Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Tuesday Morning Music

I know I haven't really posted much about this summer -- and I've really wanted to write about Solid Sound Festival. But, as you can see from my etsy shop, I've been awfully busy making weird art (yay me). So watching Jeff Tweedy perform this amazing acoustic version of Spiders will just have to do until I have some downtime. Which is highly unlikely.

(Many thanks to NoMorePoety for posting this video on YouTube!)

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Hmmm. The dawning of a new era. For me.

Those of you who have known me or followed my blog for any time (and many thanks to the five of you I know about!) know that I love to take photos -- lots of them. I've always been proud of being able to get really great results with a point & shoot camera. Well, those days are over*. I have finally traded up to the big leagues. I looked for a long time. I got advice from all sorts of sources.

I am so happy with my Canon T1i. Thanks to my sweet, patient, understanding, wonderful husband.

(Who am I kidding? I'm still going to carry my trusty Canon PowerShot SD900 and my beloved iPhone, but you know what I'm saying.)

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

I'm totally becoming my mother.

I really want those glasses. And the dress, which she made.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

I have found a new love and we're going to be very happy together.

(Yes, yes, I know. It's been a few months -- all summer, really -- and I have a lot to tell you about. And I will in another post. I promise. The reunion was fine. Solid Sound Festival was amazing. School is off to a rollicking start. I'll do all that next week, but I need to get this off my chest now.)
If you know me very well (or at all), you know that I have something of an obsession with espresso. Remember when my last little humble machine died? The tears? The move to the moka? For you old-timers, the month of cappuccino experiments? Good times, good times.
When we moved from San Francisco to DC, one of the most difficult things was trying to find good coffee beans. Luckily, at that time, we lived right across from a Quartermaine. But then Starbucks moved in and Quartermaine closed the store and...well. Sigh. But then Peet's started their delivery program and all was right again with my world -- I could have good California coffee at home. And Trader Joe's moved into the DC area. No need to move back to California. Phew.
I've been pretty faithful to Peet's over the years. My three-pound boxes from Peet's come every month, and one of my favorite things in the world is opening that box and burying my face in its caffeinated bags. Happy. Happy. Happy. Of course I've ordered many a iced venti americano, extra shot, no room at Starbucks (who doesn't?) but I've kept true. I've heard about the local coffee scene (Murky and the rest), but I have been true to Peet's.
Until this summer, that is. First, it was intelligentsia at Solid Sound. The best espresso I'd ever had in my life. Fantastic. Amazing. Charles thought it was a little strong. Not me. Life affirming, that's what I say. Life. Affirming. I was an addict. Can't even count how many shots (and iced coffees) I had over the two days that intelligentsia was open. I even kept my last little paper cup. And I nearly shed a tear when the barrista poured the last of the coffee down the drain as the festival closed. He understood. He talked me down. (Actually, in retrospect, that was a little embarrassing.) We came back home. I made my iced espresso with Peet's and it was...okay. But I'd tasted something more. The bloom? Off the rose.
And then yesterday, I found my new love. Peregrine Espresso. I'd read a lot about Peregrine and was jealous of my hipster friends who actually get to visit espresso bars (two kids ruin my cred). But with the onset of the school year... We went for a late brunch (and homemade poptarts) at Ted's Bulletin on H Street, NW. Then we walked up Pennsylvania Avenue and, after a little searching, found my new home. The staff at Peregrine is very knowledgeable and extremely nice. The barristas are fantastic. I had an amazing shot of their Apollo. We came home with a pound of that and a pound of Espresso Aficionado. I've made the Aficionado as straight shots and as an iced americano now, and I couldn't be more pleased. Really. It is that good.
I just thought you might like to know. Also? I'm having an iced americano and a couple of squares of a Hershey's bar for breakfast. I'm nutritionally complete.
660 Pennsylvania Ave SE Washington DC 20003
t.202-629-4381f.202-747-5861
Hours Mon-Sat. 7am-9pm Sun. 8am-8pm (We should go for an espresso.)