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Monday, September 8, 2014

{Travel} Washington DC Weekend- Part 1

We got away for a weekend by ourselves and chose Washington, DC because it wasn't too far from home but not too close either. After checking into our hotel, we hopped right on the Metro and got off at the Smithsonian station.

The sights never get old.

The last time we were in DC, it was cold so it was nice to see it in warmer weather.

We were starving and got a tip from a park ranger to try lunch in the National Gallery Sculpture Garden Cafe.

Waiting for our food.

There was a good variety of salads, sandwiches and flatbreads (I got the hummus salad).

Then it was off to explore the Sculpture Garden.

Creepy!

Does anyone remember these?

Views from the Sculpture Garden

The weather was so perfect that day, sunny and breezy!

Mmmmm...wonder where they got this idea?

This reminded me of those sugar cube sculptures we used to make for school (mine were never this elaborate).

Next, we went into the National Gallery of Art. Did I mention that all of the Smithsonian museums are FREE?

This guy reminded me of Nearly Headless Nick from the Harry Potter books.

Seeing my first Davinci!!

I loved the paintings in this gallery.

This man was painting a replica, isn't it amazing?

The hubby wanted to see the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial so we started walking that way. Everything looks a lot closer until you start walking there. It wasn't too bad but we were definitely ready for a break when we got there.

The steps around the statue provided a perfect rest stop.

We had a beautiful view of the Capitol too.

The top of the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial.

#uscapitolselfie

There's also a great view of the Washington Monument from here.

We were searching for a cup of coffee and started walking toward one that Siri suggested. In the meantime we walked through the Botanical Gardens.

We stopped in and asked where the nearest coffee spot was and they told us at the National Museum of the American Indian that was right next door.

We wanted to stop there anyway so that's what we did. The stroll through the Botanical Gardens is just lovely.

The building had the coolest design.

Yay coffee! We stopped in a the Mitsitam Espresso Coffee Bar and also checked out the Mitsitam Cafe for a future visit. They feature "Native foods found throughout the Western Hemisphere". The food looked amazing!

We explored the museum and decided it was time to go back to our room and get ready for dinner.

to be continued....

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Friday, September 5, 2014

{The Abode} Natural Pest Solutions

Happy Friday! Who's excited about the weekend? I know I am!

Here's a quickie post about bugs and how to deal with some of them naturally.

I use cinnamon to repel ants when I start noticing them in the summer months. I pour some cinnamon in a row along the countertops in our kitchen to keep them from coming back. I usually do it at night and then clean it up in the morning. Cinnamon blends in pretty well with our countertops so it doesn't bother me too much if I have to leave it on them during the day sometimes.

I saw some of those little buggers in our laundry room as well and poured cinnamon along the base boards. It makes the room smell good too.

My other summer bug problem is fruit flies. We leave most of our fruit out and in the summer we always have an abundance of fruit and veggies on the countertops, in bowls and on a pedestal on the kitchen table. When I start noticing fruit flies, I use a solution of apple cider vinegar with a drop of dish liquid in a jar. Adding a small piece of ripe fruit helps too. I will usually put a few of them around my kitchen, near the fruit areas. It attracts the fruit flies and they get stuck in the jar. This works like a charm!

Do you have any natural tricks for pests in the home?

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Linking up with:
Creative Mondays
Friday Favorites
Wow Us Wednesday
Wicked Awesome Wednesday

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Thursday, September 4, 2014

Date Night In The City

A few weeks ago we had an impromptu date in the city. Miss High School and a friend had tickets to a concert in Philly and we were their transportation.

Instead of hanging out at the stadium area, we ventured out a little and tried a new(to us) place.

The Saloon has been there for over 40 years and is known for their Italian and American food.

We were early for our reservation but they seated us right away.

Cheers!

We ordered our food and enjoyed our wine(just one glass, of course).

My shirt is thrifted, btw.

I ordered two appetizers for my meal. The first was this roasted pepper deliciousness that I shared with the hubs.

It had fresh roasted peppers layered with mozzarella, provolone and home made pesto.

(They also give you pesto with the bread they bring to the table before the meal).

I was torn between two salads (feeling like a fool..anyone?) but after a long discussion with the waitress, I picked the Fennel salad. I love fennel and this sounded too interesting to pass up.

The salad had shaved fennel, pecorino cheese and thinly sliced pears with a grapefruit vinaigrette dressing. Yummo!

The Mister ordered the Ravioli of the Day (ricotta) and they were light billowy pillows of pasta and ricotta. He also ordered a side of the broccoli rabe that was sauteed in garlic and olive oil.

It was perfection!

When the dessert tray was presented, we had a tough time choosing one, but hard as it was,we chose the Cannoli Cake. The caramel sauce on the side was amazing too.

After dinner we had some time to kill so we went to the Philadelphia IKEA because what is the perfect end to a perfect date? IKEA of course! It was near closing so we didn't buy anything but we did walk the entire store (a workout in itself if you're power walking).

We made it back to the stadium and it was such a beautiful night, we sat outside and listened to the Billy Joel concert across the street while we waited for the girls to get out of their concert.

I'd call that our second dessert!

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