Our Valentine’s Day could not be more perfect, starting our day with a sky full of sun and a beautiful drive to Domaine Carneros.
Our Everyday
Sharing our stories, big and small.
A prison on an island, what could be more intriguing for a six year old? Especially after a cub scout sponsored visit to a local police station where all Lucas could ask was “Where is the jail?” To add to the mystery, Alcatraz was veiled in fog on this particular Thursday morning.
Drowning in the cold and gray of an endless winter we are more than ready to fly away. California lives up to every expectation with sunny skies, warm weather and palm trees. We all survive the cross country flight with barely a wrinkle and adapt immediately to the extra hours we’ve gained. Pause for a deep deep breath of fresh air.
California dreamin’ indeed
If I could speak a new language I would speak child. I would climb into their little heads and see how they process what they feel and react with their gut, how they take something they see and turn it into something they do and how they deal with the millions of impulses coursing through their little beings. I would know that crying means “I’m sad” or “I’m disappointed” or “I’m pissed”. I would know that hitting and snatching can sometimes be an outcome of insecurity, that clingy-ness is an expression of fear and tantrums are a misdirection of emotion, or just plain fatigue. I would also know that singing and dancing and smiling are the most beautiful expressions of happiness, contentment and safety.
Just as I am learning their language they are learning mine.
Tagged: Lake Anne Nursery Kindergarten, LANK, pre-school, Reston
When asked to decorate their heart with pieces of paper most kids created a random collage while Oliver created a house. (It’s hard to tell in this image but the pieces are glued to a white heart)
Love,
Oliver
Love,
Penny
This boy knows his parents. Anthony, better get going on P90X.
If I lived in the era of Prohibition I’d love it. I’d revel in it just like the characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”. “The Great Gatsby” was one of the few books I read in high school that I truly enjoyed. I recall dissecting the characters, the significance of the debauchery and the unraveling of Gatsby. As I re-read this book as a 38 year old what I had previously viewed with disdain I now viewed with awe: the decadence, the idealism, the excess, I want in!
Thanks to Yono for one night I drank in excess, danced with all the beautiful ladies and men, laughed till my belly hurt and partied like its 1922.
Anthony and I share many loves; our love for each other, our love for our children and our love for food and drink. We will travel and we will pay for something new, something different, something spectacular. To celebrate Anthony’s birthday we decided to check out the relatively new Le Diplomate in the bustling, restaurant and bar heavy 14th Street corridor.
Le Diplomate is getting a lot of buzz and was personally recommended by a good friend with similar tastes so I went in with high expectations and it did not disappoint. From the decor to the waitstaff to the other patrons, Le Diplomate is upscale but not stuffy. The place was packed, on a snowy Wednesday evening, but the noise level was surprisingly low. We started with the foie gras parfait which was perfectly creamy and balanced and steak tartare which was fresh and vibrant. For entrees I had the roasted scallops with truffle sabayon and Anthony had moules frites. Everything was absolutely delicious and paired perfectly with their cocktails and house wine. We celebrated another year lived and another year loved.
Cocktails at Black Jack Bar
Oysters at Black Jack Bar
Cocktails
Anything with truffles has me in heaven
Birthday boy
House wine
38 years. 3 children. 1 wife. Millions of snow flakes.
One simple, ordinary moment that will last a lifetime.
we are all poets
rhyming and reasoning our way through each day
making sense of what does not
finding beauty in the ordinary
finding rhythm in the chaos
we hear the noise and discern the laugh
we see the horrible and find the remarkable
we write them in our hearts
and carry them with us till one day
the poetry will emerge
Our Everyday 