Freckled Citizen

A new day.

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Today is a very good day.

It's my three-year wedding anniversary. It's the day my favorite person and I jet off to one of our favorite cities and spend a long weekend being no one but us. It's also the day that I confess a very big thing to you, because it's finally become more tiring keeping it quiet than letting it all hang out.

Here's my baggage, thrown open for the world to see: I've been trying to get pregnant for two years.

Exhale.

Two Junes ago, T and I threw caution to the wind and decided to just see what happens. Of course, nothing did. A long journey began then instead, one much more complicated than we ever expected. All the same, the June of my memories is a month of freewheeling optimism, a month of earnest hope, a month of giddiness. It's almost June again, and so much has changed. Our world is decidedly more measured in its optimism now, our imaginations a little more contained, our hearts a little more tender. But there is hope, always.

There's also been a lot of writing over here, in my quiet moments. Some of it is sad, some of it funny, and some of it just explanatory, captured so I don't forget the details. It's been good for me. When I started writing, the only audience I had in mind was someone besides you guys. The person writing wasn't the me you all know. She's a little more wry, a little more bitter, a little more beaten up. She has something big in common with the me of Freckled Citizen, though: they both hate whining more than anything.

I think it's the fear of coming across as a whiner that's kept me quiet here for so long. With everything I have in my life, who am I to complain about the one thing I'm missing? My mantra that keeps my inner whiner in check is "I am lucky." And I am; I know I am.

I've learned so much about myself in the last two years, so much about my husband, so much about who we are as a couple. I've never been prouder of us. I don't know when we'll overcome infertility, or if we'll overcome infertility, but I know that at the end of the day, I'm still one of the luckiest girls alive. I still wouldn't change a thing.

So if you'll indulge me, I'd like to share some of what I've written here from time to time - The Infertility Diaries, if you will. And whether or not you've ever set foot inside a fertility clinic, I have stories that might interest or amuse you. (The one where I inject myself with hormones at a wedding reception is worth the wait, trust me.) But what I'm offering isn't really entertainment or even for you: it's catharsis, and it's for me.

I'm spending the next few days in New Orleans, where I'll be in my happy place of food, drink, music, and cheer. One of my favorite things about New Orleans has always been the way it wears itself from the inside out, guts splayed open right alongside its picture-perfect facades. It's the perfect city for me to start this new journey, this one where I unzip my insides and wear them openly. Decorum just isn't working for me anymore.

And so it's May 24, and it's a good day. Three years after the fact, and three years from now, too. No matter what.

Small steps out front

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:25:00 +0000

Until a month or so ago, we'd done absolutely nothing to our front yard. The plants in the yard were... random, at best. Old and not particularly healthy. Planted haphazardly. No continuity or relationship between plants. Random.

We've invested so much time and energy inside our house that the outside has been firmly on the backburner. We finally brought a great landscape designer over to help us plan our dream yard, then started prioritizing his plan. We realized our biggest priority was probably the most expensive piece (our rotting deck), and so we stalled again.

But those old roses out front that inexplicably looked great this year changed things for me. Seeing something grow and look pretty in our front yard made me realize that just because our bigger picture effort is stalled, there's no reason I can't begin making small improvements on my own. And so over the last month, I've planted lots out front: a new rose bush, a gardenia bush, three peonies, a hibiscus, and a hosta. There's more to come, too. I'm still waiting for some of these to pop open for the first time, and I know that this year might be their smallest. But a year from now they'll all look much better, and the year after that, even prettier. Incremental progress that I made while we were stalled. That works for me.

I'm happy I got over my can't-plant-because-we-have-a-huge-landscaping-plan-in-mind rut (which lasted a year, I should add). Not to mention... passing the gardenia on the way up our front steps makes me - and my nose - all kinds of happy.

I'll show you the backyard soon. We still have the crazy blue deck, but at least it features lots of seasonal color. Small steps!

Friday I'm in Love

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:05:00 +0000

I'm looking forward to a lazy weekend to gear up for a big week of travel. Some baseball, some gardening, some projects around the house... easy. What's on your weekend agenda?

Cutest girls ever.

I bookmarked this forever ago during my blogging hiatus, but I figured if it gives any of you half the pleasure it's given me since then, it's worth sharing. These girls slay me.

Funniest local blog ever.

DC residents, have you seen this blog yet? I'm sure you have, given the horrified looks on my friends' faces last weekend when they realized I hadn't. At any rate, the When In DC tumblr is just.so.good. What is it about a good gif that just kills me?

Best cauliflower ever.

We're obsessed with this recipe. It's just... luscious. succulent. [enter your favorite sexy food word here]. Make it.

How to Have a Messy House

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:12:00 +0000

Here's the "how-to" blog guide you've been waiting for, folks. Before I present my fine-tuned guide of "How to Have a Messy House in Four Simple Steps," take this to heart: there is no place for jealousy in blogland. I'd hate for you to feel worse about your own abode based on this post alone, or that your life is imperfect compared to my shiny existence. To each her own, I say! And take heart: I'm sure that every day, in your own small ways, you're trying your best to live the messy lifestyle, too. Now on to the life coaching....!

Step 1: Empty Boxes

Keep up your online ordering, but do not, under any circumstances, break down and throw out those boxes! Don't consolidate them either - a sprinkling of empty boxes in every room is ideal. Tell yourself the trash guys routinely, inexplicably reject cardboard anyway, so you'll "deal with it later." Trip over the boxes frequently. Create a kingdom of cardboard for your cats. Tell yourself that as long as the boxes are empty, you can't be classified as a hoarder. Have the perfect box to wrap up a gift three times a year, and tell yourself that it's all worth it. Repeat.

Step 2: Suitcases

When you come home from a trip, do not unpack those suitcases! By leaving suitcases in the middle of the floor with clothes in them, you're actually saving yourself time the next time you have to pack. Duh! It's also nice to forget you have clothes inside and then open them and feel like you just went shopping. If you must remove the suitcase from the middle of your floor, there's a minimum one-month time period to fully unpack the suitcase, and another month to take the suitcase down to the basement. If you must.
(Apologies: photo taken yesterday after suitcases left their true home of the bedroom floor for their temporary home of the basement. Large suitcase used in March.)

Step 3: Clothes

Twice a year, you might embark upon a "seasonal clothing exchange" if you're lacking closet and drawer space, wherein you'll switch out sweaters for summer dresses, etc. Try to leave your seasonal clothing bins on the floor for as long as possible. Really you're living for all four seasons in your bedroom at all times, while the basement closets are empty. Ideally, you will begin to pile laundry on top of said bins so they become completely useless. Run into them and strain your back when leaning over them in order to open the windows. Rewash the clothes on top due to their "cat nesting" existence, but pile them right up again.

Step 4: Newspapers

Due to DC's side-eye at loose newspapers in the recycling can, you'll never have enough plain paper bags in which to pack your old newspapers for trash day. Embrace it. Let those papers pile right up until they touch the bottom of the console table. Allow them to tip over and spill into the floor. Try putting them in plastic and have them rejected by the recycling authorities. See them rip small paper bags all over the sidewalk in front of your house. (You're probably wearing pajamas when this happens, by the way.) Decide you could start a microfiche business. Remember that no one uses microfiche anymore. Dig out that food section from two months ago that had a recipe you forgot to clip. Feel superior that you hung onto said paper so you could clip said recipe. Embrace your old-school awesomeness.

You're Welcome.
That's it, folks - four simple steps to a joyously messy home! I look forward to hearing how this post inspired you. Send photos!

xoxo

Back in the saddle

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:22:00 +0000

When the habit of blogging is broken, it can be so hard to jump back into it. The pressure to compose something worthwhile is greater than the pressure to say anything at all. A reprehensible marriage amendment has to pass before I'm compelled to pick up the blogging pen. It's a bad cycle. So this is me trying to recapture the habit, with odds and ends from my corner of the world and without artful composition. You'll notice that I'm sharing some of this news woefully late... so it is:

Black Wings Won! You'll remember the Austrian hockey team we fell for over the holidays, due in part to our relation to the goalie, but also, you know... because they rock? They won the Austrian League Championship! We couldn't be happier for Alex, who finally won a championship after 13 years as a pro, and for T's sister Avery, who's the most badass hockey wife ever. Linz ist Meister!!!! #32!!

I'm going to be an aunt again! Shortly after their wedding in September, my brother and sister-in-law announced that they were expecting! My nephew will join big sister Taylor in late June, and we couldn't be more thrilled for them.

Prom. My cousins rocked the prom in their dresses we shopped for until our feet fell off. Rocked it.

We have roses. Lots of them. I didn't like these roses last year, but that's because they didn't grow like this. We just planted a slew of new stuff, too. Updates coming soon... really.

Wedding shoes, at long last. Nearly three years later, I finally had a chance to wear my wedding shoes again, at the wedding of one of my favorite DC couples. So many memories represented by that red satin... I really should've worn them years ago. (Rare awkward photo of T = cutting his head off on purpose)

Tick tock, North Carolina

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:31:00 +0000

Before yesterday, North Carolina was the last Southern state without a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Before today, I also believed North Carolina was the last Southern state to secede from the Union. I just google-checked my memory and discovered that Tennessee actually seceded a week after my home state did. There goes a youthful assurance, a little piece of why I've always loved home. (Google: killing dreams since 1998.)

The truth of the matter, though, is that what matters more than when. North Carolina did secede from the Union. North Carolina now does have a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Last night was a deja vu moment for me. I saw myself driving my high school car (a hand-me down from my grandmother), with its "Jesse Helms Doesn't Speak For Me" bumper sticker on the back. I'd found it at a little bookstore in Chapel Hill that offered a discount if you could name a historical event that happened on the year they pulled out of a hat. Any nerd like me knows that the French Revolution began in 1789, so my bumper sticker cost me practically nothing. It wasn't the only lefty bumper sticker in my high school parking lot, either. We were in the Triangle of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill after all, a dynamic region for research, universities, and industry. (The marriage amendment lost 4-to-1 in the Triangle last night, for perspective.) But back then in the 1990s, gun racks still outnumbered peace sign decals. We liked to show our stripes.

Those stripes are everywhere, if you're looking for them. The problem with making assumptions about any "red" state is that it ignores not only the pockets of blue, but the legions of people working hard to change the tide in their surroundings. There's a particular kind of state pride among those who love their state despite their state, who have a seasoned respect that's deeper and more honest than sheer boosterism. Making blanket statements about regions does so at the expense of the folks working hard there to make a difference, and it's something I take personally. Change is slow, and it starts small. Bumper stickers matter. But more than that, so do conversations on front stoops, at the neighborhood park, in churches, in the checkout line. This small, steady change is happening all over the South. It's why some of my favorite people are progressive women from Texas. It's why North Carolina voted for Obama in 2008. It's why my teenage cousin half my age just went to her junior prom in NC with her girlfriend, and no one raised an eyebrow.

That same cousin's Facebook status yesterday was "And we keep fighting... and we keep going," said with all the assurance of a seasoned community organizer. She knows that time is on her side. We all do. While headlines are made about irrational amendments being passed, my family and friends at home, some of whom are gay, are trying to go about their lives just as they did yesterday. They're talking with their neighbors, raising families, and adding value to their communities. Their hearts are hurting, but they know the clock is ticking. The bravery in their hearts is the best thing I know. The second-best is the dedication of those on the ground already trying to peel this thing back, already laying the groundwork for how progress will reassert itself.

Tick tock, North Carolina. The march of progress has never left you behind completely, and it won't now, either. You're too beautiful to be shadowed by hate, too smart to be labeled something you're not. Time will tell.

Unread/Snippets

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:01:00 +0000

Last night I opened up Google Reader, my sorely neglected portal to the rest of the blogosphere. I currently subscribe to 490 blogs, separated into folders for my sanity. These folders range from Food to News to DC Neighborhoods to Interior Design to Transit Planning. Oh, and then there's "Personal," and that's the folder where you probably reside, if you're reading this and have a blog of your own. My overall Reader count will pop up over 1,000 posts in a single day if I don't open it (I've always viewed Reader's policy to stop counting over 1,000 to be kind), but I normally have certain folders under control. Normally. Only, here's how bad it's gotten: my "Personal" folder, your folder, had 716 unread blog posts in it as of last night. 716.

So if you're wondering why I haven't commented or chimed in on your stories, both big and small, that's why. I'll get there.

In the meantime:

I cooked this weekend! This is a big deal... my kitchen has been used mostly just for coffee and eggs all month long. But behold, fish tagine and lemon curd tart!

It's awesome having a National League team to root for now. And the stadium a 25-minute walk from my house? Bring. It. On.

I accidentally got sucked into The Voice. Embarrassing.

Aaaaaaand.... that's about it. My life is so crazy, right?

I would ask what's new with you, but I suppose to find that out all I need to do is wade through that Personal Blog folder, don't I?

[Confidential/Hidden] Cities on the small screen

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:07:00 +0000

Favorite cure for insomnia: television shows that combine place with crime.

My longtime favorite show for this is City Confidential on the Biography channel. We've been going strong for a decade. The reasons for my love:

Topic. The show spotlights a single crime in a town somewhere in the US and how that crime came to reflect the changing nature of the community. This could be done badly or without much effort, but City Confidential truly digs in. It also picks its cases really well. When I first saw "Scottboro: Foul Play in the Bible Belt," I steeled myself for how much this Alabama town near my cousins was going to be the butt of jokes. I mean, there's snake-handling involved. But by episode's end, I have to admit to myself every time... nope, they got it right. That's hard to do. And putting on my planner hat for a minute, I have to say this is also the only show not about planning (because seriously... who would watch that?) that regularly talks about suburbanization, loss of community character, and McMansions. And, you know, the killer next door. Yes please.

Narrative structure. Every single episode follows the same narrative arc. There's something so predictable and soothing about this, when you watch it at the time of night that I usually do. Part 1 (first 10-15 minutes): setting the scene and helping you understand the community, history through the crime. Part 2 (bulk of the 1-hour show): delving into the particulars of the crime. Part 3 (always the very last bit after the last commercial break): how the town changed after the crime.

Narrator Paul Winfield. This guy's voice is the best. After he died they found a new narrator, and let's just say that the last few seasons with the newbie are not as awesome as the golden age of PW.

The writing. Oh, the amazing tongue-in-cheek camp of the writing! I always thought it'd be silly fun to write for this show. Find "Dallas: Arsenic and Old Money" playing in the middle of the night sometime to see what I mean. You can practically see the writers winking.

There's barely any City Confidential on YouTube, so here's just a taste with the setup for "Phoenix: Shady Deals in the Sun City." You'll see all the points above: A) lots of good planning talk, B) setting the scene in Phoenix, C) Paul!, and D) Camp.

The growing problem with City Confidential, though, is that I've seen nearly all of the episodes. So now what?

Enter the new guy in town: Marcus Sakey, he of Hidden City on the Travel Channel.

Hidden City has a slightly different approach than City Confidential. First, the focus is not just on one crime, but on three, from varying eras of a city's past. In this way the city is the star of the show... although actually, Marcus Sakey steals the show. This wouldn't work if he wasn't likable, or if he truly didn't want to dive into the dirty belly of a city, or if didn't want to invest the time to find the right people to frame the story in a compelling way. But he does all of these things. The other way this show differs from City Confidential's documentary approach is that as the star, Sakey gets interactive with the stories: he climbs into a rigged sedan with a shotgun to see what it felt like to be the DC sniper, he gets pepper-sprayed by cops to understand how 1968 rioters felt, etc. It's good television. He never lets us forget, though, he's a crime-writer. There's less camp in his writing than in my old-time favorite, but by the same token, the writing's much more real.

So yeah... this might be my new fix. City Confidential can never be replaced in my book, but I'm happy to make room for Hidden City. The stories are fantastic - new twists on old ones we all know (HH Dillinger in Chicago or the Zodiac Killer in San Francisco, for example), and older ones we might not know (Madame LaLaurie in New Orleans or Black Caesar in Key West). And all the way through... one city. Over time. Ch-ch-changing.

This night, long ago

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 06:06:00 +0000

So it's late right now. Late enough that I should either be asleep or smiling. But instead I'm deeply involved in a PowerPoint. This is how too many of my nights have been recently.

Here's the flashback that just hit me:

Me, in the Planning building computer lab. Grad school. A cool 3 a.m., probably. A crumpled-up wrapper from a Frontier breakfast burrito beside me, definitely. Headphones on. Indigo Girls: blasting. Who listens to the Indigo Girls loudly, you're asking? This girl does, when driving alone and fast or when up way past her bedtime on deadline. So there's me, the work, the burrito wrapper, and the Girls. But a couple of computers down, there's also my girl Mikaela, my ultimate all-nighter-in-the-computer-lab partner in crime. I need a break. Headphones come off. We take a few minutes to do that thing we do, which is discuss relationships or politics or gossip or who the hell cares because we know each other so well and we really don't need much besides the smallest distraction from the sentence that is slowly becoming the run-on from hell (like this one). We stretch our legs, go out into the courtyard. We feel the cool night air on our faces. Mikaela is probably smoking (I'll never tell your daughter, M, promise). We make each other laugh. We bounce ideas for each other's work around. Then we go back in, and we hunker down. We finish. Of course we do. We're good at this. We nailed those nights.

I miss that kind of flow. I'm getting glimpses again these days of how sure I was that I'd only do this profession until I was bored with it, then I'd have my creative career. I was sure I'd be writing by now.

But instead I'm PowerPointing. And not in the cool way, either, with Mikaela beside me.

And that's okay. This is okay. I believe in these bullets.

But tomorrow I'll send them out for dozens of people to review, and we will tinker and talk it to death and finally we will present it to the community, and it'll be fine. I'll still believe in those bullets.

But I don't believe in this process as much as that process, the one with just my brain, a friend, a burrito, and a blank screen.

Time to cue the Indigo Girls. Time to send my old friend a hug across the Internet.

Also: time to plan my annual return to New Mexico, where I'm certain everyone else is still having those resplendent 3 a.m. strikes of inspiration without me.

Pictures, not words

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:04:00 +0000

Lately I'm enjoying Instagram so much more than Twitter. I think it's because my head hurts from being overworked, and all the words of Twitter flying by at a rapid pace only ramp up my crowded brain. Looking at pictures, though, makes my head feel clearer, calmer. And so while I've been a terrible blogger, my phone is bursting with images that hint at just what I've been up to the last couple of weeks.

Not pictured: working. Working working working.

But fun things I've been doing, and photographing, include admiring the colors of my neighborhood.

Being blessed with gorgeous wedding invitations.

Turning a head of cauliflower into a dessert-like substance.

Eating lots of oysters (which happen to go really well with martinis).

Replacing a toilet (surprisingly easy, it turns out).

And working... again.

But then, finally, it was time to jet off to Austin. Oh how I needed this trip.

I spent the first day with my dear Kate, introducing new Bebe L to the wonders of Austin patio lounging.

T arrived and by the miracle of all miracles, we did not call into work. We did a lot of this instead.

We ate ourselves silly at Salt Lick for the rehearsal dinner. We also spent a lot of time looking up at the sky, marveling at all the stars. It's sad how long it had been since I'd done nothing but look up at the sky. Feeling small under all those stars is an amazing feeling.

The next day, it was time for the wedding. And oh, this wedding. One of T's best friends from Dallas married a woman who is his match in every way. It was stunning, and so full of joy.

We arrived back in DC late Sunday night, and the first thing I saw was the bounty of pink blossoms, bright even against the night sky. Our cherry blossoms had opened over the weekend. The next morning I took the same shot, in awe of these pretties right outside the door.

Spring has sprung. And now I'll be taking pictures of flowers every day to document it.

A new leaf

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:46:00 +0000

Lately I can't bring myself to open up Blogger. I've had a handful of recipe posts lined up (in my head at least... but pictures already taken and recipes already written out), and I can't bring myself to post them. Maybe it's the weather here... cherry blossoms are open, dogs and kids are out to play, the neighborhood is opening up to say hello more each day. I love my neighborhood walks, and couldn't be more excited to have more sun soon to fit them in. Daylight Savings or bust.

Pretty in Pink, last weekend

I'm ready for the weather to change, ready for new blossoms and ready for... newness. And while I doubt this spring will turn out exactly as we hoped it would, it's easier for me to feel upbeat when there's such beauty everywhere. I'm thankful for the big fun we've been having as the season turns, with friends who make my sides hurt from laughing so hard. I'm thankful for the three weddings we're attending this spring - in Austin, here in DC, and in New Orleans - and all the hope those events engender. I'm thankful for a yard that gets my landscaping wheels turning in this great weather, despite my decision-making paralysis about layout and fencing and plantings. But mostly, it's the walks that settle my brain down that I'm so thankful for... and the guy who's often with me for them.

Lincoln Park at dusk

I want to go and play outside with the ferocity of the birds outside my window. There are literally two dozen of them in a single tree right now, flitting around and celebrating the moment. These budget spreadsheets I'm working on seem especially cruel by comparison. Isn't it terrible that adults don't get Spring Break, too? This is why smart people get married in the spring, I think... providing Spring Break for their loved ones. In that light, then, my Spring Break is two weeks from now, in Austin. Just in time.

Friday I'm in Love

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 18:19:00 +0000

I'm so ready to sleep in and relax with friends this weekend... how about you? Here are three little gems from my week.

Hank for Senate

Meet Hank, a cat running for Senate in Virginia. Do you notice that he looks shockingly like our cat Switters? Poor Switters is pretty pissed. He was convinced he had the right mix of dashing good looks and humble roots that would help launch him into office, and then Hank went and stole his thunder, before DC even had its own Senate seat. Switters is licking his wounds in the windowsill right now. It isn't pretty.

The Women of 'Community'

I'm giddy that 'Community' is coming back to NBC mid-month. The 'Community' fan base is a rabid one, and we are proud. This Daily Beast interview with the women of 'Community' shows exactly why our show is better than your show. I raise my glass to women written as whole characters, to blowing apart stereotypes, and to the magic that can happen when women write for other women. Well done, team... well done.

Hometown Kitchen

This is me, glowing with hometown pride, pointing you to a fantastic article written about the family of one of my favorite high school pals. The reporter joins Saleem's family for dinner, where the Rs have been churning out innovative fusion cooking since way before it was cool. Read about family rice wars and get hungry, then go dive into Saleem's creative work, which consistently makes me feel close to him even though our days of daily conversation and high school hijinks are no more. Big props to Saleem for being vanity-aged in this piece, by the way - is it really that easy to shave a couple of years off that number? Note to self.

Have a happy weekend, everyone!

February, in pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:48:00 +0000

I ended February on a blur of a work trip featuring lots of work and little sleep, and now it's March. I suppose that's how time slips away from us, isn't it? At any rate, I'm back in DC looking out my office window at early cherry blossoms, and wishing my knee was 100% again so that I could walk around in this gorgeous weather. (So much nicer out than the monsoon I drove through back to DC last night.)

Despite time rushing by much too quickly, I do have one great visual reminder of the month, courtesy of Instagram and the February Photo a Day Challenge. I had so much fun responding to the daily prompts with pictures that I'm doing the March Photo a Day Challenge, too.

Not on Instagram? No worries. You can find me online here, where you can also see the pictures in full size and view their captions (i.e., figure out how I justified a random shot as "sun" on a day that was as rainy as yesterday).

Come play along! (And I know, I know, Instagram really needs to develop a Droid App already.)

PS: I always have my Instagram feed running on the blog, too, down on the left sidebar.

Friday I'm in Love

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:53:00 +0000

Yesterday I fell flat on my face while walking. I was crossing a park to meet T at our neighborhood Metro station, and a slightly uneven brick hit my foot in just the right way, and... splat. Kind thanks to the homeless men who hurriedly rushed to my assistance. Oh my. So today, my knee is the size of a softball and the opposite foot is unable to bear weight. I'm feeling pretty graceful heading into the weekend... how about you?

SIGH.

Let's hurry up and make it 5 p.m., okay? Here are three things that made me smile this week (I've missed you, Friday I'm in Love!):

The Partisans: Birth Control Hearings (Redux)

This is the best response I can possibly imagine to the brain-exploding lunacy that is a bunch of men on Capitol Hill talking about birth control. Thank you, Andy Cobb and Second City, thank you...

U.S. Interstates as a Subway Map

Subway art will always be my favorite, but I'll give a nod here to the Interstate System as well... even if its existence is responsible for the sprawling of America. (getting off my soapbox now...)

Friends with Kids

You know those movie previews you see and in the first five seconds it's completely obvious that you will watch said movie and love it, due mostly to the fact that you love everyone* on screen? This movie is that [latest] movie for me.

Have a great (and graceful) weekend, folks!

*Megan Fox excluded (obvs)

Girl power

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:34:00 +0000

I might as well be carrying around one of these this week. It's a girl power kind of time for me.

Last weekend was one of my favorite weekends of the year: folk art and prom dresses. How in the world do these two things combine, you're asking?

First up: the annual Folk Art Show at Fearrington Village. I love this show. I love the art and the energy, how down-home it feels, while still being (for me, on a budget!) absolutely aspirational. I had a blast at the Collectors' Preview with my mom and my sister.

Another reason I love the Fearrington Folk Art Show is watching my mom work the room - painting, pottery, textiles, she does it all. She's been collecting Danny Doughty's work for years, and picked up these gorgeous geese this year to add to her collection.

On Saturday, my favorite girl gang - my three cousins! - arrived to shop for their prom dresses. Two prom attendees, with older college student sis acting as shopping consultant, plus me, my mom, and sis = too much fun for one 12-hour shopping day! We were successful, by the way - both girls ended up in amazing dresses that suited them perfectly - and were perfectly different. I've said it before and I'll say it again: my cousins give me hope for the universe. I love these girls like mad.

As if this wasn't enough, I had a very special lunch date on Sunday with my oldest pal in the world, Allie, and her brand new baby girl! Baby L was born in December and I can't wait to watch her grow up to be as amazing as her mom is.

Just two days later, my dear friend Kate had her baby girl, too. I get to meet this new Baby L in Austin next month, and I'm counting down the days to see those cheeks in person!

Okay, okay, I still like boys... but for a few more days, I'm just going to soak in all this girly goodness. Can you blame me?

Red chile and chocolate... need I say more?

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I've said it before: I'm not a baker. I'm imprecise and I improv flavors. I don't level off measurements a knife. Sometimes I don't even measure. Baking has always seemed too scientific for me. I don't understand chemistry. Or physics. Or... space. But I can, it turns out, bake a flourless chocolate cake.

Is this a good time to also issue a reminder that I don't have a big sweet tooth? It's true, and probably why I've gotten away with not being interested in baking for so long. Thank goodness T is the same way. We like to drink our desserts around here.

On the rare occasions that I do order dessert, they're almost always in the earthy/spicy/fruity category, save for one lone chocolate entry: flourless chocolate cake. Maybe because it goes so well with red wine? Hmmm.

In keeping with our vow to make something new every Valentine's Day (nope, yesterday's simple goat cheese sauce doesn't count), I decided to go crazy and get out the springform pan. Insanity! I found a dead-simple recipe for a flourless chocolate cake from Gourmet, and then decided to add one little "me" twist: some red chile from Chimayo. Now we're talking. Now this is feeling like my kind of dessert. And guess what? It was delicious with a glass of port.

Red Chile Chocolate Flourless Cake

Adapted from Gourmet

I love spice, and easily could have added twice as much red chile to this cake and been happy. If you do that, I'd suggest adding some sugar to your whipped cream for serving. For this version, I didn't add any sugar to my whipped cream, and enjoyed the way it helped cut the richness of the cake.

Ingredients

Two 8 oz bittersweet chocolate bars, chopped
Two sticks unsalted butter, chopped
1.5 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 tablespoon red chile powder (I used hot Chimayo red, but use your favorite... chipotle, Ancho, whatever you like)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a large springform pan (or use butter spray). Line the bottom of the pan with a wax paper cutout, and spray that with butter spray, too.
In a double-boiler or modified double-boiler (I just use a metal bowl over a saucepan), add the chopped-up bittersweet chocolate and butter. Stir until melted and remove from heat.
Add sugar and whisk it in. (At this stage, transfer to your mixer if you like, or continue to do it by hand.)
Crack the eggs one at a time and whisk each in separately, until they're all incorporated.
Sift in the unsweetened cocoa powder and the red chile. Whisk until just combined.
Pour into the pan and cook for 45-50 minutes. (I'd start checking it at 35 minutes - my oven runs a little cool.)
After the cake cools to your liking, serve with whatever strikes your fancy. I used fresh-whipped cream (only vanilla added, no sugar - see note above). Berries would also be delicious. Enjoy!

I heart ravioli.

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:15:00 +0000

You probably thought I made our Valentine's Day heart-shaped lobster ravioli from scratch, didn't you?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha....... One day I will do that. But this not day.

However, the ravioli does represent why I love my neighborhood so much. Our work schedules didn't allow for a labor-intensive dinner on Tuesday night, so I walked over to Eastern Market to visit the fresh pasta counter, source of many quick and delicious weeknight meals at our place. I knew going in that I was interested in their lobster ravioli, which is typically square with orange stripes. But look! The pasta gods got cheeky! Big pink puffy hearts! Okay then.

Next I had to consider what type of sauce to make. I considered a brown butter, a lemon butter, but it finally hit me... it's Valentine's Day. Be decadent. (That's right: in this scenario, brown butter isn't decadent enough. Go with it) I happened to have lots of leftover goat cheese in the fridge from our party Saturday, and so a dream was born. A deliciously rich dream. One that made me oh so happy.

Here's the (easy!) sauce I made with ingredients I had on hand, which I might add was also delicious as a dipping sauce for steak that night. I reheated the sauce last night and it wasn't quite as good, so I'd just make what you need for dinner that night and enjoy it fresh. You could probably cut this in half if you're just cooking for two, depending on how you're using the sauce.

Goat Cheese Cream Sauce

An accompaniment for lobster ravioli, steak, and more

Ingredients

One extra-large shallot (or three small shallots)
Two tablespoons butter
1/3 cup white wine
Dash of dried thyme (or better yet, fresh thyme if you have it)
Dash of white pepper
Dash of salt
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 of a small log of goat cheese (use the rest for your salad!)
Dash of smoked salt if you have it (if not, just another dash of salt to taste at the end)

Directions

Saute the shallots in butter until soft, being careful not to burn them, 3-4 minutes
Add white wine and simmer until the mixture is reduced by 2/3
Add a dash of dried thyme, white pepper, and salt
Add 1 cup of heavy cream and stir in the goat cheese
Reduce the sauce by half again
Sprinkle in some smoked salt to taste

Meal of Love II

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:03:00 +0000

Remember last year when we made Valentine's Dinner at home together? Remember me talking about how much I hate going out to eat on V-Day, and how much more romantic it is to stay in? Remember our curried mussels and the first date that never was? Remember the pact we made to cook together every Valentine's Day, to make something new to us?

Here's last night's menu. Recipes to come the rest of the week!

We had so much fun last night.

How did you celebrate?

All you need is love

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:38:00 +0000

I've always liked Valentine's Day. Not because of romantic relationships, but because of the sentiment. Love, laughter, smiles, warmth... these are good things. There should be more of these things in the world. And so however you choose to honor love, laughter, smiles, and warmth... just do it. Do it today. Do it every day. Honor love in all your relationships.

Honor it in your friendships.

Honor it in your family.

And yes, honor it in your romances.

Sarcasm can only take us so far, after all. It feels so much better to smile than to roll your eyes, don't you think?

Party hangover

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:47:00 +0000

Subtitle: Advice I Should Have Asked for Last Week

'Twas a good party. And like many big events, as fun as it was, I'm happy it's over. I adore hosting, but now that we've had our intimate 40-person (!) gathering, I can settle into the type of entertaining I prefer: small group gatherings or having another couple over for dinner. Hosting lots of folks means lots of pressure. It's loud, silly fun, but it's pressure. Saturday night was also, by the way, one of DC's most blustery nights to date. At times there were whiteout conditions outside - not exactly conducive to partying on the back patio with the keg, twinkling lights, and fire pit. And so our house was bursting to the seams. Of course, one could argue we asked for such weather:

So on the heels of successfully hosting a big crowd (well, big for our small house!) on a truly fun night, here are a few things I'm happy we don't have to do again any time soon:

Have glassware on hand for 40+ people (but can you believe not a single glass was broken?)
Quickly open new bottles of wine and prosecco (too much pressure when someone's watching and waiting with an empty glass! ps: Can you tell I was never a waitress? )
Not have enough time for everyone (I hate barely getting to talk to folks I haven't seen in ages)
Make quick introductions (I prefer more natural introductions where folks who don't know one another can ease into conversation. That's much better than "X meet X, you have X in common - bye!")
Stress about food (there's either too little, too much, or too something, but there's always stress about it)

What a night... capped off with a very loud Whitney Houston tribute courtesy of our friend Alex at 2 a.m., of course! (Apologies to my in-laws who were sleeping upstairs.)

I'd love to know... what are your lessons learned from hosting big shindigs? Any tips to manage food, drinks, and the delicate social balance that is tons of people you know in various ways all thrown together in your living room? You probably know me well enough if you're reading to understand that I have too much yuppie guilt to hire caterers or people to help out, so while I appreciate those suggestions, I'm especially interested in hearing from fellow I-Can-Do-It-All-ers. We are a stubborn crew, aren't we?

PS: I still have lots of dish-washing to do. Yesterday was our lazy recovery day, and I have no guilt about that.

Mission accomplished

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:51:00 +0000

In an uncharacteristic move, our downstairs projects are done with time to spare. Finishing Wednesday night as opposed to Saturday afternoon, at the last possible second before folks come over? Impossible! But true.

The details: Wall torn down, closet reframed and rebuilt inside, some new pieces acquired, and existing art rearranged.

The view coming down the stairs (and here's the view before):

I painted the inside of our front door red on a lunch break Monday (this is how one gets a massive To Do list accomplished before a rushed party deadline, by the way). I love it so much... why didn't I tackle that project ages ago? I also finally threw out the awful entry rug left behind by the previous owners, which I'd yell at for being ugly at least once a week but somehow never got around to replacing. Also, I think we can all agree that our next lighting project needs to involve a dramatic pendant light for the entryway, right? Framed in that gorgeous light coming in from the transom? It's a must-do. As for the console table, it works as a cozy space for us to drop keys and mail without being too obtrusive for passersby or the stairs.

Allow me introduce our two new beauties (which are not new to you at all if you follow me on Instagram)... the Dolly twins! We found these as floor models at two different stores and never looked back. Floor model acquisitions were the only way we could quickly furnish the "new" room, and at a steep discount to boot, so I'm thrilled that we struck gold with Dolly I and Dolly II. We've been trying to get away from how low and bulky our existing furniture is, so our goals with chairs were for them to have legs and not be squared-off. The rounded backs work great for the entryway function of the room, since they don't create the effect of being a new wall. That would be silly, since we paid someone to remove the wall for us and all... (PS: When is Fanny going to get a job modeling furniture and start paying rent?)

Bonus regarding the Dollies: super-comfy. Right, Fanny? We're going to eventually replace our trunk coffee table behind her with something leggier, and likely put in a storage bench or two square storage ottomans under that painting... but not this week.

Here's the view back to the fireplace wall, where I finally tackled another project that's been on my list for ages: painting the interior of the little shelves the same green as the wall. Everything looks much more composed right now (although that sprawling pile of firewood: maybe not so much... at least it's cold again!). We also redid the cords for the unfortunately sized television, which resulted in a freak accident where T got five stitches and then removed them at his office desk, but that's another story. This, however, I can say quite literally - we put blood into this room re-do!

I'm going to save our nerdy hall closet rebuild for next time - get excited!! Hee hee... thanks for playing along, folks. Show and Tell is way more fun this way.

Now, let's all say it together: CROWN MOULDING!

Two-year report (and a chandelier)

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:26:00 +0000

We had a friends over for dinner this weekend, and it was a night of great food and greater laughs underneath our new chandelier. It has just the right amount of rustic appeal (read: burlap) to make me happy, and couldn't be any cozier with dinner. It was a great night.

Yay dining room! Now just imagine it with crown moulding...
(nope, the projects never end)

This weekend was special for another reason, too: it marked two years since we moved to Washington D.C. Time flies, folks. It seems like not long ago at all that we arrived here during a freak snowstorm and then the movers from hell turned us into campers for three weeks. Buying our house a year and change after that? Feels like yesterday. But here we are, two years later. DC residents. Homeowners. Adults.

One thing is clear: DC has become home. Here's why:

Personal. I love living in a city alongside so many smart, engaged people. I love the friends I've made in DC, all of whom the District is lucky to call their own. Does DC have its fair share of idiots? You bet. (Do some hold elected office, too? No comment.) But DC's large percentage of citizens committed to public service, doing top-notch research, building campaigns for people or for issues, and trying their best to make the District or their country great... it's energizing. Ideas and passion are currency in DC, and that's exactly what I most wanted from a place I'd call home (not to mention necessary for a place where so many associations, organizations, and advocacy groups are based). I love the history in DC, especially the way that history juxtaposes with current development. My favorite places are ones where past and present brush against one another in interesting ways; this is DC in a nutshell. I'm eager to start digging into more of my Leslie Knope-style interests on a personal level, too... why not attend public meetings for fun as well as for work, right?

Geographical. T and I live basically in between our families. Does it get more perfect than that? For two folks who've wandered all over the country the last ten years, living within driving (or train-ing) distance of our hometowns is huge for us. Since moving here, we've been able to spend more time with our families than ever before, which has been so special after going without that for so long. It's also fun living in a place that's a pretty good draw for scheduled or impromptu visits from loved ones. Being back on the East Coast just feels right; it's who I am. Those New Mexico sunsets will never leave my heart, but at its core, it's the waves of the Atlantic (DC is driving distance to my beloved Outer Banks!) that matter most to me. From an urban form perspective, DC works for me, too. Walkable neighborhoods, a wealth of transit options, cultural amenities, businesses and residences jumbled together in dynamic ways... these are not just talking points, but components that I need to feel great about calling a place home. DC has them, and my ruined heels from old, uneven cobblestone sidewalks can attest to that.

Professional. It's a misnomer that everyone in DC works for the federal government - most do not. Neither T nor I do, although our work interfaces with government in important (and very different) ways. I maintain a strong separation between the personal and the professional on this blog, and that can be difficult for me, because sometimes I just want to chat about it online. (Some days I'd pay big money to be able to Tweet/respond to media/correct false statements/interject in work-related online conversations/columns/blog posts.) This is a biggie, though: I'm content with my professional workload for the first time in years. It's crucial for my brain and sense of self that I feel like I'm contributing to something bigger and making a place better. The project I work on is going to change how people live and move around DC, and that's humbling. Being part of a team that's doing its best to help make DC a better place to live matters to me quite a lot.

So that's the two-year report card. Life is good. I wonder what I'll say in another two years. I wonder if DC will ever get the vote. I wonder what's next.

Ding dong, the witch is dead...

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:18:00 +0000

I am perhaps over-estimating the impact the dreaded wall had on my psyche. But I really do feel like we removed a life-draining force from our house on demolition day. See for yourself:

Before

After

I know, right? You can see that we completely removed the angled wall and we cut down the closet wall by about one-third. We still have to rebuild the interior of the closet and obviously, re-furnish and re-decorate the empty space. We bargain-shopped some new pieces already and have one more on the way, but I'm also looking forward to the challenge of reusing some of our old favorites in new ways. Stay tuned on that front.

We really lucked out with the floor underneath the wall. We had no idea what kind of shape the wood be in, and we were thrilled when they pulled everything up to see only the faintest outline of where the wall was. You can spot the outline in the above photo, but here's a closer look. Note that we haven't had time to do anything to the floors yet - not even a simple cleaning! Life has been sort of madness around here - don't even ask what the kitchen looks like right now. So I expect the floors will look much better when they get a little TLC.

Speaking of needing some time to breathe, here's the kicker, and I expect you all to shake your heads at me: about a month ago, we planned a party at our place for next weekend. Let me rephrase: because I'm a crazy person, I put an insanely short deadline on this room's re-furnishing and re-decorating schedule. You know I can't have folks over with everything all undone, right?

So the next week should be interesting. I'll be the one hitting all the suburban HomeGoods with a timer attached to my belt loop. Not that I have anything else to do besides room decor, right?

[headdesk]

Zen-less

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:05:00 +0000

When I mentioned we were having some electrical work done, I didn't go into detail because, you know... it's electrical work. But one thing I had the guys do was install a new electrical outlet in the little basement-stair nook where we feed the cats. The nook is pretty nondescript, save for some tiny shelves where I collect ponytail holders, a bare lightbulb (ack! must cover that thing!), and this great print from one of my great-grandfather's runs for the State Legislature.

Yuppie alert: We wanted an outlet in this nook so that we could plug in a fancy watering system for the cats. (Whatever... you already knew we spoiled them.) Besides keeping their water fresher, we thought they'd love this because they're always intrigued by dripping/running faucets and such. So we were pretty smug that we were about to rock the cats' world with this thing. The choice of the actual watering system was harder than anticipated. You know that problem of scale when you're shopping versus when you're at home? It's how we ended up with a ginormous tv, when a "very large" tv would have sufficed. In the pet aisle, I had the opposite perspective problem - all of the watering systems seemed huge. Surely this isn't going to fit in the nook! We won't even be able to walk by this thing! And so we brought home something far smaller than necessary... but whatever.

After unpacking and repacking every watering system in the store, we selected "The Lotus." (Note: we did not pay anything close to full retail for this product.) It's small and discreet, there's not a big tacky logo on it, and because there are multiple water openings, they could both use it at the same time. Done.

So we brought home The Lotus and set it up, and the cats basically give us this expression for a few days:

No respect for the care we took selecting it, the hourly fee we paid to the electrician, or our concern for their health... nada.

Worse, though, is that another problem has surfaced: The Lotus drives me crazy. Our entire downstairs has been taken over by the sound of, at best, a fountain, and at worst, someone peeing down the basement stairs. I've tried to get in the Lotus mindset and tell myself to be Zen about it, but the feng shui in our house must be off, because that pep talk is not working. Allow me to demonstrate:

I hear that all day long. From the couch, that's what I hear. From the kitchen, that's what I hear. My only refuge is upstairs.

Which leads me to ask: am I a bigger sucker because I installed an electrical outlet solely for my cats, because I bought a ridiculous item, or because I dislike said ridiculous item after all the effort that went into procuring it?

Oh, and it goes without saying: #firstworldproblems.

First Lady Letterpress

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:06:00 +0000

I'm briefly checking in from the settling of dust around here to give a huge shout-out to this amazing letterpress poster series from Two Paper Dolls featuring America's First Ladies. How ME is this??

You can go check them out yourself in Philadelphia next month, but until then, feast your eyes upon these beauties (which are... ahem... available for sale soon):

Yes please!