Wuzzie

Wuzzie is a social guy who is always up for a fun night out. This past weekend he headed over to Sequoia for Dancing After Dark, a fundraiser for the Children’s National Medical Center. He had a great time socializing and dancing; he had been a bit concerned when he heard the event had a band, but luckily this one occasionally deviated from the usual wedding music repertoire. He also enjoyed the deejay that played while the band was on break, that is until he started with the Miley Cyrus. Wuzzie does love his cheesy pop, but one must draw the line somewhere. He was not too impressed with the wine and bubbly (nothing quite like a $4 bottle of Andre), but he enjoyed the gingersnap cocktail, and couldn’t resist the various desserts.


After a night of dancing Wuzzie treated himself to a nice lie-in, but eventually motivated to stop by some open houses in Georgetown. He and his friends are rapidly outgrowing their current home, and are on the hunt for something larger…fireplace and outdoor space required. Of course no trip to Georgetown would be complete without stopping at Thomas Sweet, home to the best peanut butter frozen yogurt (he also recommends the Oreo yogurt for the crazy few who do not like peanut butter).


While Monday is generally a quiet night for Wuzzie, he couldn’t miss out on the latest Pink Line Project Salon Contra, with local collector Henry Thaggert interviewing artist Brian Jungen. The discussion was interesting, and there were treats (and wine) to be had – The Museum of the American Indian, where Jungen currently has a show, sent over some yummy food from its cafeteria (he loved the pumpkin cookies).


Wuzzie enjoyed the evening so much that he found himself swinging from the chandeliers! Sometimes he just can’t control himself.

Big A

Big A is a social guy who loves nothing more than scheduling gossip dates with friends, whether over lunch (something light so he has room for a treat later in the day), coffee (always an Americano) or cocktails (bubbly is his beverage of choice, but he’s also happy with a glass of good red). This past week was a particularly social one for Big A, and he was able to catch up with various friends he hadn’t seen since the holidays. He heard all about a friend’s Canadian Christmas at the Caribou Coffee down the street from National Geographic, and caught up on a friend’s wedding plans and other fun going-ons at the Penn Quarter Teaism.


Big A also met up with a friend for lunch at the National Gallery (barely making it in time as he got distracted by a friendly game of chess on the way there). He loves dining in the National Gallery’s Refectory, which has great views of the city, tasty food, and an inviting bowl of M&Ms by the register (every meal must end with a sweet after all). Sadly he did not have time to wander the galleries, so he hopes to visit again soon, perhaps this time dining at the Garden Café, which currently has a French menu designed by chef Michel Richard in honor of the soon to open exhibition From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection.


Big A’s most decadent gossip date was at ACKC, a cocoa bar café and chocolate shop where there are just so many treats to be had. The store was stocked up on Valentine’s Day goodies (Big A thinks the day is quite silly, but he is happy for any excuse to indulge in chocolate). As he perused the different displays he thought about getting something sweet to take home, that is until he came across the chocolate thong, which rather spoiled his appetite.

Magic

Magic likes to escape the city on long weekends, so he decided to head to Fawn Lake for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. His main plans for the weekend were rest and relaxation, but of course he couldn’t go all that way without hitting Old Town Fredericksburg and Central Park for some shopping (and treats). He first went to Fredericksburg, where he poked around the antiques shops, purchased a fun bag at Legacy Distinctive Home Accents (he recommends the store for gifts), and admired the Valentine’s tree in The Griffin Bookshop and Coffee Shop (no reason to throw out the tree just because Christmas is over).


All the shopping made him hungry, so he stopped for lunch at Las Palmas Café, a Puerto Rican restaurant. He enjoyed his meal, but sadly they were out of tres leches, his favorite cake.


After supporting the town’s local businesses Magic decided it was time to hit the big chains (what can he say, he likes his big-box stores). His first stop was Walmart, where he stocked up on household essentials, followed by a trip to the Spotsylvania Towne Center. He wasn’t really in the mood to deal with the crowd at the mall, but was happy to hit Costco, where he satisfied his sweet tooth with frozen yogurt (of utmost importance as he had been denied his cake).


Otherwise, Magic spent the majority of the weekend enjoying elegant home cooked meals and lazing in front of the fireplace, cognac in hand. Good thing it’s only four weeks until the next long weekend!

Walt

Walt is not always the greatest fan of DC – there are way too many politicians, the weather is terrible (as is the Metro) and the city’s rats are the largest he’s ever seen. He is, however, appreciative of the city's diverse cultural offerings, which he thoroughly enjoys and organizes his social life around. On Wednesday Walt went to the Austrian Cultural Forum for the opening of the exhibition Vienna Café 1900. While he wasn’t overly excited by the show, he did enjoy the talk “The Viennese Café and the Social Life of the City,” as well as the piano and oboe concert by Duo Savage. The evening left him dreaming of Vienna (and its cakes), as it’s been much too long since his last visit.

Thursday night Walt stopped by the Art Museum of the Americas to hear Rafael Lozano Hemmer discuss his various projects. The artist was a great speaker, and Wally thoroughly enjoyed the talk. Hemmer’s Vectorial Elevation will light up the Vancouver night sky during the 2010 Winter Olympics, and while the public installation has been previously displayed in numerous cities, this is the first time it will be done over water. One has to go to Vancouver to see the exhibition, however anybody can design how the 10,000-watt lights move from the comfort of his/her home by accessing the project’s website - a personalized webpage will be automatically created for each participant to document his/her design. Walt is looking forward to creating his design, and urges everybody to participate.


Unfortunately Walt had to leave before the Q&A session began, as he had committed to attending a kick-off party for the L’Enfant Society. The L’Enfant Society is a group of young professionals who support the Trust for the National Mall in its mission to raise funds to restore the Mall. Walt enjoyed catching up with friends at K Street Lounge, and was easily convinced to join the group. What can he say, there’s nothing like expanding one’s opportunities to socialize for a good cause!

Kookette

Kookette knows that sometimes the most fun evenings turn out to be those when one hadn’t planned on doing much at all. Feeling the need for some post-holiday detox, she had envisioned a quiet weekend in, with evenings spent in front of a roaring fire. Her only Saturday night plan was to quickly stop by a reception at Irvine Contemporary. The gallery’s current show features Kerry Skarbakka’s The Struggle to Right Oneself, an ongoing photography project in which he stages himself in scenes of losing balance and control, and Sebastian Martorana’s Uncommissioned Memorials, a series of marble sculptures focusing on themes like everyday objects and memory and memoralization.


Kookette had such a grand time checking out the art and catching up with friends she hadn’t seen since the holidays that she completely lost track of time. She knew the chance of her having a well-behaved evening in was slim when the magnum of bubbly appeared (albeit Cristalino, but if it has bubbles and isn’t Asti Spumante she’ll drink it. And if she’s really desperate she might even drink Asti). It didn’t take much to convince Kookette to head to the after-party at Eatonville. She was anything but impressed with the restaurant’s service – not only was the (rather large) party's reserved table not anywhere near ready, but a waiter kicked her and some friends out of one of the empty tables at the bar. Kookette never made it to the dinner table, but had a fabulous time hanging out at the bar (she was allowed to sit on the stools) drinking cocktails and nibbling on rather tasty three cheese mac and cheese and Cajun fries. She was not particularly proud of herself for ending up at McDonald's at 2am, but their fries are good too, and at least there she and her friends had a table. And, of course, there’s always tomorrow for detoxing!

Backpack

Like Cliff, Backpack happily escaped the cold to welcome in the New Year in sunny Southern California. However, as his travel usually involves heading to another country he felt slightly confused upon finding himself still in the United States after a long flight on a United 777 (his airplane of choice to Europe). To remedy the situation Backpack decided to look for the foreign in Los Angeles.


His first stop was Olvera Street, the birthplace of the city of Los Angeles. He took the Metro Gold Line from Pasadena to Union Station (contrary to popular belief there is public transportation in the LA area…and some people even walk), and crossed the street into a bit of Mexico in LA.


Backpack wandered around the colorful marketplace and plaza, and took a peek inside Avila Adobe, the oldest house in Los Angeles. The sight of all the Mexican food made him rather hungry, but as the restaurants were crowded he decided to wait and indulge in Mexican food at Señor Fish, just a short walk from where he was staying in Pasadena. He greatly enjoyed his big glass of horchata and a very yummy vegetarian sope (he has yet to find a decent sope in DC…if anybody knows of a place please let him know!).


Having gotten his taste of Mexico, Backpack decided to take further advantage of the city’s diversity and get in some German culture. He thus made his way to the Alpine Village in Torrance, where he wandered the shops in search of German Christmas decorations and accessories.


Of course the highlight of any trip to the Alpine Village is the grocery store, which is stocked with German treats and has a great bakery. Backpack tried to be good, but couldn’t resist a fresh poppy seed Kranz, which he devoured rather quickly. What can he say, he likes his carbs, and calories don’t count on vacation anyway.

Cliff

Cliff is always sad when the holiday season comes to an end. One of the things he dislikes most is taking down his festive Christmas decorations, which he typically does on Epiphany. Because he finds the décor so cheery he thought about keeping it up until Candlemas, but knows that would just be putting off the inevitable. What he does not understand, however, are the many neighbors who take down their trees the day after Christmas (apparently they are not familiar with the twelve days of).


Cliff had a wonderful holiday season, which included celebrating the New Year with friends in Pasadena. He arrived the evening of the 31st to lovely weather, a Mexican feast and lots of bubbly (he was particularly fond of the Henriot Souverain Brut). His friends’ home was filled with beautiful Christmas decorations, and there was still plenty of festive holiday spirit to be found.


He enjoyed waddling the streets of Old Town Pasadena, where he shopped the sales and admired the Christmas tree covered in shiny gold and red ornaments. And of course no trip to Old Town would be complete without indulging in frozen yogurt from 21 Choices.


During his trip Cliff was also able to partake in the 35th birthday celebration of one of his hosts. They marked the occasion with dinner (and a drink or two) at The Parkway Grill, a restaurant specializing in Regional American cuisine. Of course Cliff, never one to resist a good breadbasket (especially when filled with tasty cheese breadsticks and fig-studded bread), was full by the time his meal arrived.


Cliff had a wonderful visit with his friends, and was sad to return to a rather chilly Washington. But, at least he can console himself with the knowledge that in less than 11 months he can start thinking about Christmas again!