The Best of DC

Saturday, we got up early and hit the streets of DC. 

We walked about 10 blocks searching for something to eat.

I didn't want pizza or burgers.

Or anything that screams, "I'm a chain restaurant!" 

We ran into a place called Circa.

We thought it was probably going to be the last restaurant we saw in the area because we were in the George Washington University area. 

We stopped in and fell in love.

They serve about three different menus throughout the day. 

We were lucky enough to hit it up for Brunch.

I cannot walk into a restaurant that serves Eggs Benedict without ordering it.

It was amazing!

The place was packed. 

The service was great!

And my husband raved about the local beers and of course his favorite the screwdriver.

They had an extensive bar and are open well into the night.

We even had the manager come over to our table and talk a minute.

Such a treat, especially for a busy restaurant!

She was so sweet! And dressed impeccably. 

(But maybe that's just the wannabe fashionista coming out in me.)

Overall I loved this place and will definitely be on my list as a place to come back to!

We did a little scouting, found out where City Segway Tours was.

We had a tour lined up for 2pm.

But it was only 12.

So we kept walking and ended up at the Lincoln Memorial.

We knew we would get to see it again on our tour but decided to look around.

We ended up looking at the 

Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and a few of the other small memorials near by..

By this point my feet were already bleeding blistered.

I definitely chose fashion over comfort so we had to stop in a CVS.

Which was perfect because my little boy husband had to potty and get a snack.

Of course walking out he pointed across the street at the best sign I've ever seen.

Which he informed me clearly reads that there is a hoola-hooper ahead!

Clown.

Then it was finally time for our Segway Tour!

We went on the National Mall Segway Tour with City Segway Tours.
On this tour we saw:
The White House, J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building, Canadian Consulate, Pennsylvania Ave, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, United States Capital Building, National Galleries of Art, Smithsonian Castle,  Vietnam Memorial, WWII Memorial, Korean Memorial, Old Executive Office Building, The National Mall and more! 
It was crazy how much we saw..
We had an amazing tour guide.
He was hilarious and made the facts about DC interesting and fun!
It was without a doubt definitely worth the money we spent!
This is a great way to see so much in such a short time frame. 
I would go on a Segway Tour in any city..

By the time we ended our tour we were famished.
It being a three hour tour and we had not eaten since 10.
So we trekked on over to..
Old Ebbitt Grill

Every meal is served with delicious fresh hot bread and homemade butter!
We also ordered the Colombian Empanadas.
 They were SO good!
(Forgot to take a pics for the empandas, we were starved!)

Mr. Army Man had the Seafood Jambalaya.
Which was amazing. 

And I had the Maine Lobster.
Also served with fries.
Pure deliciousness.

Old Ebbitt Grill was established in 1856.
It is right near The White House and is adorned in mahogany, velvet, marble, brass and beveled glass.
It is a stunning restaurant. 
Something to get dressed up for (even though we didn't know it at the time.)
The staff says there is always a wait so make sure you make reservations ahead of time.
This is a place we will ALWAYS visit when we come to DC!
It is that good and so worth the wait!

And we could not end the night any better than with a surprise trip to Zara!
 I got some adorably cute fall things, sunnies and perfume.
Can't wait to wear my new goods!

Sunday, we got up, check out of our hotel and went for one last meal at
L'Enfant Cafe and Bar.

French Onion Soup.
I order this every time I see it on the menu.
And this did not disappoint.

Nutella with Raspberry and Nutella with Chocolate Crepes.
Amazing!

This place was absolutely worth walking for..
It is such a small quaint place.
It is from Brunch to Dinner. 
They have the most classic French food you can imagine.
The staff speaks French to one another and has great thick accents.
It was such a treat to get that close to true French cuisine without actually going to France.
Amazing.. 
Defiantly one of a kind and a must eat!

We had such a wonderfully amazing time in DC.
And will be coming back very soon since its only a short five hour trip from Ft. Bragg.
I just hate it took me a whole week to document it all!
Haha!
Hope y'all are having a great weekend!

Fury Friday

This past weekend we traveled to DC.

And met up with a friend, Monte, at Walter Reed that is recovering from an IED. 

(My husband and Monte are in the same unit.)

Check out his page, follow him along in his journey and donate to his recovery fund! 

Every little bit counts. 

Monte is a true hero. 

He really is the strongest, most confident, and craziest guy I know.

Make sure you check out his page!

Find it here!

We pretty much spent all day Friday with him, his sister and girlfriend. 

We celebrated Amanda, his girlfriends, birthday.

Went to dinner at American Tap Room and enjoyed Finding Nemo 3D.
(Which we saw for free.)
People in this area are all so kind and honor the military.
I guess they should though...
I mean we were in our Nation's Capital!

American Tap Room was has an amazing waitstaff and bar.
Just for being military they offered us a great discount.
Our drinks were always full. 
Wish I could say the same for the food. 
My dinner which was the Greek Turkey Burger wasn't as flavorful as I hoped.
But the salad that accompanied it was amazing. 
The Fish and Chips (Special of the Day) that my husband ordered was amazing. 
Why is it that someone else's food always tastes and looks better than your own?

Afterward we ate an amazing chocolate raspberry cake made by his sister.

She's amazingly talented.

We enjoyed spending the day with them and cannot wait to go back!

Come back tomorrow for more on our trip up to DC!

Plus lots of recommendations for restaurants and places to check out.. 

London Broil

I've been asked to post some easy dinner recipes, especially ones that you can just throw in the crock pot.

Tonight, I made just about the easiest recipe you can possibly make. 

London Broil.

You'll need:

1-2 lbs. London Broil (roast like cut of meat- super cheap)

1 package Onion Soup Mix

4-6 dashes of Worcestershire Ssauce

16 oz. Beef Stock

Salt and Pepper 

Throw the London Broil in a pre-warmed crock.

Coat with salt, pepper and onion soup mix.

Then pour the liquids over.

And cook on high for 6-8 hours until it literally falls apart.

Serve with warm rolls or bread as a sandwich. With the dipping sauce below.

Dipping Sauce:

 4 T. Mayo

1 T. Minced Garlic

1 pinch Italian Seasoning

Mix together.

It can also be sliced and serve with easy mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and brown gravy.

Or any other easy side dish. 

Hope you all enjoy!

Congo Chicken Soup

This is one of my all time favorite soup recipes, other than French Onion, of course.

I'm not a big soup eater so this is saying something.

And it is crazy full of protein and food combos you would never put together. 

I've shortened the steps for those crazy busy people out there. 

1 lb. chicken

32 oz. chicken stock/broth 

Cook the chicken in stock until cooked in soup pot.

Reserve meat and stain liquid.

Pour strained liquid back into pot.

Shred meat and place into pot as well.

1 oz. olive oil

4 oz. onions, diced

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

1 t. garlic

1 can of Rotel (your preference of hot, mild, etc.)

2-4 oz. tomato paste

Saute onions, red pepper flakes and garlic in the oil. 

Add Rotel at end and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add tomato paste. 

1 can whole kernel corn

3 oz. peanut butter

Add all these ingredients into soup pot with chicken and stock.

Add one can of whole kernel corn. 

Add peanut butter.

Stir until thickened. 

It should be extremely thick.

25 wanton wrappers

Cut into strips.

Deep fry and sprinkle with salt.

1 oz. cilantro

Chop.

Serve soup hot.

Place wanton strips on top and sprinkle with cilantro.

Enjoy!

I know I post recipes a lot but this is a MUST try!

Pumpkin Pie Wontons

Pumpkin Pie Wontons

Filling:

3/4 can of pumpkin puree (I like Libby's brand)

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 T. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (I used half of each)

1 t. all purpose flour

Mix all ingredients together. 

Other:

50 wonton wrappers

Water and a fork (for sealing the wonton)

Oil for frying

Powdered sugar (for dusting)

Stuff wontons with a coin size dollop of the pumpkin mixture. 

Dip finger tip in water and run along the edge of the wonton.

Fold over and then seal by pressing down with a fork.

Deep fry until golden brown and dust with powdered sugar.

I served this with homemade caramel sauce.

Caramel sauce:

1/2 c. of granulated sugar

1/4 c. heavy cream

Melt sugar in a heavy bottomed stainless steel pot until it is caramel colored.

Take the pot off the stove and add the heavy cream stirring until well combined.

Pour into bowl and let sit until thickened.

Hope you all enjoy a little taste of fall!

And try them out soon..

My husband devoured these within minutes!

Fall Coats

We are STILL linking up for Fall Fashion Week!

Go check out these ladies posts now through September 13th to see what's in their closets and what they deem is appropriate for our upcoming fall season!

Tara at Jimmy Choos and Tennis Shoes

Emily at The Sweetest Thing

Nicholl at The Chiffon Diary

Coats & Accessories by morgan-neal

Please link up tomorrow for our final installment of Fashion Week! 

Hope you will join us!

And remember my $25 Mary Kay Give Away available HERE! 

Fashions & Weekend

We are still linking up for Fall Fashion Week!

Go check out these ladies posts now through September 13th to see what's in their closets and what they deem is appropriate this season!
Tara at Jimmy Choos and Tennis Shoes
Emily at The Sweetest Thing
Nicholl at The Chiffon Diary

Cashin' Fashions by morgan-neal 

Isn't this simple collection beautiful?

Studs, leopard skinnies, booties, and gold. 

All a MUST!
Plus all everything in this look is under $70!
Now that's affordable.

Check back for tomorrow for SHOES!

Now I know every girl loves those!

Make sure you show us what is your favorite on your blog and link back with us.

As usual be sure to enter to win the $25 Mary Kay credit that will be announced as soon as I hit 150 followers. Tell your friends! And enter here!

What's Hot/Not

Up on the cat walk today is...

"What's Hot/What's Not."

I am by no means a fashionista but I do enjoy a little shopping trip and finding out what is all the rage each season. 

Without further ado..

Boots..

Sweaters..

Go check out these ladies posts now through September 13th!
Tara at Jimmy Choos and Tennis Shoes
Emily at The Sweetest Thing
Nicholl at The Chiffon Diary

And join in the fashion fun by linking up! 

We hope you join and give us some ideas of what you think is HOT this fall season!

Top Five

Today I'm linking up with some amazing women to bring to you, none other than a Blogger Fall Fashion Week. With the Mercedes Benz Fall Fashion Week going on in New York this week we thought we'd host our own little show.

On today's runway...

Top Five Fall Trends

1. Cozy Knits

via

2. Turbans

I swear by turbans. I just picked up my third one yesterday. 

They are funky and fun. 

You can wear them with your hair up or down.

Easy cute accessory for even the worst hair day!

3. Skinnies

Skinnies are so in right now. 

Leopard, polka dot, colored, black. 

They are all fun and so versatile. 

 If you don't own a pair go get ya self some.

  

4. Bun Heads

via

  

Weather you go messy or tame, buns are such a do this fall.

No pun intended. ;)

5. Monogram

Monogram shirts, hoodies, baseball/floppy hats, cell phone cases, decals, etc.

This trend is so classy, so southern as still in style for fall.

I hope you got some ideas of what is in style with the Top Five Fall Trends. 

Go check out these ladies posts now through September 13th!
Tara at Jimmy Choos and Tennis Shoes
Emily at The Sweetest Thing
Nicholl at The Chiffon Diary

And feel free to link up and join us for Fall Fashion Week Blogger Style.