Honey Pig

We went to Honey Pig in Annandale a few weeks ago, and though I had been there before, it was my first visit without Debie there to order in Korean for me.  I'd never even touched a menu on previous occasions.  We were left to own devices this time, as a bunch of white people, and I think it turned out to be fairly successful.  Except, armed with a tip from the ever helpful Debie, I tried to order bokumbap and things went off the rails.  The waitress looked very confused by my request and finally told me it was "menu impossible."

Something must've been lost in translation. We got some sort of rice dish in the end, and all was well.  Good friends, good conversation and sizzling meat. 

Full Metal Jousting

There's a line in my new fav show Portlandia that goes something like, "He only watches shows about fishing or logging."  Doesn't this describe modern man, circa 2012?  I have little to no dating advice but this needs to be said: one amazing thing about being single is that you never have to watch "Ax Men." Of course I wouldn't seek this show out on my own, but I admit, I got sucked into the drama of Rygaard, Swilley, Paw Paw, Shelby Stanga and other seeming incompetents trying to fell large trees without killing or maiming themselves. This is the male version of Real Housewives.  That's my thesis.  And just like Real Housewives, there are a ton of these types of reality shows.  More actual destruction, instead of just the emotional destruction that's highlighted on Bravo. I tried to call Joe a few minutes ago and he seemed distracted.  "Are you busy?" I asked. "Can I call you back?  We're about to watch an intense jousting scene," he said. Of course, a reality show about medieval jousting.  Sure, call me when it's over.

Joe's Birthday Party

I love to read food blogs, so when Joe told me that he and his good friend Andy planned to host a joint birthday party, I finally had an opportunity to make all the fun party food that would be strange for me to cook for myself.

Like chocolate-covered potato chips.  I found the recipe from the very fun blog Spoon Fork Bacon.  Just what America needs right?  Greasy salty chips covered in sugar.  Eh, it's a party, I say.

I hand-dipped every single potato chip from a family size bag of Wavy Lays into a vat of milk chocolate.  "These are bespoke potato chips," Joe said. It took a very long time.  Once I started, I couldn't stop, and covered every available flat surface with potato chips on wax paper.

The ones photographed on Spoon Fork Bacon are eerily perfect.  My chips were lumpier because I had a hard time getting the perfect amount of chocolate on each chip.  But dang, they tasted good anyway.  If there is ever a situation to use the word "dang," I think it should be when describing chocolate-covered potato chips.

Behind the potato chips, you'll see dulce de leche sandwich cookies via Joy the Baker, who is the cutest person ever, at least judging from her blog.  I love her, and the rest of the recipes I cooked are from her website.  This party was brought to you by Joy the Baker.

These cookies might not look like much, but they are the best I've ever made.  I've made three batches this year, by popular request.  It's easy too.  A can of dulce de leche serves as the filling, with some sea salt sprinkled on top.  I'm very into the salty/sweet combination.

I also made baked brie lollipops. Joy's baked brie look prettier than mine, but I was just happy they didn't explode in the oven, as some commenters mentioned.  I was using Joe's oven, so no skin off my nose if they did.  Haha.  No that was easy too.  I convinced Prudence to come to the party by saying that I would serve "fancy Hot Pockets on a stick."  I think that would be my food truck concept as well.

Alex made a sign advertising my mixology skills.  Not sure why "special" is in quotes.  Is he humoring me?  I made another Joy the Baker recipe, rosemary lime cocktails.  These are so good.  I have a heavy hand with the vodka too.  Prudence said that I would be distracted, talking to someone, meanwhile the vodka bottle is going "glug, glug, glug."

Someone bought in mini-pies from the new Pie Sisters in Georgetown.  Georgetown Cupcake, will this put a crack in your empire?

The birthday boys blow out the candles.   [Not pictured, the awesome friends who made the trek in the cold to help us celebrate].

I wore my party dress meant for a six-year-old for this special occasion.  The print has little horseys, bunnies and teddy bears on it.

I don't wear this dress very often.  I tried to wear it to the office, but I felt like the bunnies might make it less than professional.  I still love it though, it's from a stall at an amazing flea market in London.   So I've only worn it a handful of times, and one time I was wearing it, waiting for the bus and a girl walks by wearing the exact same dress I was wearing.  What?  I'd expect that for a F21 sweater, but what a coincidence.

Happy birthday, Joe!  So looking forward to spending your 31st year together!

Christmas Day 2011

So how were the holidays? Old news, I know.

Rain the dog says hello. This is my attempt at being William Wegman. Weimaraners always look horribly depressed in photos.

Cheer up, Rain, it's Christmas. Look at all those gifts!

Even though our Christmas gift exchange involves much trading of Internet links beforehand which lessens the surprise, it's still so much fun. Here's some of the highlights, so you can feel like you are an honorary member of the Chapin family.

Danny gets both an old-school Bullets sweatshirt and t-shirt, making him a "double hoopster." Rare indeed.

Have you ever seen a man happier to be getting socks as a gift? Unlikely. My dad is the sweetest.

He got my mom a new dustbuster, as requested, but he picked out the wrong one, despite much coaching and many Post It notes. My mom was incredulous. "I knew it was the wrong one when I bought it, but I wanted you to have something to open," Dad said.

"I just wanted to see your look of disappointment as you passively aggressively crumple the wrapping paper," Danny said.

I got her a William Wegman calendar, per usual, so maybe that eased the pain.

Here's my new Christmas sweater and Fuji Instax MINI camera that prints out photos instantly. More about the camera later. It is so much fun.

My brother unwraps some coffee that my parents "liberated" from the Ritz Carlton on their Hawaii vacation earlier in the month.

My mom loves to get us practical, survivalist presents for Christmas. I received a pocket knife and a flashlight that stays plugged into the wall at all times for surprise natural disasters. It's quite a clever idea, actually.

Danny opened his flashlight first, and for awhile, I thought mom only cared about his survival.

We are prepared for all Mother Nature can throw at us now.

Guess what else my parents got me. A re-up for my People Magazine subscription. AWWWW! They know me so well.

That about wraps up Christmas 2011. But Rain, look! You got something too!

Huh? (said in a Scooby Doo voice)

December Hiking at Strickler Knob

Before Christmas, Joe organized a little hiking expedition to the Shenandoah, near Luray Caverns.

We hiked a nine-mile roundtrip trail to Strickler Knob, which boasted some pretty amazing views.  I didn't capture any here, because I was too scared to get to close to the edge.  I don't like heights at all.

It was a beautiful trail, with a couple river crossings.  I did OK, except that I have a knack for managing to trip when the ground is perfectly level.  It must be exciting to walk behind me on the trail, as I'm turning my ankle and recovering every 10 minutes.

The last mile was all uphill, just an absolute slog.  I really thought I wouldn't be able to do it.  I started feeling faint and then I tried to breathe and I could only take short little breaths.  That's the closest I've ever been to a panic attack.  I can see why people check themselves into the ER for panic attacks. I eventually made it back to the car, after much struggle.  We said we earned our hamburger dinners at Burger Brothers after that.

Joe surveys the scene.

Here's the rock scramble at the end of the trail.

Alex M., Channing and Alex C. climbed up on that perch.  They are crazy!  I was so worried they would fall.

Look at pro-rock climber Alex M. jumping between those rocks.  Don't try this at home, kids.

Happy Dec 1!

Did you have advent calendars growing up?  I got one every year, and I hope I'll have one every year for all my years. 

Every day, I looked forward to opening the little door to discover a reindeer or stocking-shaped piece of chocolate that tasted vaguely of cardboard, but no matter.  This really gets you in the holiday spirit for the whole month.

My mom called me a few days ago, right before my parents' big vacation to Hawaii.  "Oh, I meant to tell you," she said.  "I bought advent calendars for you guys, but then I forgot to give them to you and since I won't see you for awhile, I gave them to the neighborhood kids."

Well, shoot.  I love stories where people tell me about the gifts they got me and then subsequently gave away.  I guess the kids in the neighborhood were happy, but this 27-year-old needs an advent calendar, dangit!

I had to buy my own at CVS yesterday.  Right in the nick of time!