there's never any time.

the scary queen charlotte at CLT airport | charlotte, nc | august 13, 2009

it's been absolutely nuts in leahland.

i'm currently in charlotte, waiting to jump on a flight that i had to beg to be put on because a certain airline whose hub is in charlotte decided to cancel the 4:30 flight to dca WITHOUT notifying anyone on the flight. [non]checking-in was fun. thanks, usair, thanks.

things are a little busy here, so as a late reference to the rumored saved by the bell reunion and my crazed schedule as of late, here is the BEST. CLIP. EVER.

to do: dog days on u street

dirty energy| u street | aug 1

U Street celebrated this weekend with a Community Festival. Local shops participated in the Dog Days of August which included some crazy sales (and lots of fun junking). I walked around, shopped (a little too much), and was able to stop and just take shots of the usual DC charm and character.

stamped crates | u street | aug 1

yum, farmers market peaches. p.s. farmers market at 14 & u, every saturday from 9-1pm.

monkey bucket | u street | aug 1

old & dusty| u street | aug 1

loved hanging/junking out at ruff and ready, it's like your grandma's attic/basement on crack. hording anyone? if you're patient, you'll find some good estate pieces priced to go. not for the claustrophobic or germaphobic.

sporadic chess | u street | aug 1

the best part of this scenario is that the guy who is standing was just passing by (see his luggage next to him?) and decided to play with the guy on the bike. random. and so u street.

musicar | u street | aug 1

these things were out to promote the Art Cars Festival. total road hazard--people were slowing down to gawk -- but hilarious and total over stimulation.

brassvn (notice the men's room sign)| u street | aug 1

"take my picture" | u street | aug 1

and what's u street without characters? be sure to visit pradesh (sp?) at the capital carpet and furniture store. he was the sweetest man and a total ham when he saw my camera.

copy cat

i was inspired by my successful fondant experiment and wanted a treat from baked and wired (so much better than g'town cupcake). but instead of trekking my way into the city, fighting for parking and possibly getting disappointed (they have limited offerings of each flavor), i decided to just make my own version of lemon cupcakes with raspberry filling.

i started with a basic yellow cake and vanilla buttercream recipe and experimented with lemon zest and juice. then i injected some raspberry jam/preserves... and viola!


it's not the magically dense yet moist baked and wired cupcake - mine were fluffy instead -- but was very lemony.

ps. i still want cupcakes from baked and wired.

wonderland

i spent most of this weekend trying my hand at ousting duffy of ace of cakes... (ha, riiight). my sister asked me make a crazy, tea-sized, alice in wonderland themed cake for my nieces birthday party as a nice addition to the cupcakes and ice cream cakes already on the menu.

it's not perfect, but considering this is only my second attempt at fondant, i think it came out pretty well.

my sister did a great job decorating my parents backyard as a garden party gone mad.

the mad hatter made an appearance to do a magic show, face painting and some awesome balloons.

happy 4th birthday janiya!

riding the mexican train.

this is why we're hot [while chrys' neighbors played beer pong]

life's been a little crazy since i've returned from the beach but the girls and i still managed to have some good, old man, dominoes fun.

mrs. p4d hosted us on her glover park roof deck and we had a nice sunset dinner overlooking the national cathedral, washington monument, capitol, and even got a view of the nat's fireworks.

for our dinner theme, we decided to play up on the rules of the game ... aka... mexican [train] night!

k made a ridiculous mountain of ultimate nachos
complete with chili, corn, black beans and refried beans

peach sangria + rooftop deck = good night

new to my repertoire - black bean & chorizo empanadas
(watch out julias!)