Brownie

Even though Brownie has a mild fear of flying he loves to travel, and always makes certain to have a foreign getaway booked for the near future. One of his favorite places to jet off to is London, where he used to live and where he has lots of good friends. Although there are certain spots he always tries to get to when in town, the majority of his time is spent catching up with people, generally over a glass of wine and/or a tasty treat or two.


This past trip involved numerous gossip dates, ranging in location from the British Museum courtyard café (better for people watching than for treats) to Le Pain Quotidien (he can’t get enough of the Blondie spread) to Leon (he loves the sweet potato falafel but stuck with wine on this occasion) to the May Fair Hotel bar (the incredibly over the top restrooms left more of an impression than the cocktails).


Brownie’s recent trip also coincided with a friend’s housewarming party. Because he loves getting ready for a party almost as much as he likes attending a good party, he was more than happy to help with the preparations. After a day spent chopping, cooking and arranging he was rewarded with an evening of treats, bubbly, good conversation and activities such as gnome bowling. He thoroughly enjoyed the latter and had hoped to take a set home with him, but sadly none were left in the stores.


If time allows (which it did on this visit) Brownie likes to hit Borough Market, where he enjoys nibbling on various samples and picking up lovely cheeses, baked goods and other assorted goodies. The surrounding area is also home to numerous hidden treasures; while wandering around he stumbled upon the Union Street Urban Orchard, which he thought was most charming. He also stopped by Jerwood Space to check out Locate, an exhibition of three artist commissions addressing the concept of ‘site’.


Of course it wouldn’t be a trip to London without a day of shopping, and Brownie was able to squeeze one in on his last full day in town. But first, to ensure that he would have the energy to tackle Oxford Street, he stopped by one of his new favorite London spots, Cocomaya Fine Chocolatier and Artisan Baker.


The café is less than a year old and serves incredibly tasty coffee, as well as lovely sweets and chocolate. Furthermore, Brownie loves the ambiance, with its fun décor that ranges from a giant pelican on the wall to cabinets filled with Toby jugs and other fun antiques available for purchase (he would have liked to start his shopping there, but wisely realized any purchase would not likely make it back in one piece).


As always the trip went by much too quickly, and before he knew it he was back in Washington. Luckily there is no need for Brownie to be sad, as he knows it won’t be long until his next trip!

Shamu

Shamu is a lover of all things Latin American (he’s especially partial to things Mexican). One of his favorite places in Washington is the beautiful Art Museum of the Americas, and this past Thursday he attended its first Art After Dark, thrown by the board of the museum’s Friends group. The festive event featured, amongst other things, video and performance art (participants included the artist Carolina Mayorga), an Argentine percussionist and music by DJ Smudge. Shamu thoroughly enjoyed the cultural offerings as well as the socializing, although he might have had a glass (or two) of wine too many (especially on an empty stomach). As a result Friday was not the most productive of days, but Shamu believes there is nothing wrong with sacrificing productivity in the name of a good night out, and he is very much looking forward to attending the September 15 opening festivities of the museum’s upcoming exhibitions, Argentina in Focus: Visualizing the Concept, and Emilia Gutiérrez, Drawings and Paintings.


Shamu was very happy that the long weekend brought with it much more civilized weather, and he was keen to get out and about. Saturday he took a trip to Kensington, Maryland, to check out the antique shops. He didn’t have much luck with furniture (what he really needs), although he did find some fabulous penguin pins (he knows the importance of good accessorizing) at the very fun shop Flotsam and Jetsam. After the shopping excursion he went in search of a Dairy Queen, and while he found one he was disappointed to learn that it didn’t serve peanut butter sundaes. Luckily the strip mall it was located in offered him other choices, so he instead opted for a tamal de elote at the rather amusing Tijuana Mexican Café, followed by a slice of tres leches from the bakery next door.


Shamu spent the evening with a few friends in his tiny, but very charming (if he may say so) backyard, enjoying bubbly, wine, various treats and his friend’s delicious pineapple upside down cake (something he had never tried before but will happily eat again). They gossiped late into the night, so Shamu decided a lazy Sunday was in order. He did, however, find the energy to head to Georgetown for the divine peanut butter frozen yogurt at Thomas Sweet.


He enjoyed his treat while reading Washington Life’s 2010 Balls and Galas Directly and pondering his social schedule for the upcoming months. He needs to be prepared as he certainly wouldn’t want to miss a good party.

Shivers

Last week Shivers went to visit family in Ann Arbor. Although he would normally fly to Michigan, because he waited too long to get decent priced plane tickets he ended up going by car. He was not, however, ready to face the nine hour drive in one day, so he decided to break up the journey, first with a stop at Dairy Queen (of course), and then for the night in glorious Boardman-Poland, Ohio. After checking out local cultural sites such as the Big K and Walmart, he decided it was time for dinner. Shivers first went in search of his meal’s most important element (wine, naturally), and was very pleased to discover Vintage Estate Wine and Beer, which has a rather impressive selection of wine and beer (over 800 craft beers and 1000 wine labels, from which Shivers chose a rather tasty Malbec). He was craving pizza with his wine, so after driving around aimlessly for what seemed like ages due to his grumbling stomach, he stumbled across a non chain pizza parlor, Inner Circle, where he was most impressed to find a penguin on the wall.


Shivers set out early(ish) the next morning (surprisingly he wasn’t tempted to linger at the Fairfield Inn’s breakfast buffet, which included such delicacies as Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage sandwiches), so he had time to make a brief stop in Blissfield, Michigan to do some antique shopping. He wasn’t overly impressed by the selection (much of it more thrift store than antique shop), but the shopper that he is he didn’t leave empty handed (and even found some new penguin friends). Sadly there was no Dairy Queen nearby, so he had to make due with a peanut butter cup McFlurry (luckily Shivers is a glass half full kind of guy, well equipped to deal with life’s disappointments).


26 hours after setting off Shivers finally made it to Ann Arbor, where he spent most of the weekend hanging out, eating and drinking too much. He did manage to leave the house on a few occasions, to go shopping and to spend an afternoon at a nearby lake.


He also helped his niece celebrate her fifth birthday – he loved all the arts and crafts at her party, but without a doubt his favorite activity was the cupcake decorating (Shivers was rather proud of his creation).


Before he knew it the weekend was over, and it was time to drive back to Washington. There was no time for excursions on the way home, except of course the all important Dairy Queen stop. As usual he looked for a new Dairy Queen to try, and stumbled across what might just be the most amusing one he’s been to yet, in Donegal, Pennsylvania.


The establishment sported a ski lodge look, complete with fireplace and local wildlife (which was probably much happier in its pre-DQ days). After what seemed like a never ending day on the road Shivers found himself back in DC, just in time to enjoy a new episode of Inspector Lewis (thank you PBS).

Bella

Although Bella is a city girl at heart, after a busy week that, with the exception of the Textile Museum’s Mod Madness party, was all work and no play, she was in the mood to escape the hustle and bustle of DC. She thus decided to head to Fawn Lake to visit family and enjoy some peace, quiet and fresh air. Unfortunately the heavy traffic meant the drive there was far from stress free, but a glass of wine and yummy food was waiting for her upon arrival, and the trip down was soon forgotten.


Bella loves to go shopping, so Saturday she headed into Fredericksburg to hit the antique shops. Before starting the search for furniture for her new home she fueled up with a very tasty iced coffee from Hyperion Espresso (always important to caffeinate). Bella saw lots of things she liked (including some fabulous vintage clothing and jewelry) but managed to stick to what she needed and not go overboard with her purchases; she picked up two lyre side tables and a bench for her penguin friends. After shopping she grabbed a bite at Sammy T’s. While far from the best restaurant she’s ever been to, Bella was impressed that a substantial number of its offerings are vegetarian or vegan, meaning that she actually had more than a bad salad and/or pasta dish to choose from. Of course she didn’t eat too much because she had to save room for a peanut butter sundae from Dairy Queen. The weekend would not be complete without one…



Bella enjoyed a relaxing evening of cocktails and treats on the deck, and a lazy Sunday morning. Sadly, before she knew it, it was time to head back to DC. She did of course have to stop and run some errands, as she likes to take advantage of the Fredericksburg Costco, which is much less crazy than the one in Pentagon City (naturally she also had a frozen treat).


And no trip to the area would be complete without stopping at Wegmans to pick up numerous goodies. The weekend may be over, but Bella can take comfort in the fact that she is well stocked with treats to get her through the week!

John and Lewis

John and Lewis are identical twins who can always be found side by side. This does not, however, mean they are one and the same; each has his own distinct personality and tastes. For instance, John has a love of things salty, and when they go to Dairy Queen he is all about the French fries.


Lewis, on the other hand, has quite the sweet tooth, and is all about the frozen treats (he just tried the August Blizzard of the month, the Oreo Brownie Earthquake, and thought it was rather tasty).


John and Lewis do have similar tastes when it comes to their socializing, and like many of their penguin friends they gravitate towards activities that combine culture and cocktails. They recently attended a DC Preservation League event at Heurich House, built by Christian Heurich, a German immigrant and brewer.


While the home itself is in need of some restoration, it is filled with fabulous over the top Victorian furniture, which John and Lewis wished they could take home with them to furnish their own Victorian abode. They particularly liked the fabulous grotesque chairs in what was Mr. Heurich’s drinking room (known at the world’s oldest brewer, he lived until 102, so all of that drinking obviously did him good).


Like Mr. Heurich must have, John and Lewis enjoy their German treats, so they decided to head over to the German Gourmet for some goodies. The store is stocked with lots of chocolate, wine, baked goods, cheese and other edible delights. John and Lewis picked up various things for dinner, although they were somewhat distracted by the large display of nutcrackers and smokers, which got them thinking about their Thanksgiving getaway. John and Lewis are planning on going to Nuremberg to hit the Christmas markets, and are already counting the days (and, when it’s not too too hot at night, dreaming of Glühwein).

BB

Although the Washington social scene slows down somewhat in August, BB has no problem keeping himself amused (that is when he finds the energy to face the heat).He recently found himself at Morso for a Georgetowner party that also featured jewelry from Ann Hand. BB had a great time socializing over a few glasses of white wine, but it was much too steamy in the restaurant, which left him feeling rather sticky and disheveled. He wants to return to try Morso’s cocktails, many which feature rhubarb (yum), as well as some of the tasty looking Eastern Mediterranean treats; he’ll just have to wait until it’s somewhat cooler (or the restaurant gets its air conditioning sorted out) so that he can properly enjoy his meal.


This past weekend BB had a friend in town from New York. It had been a while since he had seen her, and the two of them caught up over multiple long gossip sessions at Teaism (his friend’s favorite restaurant in DC). They first met at the Penn Quarter location, where she had a very tasty tempeh dish and the restaurant’s always divine chocolate salty oat cookie. BB, however, resisted Teaism’s treats as he wanted to try the nearby Fro•zen•yo (something he had been meaning to do for ages). The self serve frozen yogurt shop offers 16 flavors to choose from – he filled most of his cup with peanut butter (of course), but also tried cake batter, red velvet and banana cream. He liked it so much he went to the Columbia Heights location on Sunday. This time he had lots more peanut butter, cookies n cream and luscious lemon (after peanut butter his favorite). He can’t wait for the holidays so that he can indulge in seasonal flavors like pumpkin pie and eggnog.


Lest you think BB only eats dessert, he’d like you to know that while in Columbia Heights he also tried Pete’s New Haven Style Pizza. He is always searching for good pizza (sadly a rarity in DC) and was particularly craving it as he had bumped into two friends dining outside at Sette the previous evening (unfortunately he was headed somewhere and could not join them). He enjoyed his slice at Pete's, especially the chewy crust, but must admit that he is still craving Sette (the Regina pizza). And of course more peanut butter Fro•zen•yo.

Svetka

Svetka is a fancy girl who would never consider leaving the house without looking absolutely fabulous. DC may be a conservative city, but she’s never afraid to be a bit flashy when she heads out for a night on the town. Ever so bored with all of the packing and moving that has been going on lately, she decided this past weekend that it was time to resume her social life with a good night out. And what better way to celebrate the new house than by checking out some new (at least to her) places.


Svetka began her evening at Estadio. She liked the Spanish restaurant’s décor (although not the exposed pipes…she’s getting a little bored of those) and sampled a few of their cocktails - their much talked about slushito (the quince, lemon, paprika, scotch and sherry version) and a bubbly, tequila, grapefruit and rosemary concoction. The restaurant also has a good selection of Spanish wines, although its pours are far from generous (and Svetka is all about generosity). She then headed over to ChurchKey, not particularly expecting to like a place known for its beyond expansive selection of beer (over 500). However, while much of the clientele could learn a little something about how to dress for a night out (just say no to shorts), she found the interior quite pleasing and was happy with the much more generous pours of bubbly. She also eyed the various treats being served around her (as usual it was a liquid dinner for her), and hopes to make it back soon for something solid.


Saturday (after yet another day of moving) Svetka found herself at Irvine Contemporary for the opening of Introductions 6. She loves going to the gallery both for the art and to see her fabulous friend who works there. The current exhibition is a curated MFA show highlighting a selection of artists from leading art colleges across the country. Svetka enjoyed the show, and especially liked Hedieh Javanshir Ilchi’s paintings. Too bad she needs to furnish her place before she picks up any more art.


Sunday involved yet more moving related tasks, which left Svetka very hungry and craving something sweet (of course). Just because she’s fancy doesn’t mean she’s not up for a good all American treat, and she firmly believes that nothing beats Dairy Queen (this time it was a peanut butter sundae and a strawberry golden Oreo Blizzard). While she’s never afraid to splurge on DQ, this visit she didn’t need to worry about her waistline given all of the extra calories she burned packing and moving. She might just need another treat to reward herself for all of the unpacking that’s left to do!