nation's capital

Last week Josh had a conference in DC and I was able to tag along for a little no-kid getaway! It was fab-u-lous! Some highlights:

Sight-seeing

You can't go to DC without taking some time to go see some monuments and historic buildings. We didn't have a ton of time to explore together because Josh's conference took up his entire day on Thursday and Friday, but we made it into town by 11:00 Wednesday morning so we explored a bit that day.

We didn't make it down to all the monuments but we saw the Washington Monument, strolled by the White House, and saw the Capitol. 

Here we are with the Capitol in the background. Isn't Josh awesome at self-portraits? :)
We decided to go tour the Library of Congress, but it was a minor bust because one of the main exhibits was closed, and also because our geriatric tour guide could not remember ANY facts that he was supposed to share with us. Seriously, Al was straight out of a cheesy sitcom. We broke away from the tour after a couple stops and snuck up for a peek at the main reading room. I am glad we saw the building, it is just gorgeous. We also went through the tunnel to the Capitol and explored for a minute over there.

Museums
I wish we could have gone to every single Smithsonian Museum, plus the Holocaust Museum and others. But, time didn't permit. We did breeze through the Air & Space Museum and the Museum of Natural History. I hadn't been to DC since I was a kid but I had vivid memories of both of these, and the seriously looked exactly as I remember them. Honestly the museums made me really wish we had the boys with us. We mostly just took some pics for them and bought souvenirs.

Visiting
Josh's brother, Caleb, and his wife, Stephanie, live and work in DC. We SO enjoyed getting to spend time with them and see what their life is like in DC/Virginia. We were able to have some time with them each of the 4 days we were there, which was wonderful. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures. My phone is doing this obnoxious thing where it constantly tells me I don't have enough storage to take a picture despite the fact that I only have about 150 pics on my camera roll. Anyway. We enjoyed our time with them, despite the one measly picture to show for it. And I would have been completely lost in the city without them.

Brothers at Mt Vernon

Food
We ate some wonderful food while we were there. Josh & I went to eat at Old Ebbitt the first night. I have to say, despite the fact that it is supposedly a DC staple, we didn't love the food. I did, however, LOVE the date night with my hub. It was really nice to have this time away with all kinds of time to talk without any pressure to get home and relieve (and pay!) a baby-sitter. Thursday I ate a yummy breakfast at Booeymonger before shopping (more to come on that) and that night we had THE.BEST.MEAL. at Founding Farmers. If you ever go to DC, go there! In fact, if you live within a 5-hour drive, go there! :) It was a delicious meal--skillet cornbread, fried green tomatoes, chicken & waffles with yummy sides--the ended with the best piece of red velvet cake I've ever had. Mmmm still thinking about it.

Friday I had a super yummy lunch at Tackle Box followed by a fabulous afternoon pick-me-up at Sprinkles. More red velvet of course. 

That night Caleb & Steph picked us up and on the way to their place in VA we stopped and got burgers & fries at Good Stuff. Ohhh my was it good. It is a Big Orange-ish (for you LR people) place run by some guy who has been on Top Chef--clearly I don't watch the show. But this guy knows how to make a burger. Yum.

Shopping/"Me Time" 
Yep, shopping is a highlight for me. While Josh was in his conference Thursday & Friday, I had free reign of the city. I loved exploring on my own, doing whatever I wanted for two.days.straight--when does that EVER happen for a mom?--and yes, shopping. I hit up all my favorite stores that we don't have at home--Zara, H&M, Urban Outfitters, Madewell--plus a few faves from home that I just don't normally go to--Anthro, J. Crew, even a 3-story Forever 21 (I know I am not the only one who tends to just buy my clothes at Target when I'm there on a diaper run, right??) I do really love to shop, I can't lie. It was nice to spoil myself with the Milk and Honey & birthday money that was burning a hole in my pocket. But more than that, I just loved the time to myself! It was the craziest feeling to wake up in the morning and know that I had a whole day ahead of me, all to myelf. I did tell a friend by the end of day 2, though, that it was starting to feel a little unnatural to be so...selfish for lack of a better word. I was almost wishing for a nose to wipe or a fight to break up--almost.

Mount Vernon
Saturday Caleb picked us up in the morning and we went to Mount Vernon, George Washington's home in Virginia. I guess this could fall under sight-seeing but it deserves it's own spot on the list. I remembered loving it as a kid, and I LOVED it as an adult too. Loved. It reminded me of how much I love history. Not just facts and whatnot, but an actual glimpse into another time. Nerdy? Maybe so. I don't care. This was a major highlight of the trip for me, and for Josh too. Thank you Caleb for taking the time to take us there! Also, they have built a new museum and education center there since I was there as a kid and I could have spent hours in there! Too bad we had a 4:00 flight to catch.

The Washingtons had quite a view of the Potomac!

Reuniting
Getting away is wonderful, but coming home to two sweet faces is pretty nice as well. It didn't hurt either that it happened to be my birthday when we reunited,so they had to treat me extra special :) I missed these two, and I can't wait to take them along to DC someday! Thank you Mar Mar & Papa D for taking good care of them while we were away.