I drank sour milk today, and it was yucky

Well, I only had one sip, but it was still enough to make me gag. Bleh! I really needed it to go with my cake that I made. Boo! I felt like baking today, since it was a little chilly and I had no big plans, I thought baking would be perfect and a great opportunity to use my relatively new bundt cake pan. It's not exactly a birthday cake, but I guess some people might assume that's what I was going for.

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake Oh it is yummy! It tastes very much like a coffee cake, but the bottom of the cake has this delicious crunchiness like a tasty snickerdoodle cookie. It definitely was in need of milk. Too bad my milk was sour. Sad.

In two hours, I'll officially be 24. Maybe I should've made two dozen cupcakes instead of a bundt cake. I spent this weekend exploring some new places in my neighborhood thanks to the October issue of The Washingtonian.

As I was in line at the grocery store, one of the headlines on the magazine caught my attention: "The Best of Capitol Hill." I made an impulse decision and purchased it to see exactly what they think "the best" of my hood is. Several spots they mentioned are right-on with things I know, but others were places I didn't know existed, or small places I've passed a billion times, but wasn't sure they would be any good.

One such place was 7th Hill pizzeria just a few steps away from the Eastern Market that I so often go to for fruits and veggies. I decided to try it for my birthday dinner on Saturday night. Although the establishment is quite small, the pizza is incredibly delicious. I only regret that I didn't get any photos of the food or the night.

This morning after I walked to church in the surprisingly chilly air, I stopped by Peregrine Espresso to grab a coffee to knock off the chill from the walk around the market. Peregrino was also recommended as a "best" by The Washingtonian. I got excited because the Macchiato was only $2.75, but then I found out that the macchiato was two shots of espresso and a splash of milk in a cup the size of a bathroom Dixie cup. I quickly realized that was not going to do the trick of warming me up, so I changed my order to a latte with a shot of vanilla. I've never seen a coffee that looked so beautiful.

It was different from my standard Starbucks grande skinny vanilla latte, but it was good! And, I discovered that they're vanilla syrup was legitimate vanilla syrup not that stuff that comes out of a squirt bottle. I'm most assuredly going back there to try the treats in their bakery counter including a spinach and gruyere scone. Mmm, so good. I think they're all-organic. If only I could have one of their lattes for my birthday tomorrow morning. Work crew is throwing me a shindig after work, I'm excited!

I'm going to continue checking out what they think is the best, and see if I agree or disagree. I'll let y'all know my thoughts. But in the meantime... Ironman 2 just ended, and it is bedtime! Unfortunately it's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I guess I'll have to skip my morning run. Good thing I walked so much this weekend my feet hurt!

Happy Birthday, Mom and Dad! Love y'all!

xo