Speak louder

Saturday night I had a lovely dinner with two friends that I first met in NYC. They both now live in the DC area - and one used to be the most outrageous party girl. She actually introduced me to the Manhattan social scene. Since then, she has become a mother and this Saturday was her first big night out.

We had dinner at Mezza Luna on 19th and M, then moved on to 9:30 Club to watch The Speaks perform. Our one friend is close with the band - and after grooving to the rock music we headed off the their after party. My hope was to meet the drummer with nice biceps, but he wasn't there.

Alcohol, dinner, friends, laughs, dancing, craziness.....I wish more nights were like this.

This weekend = Fabulous.

Owning the dance floor

Last night was a very good night indeed. Six of us gathered together at Nirvana on 18th and K St to celebrate the birthday of one of our lovelies. Nirvana's vegetarian Indian food was delicious and the company was splendid. After catching up and making toasts for the birthday girl, four of us headed off to a wine bar to continue the evening.

Another glass down and two of us, R and I, gave hugs goodbye to the others and hopped in a cab to head to our next destination....Chief Ike's Mambo Room in Adam's Morgan. Chief Ike's is my go-to place for dancing. While the dance floor isn't exactly roomy, the DJ spins some fantastic songs, throwing in some old school favorites, and the people that flock to it come from all walks of life.

At Chief Ike's we met up with more friends and hit the dance floor. Something I love is that one thing all of my groups of friends have in common, is that we own the dance floor. We don't care about anything other than strutting our stuff and having the time of our lives. Last night J pulled out some moves that I haven't seen since 80s music videos, but it rocked. R threw on her flip flops and did her thing like she always does. Together, our large group was the center of the Mambo Room universe.

Despite being out until 2 am, I managed to pull myself out of bed, sore legs and all, and get over to Bethesda, where J and her dog, Delilah, were participating in a dog parade. The sun was shining, the temperature warm, and tons of dogs dressed up ever so pretty....it was a good morning.

Domestic Goddess

In Manhattan I was famous for not cooking. Meals out or in, I could never take credit for the delicious items I consumed. NYC's finest chefs made my friends and I some tasty yummies and when not out, I dined courtesy of genius's such as Stouffers, Smart Ones and Lean Cuisine.

Recently, I have done the unthinkable and started cooking. Yes. I cook. Starting last fall, I mastered a delectable pumpkin crumb cake that my family raved about. Moving on from there, I began collecting recipes from relatives, friends and my trusty magazines. I'm pleased to announce that I can now make several different poultry and fish dishes, not to mention my signature stir fry that is a go-to meal when I forget to plan one.

Yesterday my roommate, T, and I spent part of our day at Ikea purchasing some much needed household items. T is moving out at the end of this month and taking with her most of our kitchen. I never thought I would say this, but I had a rather amusing time picking out kitchen gadgets....but most important is the fact that I actually know how to use each item!

I do believe you can now refer to me as a Domestic Goddess.

The first Mrs.

It happened. One of us is now a Mrs.

S is the first of my college loves to walk down the aisle and say "I do." And with a reception as lovely as the bride is, my friends and I danced the night away.

A string quartet played in the church, the ring bearer stumbled and made a funny comment, J, S's new husband, had a glisten in his eyes when he said his vows, and their first dance together was the perfect Kodak moment. It was lovely. And then....my dear friend S....aimed her bouquet at me. Smack dab in my stomach. Supposedly that should bring me luck and whatever else the superstition means.....

It's a strange thing to know that S has a new last name. I'm going to miss the old one. But it's a new beginning....a new life together....and I'm so happy for her. As the MOH I gave a toast - and ended it with a quote from Dante: Remember tonight, for it's the beginning of always. And I know from the way they gazed at each other that night that they will always remember it and they will be happy.

This is the start of my wedding season. 3 more to go this summer - bring on the cake!

Having it all

Sometimes I think to myself "Self, how did I end up here?"

I go through periods of this. Thinking about my choices, my goals, and most importantly the things I love.

I love autumn in Manhattan. I love the cherry blossoms in DC. I love lazy summers laying on the trampoline in Pennsylvania.

I miss yellow cab rides and the Union Square flee market in Manhattan. I miss my friends in DC being able to eat lunch together every day. I miss watching my sisters grow into young adults.

I wish I could have it all.

Me

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all."

~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Family & Friends

Objects that come in a blue box

Sand between my toes

Classical music during dinner

Broadway, Greenwich & Soho

Orange & Black and Green, Black and White [Philly all the way]

Coffee ice cream

Benny's original margaritas

Taxi rides at 3 am

A good book on a rainy day

Sunsets over the water

Chocolate chip cookies

Shoes

Starbucks Caramel Macchiato

Big sunglasses

Singing in the shower

Red wine

Outline of my favorite city

Sing-along-car rides

Movies on Sundays

Road trips any day

Air kisses

Dancing the night away

Being and befriending the fabulous

Matchmaker, Make me a Match

The new season of The Bachelor began a few weeks ago. The new bachelor, Matt, is perfect. He's handsome, British, impeccable manners, a true gentleman. It's a shame I cannot say the same for the women competing for his "love." I don't think you can find love on a reality show. We saw that last season with Brad Womack choosing no one in the end.

Yes, I believe it's possible to fall in love after only a short time of being with someone, but then again I've never felt that way so I can't discuss the issue to great lengths. What I do know though, is that dating in the real world is hard. It's a world where traditional meet ups have expired and online dating had taken its place making the opposite sex profoundly accessible to find; dates based on a few simple questions and photos -this rarely turn into a fairy tale.

What happened to meeting men the old fashioned way? The last guy I met in a bar turned out to have a severe case of ADD and the one before him was a bit of an alcoholic - not the ideal man to bring home to mom and dad. Giving match.com a shot, I discovered that all you have to judge by is a profile filled with [occasionally] little white lies and outdated pictures.

A few posts ago, I introduced you to Mr. X, the borderline insane date I had last fall. I recently found out that Mr. X actually has a girlfriend - and has been with her well before and long after we had our date. How did I come across this information? He walked right into the gym I'm currently working at part-time and said "I'm here to pick up my girlfriend, can I go in?" - it took me about 5 minutes to place where I knew this guy from and when it clicked and I saw who the girlfriend was, I was astonished.

Jerk.

One of the photos he sent me before our date was a picture of the two of them. I'm not sure what he's playing at, but I do know that his profile is still up on match.com.

Match.com makes finding dates easy, but not love. I try to be optimistic but the thought that continues to cross my mind is that what if I seriously start dating someone from match and things start to get rocky, like most relationships do. Many times those relationships weather out the storm...but what is to keep that person from jumping back on match to look for someone new?

Pessimism isn't very becoming and I'm trying to flush those thoughts away.

I suppose that since life isn't always easy to navigate, then love shouldn't be either. It will come when it's supposed to. Still, sometimes I wish to sing out like Hodel from Fiddler on the Roof....
"Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make me a match, Find me a find, Catch me a catch......Look through your book and make me the perfect match....."

*sigh*