

At lunch I ate outside at the Kennedy Center, then walked to the Wednesday Foggy Bottom farmers market and bought some Rainer cherries. Rainer’s are a little lighter than regular cherries, the variety comes from Washington state, but these babies were grown in West Virginia. They are almost out of season, so I had to get em while they were hot.

After work I made my way home, relaxed a bit, and then went for a loooonngggg run. The distance wasn’t so long, but it took me 45 minutes, as I wasn’t going too fast. It was the perfect evening for a run, not too hot, plenty of shade on my route, and a light breeze. Once home I watched some Barefoot Contessa. The episode was a little different, she had a friend, who also is a cookbook writer, over for the weekend, and they made recipes together, including a frozen yogurt sorbet which I will have to duplicate in the near future.

After my Ina dose I got my leftover kabob on, they were just as good the next day and filled me right up! I decided to keep the food theme going and watched the newest episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay. The challenge was Arepas, Venezuelan type sandwiches which are just godness. The arepa itself is a corn based bread that tastes a bit like a doughy English Muffin. Dana and I had some in Boston at Orinoco. The Arepa experts won the throwdown with their more traditional take, but both sides did a good job. I need to find an Areparia in DC.

Venezualans eat them as snacks after partying, I’ll eat them anytime.

I finished out the food theme with the Top Chef Chicago reunion. I’m not really a fan of all these reunion shows, but I did find out that Spike is now in DC. Maybe I’ll see him sometime when I’m at the Rookery with the Bush twins…

This morning our new intern started and I got her up and running. Wow, it’s nice to have someone help you when you need to find the names and addresses of 2,038 non-profit organizations! It was a beautiful day so we all had lunch outside, which included a coffee milkshake from Potbelly. Those things are heaven, plus I haven’t had a milkshake for two weeks, so I was allowed.

I accidentally brought my camera to work, I was packing my purse in the AM really fast and threw it in. Since I had it, I needed to take a pic of Tommy at my cube. He was trying to see if someones ads would work on my browser. Notice the window view. Nice.

Once home I began to prep for dinner with Elly. She had suggested we make kabobs, so I bought the ingredients last night: beef, tomatoes, onions and green peppers. Every housewife plans ahead, so I’d began to marinate the beef last night in SoyVey Teriyaki sauce, it was perfect when we took it out. Forward thinking and efficiency win the race!

When Elly came over we drank some wine and stuck the kabobs on sticks, then grilled them on my stove top with my reversible double griddle from Crate and Barrel, it was a great investment and the kabobs were grilled to perfection (it’s on sale now, I suggest you invest). They went well with some crispy sweet potato fries and leftover risotto.

And a close up…

We filled our wineglasses to the brim and took our masterpieces up to the roof. It was a beautiful night and we sat up there for a long time, watching the sun set. Romantical

Once we came down from the roof our wine was gone, so we had to go down the street for another bottle. The Metro K Supermarket has a great selection. Elly suggested we make her signature concoction of red wine and Fresca, yeah sounds really weird, but it tasted a little like fizzy sangria. I’d do it again.

Michelle and Jess were having dinner at the Grill from Ipanema, right next door to me, so when they were done they came over for a drink. We were all tipsy and had the usual girl conversations - boys, clothes, 3-somes, ice cream you know…

When all my guests left I watched the end of the latest Harry Potter movie on HBO and snuggled in to bed.

Today was a very uneventful Monday. The bus came early again, but this time I was ready for it. I got there early too. Booya. Work was the same old and I readied for my intern who comes tomorrow. I am a little nervous. She is coming in to help me with a big project I’m undertaking. I’ve never had an intern, so I hope I am a good mentor and she learns at least a little something!

On the way home I waited for the bus for 20 minutes, what is it with me and bus luck? Can’t get it right. But it turns out I didn’t miss it, the thing was 20 minutes late. Ugh. The woes of public transportation. I hope I am at least reducing my carbon footprint a little bit. Once home I went over to the gym and met Rachel there. We had a lovely workout and caught up.

Post MINT-ing I walked over to Harris Teeter on Kalorama Rd. It opened in late April, but I haven’t been yet. It is a little smaller than the Teeter’s in Virginia, but had everything I needed and didn’t skimp on the prepared foods, produce and deli items, the stuff Teeter is good for! I bought some supplies for dinner tomorrow, Elly is coming over. I also bought a hunk of Gruyere. I was craving some cheese.

For dinner I took some fresh Teeter bread and the Gruyere and made  a grilled cheese sandwich, along with some prosciutto and lettuce. A very French meal. I grilled the sandwich perfectly, I’m quite proud of myself. They key is to not let the pan get too hot, and of course coat the bread with some butter -”I Can’t Believe its Not Butter” in my case. It went perfectly with a Hoegaarden beer.

After dinner I cleaned the apartment. Somehow between yesterday evening and this evening it got very cluttered. When the place was up to my standards I settled on the couch to watch the rest of Knocked Up. I hope I don’t have dreams about being pregs. Hate those, so stressful.

This morning I was too hungover to breate and moaned for awhile before finally dragging myself out of bed. I drank lots of fluids and then decided I wanted a big fat turkey sandwich. I’ve been wanting to try the Dupont Market on 18th St. I heard that they served great overpriced sandwiches, and we all know white people love those, see this post from my fave blog for further information on the subject.

I got dressed and walked down 18th, running into MScott on the way. He had a suitcase with him and was on his cell, so I just said a quick hello. The market was great, I got a turkey sandwich on ciabatta with cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sprouts and mayo. It was wonderful and really hit the hungover spot. I couldn’t even wait to get home and was devouring it on the patio of the market when MScott walked by and sat down to join me. He had a suitcase full of books he was trying to offload. I hope he had success!

Once home I caught Marc online. His cellular isn’t working in Vietnam, but they do have black label there, so he was happy and we had a lovely conversation about bagels, flowers and cats. I went to my roof deck for the rest of the afternoon. The weather wasn’t too hot and there was a nice breeze up there. I read the latest issue of Glamour Magazine and dozed. I also talk to my Momma and got a full report of our family friends wedding that her and my father went to last night. She sent me some pictures, the bridesmaids bouquets were beautiful. Notice the peonies.

Once inside from the sun I ate the rest of my sandwich, still just as amazing and cleaned. I also watched the women’s Olympic diving and gymnastics trials, I heart the Olympics, I can’t wait for August! Plus diving and gymnastics are my fave summer sports. There is this new little gymnast named Shawn Johnson, she rocks.

For dinner I made some basmati rice that took 50 minutes to simmer, but it came out good. I’ll never buy it again though, 50 minutes to simmer! Jeeze. The rice went well with some butter chicken simmer sauce from whole foods and frozen samosas donated by Marc’s from when he cleaned out his freezer

I went to bed on the early side and was asleep immediately.

I woke up around 9:30, made some coffee, and went to MINT. They were having a little street fair, as a few new business’s have opened up on the bottom floor of the building. After working out I got a free smoothie sample (obvs) and then walked to the stores. The best of them all was a new Belgian chocolate place that opened, Locolat. They were giving out free Belgian waffle samples and oh my goodness, it was a party in my mouth. The thing was amazing. Marc is going to love it!

Around noon Jess and I headed to the pool in Pentagon City and snuck right in. It isn’t even really sneaking, as we just walk in and the Russian lifeguards don’t give a crap. We spent about 3 hours of tanning bliss at the pool, with a break for some tacos at Baja Fresh. On the way home we stopped at Teeter to get some supplies for her birthday tonight. When I got home I made some pink frosting and finished Jess’s cupcakes. Call me Ina, they came out great.

I got all ready to roll and was very happy with my tan and new lip gloss. Had to document since I didn’t break out the camera later in the night. You’ll see why later, I could not be “that girl” with the camera.

We all had a great time eating some amazing homemade guacamole, mojitos that came out great (I made them), steak, and of course dessert, some lovely cupcakes. It was a perfect summer meal with perfect company

Around 10:30 we all headed to Town Hall in Glover Park and spent a very long time there. Finally when we were Town Hall-ed out a few of us headed over to the Rookery on M St. The Rookery is a new “members only” bar opened by the guy who owns the always exclusive Smith’s Point. This Washington Post article explains it all.

Kate is friends with the owner so she was on “the list” and we all got in. Thanks Kate. We drank cocktails on the patio with the other exclusive people and then all of a sudden some twins walked out on to the patio. Their Dad happens to be the President of the United States… Spotted.

I of course acted cool and exclusive like it was no big deal, but I was pretty excited to check them out and of course be at the same bar as them! Jenna was sitting right next to me for awhile, we talked about Manchu Picchu, because of course all white people must be able to talk about their travels and Jenna and I have both been. Both twins were smoking ciggies left and right and I even managed to check out Jenna’s engagement/wedding rings. Very tasteful and not too much bling.

I headed home on the very late side, whoops and passsseeedddd out!

xoxo Gossip Girl

I got to work nice and late, as our boss was on vacation. I got to talk to the boo in Laos as I was eating my requisite Friday bagel. I mean who goes to Laos? The morning passed quickly, as I was taking a GMAT practice quiz (shhhh). Around 12:30 Kate and I needed to get out of the office, so we headed over to Pentagon City where we managed to spend two hours. All I bought was some lip gloss. Since it takes me about 2 years to use any kind of makeup, minus mascara, that must be replaced regularly, I splurged and got Fresh Sugar Lip Gloss in Sugar Baby. It will be the perfect summer color (for the next 2 years).

Ohh ohh my lips so luscious - Lil Mama

I left work around 5:30, late for a Friday, but since our lunch had been a little long I had a few things to do before I could go home. Once home I put on my apron and got right to baking. Jess is having a birthday party tomorrow and I volunteered to do the dessert. She loves strawberry shortcake, so I decided to make strawberry cupcakes.

I bought a french vanilla cake mix and folded some cut up strawberries into the batter. I also bought some cream cheese frosting and red food coloring. Tomorrow I’m going to make pink frosting to top them, along with a red “J” for Jess. The unfrosted little guys looked so cute all snuggly in their beds

After baking I had to watch an episode of Ina. I learned how to properly cut fennel and that you can whip cream in a bowl that egg whites have been in, but not vice versa. The fat in the cream would prevent the egg whites from whipping. I can’t wait until my boo gets home. I really miss his Kitchenaid. I am going to attack that thing when he gets back!

Around 9pm I met up with Jess on the corner of 18th and U and we walked over to Bar Pilar on 14th St. I’d only been once before, but it’s a fun little place full of prepsters and hipsters. They serve Allagash White, and any place that does that is a-okay in my book. We had a few beers, gossiped and then were home by 12:30. I watched some Conan O’Brien and went to bed!