This blog was posted on Tuesday late evening after the internet outage at work, and Wednesday morning I received an email from a lady that works in the Women's Education & Training Division telling me how delighted she was to know there was a piano performance major working at the NRA. Her daughter was recently accepted to an internationally acclaimed conservatory in Europe for bass performance, but apparently she is also talented in piano and violin. We emailed back and forth for a bit, and I'm under strict instructions to contact her daughter to find out 1)where I can play!! and 2) where I can play for $$. I'm very excited that the going rate for subs up here is twice what it is in Spartanburg, and I'm planning to call her on it very soon! So, after saying just the other day that I really missed playing... I may have the opportunity to do so sooner than expected, AND we're supposed to meet for lunch soon so she can introduce me to all the young ladies in E&T.
It's Restaurant Week here in DC, which is an institution I wish they had in smaller cities! You have about 100 restaurants that put together a prix fixe tasting menu at a significantly reduced rate and encourage new restaurant patrons. I'm so delighted that I got to share a wonderful Restaurant Week experience with one of my "besties" Danielle (heretofore Dani)! Dani was in town to take an exam for an extremely competitive and highly regarded professional development program. The exam is the final step in the process, and we went out for dinner and wine to celebrate her making it to the final round! Below are pictures of our scrumptious main course. Let me see if I can take you on an imaginary tasting trip: We started off the meal with two appetizers. The butternut squash soup was as smooth as velvet and had just enough sweetness to make you get excited about the dessert you knew was impending. My duck confit was so tasty. It was a juicy duck leg that just peeled right off the bone, but had a crisp outer shell, and it was set atop a red cabbage slaw with pomegranate arils which added a sweet balance to the savory duck confit. Is your mouth watering yet? Those were just the appetizers. Entrees are pictured below: arctic Char and a petit filet. They were so good that Dani joined the clean plate club. I left a few veggies, but was pretty close to joining. Dessert was very good, too. The chocolate dessert was served with an EVOO ice cream, and yes, that does stand for Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It was surprisingly rich and elegant. The second dessert was a ricotta pound cake with citrus 3 ways: marmalade, orange ice cream, and blood orange mascarpone cream.
Vermilion: I HIGHLY recommend it for an evening out, and the happy hour prices are superb for this area, plus you can enjoy your food and drink in a quaint and cozy lounge with mod sofas in an antique space.
Ok, so I'm past my early bed time, which means this story will be short.Tonight at Body Step I met a girl that graduated from USC in 2008 and Aiken High in 2004. She knows Warren and Margs, and she knows a friend I went to church and high school with. How random!? I'm a little proud that she thought I was a dancer. :) I told her, no I don't dance, but I did Jazzercise for 6 months! We exchanged phone numbers, and I plan to call her next time I go out with the girls from work.
New connection, old connection, and new/old connection. I'm thankful that people come into our lives just when we need them!
