jude.love: January 2011

1.30.2011

A Dog Blog Hijacking

So there was a big snowstorm that made the park really cold on my paws and made my white glow-in-the-dark ball really hard to fetch. It’s pretty fun to run in but there are these creepy snow people at the park now that kinda scare me.

After I poked the snow people a little I came home and helped daddy study.

Then I took Mom to the park to see all the snow and it was fun.

Then all these people came over that I didn’t know and one of them kinda looked and smelled like daddy… I smelled everybody a lot and showed them all my toys and I even sat on one of the girls when she gave me really good butt scritches. Then they all left and I was kinda sad, but I was really tired after showing them my house so I fell asleep on the couch.

Mommy said they went “out” somewhere called dupont circle…whatever that means.

Then today we went to the park again and it was good. I fetched the ball really good and this hound dog came by and said hi. He was pretty cool. I got kinda mad at Vroom (he’s my doberman friend) when he tried to steal my ball, but Daddy took us to another part of the park and then I could fetch it all by myself.

Then mom and dad left me at home again and when they came back they smelled like cheesy eggs and toasts (and kinda like those people that came over last night but I can’t be 100% sure) and I tried to convince them (again) that my food just isn’t as good as theirs. But they never believe me. Now I’m going to go nap on the couch and give Mom my best sad puppy eyes so she’ll cuddle with me a lot.

1.25.2011

all over the place.

“There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted.”
-Henri Matisse

That’s the rub with art and that’s how I’m feeling about it right now. This will be a very all over the place post tonight. I just bought some shoes from Banana I’ve been lusting after for probably 5 months for 1/2 off with free shipping…perhaps they will help bring me inspiration…(I truly am ECSTATIC about these).

P.S. I signed up for more yoga classes today. Looks like it stuck! (pictured is a weekly email I get going over last week’s class, enjoy!)

1.23.2011

to market to market to bistro bis for restuarant week

The plunder from the market today: local Maryland honey (as we were informed in a heavy accent “you won’t find any bees in the District, that’s for sure”) and an orange for free from this same wonderful old accented (we couldn’t determine from where) woman who told us to peel the orange, pour some of this honey on it, and forget going out to dinner because this would be much better. I kind of wish we were taking her up on that right now, but it’s restaurant week here in DC and so it’s off to Bistro Bis by Union Station with Ashley and Tam for a three course french meal for $35.10. So excited.

1.16.2011

an inspirational find and an update

I ran across these photographs of Riverside Hospital at www.kingstonlounge.blogspot.com. They’re from North Brother Island in NY and I am truly in love this photographer’s straightforward approach. These are the kinds of photographs that truly inspire me.

“Of all the forgotten and mysterious places in the Five Boroughs of New York City, few have histories as rich and interesting as that of North Brother Island. Situated in the Hell Gate, a particularly treacherous stretch of the East River, North Brother was home to the quarantine hospital that housed Typhoid Mary, was the final destination of the General Slocum during its tragic final voyage, and was the site of an experimental drug treatment program which failed due to corruption. Riverside Hospital, the name of the facility on the island throughout its various incarnations, treated everything from smallpox and leprosy to venereal disease and heroin addiction; after the Second World War, it housed soldiers who were studying under the GI bill. The entirety of the island has been abandoned since 1963; over a dozen buildings remain, in various states of disrepair.”

Now for a quick picture update from the weekend:

We’re trying to hit up a staple/something we keep saying “we have to go do”, but never seem to go do every weekend this year. It’s like an unspoken New Year’s Resolution that I don’t want to make official or it might stop happening. Last week it was Granville Moore’s moules et frites, this weekend it was Ben’s Chili Bowl.

“List of people who eat for free at Ben’s Chili Bowl, Bill Cosby, the Obama Family, and no one else.”

p.s. we totally saw Mrs. Ben’s Chili bowl while we were there.

Also, tonight we’re watching the Golden Globes and eating insanity.

Homemade white cheese dip b/c we can’t find white queso anywhere here in DC. Also, we made pigs n’ blankets, artichokes with butter sauce, and margharitas. See? Insanity.

1.10.2011

a tribute to William Wegman. just because

Love this video “Spelling Lesson.” I wanted to find his video Milk/Floor, but this one will have to do for now.

click on Video 1970-1977, then click on the last video on the bottom right.

http://www.wegmanworld.com/gallery/works.html

What? Jude can do this.

Had to include this one.

find inspiration in whatever you can.

1.09.2011

yoga and mussels

I feel incredibly cliche. You know, country girl moves to the big city and starts doing yoga…. Well, it’s sad but true. I officially went to my first yoga class on Saturday. My friend found this great deal at a place right in Capitol Hill for a yoga basics class that meets each Saturday in January and asked if I’d be interested in giving it a try with her. I decided “why not? it’s only 4x right?”. Right. Not. Of course I totally loved every second and now am going to have to sign up for probably the rest of my life. Thanks Tammy. ;)

I don’t think I would have ever been open to yoga back at home in GA because I’ve always had the attitude that it’s not hard enough of a work out and I’d rather not waste my work out time on something that’s not really going to get my blood pumping. Now that we live here in D.C. though things are different. I walk at least 40 minutes every day just to get to and from work, I do a low intensity work out with a friend at my office gym during my lunch hour, and my stress level has sky-rocketed from years previous. I may have mentioned on here at some point that since we’ve moved I’ve deeply strained my back on two separate occasions. We’re talking can’t bend over to wash my face in the sink every morning kind of strain that lasts at least a week and a half. I really think that yoga will be a perfect supplement for strengthening and flexibility which will help my back, tone my muscles, and relieve some stress to help with sleeping at night. I’ll keep you posted on the yoga endeavors.

Did someone say mussels? Okay, maybe it was muscles, but we finally got around to going to Granville Moores on Saturday night for their famous mussels and frites (fries) on H street. Athens people: think a Trappeze beer selection and feel, with a fabulous history and famous mussels. They were challenged to a Moules Frites Throwdown in March 2008, with Food Network Star, Chef Bobby Flay and won. We’ve been talking about going since we moved here and are now hating ourselves for not getting here sooner. They describe themselves as Gastropub with a Healthy Belgian Fetish and if you need more info than all of the above to love this place, just check out the history:

“Who is Dr. Granville Moore?
Dr. Granville Moore was a neighborhood Doctor who twice a week provided pro-bono work for the sick and less fortunate members of the community at the location of Granville Moores. Although not much is known about him, we have had several wonderful visitors come in and share their stories of the Doctor. We sometimes feel that maybe he has been looking over us, just as he took care of others here for so long. We kept the name as an homage to the man who did so much for this community.”

Basically-the building stood vacant for 30 years before a few business-minded entrepreneurs purchased the property and opened up Granville Moore’s. In short, we will be going back, and SOON.