Happy Weekend!

Oh my little blog, how I’ve missed you. I have been most occupied. There have been many sips, some steps and lots of Pooh in my life as of late. Let me explain.

As some of you dear readers may know, I am helping the folks at Waterfront Market (namely Alexandria’s honorary mayor, owner Jody Manor and his gal Friday, the genius Rashmi Pappu- an artist/photographer moonlighting as a restaurant maven) with their wine list. It couldn’t be more fun. We are stocking the shelves with artfully crafted, terroir-driven wines, it’s such a dream. We’ve got a rosé sparkler from Michigan (yes, you read that right), a killer Chenin Blanc from South Africa and a kick-butt Chinon from the Loire Valley. I’m so proud of our selection, we are working with some wonderful importers and I’m also really proud of our pricing. It’s a little bit of a secret for now, but the word will soon be out that Waterfront’s got some of the quirkiest and most interesting wines around with some seriously excellent pricing. We are in it for the locals- come and get your juice at the Pier. If you live near Old Town Alexandria- go go go. We just put that crazy delicious pink bubbly from Michigan on our shelves. So back to the sips… we’ve been taking lots of them in the quest to develop the wine program. Working with Rashmi has been a blast, it’s a good day when you’re genuinely exhausted from tasting too much wine. And yes, that is possible.

To the steps- I have laced up my character shoes and jumped back on the choreography train, folks. After a few years on the down low with my little ones, I am newly motivated to get back into the theater. I’ll be the associate choreographer on Signature’s “Cabaret” this coming season and have lots of new fun things in the works. Honestly, it’s just great to be back in the theater and in the rehearsal studio again (my favorite part). My body doesn’t quite bounce back the way it once did after a day’s work- oh aging, aren’t you fun- but it’s good stuff and I’m so psyched to be breaking out my jazz hands.

And Pooh, dear Pooh. My kiddos are in love with that Winnie, they cannot get enough. They love watching his Many Adventures and I have to say, I’m ok with it. I would much rather be watching Pooh and Piglet cavort around the Hundred Acre Wood than jump around with those crazy Gabba Gabba whatever-they-are. My mother-in-law used to read the A.A. Milne stories aloud to her fellow showgirls in the “Call Me Madam” Broadway dressing room in  the 1950s, how times have changed, so there’s something so sweet and sentimental about my kiddos’ newfound love for Pooh.

Happy Weekend to you all. I hope you are off to some fun adventures. We are headed to the beach (yay!) with some friends, one of them being my talented friend Jess Hartman. We just went to her opening night of Smokey Joe’s Cafe here at Arena in DC last night and folks, it’s awesome. Big congrats to her and the cast. The last 6 or 7 numbers of the show are like going to church. If you want to hear some serious singing (these people are not kidding around) and toe tapping tunes, hit this show up. Back to the weekend at hand- it’s supposed to rain but I’m ok with that, I rather like being holed up with friends and family in a cozy beach cottage. Sounds like heaven to me. What’s not so heavenly- packing with toddlers. Seriously, it’s like preparing for a friggin’ moon launch. What gives with all this gear!

A few things from above that look yummy and inspired:

1. A Sparkling Grapefruit Sage Mimosa. Yum. I spied this juicy image floating around Pinterest with no recipe to speak of, so here’s my version:
1. Fill your cup 3/4 full with sparkling wine or champagne
2. Add a splash of grapefruit juice
3. Garnish with a wedge of fresh grapefruit and a sprig of sage
Voilá. My new favorite drink (other than a great glass of vino of course).

2. An Oversized Beachy Striped Tote. It’s $59 and it goes with everything. Done.

3. Lemon-Dijon Chicken Salad Sandwiches. Come on, how cute are these things- look at them all wrapped up. Truthfully I don’t even like chicken salad but that Anna Watson Carl makes everything delicious and she’s making these like the Frenchies do- sans mayonnaise. Yum. I’m looking forward to making and packing these little beauties up at the beach this weekend.

4. Because who doesn’t love these two in the air with jazz hands to boot. Pure happiness.

5. Fig Tartlets. Shhh. Don’t speak. Enough said, I’m sold and making these stat.

What I’m Drinking: 

That Sparkling Mimosa above and some delicious Italian rosé. This one in particular from our Waterfront selection, it’s crazy good.
Here’s What I Get:

Get it here if you don’t live in my neck of the woods.

And A Few More Things:

This little Italian movie may be the greatest road movie ever made. On the list.

This one’s on the list too. A Year In Burgundy- I can never get enough good wine docs. Cue the Amazon instant video.

There’s a butt selfie queen? Oy.

How Monica Lewinsky Changed the Media. 

That’s all. A Happy Mother’s Day to you all. Cin Cin and Enjoy.

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