Adventures in DC

I had a very fun adventure this past weekend, going to visit my good friend Candice at her new home in Arlington, VA - just outside of Washington, DC.  It turned out to be a perfect weekend - filled with lots of shopping from Flea Markets to the shops of Old Town, great food at some of her favorite spots, and some good old sight-seeing. 

Friday Night
I arrived at around 4pm, after my 7 hour drive that actually flew by since I was listening to "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein.  I highly recommend this book - especially for dog lovers!  Once I got settled in, Candice took me for a walking tour of her neighborhood and we stopped for some yummy gelato.  Then after a quick change, we hopped on the metro and headed to the POV Lounge at Hotel Washington.  After waiting in a line to get in, we were escorted up to the bar in a tiny old-school elevator, and once we arrived on the terrace we could see what all the hype was about.  Check out the view, although the picture doesn't even do it justice...

After that, we walked down the street to Old Ebbit Grill for dinner, a historic spot where some of our past Presidents used to frequent - I love knowing the history of a place.  Plus the cheese plate was to die for!  Mmmmmm.

Saturday Morning
Candice and I both woke up around 7am Saturday morning feeling pretty sluggish (probably due to one to many yeunglings!).  But, after she made some perfectly brewed bold coffee, I felt much better and ready for a fun day.  First stop - we headed to Eastern Market for that area's big Flea Market.  After a quick walk around her own neighborhood flea market - which was pretty impressive - we hopped on the Metro and were at Eastern Market in no time.  This flea market was huge and buzzing with activity.  So many people and so much good stuff from fresh veggies and flowers to unique artwork.  Here is some of the stuff I loved...

This stained glass window was really unique and I was hoping Candice would buy it for her pad, but after much thought, she decided to wait...  I still think she should go back and try to negotiate the price down if the vendor is back with the windows next week :)

I loved how these stars had the white chipped paint, but too expensive for me...

My bird obsession continues, and this won't be the last of it on this trip...

It was very hard to resist these wonderfully feminine and flowery scarves...

I am always a sucker for old cabinets, doors, and other salvaged wood re-purposed into something functional....

This booth had all kinds of unique key holders made out of all kinds of materials, such a great idea!

What a creative way to display earrings, hanging on a lampshade...

Next we decided to walk to the Capitol, so I snapped a couple pics of the houses as we left the Eastern Market area so you could see how cute this area is...

The walk to the Capitol was a pretty good hike, long enough that we decided to take a quick pit stop at Starbucks.  The warm coffee was just what we needed to revive us on the windy, chilly walk. 

And finally we made it to the Capitol where I took tons of pictures.  Every angle of this building is gorgeous, but when we came around the corner towards the front we found the perfect photo spot from under this Oriental Cherry Tree....

Here is one from the front...

From there, we walked through the Mall area towards the Washington Monument, which seemed much closer than it really was... and by the time we got half way there we were pooped, so we decided to hop on the Metro and go back to Arlington for lunch.  After a yummy lunch where Candice got her french fry fix, we took a break at her place to shower and get ready for the evening.

Saturday Night

Candice had the great idea to drive out to Old Town and do a little shopping on King Street and then eat at her favorite sushi restaraunt, Red Curry.  During the shopping trip, we found two of my favorite stores ever - European Cottage Living and Decorium.  They both had a ton of bird items, so of course I was in heaven.  I'm pretty sure I drove Candice crazy "ooohing and awwwing" over all the pretty bird stuff, but she was a trooper and waited for me to look around and choose a couple of items, which I'll share in another post.  I was so happy because the stuff I got ended up being cheaper than expected with the 20% storewide sale that was going on! 

The dinner at Red Curry was soooo good, probably my favorite meal of the trip.  We ordered the Union Street Roll and Dynamite roll, along with some normal stand-by items like tuna and avacodo rolls.  I really wish I would have taken a picture of the plate, it was so pretty!  But we were pretty hungry so the thought didn't cross my mind, I just dug in, haha.  After dinner, Candice took me on a night time driving tour of several of the monuments which was very cool.  What a great day!

Sunday Morning

Much to my delight, Candice and I had decided to get up early and go straight to the Georgetown Flea Market on Sunday.  So, we got our coffee fix at Starbucks... I let Candice try my Cinnamon Dolce Latte, the best drink ever, which she enjoyed :)  Then we hopped in the car and drove over the Key Bridge to Georgetown.  I thought the market would be in the main area near the strip of shops/restaraunts that I've been before, but I was glad when Candice drove deep into the neighborhood away from the tourists to another part of Georgetown.  Here are some pictures of the streets we walked on to get to the market...

This flea market was slightly different from the one at Eastern Market, it had more true antique's and tables to hunt through "junk", which I loved.  And also some really pretty jewelry, which you'll see below.  Here are a few things that caught my eye...

So, I wanted to buy a ton of stuff, but ended up spending my whole budget on several of the bird and leaf prints since they were a great deal, way lower than I had seen before.   I've already got a couple projects in the works for them!  Plus I got a few $1 books that had pretty covers, you can never have enough books!

After that, we got some grub at Dean and Deluca and sat outside to enjoy the warm weather.  Then we finished the trip with a stop at the popular Georgetown Cupcake which Candice says always has a line around the corner.  Luckily, the line went pretty fast, and I got the White Chocolate Rasberry flavor which was the best cupcake I've ever had!!  I also asked about one of the flavors I saw them giving someone else, and was surprised to find out that it was the "Super Secret Flavor of the Day".  They said if you know the secret flavor and ask for it, you get the cupcake for FREE!  So, they were nice enough to let me try that one too - which was Oreo, mmmm...

While we were slowly savoring every yummy bite of our cupcakes, we noticed how pretty the flowers were...

Well, that was pretty much it, can you believe how much we packed into this short trip! 

Next up, I'll take you on a home tour through Candice's place - she has some great antique pieces of furniture and a classic, timeless, minimalist style that I completely admire!