Adios!

Follow me on my new blog, Runner and the Bride. Brandon and I have been wanting to have a "family blog" for a while now, so here it is. With the both of us posting, you should be thoroughly entertained - food, travel, and running of course!

Post-Sandy

Life goes on. It was a bit rough last night with the wind gusts and the windows shaking. One branch came down on the corner.

It was promptly cleaned up at 5 pm tonight. Not bad at all.

Pho 14

My shuttle from work drops off near the Columbia Heights metro station. I feel so lucky that I get to explore the neighborhood because there are a ton of restaurants and shopping there unlike Waterfront station. Tonight, I felt adventurous and had a hankering for Vietnamese food so I chose to pick up my dinner from Pho 14. Best. Decision. Ever.

So delicious!

I ordered #43 Bun Tom Nuong which is vermicelli noodles with grilled shrimp. Bun is a cold noodle salad that is served with lettuce, bean sprouts, carrots, cucumber and peanuts. Basically you stir it all together and douse it with the sweet chili fish sauce. I have always been a bun lover thanks to my parents taking us out for Vietnamese food growing up. This was a real winner and I hope to have it again soon.

My Favorite Time of Year

It's starting to feel like fall!

Brandon and I took a drive out to Loudoun County for some outlet shopping and a little wine tasting. The trees are changing colors. So pretty!

Horses! Then we hit up the pumpkin patch and took home a friend:

What autumn activities have you participated in?

Molten Lava Cake

Sugar rush! This was so so good!

Somewhere along the line, I had the inspiration to make homemade lava cake. The idea probably came from knowing that it was the best possible creation to make with my ramekins. I used the Paula Deen recipe posted on Savory Sweet Life and cut it in thirds for 2 servings.

The recipe was very simple. My chocolate and butter melted in just one minute. I baked the cakes for 11 minutes. The centers were warm and gooey. The cakes slid right out of the ramekins when turned upside down. What a relief, as I was most worried about that part.

I topped the cakes with powdered sugar. Although, ice cream or fresh fruit would have made it even tastier.

Go make it now.

Welcome to the Neighborhood

Brandon and I found a great place to live in DC's smallest quadrant: Southwest. It's tiny, look:

I suggested we look at the neighborhood because we knew we'd be riding the Metro for work and it's so close to Nationals Park (Brandon loves baseball). We found an awesome place on Craigslist by the Waterfront metro stop. Brandon has a knack for finding great places to live because to him, awesome = great kitchen. No complaints from me!

I have an island!

Turns out our condo owner just renovated the whole place with new paint, appliances and a modern sleek look. I can't tell you how cool it is that I got to take the styrofoam out from the dishwasher before using it and the tape out of the freezer. Wow! I guess I better take good care of them :)


We are still learning about the neighborhood, but the street we live on is tree-lined and people of all ages, families included, can be seen walking about. A few blocks down from us is the Southwest Waterfront, which is so neat! There is Cantina Marina, the 7th St. Landing and further down is the fish market. Someday it hopes to be a mixed-use urban waterfront. We have a Safeway, Subway, Z Burger, Arena Stage and the elusive Titanic Memorial - life is good. Brandon and I think we've found a little gem here and it seems like it will only get better with time.

Formerly Known As

My Midwest is now "Metro Mitra". At the end of May, Brandon and I moved from Murphysboro, IL back to DC to pursue some pretty awesome job offers. Fortunately, it was the right decision to leave our rural life behind and try and make it in the big city. Now that things have settled down, I think I'm going to jump back into blogging. Enjoy!