M.I.B.A.- Missing in Blog Action

I know I've been incognegro lately, FOR SHAME!

But I've been super busy:

I had a time consuming (though non-challenging) project due at work last week

I had statistics tutoring

I had to drive my sister to freakin' Dulles Airport
[which is a solid hour plus away in bumble fuck Northern Va--and she's in Italy for two weeks, heifer!]

I HAD to watch the Grey's Anatomy 2 hours season finale 

[which was the most riveting and suspenseful 2 hours of TV I think I've ever seen OMG!]

I had to go to my cousin's college graduation
[yet another college grad in the fam, congrats Uche!] 

 

 I spent this past weekend in DC with Hillary and Alihah

[I know I'm supposed to be saving every penny I can for Spain & Morocco , but I couldn't spend another weekend indoors--I just couldn't!]

I spent waaaaay too much money. But it was totally worth it!

I HAD to put my cover letter and resume together for the perfect job(s) at the perfect place with the perfect contacts 

[fingers crossed & on my knees in prayer!]

and there was plenty of vacation planning, eating, boozing and laziness (not pictured) in between...

Its not just MY blog that I've been neglecting, I've barely I had time to keep up with my favorite bloggers or read that stack of health policy articles on my table and those unopened emails from the Kaiser Family Foundation.  Again, I ask myself how can I possibly be so busy when I don't have a house, a husband, or a crumb snatcher child to care for, and beg to know how the fuck I'm supposed to keep my life in order when I do, but I digress [as usual].

Soap Box Wednesday is coming up tomorrow and as usual I have no idea what it will be about. I love a challenge...

I've been slacking on the whole "read/rant" part of this blog, I'm hoping to get a health policy related post up before week's end--no promises though!

So that's where the hell I've been, sorry for the absence, but its bound to happen from time to time. What have y'all been up to lately? What are your plans for the summer?

Eat, Drink, Miss the Train, & Be Merry!

Birthdays are always an interesting experience for me. Always. Sometimes they're bad interesting--like when my dog died 4 days before my birthday then my great grandmother died the week after. Sometimes they're outrageous, like the year I celebrated in NYC and this guy bit me on my shoulder [no bullshit!]--but I still had a GREAT time! This year's birthday experience was no different, as it had its share of dramatic events. But regardless of those events, my birthday overwhelmingly AWESOME. Thank you to all my family, friends, and random strangers/potential new friends who made it one I'll always remember :-)

Remember my networking event? It was great! I made some great connections, met some new potential friends, [which as you may know is really hard to do once you get out of school], and shamelessly flirted from time to time [remember there were drink specials...]

Alihah and I had such a great time, in fact, that we left the venue later than we should've, got caught up tax day post office traffic, and I missed the last train out of DC! Alihah had to drive me all the way back to bmore, then turn around and go back to Arlington--[that's what friends are foooor!]--and somehow we both made it into work the next day!

Friday, I found out I got my first blog award! Maddy from The Maddy Chronicles has bestowed upon me a Best Blogger Award! I am beaming from ear to ear! Thank You Maddy!! :-D

I'd like to thank the academy...(insert inappropriate Kathy Griffin style joke here) [I'm sorry Jesus, you know I love you, but it was funny!]

Saturday was my Birthday Dinner. Normally, I have gone to some club and drank/danced the night away--with mixed results.  This year, I wanted something low key and easy to execute, not because I'm getting old, but because I'm not finished paying for my expensive ass amazing awesomely fantastic vacation. And I'd rather not resort to go-go dancing at the local gay bar in order to do so...then again some extra cash is always a good thing when I'm in Europe...but I digress...

Dress Reveal...

Just because I was only having a dinner didn't mean I couldn't dress to drop jaws, lol...
I owe a big THANK YOU to Jonesy over at The Bliss List for putting me on to www.asos.com where I got this dress for a price that was almost too good be true!

we laughed...
OK...it turns out I don't have any great pics of us laughing...but I know somebody does











we drank...

we ate...

Tapas is one of my favorite dining experiences: small plates and lots of choices. We dined at Pazo, which in my opinion is the swankiest eatery in Baltimore.  Its a huge converted warehouse space, the food is always on point, and the drinks will get ya drunk! Its one of the few places in Baltimore to see and be seen in. I recommend the veal and pork empanadas and the scallion bruschetta with goat cheese!

We drank some more

We laughed and ate a lot more...

a good time was had by all!

So I thought that 2X was going to be "my year." Well life didn't work out the way I thought it would [big surprise] but I was still a good year, I learned a LOT about myself, and all that jazz...

Well, I'm a year older, certainly a year wiser, and I can't wait to see what 2x+1 will bring...

It's my Birthday and I'll Network if I want to!

Today is my Birthday!! And to celebrate my 2X years on the planet, I'm going to drag my tired ass on down to the District for a professional networking event. Yes, I'm focused man!

Why am I so tired, you ask?

Because I was up till 2am, cleaning my apartment in preparation for this weekend. And I was curling my hair, so I could get be all gussied up for today, because I refuse to walk around on my birthday looking like "who shot John!"

but it was worth it!

Did I mention that there will be drink specials and that Alihah will be be meeting me at this event??

SURE I'm going to this event with every INTENTION of chatting it up with local young professionals, getting my name out there, exchanging business cards, discussing the topic of whichever health policy article I print and read on the train today, you know, the whole shabang.

But there are supposedly over 400 young "professionals" attending this event--which means there will no doubt be lots of drinking. So I won't be the least bit surprised if my night sounds something like this after the first hour:

"Hi my name iz (Bern)Nadette, nize to meet youu....."I work at DHMH...aka a festering hell hole....sure herez my carrd.....you work where??... If you can get me an interview, I'll be your bestie....I'll have another Jack n ginger pleez"

OK, that really won't happen [scout's honor! oh wait, only eat girl scout cookies, I don't know shit about scout's honor] but honestly, if I end up just enjoying the drinks more than the networking, its all good, cuz I Alihah will be with me and ITS MY BIRTHDAY BITCHES!

Le Pain Quotidien

Translation: The Daily Bread

After yet another fabulous Saturday night at my all time favorite watering hole in DC, Marvin, the next day I was in much need of good food and coffee. Thanks to my dear friend Alihah, who all too happily enables my food snobbery, I experienced this little slice of Paris on a beautiful, first Sunday of Spring.  Don't get me wrong, NOTHING compares to the real deal--NOTHING. But the last (and first) time I was in Paris, it was January and constantly overcast.  So imagine my delight on a glorious Sunday morning afternoon, to discover this organic, authentic Parisian jewel in the middle of Arlington, Va, aka the most suburban town in America.

 

Seriously one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had. Starbucks, you need to get your life together!

Alihah's Café au lait.  

Basil Pesto & Parmesan Omelette.

I almost got the goat cheese and asparagus omelette, but since I always get "the one with goat cheese" I decided to expand my horizons. Well consider my horizons expound, this omelette was "Slap Yo' Mamma" good!  The pesto was rich with fresh basil and light garlicy flavor, the parmesan was nutty and salty, and the eggs were fluffy* perfection.  It was an orgasmic experience. Really. The organic mesclun salad had the perfect amount of vinegarette, which was light and acidic, but not overpowering. 

This, my friends, is what a real** baguette should look like.  A thick and crunchy, hearth baked crust, with a deliciously porous and chewy inside. The spread options included a hazelnut praline "Brunette" spread (pictured) a 4-redberry jam, and apricot jam. All were delicious, but c'mon does anything stand a chance to hazelnut praline?

[in case you were wondering, the answer is "hellz naw"]

Rather than wait the twenty minutes for an outdoor table, we decided to dine inside and were seated next to the pantry which was full of a variety of tasty (and pricey) spreads. I'm convinced that this was no accident, and that the hostess knew that I cannot resist the allure of gourmet spreads.  I was strong enough to resist on Sunday [mostly because I'm low on spending money], but one day soon, I'm going back there to spend $10 on that brunette spread. And probably more stuff too, because let's be real, I'm not just going to buy 1 jar of spread.

*The fluffiness of organic eggs cannot be denied, they were like little clouds of joy. Next pay raise, I'm making that switch!

**Once you have an authentic baguette, you'll be pissed at those sticks of white bread they call baguettes in the grocery store, which are utter trash and why I shamelessly drench them in butter and olive oil . its the only way to make them edible.

 *~The Perfect Sunday Brunch~*