I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet

Carole King said it best.  Last week was certainly a crazy one, and one that seemed like it took forever to happen.

It started off with the "Monday Night Dinner" girls having a night out at a place called Clyde's Tower Oaks Lodge.  When we found out that it was half of bottles of vino, we knew we were going to have a good time, but little did we know the rest of Rockville was going to be having a good time with us.  As we pulled up to the place, I wasn't sure if I should have had my tennis racket with me or brought my skis.  It was the last thing I was expecting.

The place was packed!  It had all sorts of people, dressed up (not us) to the more casual (definitely us).  Lil Liu and I tried the Carolina Mason Jar which was a mason jar (duh) packed with all sorts of deliciousness.  I would have taken a photo, but I don't need to be reminded of what I ate.  I think next time we go, we'll be more prepared to have a great time, but sometimes the nights you're not prepared for are when you have the most fun!  (That's for talking about Saturday, oy.)

Tuesday rolls around and was a day that I probably won't ever forget.  I think that sounds very dramatic, but at the time, it was.  The work day was going just as it always does.  Allison made a little pit stop at my desk to chat and as we're gossiping (about lumberjacks I'm sure) the ground started to shake.  It was a little weird, the thought of the people doing construction outside of our building crossed my mind, but was quickly erased when the whole building started to shake.  I don't mean a little shake either, it was a full on things rattling off desks and when we heard furniture on the floor above us falling, we immediately thought the worse.  Being that our building is right next to the Capitol, of course you can't help but think that we might have been under attack.  Allison and I panicked and the two other coworkers in my corner ran out of the office.  Allison went into "beast mode" and flew down all the stairs, and when I mean flew, I mean I don't think she touched any of the steps.

I like to think this is what it looked like.

As we waited outside we only got more scared hearing that The Hill was being evacuated, but couldn't really see if anything was going on.  Once word got around that it was an earthquake we were allowed to go in the building to gather our belongings and leave for the day.  I'm thinking it wasn't a coincidence this earthquake just around the time that happy hour started.  No?  Either way, as we watched the news it was kind of crazy to think we experienced it, only 87 miles from where it originated.

On Wednesday, I celebrated Allison's birthday at dinner with her family and friends at a restaurant called Founding Farmers.  It.  Was.  Amazing.  I highly recommend it to anyone in the DC area, if you haven't tried it.  I'm sure I might be the only one who hasn't, but it was delicious.  Two thumbs up.  Way up.

Finally my birthday made it on Friday.  I was glad it was on a weekend this year and I celebrated with Allison and Kate.  We enjoyed happy hour at Dirty Martini in Dupont and once we felt like we weren't dressed for the occasion (no one told us that it was New Years Eve) we headed to a new place called Jack Rose.  It had a great rooftop bar that is going to be amazing in the fall when it's not so hot and the men start wearing their plaid flannel.  :)  Seemed like a perfect place for them to wear it.   

                                                      

(or I'd just take Ryan Gosling.  He doesn't even have to wear the plaid)

Saturday, ohhh Saturday.  My head hurts to think about you.  Like I said before, it always seems to be the nights when you don't plan on much, that all the crazy happens.  So, all week, everyone was talking about this Irene and how she was going to wreak havoc on the east coast and no one should be outside.  Well, that didn't stop us from celebrating Allison's birthday.  We found out a bar, Sign of the Whale, was having a hurricane party.  Perfect.  So we headed there and made tons of new friends.  Friends wearing their swim trunks, friends wearing their snorkel gear.  Friends from Cali, friends from Wyoming.  It was just a very friendly night.  Seeing that it was our birthday weekend, we only felt it was appropriate to make friends with the DJ who was so nice enough to rock our favorite country songs (of course in between any songs having to do with natural disasters.)  While we were there, I guess that's when the worst of it hit DC.  

Thankfully, the worst of it wasn't terrible and we just got a lot of rain.  There were some parts of the city with trees just laying on tops of cars but I know we should be grateful for the lack of damage it did compared to the rest of the east coast.

This week is one to rest up for sure.  I can't wait for Labor Day to go up to PA and spend it with my family.  

Until the next time,

-S

Birthday Weekend Before the Birthday Weekend

It was such a great weekend, and I was glad I was able to celebrate my birthday a week before it arrives with my friends down here.  I felt like I did so much in this little 3 day time frame then I have in a weekend since I moved down here.

Friday after work, Allison and I decided to head straight to Redline in Chinatown and it was great.  Other than the fact that their air conditioning and broken and everyone was sweaty, the drinks made it okay.  My girlfriends from Penn State, Brittany and Amy joined us and the bartender was so nice he gave us complimentary glasses of champagne.  Maybe it was the confused look we gave everyone that was coming up to the bar and saying random band names and getting free champagne that did it, but we felt very Sex &  the City like sitting with our glasses.  All four of us.  I wonder which character I would be?  Hopefully not Samantha by default of the same name.  I'm not nearly as fashionable as Carrie even though I would kill for some of her wardrobe.  Oh well, something to think about another day.  After Redline we headed to Rocket Bar and had a great time requesting country songs on the jukebox in between jams of 50 cent and Lil Wayne.  It was a great evening, but I was definitely ready for bed probably 2 hours before my head landed on the pillow.

Saturday was the perfect day to lay poolside, which conveniently B & A have in their complex so there we headed.  After putting in some hours in the sun, we decided we were going to go to the baseball game.  Now, I don't cheer for the Nationals or the Phillies (womp womp) but, I am not one to turn down a sporting event.  No Sir.  And I have to say that I love everything about the Nationals stadium.  The 2 bars they have outside centerfield gate is just bustling with young people that it's a great place to meet new friends!  Since the Phillies were in town, the stadium was packed.  There wasn't really much of watching the game going on, just a lot of chatting and enjoying each others company.

Myself, Brittany, Kate and Amy enjoying bevies and baseball

Today was perfect to wrap up a good weekend.  Amy and I had brunch with Kate and her boyf at Cheesecake Factory and then laid low while it monsooned outside.  Let's hope that weather passes before I have to walk to work tomorrow!  This girl's hair doesn't play well with rain, or humidity, or really anything for that matter.  I hope everyone had a great weekend!  T-5 days til the big 2-4!!

Until the next time,

-S

I Love You This Big

So the day was just a typical Thursday.  Nothing exciting happened, eager for Friday to be here.  So as my friend Allison and I were rushing to the metro, we had a little celebrity run in.  Maybe not little, depends how much of a reality television fan you are.  Well, this girl loves herself some good reality tv, so imagine my surprise when I saw this guy being all touristy in the nations capital!

I turned to Allison, grabbed her arm and said "Scotty!!" It might have been a few octaves higher than normal, but who can blame me.  After she collected herself from the heart attack I gave her screaming in her face, she asked what I was going to do about my sighting.  After about 2 seconds of contemplating, I trucked towards him getting my phone out of my purse.  I went up got his attention and asked for a picture.  Where those guts came from are beside me, but I did it!  He was nice and his deep southern drawl was just adorable.  After some confusion with my old school phone and apparently drawing a crowd, mission accomplished.

As we scurried away like little school girls, we headed down the escalator only to have it stop mid run.  Let's talk about the disaster that could have been.  Not safe DC Metro, not safe.

I would have to say this Thursday ended up not being too shabby.  Sure made up for the rainstorm I got caught in on my walk home!

Until the next time,

-S

And We're Off!

My first entry.  Does this make me a blogger?

I'll try not to get ahead of myself, but I'm beyond excited (and nervous too, is that weird) to start my first blog.  I'm not sure what sort of direction this will go in, hopefully it's not as scatterbrained as I can be, but it's a start.

I'm sure the majority of what I will talk about is finally being on my own.  Hence the title of my blog.  I messaged my mother saying I wanted to start a blog but couldn't come up with the best part, the title.  She threw out the phrase "cutting the apron strings".  I had never heard of the saying, and thought she was talking about cooking/baking/making. All of which I cannot do.  So, I googled it (what would we do without google) and found out it means parents letting go of their children and vice versa.  Seeing as I'm officially a grown up now, working my 9-5er, paying rent, utilities, transportation, and everything in between, without the help of mom and dad, I thought this was a perfect title.  I put a little spin on it and here we have Snipping The Apron Strings.

Starting this blog I think will also let me share with you my experiences in my new hometown.  D.C. sure isn't Pittsburgh, and while I'm proud to be a Pittsburgh gal, I couldn't be happier to start my adult life here.  There are so many things to do, so many people to see (which I've found out, on D.C. public transportation could be it's own blog) it was one of the best decisions, if not the best one I've made to come here.

So, now that my little love affair with D.C. is over, I hope my blog will be of enjoyment to those who stumble upon it.  I'll do my best to make it so that you'll be back for more, just like I am with all the blogs I follow, but please leave any bits of advice you might have.

Until the next time,

-S