celebration station

Neha and I at her birthday party on a rooftop in the shadows of the FBI building. So very "DC"

Sophie's and my birthday party at Churchkey

Last night was full of birthday festivities. I think over 50% of my friends and family have birthdays in May, so it's always a month full of celebration. We kicked off yesterday with a joint birthday party for Sophie and I in the afternoon at Churchkey, a local beer-tastic bar in the popular 14th Street corridor. Although we didn't come up with a hilariously embarrassing theme like the 30th birthday party across the bar from us, we still had a great time, and I left reminded of how lucky I am to have such amazing friends. 


Later in the evening, I went to a joint birthday party for my coworker/friend Neha, and one of her close friends. Their party was on the roof of her friend's building, which just so happens to call the FBI its neighbor. So while that top photo is too dark to see the details well, trust me, we were a stone's through from the Bureau's headquarters. Not that any stone we could have thrown would have done any damage. The whole upper part of the building is ensconced in weird tan colored netting. Very odd. It was a gorgeous night for rooftop celebrations, and the whole experience seemed very DC. The fact that I could then walk home just made it even better. 


So today I've done a lot of little projects, like cleaning my room, painting a bench, and snapping all sorts of "in progress" photos to follow up on "before" shots I shared a couple weeks ago, even though I'm still sleepy from yesterday's adventures. Despite the lingering tiredness, I forced myself to venture in to the LKTC and concoct a real dinner.     

I know, it's nothing fancy at all. No recipe involved, even. I tend to be pretty hard on myself for nights when I make the non-fancy stuff. I feel like I should always be trying out something new and complicated. But, there are just nights where the motivation and/or time isn't there, and I need to remind myself that on those nights, something simple is better than something fried and sold in a bar. 

So tonight, instead of eating my second bowl of ramen noodles or ordering take out, I sautéed olive oil, onions, garlic, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, and then poured in crushed tomatoes. I separately boiled my go-to veggie (peas) and this new Barilla pasta, which is tee tiny, and apparently infused with a full serving of veggies in each 100g portion. I was more enamored with the size of the mini wagon wheels than the advertised health perks, but, it was a nice bonus. For as often as I consume some form of pasta, it's good to know I can procure a slightly more nutritious variety at the grocery down the street.

I think, by the way, that it's pretty funny that in the span of a couple hours, I can get equally excited about child-sized pasta and 99 cent furniture paint. I think I'm simultaneously resisting turning a year older in a week and giving in to the fact that I'm a boring old lady who snaps up clearance paint for her new apartment. I suppose there are worse ways to kick off my birthday week... (yes, week).