DC Cycling & Successful Saturday

Our first DC cycling go-round was a success! We did a relaxed 18 mile ride from Roosevelt Island to Mt. Vernon and back. There were a few small hills and windy trails, so it was a great first ride to get us in shape. The trail ran alongside the Potomac, past the National Mall, around Reagan National Airport, and by the Kennedy Center... there were so many photo opportunities, but if I stopped at every one, we never would have have finished.

Other than sore butts from being on the bike for the first time in over a year, we made it through the ride just fine and feel great! We averaged a little over 10 mph (curvy, congested roads, couldn't get above 15!), and burned over 1,000 calories.

Snapped a few pics along the ride...

Stopped at Reagan to watch some planes take off

My favorite monument in the background

US Capital

More Washington Monument

Even more Washington Mounment

Made a wish that my seat would magically become more comfortable

We love sunroof weather

Days like today are the reason we moved up here- not a cloud in the sky, 62 and sunny, no humidity, nice paved bike trails. I can't wait to explore more of the trails and beautiful scenery!

The day got even better, believe it or not! We made a trip to Pentagon City Mall and I picked up some new goodies from Sephora, we got our bedding and me a new suitcase from Macy's, and my hubby bought me an early b-day present :) 

Love it!!!

Then, we went to Crate and Barrel and used some of our gift cards to get a new rug. I can't wait to get everything set up... the apartment is finally coming together! 

We finished the night off with some Lost Dog Pizza, a 6 pack, and a movie. I'm a happy girl :) Hope your day was equally as wonderful!

"It's for the kids"

High five to a positive ending for the last week in April. 

Thursday night, I was invited to attend a silent auction fundraiser with one of my co-worker Krystina, who I'm quite fond of :) She and I started working for LivingSocial the same week, so we went through training together and are work buddies. We left around 6:30 to catch the train to Capital Hill. 

To my delight, the event was held at a house near 2nd and C. Since I equate many situations to rap lyrics in my head, of course this reminded me of 50 Cent and G-Unit. Krystina didn't get the reference, but it's ok, I won't count it as a strike ;) Not everyone is ghetto like me and has street cred.

C Yoouuuu-NIT!

The fundraiser was benefitting the Children's National Medical Center and was called "Hill House After Dark". It was hosted by the Junior Council, which I might join! Krystina is a co-chair for their big event in the winter, they host really fun parties and events that raise a ton of money for the hospital. Dressing up and having fun for a good cause? I'm in!

I kind of failed at taking pictures of the event, but I did manage to get one of the tent in the backyard. 

The house was really cool, it's an older row house with tons of updates, a fabulous (but small) kitchen, and 2 bedrooms/bathrooms upstairs. And for only 1.2 million, it could be yours, too! They had live music, open bar, and a silent auction inside for some cool prizes. 

Post-Auction

My only complaint was that they didn't announce when bidding ended, so we got caught up mingling outside and didn't get to bid on anything. Was probably for the best though- my competitive streak always shines at silent auctions, and I end up bidding on random things I really don't need. But, as Matt Damon once said, "It's for the kids". So that makes it ok.

Around 10:00, we were about to head home and ran upstairs to use the restroom. When we got to the top of the stairs, we were waiting at for the restroom in the staircase. All of the sudden, we both freaked out because there was a silent creepy figure lurking in the doorway. We both screamed and ran into one of the other bedrooms... what the heck was that?!

Finally, I mustered up the courage to see what it was. I tip toed up to "it" and poked it with my finger. 

It fell backwards onto the floor. To our surprise, it was a Sarah Palin cutout! Which is almost creepier! I walked into the room to pick it up, and realized we found a gold mine. The entire cast from the 2008 Presidential Campaign were all hanging out together upstairs. Everyone from the Prez to McCain to Mitt Romney- all together in one room- silent. I bet that's a first.

Of course this called for a photo shoot! We I thought it would be cool to take pictures and tell everyone that I really met these people. Turns out, taking pics with card board political cut-outs and making them look real isn't as easy as you would think.

Too much flash, and would anyone ever do that behind Sarah Palin?

Too much flash, awkward thumbs-up. Fail. 

Not enough flash, but blurry enough that people might not be able to tell he's fake.

Getting a little better, but still looks really fake.
Oh, and creepy Sarah Palin is lurking in the background.  Double fail.

Then, someone from the party came upstairs and busted us in the middle of the photo shoot. But he didn't judge... he actually asked if both of us wanted in the picture! Kind of an awkward moment, but not really because not much is awkward when there's an open bar.

Still awkward- would Obama really let Krystina pinch his hip?
We give up.

Exhausted from our photo shoot, decided to head home. But not before grabbing some free Red Velvet cupcakes!

Thanks for a fun night Krystina!!

Friday morning, while it seems everyone on Facebook woke up at 3:30 am to watch the Royal Wedding, I was still counting sheep. Call me crazy, but for some reason I just didn't see the point. That's why they invented DVR. But-to each is own!

When I got in to work, LivingSocial had sprung for some Tea & Crumpets in honor of the royal nuptials. Now THIS is something to get excited about- I've never had a real crumpet before! I mean.. what is a crumpet anyways?

I present to you- crumpets.
They look like english muffins but are fluffier and taste better.

Enjoying English Breakfast Tea, and my delicious crumpet with cheese spread & berry jam before hitting the phones.

Around 3:30, we finally hit our team goal of 305 deals- Way to go Team LifeSavers!!! I ended up with 16 for the month, which I'm ok with since I was gone for 1/2 of April. We have the best boss ever and she let us head home to enjoy the fabulous 70 degree, zero humidity weather outside.

We had a countdown running, similar to a paper chain for the days of Christmas. Only, no one wanted to cut out 305 rings, so we opted to write the numbers on sticky notes and pull the number down each time we got a contract in. It's actually a dramatic process- when someone gets up from their chair to pull a number down, they start the "slow clap" for themselves, and everyone in the office joins in and cheers you on as you walk over to do the honors.

Everyone celebrating after Alex (blue shirt in the back) pulled down the last number off the sticky note countdown.

As expected, we skipped the "home" option and all headed around the corner to my favorite bar RedLine for some celebratory team bonding. And Irish Car Bombs. We scored a table on the patio, success! And a little DC Trivia- the building in the background is the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Me, Jules, and Sergio.
Jules also was suckered into buying a $7 box of animal crackers from the kids on the street.
She also quoted the wise Matt Damon- "it's for the kids".
But the kids actually are out every week and change the "cause" they're raising money for. Oh well.

With a dead phone, I managed to find my way to Crystal City to meet Zeke and some friends for dinner at a sports bar in the area to watch the disappointing end to the Caps game. With not much to celebrate, we headed home.

Today, we are going to a quick bike ride- our first in DC! The weather is too nice to stay inside. Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

I've been known to throw temper tantrums...

My mom, and my whole entire family for that matter, love to tell the same story about me from when I was little.

It goes something like this "Well you know, Kate's always been a little stubborn and hard headed when things don't go her way. In fact, when she was almost a year old, she used to scream and bang her bead on the floor when people told her no. And one day, she was at her Nana's house, and she was banging her head on the kitchen floor and suddenly stopped. She looked around, saw carpet, put two and two together, then crawled over to the carpet to continue the tantrum. So not only can she throw a fit, but she's actually strategic about it."

I've heard that story, along with every guy I dated and my closest friends, more times than I can count. But... it's true! The reason I chose to bring it up today is because at work, I was THIS CLOSE to getting out of my chair, getting down on all fours, and reverting back to my childhood ways. I'm sorry... I just have to vent.

Since I was gone for half of April for my wedding and honeymoon, my numbers aren't what they usually are. Yesterday, I stayed at work so late trying to get contracts back that I missed my shuttle and had to take a taxi. Then I got home and we had nothing quick to fix for dinner, so we ordered pizza and I drank wine. And I sat on the couch and didn't talk, then for some random reason started crying while I was watching DWTS. I'm sure Zeke is thrilled! So... long story short, I'm frustrated.

Today wasn't any better. Until I got home, that is. We had a package notification in the mail- you know what that means! It was two huge boxes from Bed Bath and Beyond. YAY! I hurried upstairs and started tearing paper.

The first box was some very nice pillows and bath mats that we registered for from Ms. Shannon Stokes (future Mrs. Bealieu)! I was SO excited!! Zeke and I needed new pillows so bad, ours are like 5 year old Ikea pillows that are reduced to a wad of small lumpy cotton balls, somehow still contained by a cotton bag. We were going to head to BBB and buy some this weekend, so thanks Shannon- we are going to sleep SOOOOOO good tonight!

The second box was heavy. Heavy is good :) I read the card from the lovely Ms. Jenn Chavez (future Mrs. Bell!), and literally screamed when I opened the box! It was my Keurig Coffee maker!!! Now, I love all of the gifts that everyone bought us, trust me. But I was a little bummed that we didn't get get the coffee maker, so I was going to buy it this weekend (along with the pillows) using the registry completion discount. I've wanted one of these for so long. Thank you Jenn!!!

I immediately dropped everything and ran to the kitchen to set it up. I've already had one cup of coffee and one cup of Earl Grey Tea, and it's only been 2 hours. Which is probably why I felt like writing a blog post- Zeke is playing softball and Tara & Shannon didn't answer when I called.

Yea-Yah!

So, thanks to Shannon and Jennifer, I'm able to refrain from my head-banging tendencies for one more day and ended on a positive note. Fingers crossed that tomorrow is THE DAY that all of the magic happens and I get 10 contracts back. Think good thoughts for me, please!

Alas- a weekend in DC!

My first post as a married woman. Married!

It's still kind of weird to say. Kate Smith. "Hello... I'm Kate Smith! This is my husband Zeke." It's funny... I waited so long to call myself by that name, and now that it's here, I can't get accustomed to it. That's probably a good thing considering we still haven't received our marriage license back from the state, therefore I can't change any of my info. So technically I still have a few weeks to break in the new name ;)

Everyone has asked both of us, "Soooo how does it feel to be married?!" And to that I respond "I'm not exactly sure". It still feels surreal... the whole experience went by so fast. I wish I could have bottled it up and saved it. I have so many fun stories and memories to share, but I'm going to wait until I get the pics back from our photographer before I post about it. I can't wait to see them... I'm sure they captured the day perfectly. Can't wait to share.

But according to the last 2 weeks, married life has been awesome! We spent the first 6 days in St. Lucia, soaking up both the rain AND the sun. Then, we came back to life as usual. Our first night back from the honeymoon, I cooked my first meal as a wife :) You know me and my food pics... love 'em!

Pan seared pork chops with raspberry vinaigrette reduction and roasted asparagus.
Best wife EVER! ;)

Last week flew by... I'm still playing catch up at work.... Zeke started his Spring softball league Wednesday... I stayed way too late at a HH on Thursday... and Zeke and I went to our favorite Irish Pub twice in one weekend.

Saturday, we had Mr. and Mrs. Smith's first date day in DC! Thanks to our friend Kyle's traveling Easter plans, we scored some free tickets to Game 5 in the Washington Capitals vs. New York Ranger's Stanley Cup Playoff game. Thanks Kyle!

Decked out in the t-shirts we bought at the gift shop down the street.  Ultimate T-shirt fans.

Too bad it was "Rock the Red" day... and we were the only idiots wearing blue. Well... us and the NY fans. Oh Well. 

This was my first NHL experience, and while it was a blast, it made me miss college football. Is that weird??

With everything going on in my job, the world, reality TV, and my friends/family life, there are only so many Sports rules, regulations, player's names, stats, coaches, and schedules I can keep track of... so I prefer to follow NCAA football. Since this was my first hockey game, I knew nothing. I kept asking Zeke "why did they blow the whistle", "aren't there too many men on the field", "how many quarters are there again", "why are they shooting from that little square", and more importantly "where the HELL is the puck". Give me four quarters, a marching band, and some Big XII football please.

After the first period (not quarter), I kind of caught on. I tried to chant when everyone else was... and I just did what everyone else around me did. When they acted mad, I acted mad. When they cheered, I cheered. Turns out I'm a pretty good hockey fan! And you know what my favorite part was?! They serve more than Bud Light and Budweiser. This is the first arena I went to that sold Blue Moon on Draft!

So two periods later (there are three total incase you didn't know), the Caps won 3-1!

Excited blue shirt fans!

Of course, a fight broke out on the ice after they won.

To celebrate our newly proclaimed favorite team's victory, we decided to walk across the street to try our first Mexican food since moving to DC. A Bolivian co-worker of wine referred me to the restaurant- it had to be good! It totally reminded us of Escalante's in Houston.

Bar

Pomegranate Margaritas

Fresh table side guac- gone in no time! 

Jumbo lump Crab Enchiladas

Pitcher of Sangria for the Smiths. Also gone in no time!

For our first DC Mexican food, I must say, we were impressed! Although it was pricey, we still loved the ambiance, the food/drinks were delicious, and the location is perfect (walking distance from my office and the Verizon center), so we definitely plan on returning some time.

As if the hockey game, margaritas, and sangria weren't enough, we then decided to take a cab back to our side of town and head to P Brennan's... for the 2nd time in a 24 hour period. We paid a visit to our favorite bartender Owen- whom I recently learned his name is actually spelled "Eoghain"! Who would have thought?! I told him I felt like I didn't even know who he is anymore. 

But we quickly got over the betrayal and ordered some Irish Car Bombs.

The following day was Easter Sunday. We woke up not feeling so hot. Was it the shenanigans from the night before.... or the Mexican food? One will never know. Nick and Janice invited us over for Easter lunch at 2:00, but there was no way that was happening. We also had about 4 weeks of laundry to catch up on and gifts to unpack, so we opted to celebrate our first Easter as a married couple at the apartment. 

Gourmet lunch a la Wendy's

Pulled out the china for our fancy Boston Market dinner.

Starting next year, we vowed to start a better/different Easter tradition other than waking up at 11, eating fast food twice, and watching the story of Jesus' death and resurrection on TV while doing laundry. Next year, we promised to actually go to church, dress up, and cook a nice meal.

But to me, it was the perfect ending to our perfect first date weekend at home :) Looking forward to many more.

It's good to be home

I have a few loves in life. One of them I'm marrying this weekend. The other... Is Mexican food. En route to Austin, we had a 30 minute layover at IAH. As soon as we landed, we followed our noses and sprinted straight to heaven... A.K.A. Pappasitos. I equate my love for Pappasitos to my love for Bluebell Ice Cream. You don't know what you've got until it's gone!





Glad to be back in Texas!!