What the Blog?

F irst things first: finals are OVER! It's always a victory when I finish exams - this year, with 1 paper, 1 take-home (72-hour), and 2 full-on 3-hour exams, it was no different. I was exhausted for about three solid days after I finished but the beautiful thing is that I only have four more semesters left! And much fewer exams this summer and fall, so a lot of the hard part is over. It feels good. So good that I'm celebrating by baking, and basking in spring. Today, the temps are supposed to hit 70+ degrees. And sun, beautiful sun! We finally got out in the yard and cleaned up the weeds, planted tons of veggies (although I may greedily plant one or two more) and we are hoping for some tasty results soon. We've also been biking around - spent a whole day wandering among the cherry blossoms and masses of tourists on our bikes a few weekends ago. The blossoms had already started to drop but it was still really colorful and fun to explore. With my newfound free time, I...

When I lived in Austin, my roommate and I had lofty plans to write an inspiration-filled travel blog, full of anecdotes of where to go (and where not to go) on our various adventures, be they for one day, one week, or even longer. I loved the idea, but sort of let it drop (aside from my really long Argentina post - see January ), and it's time to revive the concept! As I venture out and about, I'll capture all the details in a post - for personal scrapbooking purposes and to hopefully inspire you! I found a great resource for day trips / weekend escapes on Washingtonian , and by combining ideas from that and other sites, have put together a couple of repeat-worthy day trips around the area. The first was a day spent wandering around lovely Old Town Alexandria. Just a short metro ride away (blue or yellow line to King Street, then either a free trolley or ~1 mile walk to the water), it was a great way to spend the first warm Saturday in spring. We walked from the metro down ...

My trips back to SF are always far too short and stressed, with catching up on missed classes, reading to keep up with future classes, and oh yeah...working... usually the whole reason that I'm out there. It's hard to squeeze in time with friends, so I actually laid extremely low this time - yet another reason I can't wait to finish law school! I need my social time, I think. This trip was no exception to the busy ones - three full days, with my mom by my side (or on her own, but hanging out with me during my precious hour or two per day of non-busy awake time) - but a good time nonetheless. It's been 3.5 years since I lived there, and I've finally moved away from eating at the old favorites in the interest of trying new cuisine. Oh, and it was wonderful! Blue Bottle Coffee, Frog Hollow Farm coffee + pastries, Le Boulange croissants (ok, those I get every time)... Tommaso's for pizza, Betelnut for a little Asian fusion... I wish I had more time, if only  to keep...

Snow. Snow, snow, snow. Well, for the most part, it's over, and at least every other state knows how we feel. Yep, snow in all 50 states at the same time. Amazing! Washington saw snow like the city has never seen before, at least on record. The first day, the pure quiet of seeing empty streets covered in a single white layer was calming. You could walk across Connecticut Avenue, a major artery of a major city, and not see a single vehicle. You might, however, see skiers or snowboarders cruising downhill. We went sledding, turned up the space heater, and reveled in days off class and home from work (sadly, it was the one time where working from home was NOT a benefit). By day 5 of the blizzard though, the once-clean snow turned gray and there was a general slushy disgruntled-ness among us. Still, the break from reality was welcome, and the ability to 'swim' in a pile of snow almost as tall as me was especially fun when followed by more hot chocolate. Some photos below. Our...

When it's winter, or even just a Friday night after a long week, sometimes you just want to drive. Sometimes you forget that your destination is a hip 'up and coming' neighborhood that went, in 6 months, from relatively easy to park to a pain-in-the-butt. So, we found ourselves returning home last night 17 minutes too late to our car, to find a $100 parking ticket. $100. It'll be beans-and-rice for the next couple of weeks until our egos and wallets recover from that mistake. I managed to escape parking tickets in every other city I've lived in, but somehow they've found reasons to ticket us at least five times here. Out of those, I'd say only one or two were legit, but fighting tickets is even harder here than in San Francisco. You actually have to pay an extra $10 to fight your ticket, which they supposedly refund IF you win. Sneaky, DC. Very sneaky. Today's post is an exercise in whining. I know it's a new year, and we are definitely working ...

We're back! And what an amazing trip it was. As much as I love the holidays, right down to what *some people* (cough, cough...sapun...cough cough) call "overdone" music and decor, it was pretty amazing to step away from the advertisements and enjoy a peaceful break. Oh yeah, and warm weather. We spent two weeks in Buenos Aires and Bariloche, Argentina, the first trip either of us had taken to South America and the first stamps on our brand new passports. All those empty pages, so many stamps to get... We left with great memories and a hope to return again (and a new leather jacket:). We also celebrated New Year's Eve on the plane, which much to my dismay, did not include either champagne or a countdown even though we crossed three time zones and thus had multiple opportunities to celebrate! Bummer.  However, we did make it to Houston for a 10-hour layover, where my wonderful parents fed us, drove us around, and dropped us back at the airport, refreshed and ready ...

Winter's here, after a very long, and stunning fall. We've already had one round of freezing rain, and a little bit of snow (followed immediately by said rain). Needless to say, I have upped my consumption of hot chocolates in direct relation to the dropping of the temps. In the 30s tonight? Just one will do. In the 20s, you say? I think I'll have a refill, please. In my endless pursuit of procrastinating studying - during which the house gets sparkling clean (miraculously!) and Christmas cards and baking also somehow get done (amazing how productive I am, isn't it?) - I tried out a new baked tofu recipe. We finally figured out how to fry tofu the right way a while back - dipped in flour and deep-fried - but I was pretty unimpressed with our marination efforts. This time, I modified a recipe found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-tofu-bites/detail.aspx and baked instead of fried the tofu. Instead of maple syrup, I added honey, subbed mustard for ketchup, an...

All these Fall-related posts, it probably seems like I'm just a teeny bit of a fan of the season. Guilty as charged. Maybe it's because we never had much of a fall in Houston, Austin, or SF, or maybe that the fall seasons I do remember involved jumping in huge piles of crunchy leaves and having nothing to do but stare at the clouds from my leaf pile... Whatever it is, there is something about a season where leaves fall lazily to the ground, the sun shines beautifully through the emptying branches, and the air is dry and fresh. I've been running a lot more to soak it in, which doubles as a great way to explore the city. Here's a route map from today's 6-miler through Woodley Park, Dupont Circle, and Georgetown. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3304882 One of my favorite parts about this neighborhood is the hills - soft and rolling, they're never too difficult to maneuver but they definitely hurt (in a good way). Although I don't get down there often enoug...

A couple of weeks ago, we invited (non-Indian) friends over for an Indian meal. It was the first time we've shared our homemade Indian food with someone else - and we were nervous! Especially with two new recipes. Well, the photos don't quite do it justice but it was a tasty meal! We're re ally proud... between asking moms for advice and relying on Google, we found some great & easy recipes. Chole : http://www.recipezaar.com/I-Cant-Wait-for-Chole-25632 plus extra jalapenos and cumin to taste. Baingan Bharta : My own concoction + Mom's help. Be sure to add a lot of spice to this one. I usually start with the base of tomatoes /onions / garlic / pepper and add lots of eggplant and potatoes before letting the pressure cooker do the work. Mint raita : mint from the garden, a splash of lemon juice, half-teaspoon of sugar, and mixed plain yogurt Palak Paneer : Stir fry the paneer first (try canola oil). We didn't do this and ended up with teeny tiny paneer ...

Yup... it's FALL! The smell of open windows, and crunchy leaves on the ground. It has a distinct smell of fresh air with a hint of smoky... mm.. So it's been a while. Let's recap the past, oh, 9 months. We got married, so that took up most of the year. Anika finished her first YEAR of law school. 1 down, 2 to go! We wrote all of our wedding thank-you cards, which also took a long time. And, we decided where to honeymoon - finally. We'll be going to (drumroll..) Argentina! In December, just when it's time to layer up in DC. I can't wait. And, we've harvested tons of peppers and tomatoes from our lovely little veggie garden in the front of our apartment. We've also had a lot of visitors, since we upgraded to a new apartment with a spare bedroom. It makes us feel like real adults. Amit visited, and we explored the beautiful VA wine country - we paired wine with $ 0.25 hot dogs, yum! Here's a photo of Anika and the brothers Coats...

It was a day to end all days...or maybe just help them begin. I've been up for way too long today, so I'll keep it short. I think, for the first time, I was REALLY excited about living in this fair city. Although I believe a lot of things could have been handled better (did we really have to rely on Metro for EVERYthing?), being in the center of it all was pretty amazing. In short...last minute tickets...long waits in the cold... crazy, excited, pushy, thrilled, emotional crowds... breaking down barriers (including physical ones, so that we could get closer in), witnessing history... ushering in a new era... celebrating change... walking for hours in (you guess it) the cold... sleeping to awake to what will hopefully be a turning point for a new day.

Time for the first edition of: What is that smell? Bike riding home down 19th street, between Kalorama & Biltmore (which just sounds like it's a street that would smell funny, doesn't it?), around 8:30 pm on a weeknight. What is that smell? My theory, as I scrunch my nose up in disgust, is a big dumpster full of stuff people should be composting. Yup, it smells like really rotten food. Walking along 18th street on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday during daylight hours. Reminds me (fondly? No, definitely not) of Castro street in SF during Sunday AM runs. I think it's puke from the night before, mixed with alcohol and cigarette butts. Can't be sure, but it is definitely not a pleasant odor. Hallway of our apartment complex, first floor, generally Thursday evenings: cigarette smoke mixed with macaroni and cheese? Not sure but it smells like someone either burned their dinner and decided cigarettes might cover up the stench. Or maybe it's their Thursday Night Treat. I p...

Keepin this short ... it's Columbus Day and Sapun - along with most government employees - has the day off! Lucky... This morning we attended a ceremony welcoming PM Silvio Berlusconi to the White House on the South Lawn. Dan (Sapun's old PI / current White House Fellow) got us 'in' as his guests so we waved little Italian and American flags, watched the military march around, and listened to the speeches. Very cool event, and probably not something we'll get to do all that often. Photos from that, and the weekend, below. Fall is here and it's cooling down... semester is halfway over and I've got to get back to my books! More soon!

So, it's been 1 week living here, and we've finally started to get to know the city! The apartment is...cozy. It's small, but the size forces us to get out when we can - and the metro-ability and bike-ability from where we are is pretty awesome. 1 mile to dupont circle, 1/2 a mile to adams morgan, 1 mile up to cleveland park - and unlike SF it's very flat, so not at all intimidating. That's good, because the price of metro adds up quickly. We spent yesterday wandering around the National Mall and (hopefully this is a good sign) ran into a friend of a friend at the Thomas Jefferson memorial! We ended up hanging out with some Texas friends last night, who live really closeby - and had great advice on neighborhoods, restaurants, things to do... basically exactly what we've been looking for, without having to ask. Photos below, from Anika's last day of freedom and the apartment. Classes start tonight, so this will probably be the last of my more frequent posting...