Some stencil/DC love for everyone on Valentine’s Day! We hope everyone has some extra time to spend with their significant other today. We are going to be cooking ourselves a three-course meal tonight, consisting of Crostini with Mint, Pear, and Prosciutto, Pan-Seared Pesto Sea Scallops, and “easy” Tiramisu. While shopping for obscure ingredients this morning, we overheard on the Whole Foods loudspeaker, “Remember, men love flowers too.”
On New Years Eve, we celebrated the end of the decade with Jill and her friend Rachel as well as a few bottles of bubbly. In return for crashing on our couches, Jill treated us to an amazing 4-course meal (that actually concluded with the final course for breakfast the next morning). We didn’t mention that she was welcome to the couch regardless of a dinner return or not. Anyways! It seems as though her CIA edumacation is paying off. Deeeee-lish!
We decided to rewrite the “12 Days of Christmas” in the tune of, well, I guess it’s just a list of things we enjoy about DC. It goes along with all the year-end (and decade-end!!!) wrap ups that everyone loves about this time of year — saying goodbye to Christmas and ringing in the new year!! We hope everyone enjoyed their holiday, in whatever form that may be, and found happiness, peace, and rest among family and friends. enjoy!
Twelve drummers drumming
Twelve stories of the Old Post Office Pavilion.
The view from the top of the tower - it’s one of our favorite places to see DC from above.
Eleven pipers piping…
11th and U St NW - Solly’s Tavern.
A favorite spot to enjoy a $3 PBR.
Ten lords a-leaping…
Ten miles of pavement in running the Cherry Blossom Race.
In our opinion, it’s DC’s best race, rain or shine, and it’s become a tradition to run with our friends.
Nine ladies dancing…
‘09 Inauguration. Not to be soon forgotten. President Obama.
A blisteringly cold, yet uplifting day that kicked off 2009 in the company of more than 1 million visitors to DC.
Eight maids a-milking…
Eight massive columns at the NBM.
We’ve written about it many times before, but definitely our favorite out-of-the-way museum to take someone visiting DC.
Seven swans a-swimming..
7th Street & North Carolina Avenue, SE : Eastern Market.
Go for the crabcake sammiches, people watching, and fresh veggies.
Six geese a-laying…
The year of frozen yogurt. Six fro-yo options, plus one new one that just opened, within walking distance!
Mr. Yogato
Sweetgreen
Tangysweet
Pitango Gelato
Cali Yogurt
DuFroyo
Enough said.
Five golden rings…
5:00pm - Jazz in the Garden, every Friday in the summer at the National Gallery of Art.
Blankets on the grass, sangria, and live music.
Four calling birds…
$3.95 happy hour martini (ok, that’s almost $4) at Singapore Bistro.
A go-to for girls night out = inexpensive sushi and cosmos. Don’t forget to ask for the song-and-dance Sake Bombs upstairs!
Three french hens…
3.2 mile loop at Hains Point.
Can’t even begin to count how many times combined we rode, ran, walked, and jogged this route in the past year. Many miles were covered here in preparation for the Nation’s Triathlon.
Two turtle doves…
Two framed photographs sold at Artomatic.
The yearly art show was a great success for Matt’s Whitewashed display.
AND, a partridge in a pear tree.
Because what isn’t DC about that?
…getting your candy cane to a needle-sharp point, that is. I think it requires not only patience, but also a little bit of neuroticism, holiday spirit, and a willingness for sugar-coated teeth. All of these qualities which I possess.
Christmas trees are all over the place, especially here on the sidewalks at Whole Foods in Silver Spring, MD.
Yesterday, approximately seven minutes after my family had finished eating our belated Thanksgiving dinner, we began the trimming of the Christmas tree — our meals were still being savored, and we had already moved along to the next holiday. I suppose, however, that is just the nature of things this time of year, always in a rush to what is next. Advertisers had already declared it Christmastime weeks ago anyway, and intrepid shoppers are already trading Black Friday war stories. And the tree process, which at one point was a day-long endeavor and involved sharp objects and getting inevitably covered in sap, has been distilled down to unpacking a single box, putting three pre-lit tree sections together, and plugging in an electric cord.
So, while the transition from turkey and Pilgrims to mistletoe and Elves did feel a little abrupt this year, I’m not complaining, as it did not detract from the pleasant enjoyment of trimming the tree with family. It’s an event which always pulls on my nostalgic heart strings. This year I shot a series of pictures with my old Pentax K-1000 that my father passed down to me awhile back. The series can be seen here (along with some other “bonding” shots from the weekend). My personal favorite ornament is the yellow bike pictured above. Having parents that were both avid cyclists earlier in their lives leaves you with some fun little velo tchotchkes. This bright yellow fixed gear ornament, complete with “true track geometry,” is no exception.
We’ll have to see how long I can keep the holiday spirit up. A trip the the White House Christmas Tree is always good for reinvigorating the cheer, and I’m sure it will be in order soon enough. Long time followers of Juxtaexposed will recall that the White House tree, or more accurately the yule log, was the topic of our first post almost two years ago.
hey look it’s Gobbles the Turkey from the Silver Spring Thanksgiving Parade. Happy Thanksgiving from Juxtaexposed!
The entries are in….
… And the winner is… Pam and Rick’s creepy creature looking through the window :
Congratulations!! You were chosen by Judge Matt in a blind review, and your t-shirt prize will be presented shortly. Thank you to everyone who entered and have a spooky and happy halloween.
In talking Halloween costume ideas the other night, the top hat leftover from Matt’s costume last year came out of hiding. So then we put Bowser in it. Ain’t he cute?
Don’t forget! The 2nd annual Pumpkin Carving Contest is coming up!
Back by popular demand, it’s our second annual Halloween pumpkin carving contest!! With so many amazing entries from last year , we’re now challenging you to do one better! And this year, you have more than two weeks, starting now, to get your design ready and your carving skills in action. We will be accepting entries up until noontime on Halloween (October 31st), so send your pictures to loriwasilewski [at] gmail. AND, as added incentive (as if fame and notoriety on here was not enough) there will be a *PRIZE* this year in the form of a “Juxtaexposed Pumpkin Contest Winner” t-shirt… to be designed by me this week. Extra consideration may or may not be given for the use of lighting, composition, general humor, props, and candy corn sent to my mailing address. GOOD LUCK to all our readers!