Carrot Cake!

 Probably like most people, I get really excited when I see something that looks really cool and that I'd like to do....and then actually do it! This cake was one of those great situations where I loved something in a magazine and it was the right mix of easy, cheap, and fun to make it happen :-) 

Start off with a nice, frozen Sara Lee Pound cake (unless you're an overachiever and want to make your own)

Cut off a couple inches from one end and then 2 wedges off the sides.

Add some yellow and red food coloring to white icing until you get an orange you like

Use icing to "glue" on the wedges to make a point at one end.  Let your husband eat the flat end you cut off (at least that's what I did :-) )

Ice the whole thing

Gather your orange jelly beans-sooo pretty!

Start laying 'em on (and if you're me, let go of any hopes of perfection)

Ella had fun helping with almost all of the steps but the jelly-beaning was the easiest for her to help with :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lay out some green candy for the stem and...Ta-da! It was a hit at our Easter Celebration and a fun project with Ella.

Peep Adventure!!!

The weekend before Easter we took advantage of really good deal on Certifikid for what we started calling our "Peep Adventure."  It was a night in an executive suite at the Gaylord National Harbor and admission to a bunch of different Peep related activities for families.  It was SO much fun to get away and we were treated like royalty by the Gaylord staff!  We even were handed gift bags with stuffed animal peep chicks, candy, a schedule of events, tickets for events and more.  Overall we had awesome family time and would love to go back for more family fun events at National Harbor!

Sadie checking out our fancy bedroom

Our first activity was gingerbread Easter Candy Houses

See the 2ft tall Peep on the top balcony?  That was one of many we found on the Peep Scavenger Hunt :-)

Sadie was fascinated by the Giant Peep!

It was pouring outside when the Easter Egg Hunt was scheduled so they did it inside.  Ella still had a blast.

Fun Mommy-daughter time on our sleepover at the hotel

Chris and Ella hid behind the curtains to watch the crazy thunder storms over the Wilson Bridge-it was a perfect spot!

Brunch the next morning was awesome.  So. Tasty. Though I must say, Sadie did NOT sleep well on our little trip away :-(  But, it was only one night so it wasn't too bad.  She was pretty happy even being somewhat sleep deprived.

I'm a sucker for topiaries :-)  So glad the rain cleared up by our second day there.

It's an impressive hotel even from outside!

It was a great trip that we'd definitely do again. 

Quiznos

So, when we lived in Arizona for 4 years we lived in a small Army base town with not many dining establishments.  Thus, it was full throttle, stand-in-line kind of excitement whenever someplace new opened.  But somehow they opened a Quiznos near our house and we never went.  Ever.  We kinda always meant to try it out, but moved away and still, had never tried it. 

Thus, the concept of "a Quizno" was born in our family.  It's a word we use now to describe something you want to do, could easily do, but don't.  The Smithsonian Natural History Museum is totally a Quizno for us.  DC is so close yet seems so far away.  But we were heading down there for the weekend (more to come on that) and decided to swing by.  It. Was. AMAZING.  I think I'm crazy for not going ALL THE TIME.  It was awe-inspiring the second you walked in.  And it's free?  We only covered maybe a 3rd of it and had buckets of fun.  We'll so be back.  Quizno no more!

The light up x-ray machine thing was pretty awesome

Sadie was banging two shells together and actually chipped one.  Ooops.  Glad it wasn't a fossil or anything...

This entire "coral reef" was knit in yarn!

I have a memory (and my Dad likes to tell the story) of when my dad chaperoned my pre-k fieldtrip to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum but we were bored there so he snuck me and another kid out when the teachers didn't know and took us to see the Giant Squid at the Natural History Museum across the way.  My Dad is the coolest dad ever. I still much prefer Giant Squid to Planes :-)

Rain did not keep the crowds away!

This is the view from right outside the Musuem (it was POURING rain when we arrived, hence the ominous clouds)

Cupcake Craft

Spring Break gave us time for some fun crafts including this "stained glass" cupcake :-) 

 

 

Top Chef Quest: Spike

This is the first installment of what I hope will be a many part series of posts over the next year as Chris and I try to stop in at all the Top Chef-related restaurants in the area.  We like Top Chef but it's not that we're obsessed with those particular characters, it's really just a way to narrow our quest to try out new, interesting, well-made food.  It's also fun to eat the food of someone you feel like you "know" from TV :-)  So, we've made a list of places within a 1hr radius that are chef-ed or owned by Top Chef (or TC Masters) contestants or judges.  It's fun to have a goal for our foodie hobby :-) 

So, this time we hit up Spike Mendelsohn's (Season 4 and All-Stars) burger joint. Good Stuff Eatery was pretty easy to get to in DC and not far from our other destination for the day, the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. 

The Location

 Like I said, not hard to drive to, right in the middle of Capitol Hill.  We also found easy metered parking a couple blocks away. I am not much of a city driver so this stuff matters to me :-)  Interestingly Spike's other restaurant, We the Pizza, is next door.  Didn't try that one out so we'll have to head back sometime soon :-)

The Ambiance
The Eatery is a pretty small space and is kind of like a Panera or Chipotle

where you order at the counter and get a table.  When we came (with both kids in town) it was pretty packed and though there were a few outdoor tables, which would be great in the spring/summer, it was pouring so we had to wait for a table to free up inside.  The seating is upstairs as are bathrooms.  

As a mom, I must say the bathrooms were POOR.  There was no changing table and absolutely NO space in the tiny bathroom to lay a baby anywhere except on the floor to change a diaper.  Yes, I laid out a changing pad on the floor and crouched down between the toilet and sink to change a diaper.  I think we escaped with contracting the plague but it was definitely less than ideal.

The decor is nice enough for a burger joint but really, this is not a place to go for the experience.  It's about the food.

The Food

 Overall, we were very impressed.  The burgers and sides were decidedly different and upscale though the setting and prices were not.  

 Here's what we ordered:

COLLETTI’S SMOKEHOUSE
Applewood Bacon, Sharp Vermont Cheddar Fried Vidalia Onion Rings With Chipotle BBQ Sauce
6.89

PREZ OBAMA BURGER
Applewood Bacon, Onion Marmalade, Roquefort Cheese & Delicious Horseradish Mayo Sauce
6.89

And we got a couple sides to share

SPIKE’S VILLAGE SNACK FRY   Topped With Fresh Thyme, Rosemary & Sea Salt  2.49
CLIFF’S HOMEGROWN VIDALIA ONION PETALS 3.49

I left the prices in so you can see, this place is SUPER reasonable. Cheap even.  Especially because the food was SO good!  We have had a lot of burgers in our day and these were really tasty.  The beef was much tastier than any kind of fast food burger-and I liked it better than most restaurant-quality burgers I've had.  The toppings were also really tasty.  The tangy Roquefort cheese with the sweet onion marmalade, smoky bacon, and slightly spicy horseradish mayo was great combination. The bacon was a little chewy though which is a pet peeve of mine :-(

Chris liked his burger too and the sweet BBQ sauce made it taste completely different from mine.  We thought the onion petals were ok-wouldn't order them again.  There was a lot of sweet batter (almost like a donut or funnel cake) on a very little bit of onion.  However, we are fry connoisseurs and we really liked the village snack fries.  They reminded us of the duck fat fries we love at Victoria Gastro Pub.  The rosemary on fries is such a tasty addition. 

So, the price was right, it was definitely not too fancy for kids, and the food was utterly tasty.  Good job Spike!  We'll definitely be repeat customers.

Ella downed the fries even with the "little green things" (rosemary and thyme)

We got to watch the pizza tossers next door at We the Pizza in action