Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting some wonderful guests at Chateau Smith: Jessica, Lauren, and Cody.
Jessica, one of my BFF's, made her third trip to visit since we've moved. She wins the frequent traveler award... and major friend brownie points ;) She had a work event Thursday evening and conveniently stretched her trip out until Sunday. Lauren and Cody were DC first-timers. Lauren is a teacher, so she had last week off for Spring break, and they decided to use their time wisely and spend Friday-Tuesday with us.
Hosting a group is fun, but it comes with certain pressures. You want to make sure that each visitor has an amazing trip that they will always remember. We genuinely appreciate when friends/family make the trek to the East Coast, so we want to show them the best time possible. When we were contemplating plans for the weekend, we knew this one would be a little tricky. Since this was Jessica's third visit, she's "been there, done that" on the touristy front. A trip to the Smithsonian and National Mall was not in the cards.
Lauren and Cody, however, were first timers. The good news what that they were strategic with their planning, and they booked their trip through Tuesday so that they could sight-see while we were at work, and could spend the weekends playing with us.
We had the prefect week/weekend planned... {or so we thought!}
Wednesday: Kate/Jess dinner at Founding Farmers in DC
Thursday: Jessica's work event {Open bar, tequila, mariachi band. Duh.} then bar hopping in DC
Friday: Dinner at Ray's the Steaks in Clarendon, potential bar hopping after
Saturday: Chartered bus trip to 3-4 wineries in Loudon County, Virginia, who knows after
Sunday: Brunch, possible Sunday Funday
Monday: {Day} Lauren/Cody sight see, {Night} Movie at Arlington Cinema Draft House
Sounded awesome, right?! Too bad...
Wednesday: Jessica booked her flight into the wrong airport, landed late, and we missed dinner.
Thursday: Event was *awesome*, bar hopping turned into one drink and a fat steak dinner, then home by 10:00.
Friday: Took Jess shopping and sight seeing in Georgetown. Lauren and Cody's flight was 3 hours late AND Delta lost their bags temporarily. No steaks, bar food at P Brennan's instead.
Saturday: SUCCESS! Made it to 2 wineries, were back in time for a make-up dinner at Ray's the Steaks. Well worth the wait-- some of the best steak I've ever had!
Sunday: Brunch happened, but no Funday. We all drank water, then came home immediately to sleep again. Home cooked pasta dinner by Kate and Lauren.
Monday: Dinner and NCAA Championship viewing at P Brennan's.
Even though everything didn't go exactly as planned, we had a fantastic weekend. Thanks again for visiting, everyone!
 |
| Wednesday: Post- event drinks with bestie at POV |
 |
| The ridiculously delicious 28 oz prime rib with lobster mashed potatoes at The Occidental. {Jess and I split this, of course} |
 |
| Jessica's first Food Truck Friday! |
 |
| Overall: not a top 5 favorite, but the Mac and Cheese was stellar!! |
 |
| Quick trip to the Georgetown campus-- so pretty! |
 |
| I'm officially obsessed with this house and I can only see the front door. If only I had $2 million. Sigh.... #lifelongDCrenters |
 |
| Enjoyed spring flowers |
 |
| Saturday- Chartered winery tour in Louden County |
 |
| First stop: Bluemont Winery |
 |
| Easy, Jess. There's enough to go around. |
 |
| Lauren & Cody enjoying the scenery |
 |
| He's the king of the world! With an empty glass :( |
 |
| Second Stop: Sunset Hills <3 |
 |
| Pretty outside patio |
 |
| I see you! |
 |
| Jessica trying to finagle earlier reservations at Ray's the Steaks. In spanish. "Si, si, si. A la ocho. Si si si." |
 |
| A must every time: car bombs at P Brennan's before dinner |
 |
| Sunday night home cooked dinner! Pasta making lesson with Kate & Lauren. She's a natural! Cody-- I think your wifey needs a stand mixer ASAP ;) |
 |
| The finished product-- fettucini with sweet italian sausage and peppers in vodka sauce. |
 |
| Monday night: Eoghain/Lauren bonding. This one's for you, Rob!! |
 |
| Tuesday, we came home to an empty apartment, and 11 emptier bottles of wine. Great weekend! |
