florida trip, part 2

After we left Tampa we headed south to the Fort Myers area where we stayed at a friend's vacation home (what a super nice friend!) near the beach.  We got into a very relaxed groove for 5 days that consisted of sleeping 10 hrs/night, going to Captiva Beach every day and watching the sunset every night.  Ahhh...exactly what we needed!

The water was so warm! We spent probably 5-6 hours  in the water everyday- that's how great it was!  One day while we were swimming some guys came running down the beach pointing and yelling about something.  They were letting us know that there was a MANATEE swimming nearby!   We saw his big paddle-tail splashing in the water and his round back as he came up for air...incredible!  During that same swim there were dolphins swimming behind us, pelicans diving in for fish in front of us and a full DOUBLE rainbow overhead!  I know this sounds like something from Ace Ventura or the Discovery Channel but it all truly happened.  We were in awe and reveled in every moment.  

can't quite see the second rainbow here, but it's there

my McSteamy playing in the sand

we rented scooters, did some sight-seeing, and a little geocaching.  

we visited the Seashell Museum on Sanibel Island and were pretty impressed.

a sailor's valentine made completely with shells

loved ending each day with gorgeous sunsets on the beach

florida trip, part I

I didn't realize it had been so long since I last blogged- I'll try to do better.  We've been a  bit busy.  What have we been up to?  So glad you asked...:-)

Eddie was away in Tampa, FL, most of the month of May preparing for the opening of the new Crate & Barrel store.  I flew down to meet up with him at the end and attended the store opening party.  The opening parties are always fun and I enjoyed meeting the friendly Tampa crew and many other top-notch peeps that Eddie works with. It's always nice for me to be able to meet the people he's been telling me about and finally put a face to their name.  The Tampa store is gorgeous and sits on a pretty lake filled with tropical birds and even an alligator or two, no joke.

Here's a few pics from the party:

Arrghh matey!....what's a party in Tampa Bay without a pirate eye?

After the store opening we took out to begin our mini-vacation.  First stop, food!  We drove down to Ybor City, a very historic area of Tampa.  We stumbled upon the Columbia Restaurant, the oldest Cuban restaurant in Florida.  Inside and out, the restaurant was filled wit historic charm, photos of the family generations that have ran the restaurant and beautiful Cuban architecture and tiling.  Apparently Food Network also liked it since we saw a framed article on the wall about them naming it a "must do" for Tampa.

cool keyhole doorway into an old ballroom that's now a dining room


the gorgeous original bar from the early 1900s.  

delicious Cuban sandwich with amazing hot, fresh homemade bread

incredible Cuban sampler platter with meaty yumminess and plantains

hands down, the best mojito either of us have ever had! and that's real sugar cane.

europe in a day

We live in the vicinity of the German Embassy and often joke about how nice it would be if our "neighbors" would finally invite us over for dinner sometime.  They frequently have parties and they appear to be pretty awesome. Several times a year while the weather is nice they have lavish garden parties- parties that require almost a week to set up all the big white tents on their enormous estate.  The grounds of the embassy really are spectacular and we finally had the opportunity to enter the gates last weekend!

Once a year the embassies in DC host an open-house weekend and welcome everyone in for a tour.  We made a special effort this year to visit our German neighbors.  It was like a mini-festival with a variety of booths, music, food, drink, and freebies.  

Of course it happened to be one of the hottest, most humid days we've had so far and we were downing sparkling German water with double-fists.  We sampled chilled cherry soup (yummy) and some German wines.  They were also offering grilled brats and pretzels but we opted to forgo the very long line in return for more sight-seeing.  We came away with so many little treasures from Germany: lapel pins, key chains, bracelets, stickers...oh and this little beauty - the diplomat's BMW(just dreaming).

While we were waiting in line to get into the German Embassy I was chatting with the woman behind me who said she had visited the Hungarian Embassy earlier in the day and really liked it.  So...after Germany we hopped in the truck and drove on over to Hungary.  It was nice but very small compared to the German Embassy and very crowded.  They were out of the Hungarian goulash (rats!) but it was good for a bathroom break. 

After leaving the Hungarian Embassy we randomly discovered the Embassy of Belgium and figured we might as well stop and say hello.  So glad we did!  We toured the embassy, saw the ambassador's office, and really enjoyed their party snacks.  We tried these cookies called Jules Destrooper biscuterie and couldn't get enough! They looked like large, flattened waffle cones and tasted like crunchy, caramelized wafers.  They were so good that I swallowed my pride and went back for 2 more...one for me and the one for the husband.  They gladly complied.  We also enjoyed incredible Belgium chocolates made by Galler, which according to the box is "The" Belgian chocolate. We sampled some delicious pear nectar juice and of course had Belgium beer.  Come on, what's a trip to Belgium without some infamous Belgium beer?! Some of our favorite beers are from Belgium.  We enjoyed a bit of Duvel, Stella Artois, and something else that I can't remember.  

So what started as a trip to Germany turned into a spontaneous tour of Europe.  We had a really great day exploring together!

a view from inside the German Embassy looking out onto the lawn

the "ladies' sitting room" at the German Embassy- notice the curves

Embassy of Belgium

happy mother's day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and grandmothers!  

It's a really gorgeous day here today in DC and I hope it's beautiful where you are.  This is one of my very favorite photos of my mom and Grammy.  It was so wonderful having my mom and all 3 of my grandmothers at our wedding!  I'm really blessed to have such amazing women in my life and they've all played an important role in making me who I am today.  Thank you for all your love and support!

We're going back home to Missouri next month and I have a special project in mind that involves my grandmothers...I can't wait!  I also have a mission to get a photo of all 4 of us together, me and the 3 grandmas.  I don't know how that didn't happen at the wedding but I'm making it my mission to make it happen this summer, say cheese ladies!  I'm so excited to see everyone and can't wait to spend time sitting together and just catching up. 

one year ago today...

wagon wheel

Last week while I was eating my lunch outside there were 2 guys sitting on a park bench next to me playing guitar and singing.  They were really good and it was nice to have some live music as a side dish to my sandwich and the sun.  One of the songs they played was "Wagonwheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show.  Although I really like the song, I've had it stuck in my head now every since, so I thought I might as well share.  Hope you enjoy and sorry if it gets stuck in your head too. I think my Garrett family in NC will especially like this, so this song is dedicated to ya'all. :-)

I like the original but thought that this cover was really good and sounded more like the lunch-time version I heard while sitting outside.  

rupunzel, the harpist

Last week we went to a concert at the Japanese Embassy...a FREE concert.  That's one thing I love about DC- there are so many great free events.  The concert was a cherry blossom festival event and intended to promote cultural awareness of Japanese culture.  And that it did.  

There were 3 musicians:  a harpist, a violinist, and a soprano.  The event was limited to about 75 people and held in a small auditorium which was perfect because everyone had an awesome seat and no microphones were needed.  This year they chose American musicians to perform Japanese composed pieces and the musicians were directed by a Japanese conductor.  All of the musicians were amazing, but the harpist blew us away!  We were like babies being lulled to sleep! zzzzzz.....  

The harpist received her PhD in music by age 19 (how is that even possible?) and is the youngest professor in the world!!!  She's a professor of music at a university in Texas and travels the world performing individually and with various symphonies.  She has long, flowing hair that reminded me of Rupunzel and made music that sounded like something coming from heaven!  It was so beautiful.  Afterwards, we caught a cab home in the rain and slept like babies.