food.

she has me smitten.

dc.

there were houses, there were shit holes, and there were more houses.  there were lots of low blood sugar moments that resulted in fewer squabbles than i would have guessed.  there was good food, and then there was bad (though, the bad came mostly during the low blood sugar emergencies and sometimes just made things worse).  there were three FULL days of house hunting and learning of all of the neighborhoods one tends not to visit while *just* visiting dc.  there is still no home, but there is a serious front runner.  there was also furniture :

well over 15 houses into the weekend we came across well built and promptly started decorating our new city diggs before we even really have a new city OR new diggs.  i'm totally pumped that this place is exactly 1.2 miles away from where we want to be living in a few months, and maybe after we re-coup all of that money spent on a place to live we might actually be able to furnish it.

{hepburn modular sofa via well built}

this week.

yesterday mas turned 30! we celebrated with cheeseburgers and fries and a chocolate cake.  there were red balloons, but no mylar numbers, party poopers (the ONLY party store in the area) was sold out of the number three.  unbelievable really.  i gave mas a TOOTHBRUSH and then we spent the rest of the night laughing at the fact that i gave mas a TOOTHBRUSH.  for the record he had been wanting that toothbrush for at least eight months. 

now, for the rest of the week, we are on the hunt for a house.  it's going to be a crazy few days and the weather in dc looks like a mixed bag (rain, boo, hiss - sun, cheer, yay!).  also i think there will be pho, i like pho.

{drawing by joe kievett via}

weekend burger.

saturday afternoon mas arrived from a week away. he landed at the awkward hour of 2 in the afternoon, but we had decided to wait and eat.  airport food sucks anyway no?  so on our way back from the raleigh airport we stopped in chapel hill for lunch at SANDWHICH.  we are kinda crazy about this place, it is delicious and close to our go-to venue for music, the cat's cradle, we go a lot. 

but this time was different, because they've started serving BURGERS.  while mas was blind to everything except the fresh farm egg BLT, i opted for the ulitmate 'which burger (in addition to the regular stuffs put on burgers this one came with avocados, bacon and roasted jalapenos) and it was heavenly.  i seriously haven't had such a scrumptious burger in ages. i think it was due to the delicate spice that came from the peppers and the quality of meat used in the actual burger.  it was a bit fattier than the grass fed beef we've been scoring from our CSA, and that is never a bad thing for a burger.

after we gorged ourselves we made it home and rushed to spend the rest of the day in bed watching glee and napping.  perfect.  and then there was sunday, which was spent in a pollen haze, but at least it was sunny and warm.

sometimes.

{photo of a most awesome cloud formation found on one of my most favorite flickr streams EVER, CubaGallery}

confetti animal dots.

animal prints, um, mostly not for me.  animal dots, especially those that look like confetti, um yes, yes please.

{tsumori chisato tank, background image from nasa ... satellite image made using infrared, near-infrared and visible light amazingness.}

HELP.

i need a new laptop case for my most amazing 15" macbook pro.  after lusting after this clare vivier i've decided it is not as much protection as it is awesome.  and while i like awesome when it comes to things that carry things, i need something that will prevent my life (i.e my laptop) from cracking in half (or denting or scratching etc, etc) when traveling.  i'm a FREAK when it comes to protecting my electronics, so i need something sturdy.  for my black macbook i used this black incase sleeve.  it worked well, but i want something new ... and amazeballs. mmmmmm k?  thanks.

right now.

for the first time in my life i am going to have my hair done with an idea as to what i want.  normally i go, sit, say "not too much" or "chop it off," and then i leave it to the person who knows about that kind of stuff-the hair kind of stuff.  it's hit or miss, but it's just how i roll.  anyway, this time i want my hair to look like hers ... color wise ... i've already tried the side pony and it works.  i mean my just woke up and look this amazing isn't exactly AS AMAZING as hers, but i tend to stick to buns due to minimal effort.

{hair from, in case you live under a rock and don't know, a cup of jo}

we've got it bad.

the new house bug has hit us, HARD.  we are toying with the idea of buying, renovating, and living in ONE HOUSE for the next three (maybe more?) years, can you BELIEVE IT???  i can't, it is so weird, and i am kind of doubting our follow through, but for now we are going with it.

so, acting on the assumption that we are buying a house, the past 9 days have been spent in a haze of research.  mas has found us a realtor and about 15 houses.  we've found the DC 826, which based on past experience, seems to tell me where i want to live in a city.  our local scouts are even sending us the addresses of their favorite thai restaurants (don't want to be too far away from one of those afterall).  it's insane.  and awesome.  i guess this is just what you get when you combine a blogger obsessed with pinterest and a lawyer.

more on the outsides of houses later, for now we should focus on the insides, particularly these awesome insides.  after pinning a few favorite things and favorite rooms, i found my favorite house.  i mean, they even have a SMEG.  i've been lusting after a smeg for years.  it is my second most coveted appliance after a kick-ass washer and dryer.  and the white floors ... i am dying for the white floors.

{the owners of this house, found on things i like, things i love through pinterest, also have a store, and it is amazing.  i want it to be in the states, i NEED it to be in the states.}

woah.

for the past five months we thought we were moving to asia.  we didn't know exactly when, but we knew that sometime before the end of august we would be on the other side of the world.  we were thrilled.  i was half way to my end life goal of becoming asian and mas was planning weekend excursions to places like vietnam and thailand and beijing.  but then, three or four weeks ago, those people that make those decisions called and said no.  no to tokyo, no to seoul, and no to that wee little japanese island.  it was a bit hard to take.  we had been making plans, reading blogs, ALMOST BUYING PLANE TICKETS.  but then, we thought about it, and decided it would all be ok.  we would just pick up next january and move back to california.  california is almost like japan or s. korea, no?  it was fun few days.  we were making up new careers for ourselves (mas - sommelier, me - doughnut maker) and telling a few of our favorites that was the plan, we were coming back.  it was exciting, and scary ... you know the whole picking where you want to live thing.

and then ...

two weeks ago, the phone rang.  and it was them ... those people that make these decisions.  they said : mas come to dc and we will give you a job that you weren't even considering because it is so good, we promise it will be better than becoming a sommelier and living in the best state in the country.  so, mas says yes, has two interviews, fills out a bunch of paperwork and finds out last week that we are going to dc.  we jump and scream and laugh and high five.  the job is ridiculous and dc is a CITY, a city with things and people and snow and cherry blossoms.  we are to be there no later than july 31.  i am excited.  mas is thrilled.  and frances is ready to walk around where the people are.  i ask if maybe we can move SOONER.  mas laughs and says no.  then the phone rings again, or maybe an email was sent, at this point there are too many changes coming from too many directions i can't quite remember the details.  they say, come no later than june 30th.  so we are going house hunting.

i'm not going to say that i haven't finally found a way of life in this tiny town.  i like my yoga studio.  i like the coffee shop that lets me bring frances inside to sit and drink coffee.  i like the two block downtown/business district that has a train track (with frequent trains) running down the center.  i like the new little deli that opened up around the corner from us that serves ALL LOCAL food and sells dried beans and lentils in bulk and makes their own yogurt.  i like the bookstore.  i like our new house, i still haven't painted it even.  but i am also not going to say that the thought of living in dc makes me so excited i could pee.