Vegas, baby, Vegas!!

Errybody on my Facebook was like "Woo! Spring Break in [bahamas/mexico/so cal/vegas]!!" And I was just here lounging in leggings and hanging on my couch. But, to be honest, it was bliss. Law school and interning take it out of me. It's been pretty great having no big plans and no where to be. Needless to say, I didn't go to Vegas.

My Spring Break in a nutshell:

(1) I started {and finished} House of Cards, season three. No spoilers, but I liked it better than season two though the end was kinda daytime soap, ya know?

(2) Attended my first ever Soul Cycle class. My first ever spin class, really. It was intense. And loud. And fun. My bff here does it all the time and she is so good at it. I, apparently, can barely keep a beat going. No wonder I never took to dancing. 

(2) I finished a crafty project I'd been slowly working on for a month. I'll share more deets lata.

(3) Houston has this horrible thing going on under his chin which I just noticed - I'm probably the worst cat mom. He didn't appear to be in pain but it looked gross. Took him to the vet, which he hated, but we got him some meds and some ointment and I think he's gonna make it. Poor guys has to deal with two-a-day face washes but once a day he gets a pill in a salmon flavored pill pocket so we're gonna call it even. 

(4) SNOW DAY!! Thursday was a snow day!! Which means Dan got to stay home with me all day. 

(5) Dan was like: "Let's celebrate Purim." And I was like, "I'm down to party." Usually our recognition of Jewish holidays is limited to eating latkes and lighting the menorah during Hanukah but I'm always down to expand my cultural experiences. Dan's mom sent this really sweet story about her memories celebrating Purim with family down in LA. Carrying on traditions is fun. I made hamantaschen (the chocolate rum kind) and they were de-lish. Also, my first box of wine. So, there's that.

(6) On Friday I looked at Dan and said, "We should do something this weekend. It is Spring Break. I should do something." "Sure, what do you want to do?" Dan asked. "Well, I don't know. Something." I replied. So, the Planetarium it was. And drinks after, of course.

(7) I had two Skype dates this week. One with a friend from California and the other with a friend in Norway. I love catching up with people and need to do it way more often.

(8) I made paleo pancakes. I think I nearly perfected it by the end there.

We always feel better driving west.

I bought a wine tasting deal on one of those social sites a couple months ago and, since I didn't do anything for Spring Break, we decided to take the day on Saturday and make the trek. It felt so good to get off the main roads and see some of Virginia's country. We daydreamed about living out in the middle of nowhere. We felt the peace of quiet and realized it had been too long since we had found our way out of the city. We live in Arlington but most days it just feels like an extension of D.C.

Somedays I just want to quit school and buy a ranch and farm something. The feeling is usually fleeting, though I know that someday we'll have a big tract of land with a small house and a fireplace. We'll have three dogs and a 15 farm cats. Someday.

For now we just enjoy getting out there every once in a while and when there is in the general westward direction we feel like we're going home - we joke that it would take us just three days to get to California, but I don't think we're really joking.

This vineyard was surrounded by hills and mountains. It's tucked in its own little valley which we're told gives the european varietal a good chance to grow. Thank god for that because the muscadine grapes of the south are just too sweet for our liking.

I love watching Dan in situations like this, like wine tasting. Dan is an interesting combination of introverted and extroverted. It takes him a while to warm up to a person he'll see frequently as if he's cautiously trying to determine what kind of relationship they'll have, but strangers? Oh man, strangers beware. Dan will talk your ear off and chat with you as though you are friends from grade school. He is never at a loss for questions or stories and he makes the whole place feel like the bar in Cheers.

It's one of the reasons traveling with Dan is so fun - he has the worst luck with airlines (his flights always get delayed) but he makes friends with everyone at the bar and we are never without people to talk to while we wait for our plane.

I always have fun when he's around and this weekend of wine and country was so needed. Thanks, Virginia.

A little snow day walk

It's snowing here in Northern Virginia. I believe it's snowing all over the northeast as well but don't take my word on that - check instagram. There really isn't a better time for a snow day than on the day right after a holiday. Not only did we get a three-day weekend but then this snow day made it a four-day, which makes the it a three-day work week. And that is what we call grand in our neck of the woods.

Judging by these photos you would think that maybe we live in or near the woods. You would be wrong - we live off a major thoroughfare but there is a trail near us. A trail with skinny trees all around it and when it snows it looks like a winter wonderland.

All of this and we have come to the conclusion that snow days are pretty great. They are a bit cold, because our basement apartment has a sole space heater to keep us warm, but they are days for lounging, and playing wii golf, and Lost marathons. So, hurrah for snow days! Hip, hip!

Mt. Vernon in Color

This past weekend we ventured out to George Washington's house, Mt. Vernon. We woke up late Saturday morning and when we realized what a beautiful day it was going to be, and when Dan started listing off all the fun things we could do, I decided that studying could wait until Sunday, and off we went.

In North Carolina, at least on the southern coast, the Fall season doesn't make itself clear theough color-changing trees. All the trees stay green, or in the case of the long-leaf Pine, turn instantly brown and make needle beds all over the sandy floor.

Not here. Here there are red, yellow, and orange indications of Fall adorning the skyline. While we were drive to George's homestead I was going through flashcards for class. Dan interrupted me, "Rach, look up." As I acquiesced I was greeted with the rich tones of Fall, which, I realized, I had been largely ignoring with my nose constantly in the books.

It was a great Saturday. Perfect weather, wonderful company, and a sweet house tour. Thanks, Virginia.