EarthyVeg’s THREE CITY ADVENTURE - DAY EIGHT

CITY #3 – Washington, DC

Day Two

We woke up to colder weather and rain. The temperature had dropped about 20 degrees and was in the low 40’s/ upper 50’s. To a Texan who just came from 90 degree heat the week before this is FREEZING. Luckily we had come prepared. First up we walked to the Library of Congress. This has to be the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It is enough to make you cry. I would move into that place if I could. Absolutely gorgeous. 

Next we walked by the Supreme Court and the Capital Building to the National Gallery of Art. I knew a couple of paintings by my favorite artist (Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun) were there so I wasn’t going to miss it. I was not disappointed. The art was amazing. 

They also had the best gift shop. After seeing my paintings we hopped on the metro to Busboys and Poets. This was by far the best place we ate in DC. We had the quesadillas (Momma Veg still can’t stop talking about them) and the Tempeh Panini. So good. [Thank you to Danielle and Jared from the VVC group for recommending this place]

We were pretty tired so we stopped by Whole Foods for a few things and grabbed a couple slices of no cheese Mediterranean pizza to take home for dinner. 

EarthyVeg’s THREE CITY ADVENTURE - DAY SEVEN

CITY #3 – Washington, DC

Day One

We took a taxi to Philadelphia 30^th Street stations which was very nice. We hopped on an Amtrak train and headed to Washington DC. 

After getting off the train we rode the metro to our hotel in Arlington, VA. The first room that our hotel tried to give us was directly in front of the ice machine. I hate to be a bother but I didn’t want to spend the next 6 nights hearing that thing so we went back downstairs to get another room. It ended up turning out great because we got a higher floor and a corner room so it was much bigger. 

We then got back on the Metro and ate lunch at Java Green where we shared a Vegan Chickn’ Java sandwich. It was really good. 

Then we were off… We went into the Renwick Gallery, walked by the Executive Office Building (gorgeous) and the White House. We saw many other buildings including  the World War II memorial, the Washington Monument (In my photo you can see the climbers checking from cracks that were caused by the earthquake), and the Lincoln Memorial. They were working on the reflecting pool so my photo taken from the Lincoln Memorial is not as pretty as I hoped. 

We were too tired to think of somewhere new to eat so we ended back at Java Green eating another Vegan Chickn Java sandwich. The weather was starting to get cooler and we were extremely tired so we rode the metro back to the hotel and passed out. 

Mardi Gras Decorations 2012

Has it really been almost 2 months since I blogged last. Goodness how the time flies. I know Mardi Gras is now over but I wanted to share some of the great decorations that I found. I'm not officially practicing Lent but will try my best to give up sugar for the next 40 days. I really need to get over my current addiction to it!

Outside Wreath

Mardi Gras Tree

Close-up for Mardi Gras Tree

I realized that I still haven't posted my trip to Washington, D.C. I've really neglected my blog. I will do it very soon. I had a really great time and can't wait to share it with you.

New Year's Eve - Afternoon Tea

For the last 4 years Momma Veg and I have been having an afternoon tea on New Year's Eve.  This year the menu wasn't planned out as it usually has been over the years. Momma Veg used her creative side to make our tea treats with what I had in the fridge. 

Here is what our table looked like before the tea. 

And what our treats looked like...

Rosemary bread with sun dried tomato pesto with spinach and carrots
Olive Bread with vegan cream cheese, grapes, and raisins
Strawberries

Endive leaf with pear, carrots and parsley marinated with coconut creamer
Steamed mushroom filled with artichoke
Roma tomato filled with mushrooms and zucchini marinated with Raspberry Chipotle 

Date and Walnut Scones from Whole Foods
Tofu Whipping Cream (Vegan Vittles)

Tea: Harney and Sons - Sally's Secret

Christmas Lunch

Our yummy Christmas lunch. 

Field Roast

Salad

Green Beans

Sweet Potatoes with marshmallows

Our recycled Christmas cards

Every year we get a ton of Christmas cards at work. When the holidays are over I collect all of them and save them until the next year to make into new cards. Momma Veg is the genius card maker. Below are the ones she made this year.

Here is the card Momma Veg made me last year. 

Company Holiday Party

My work decided to go all out and have a really nice holiday party this year. We had dinner at the Crescent Club on the 17th floor of the Crescent Hotel. 

Crescent Hotel

Decorations in the hotel lobby

Gingerbread house in hotel lobby

The first hour was cocktails. They had us in a separate reception area. 

When it was time to go into the next room to start dinner I thought I heard a bell. It was a waiter going around the room playing a metallophone. That was interesting. 

I'm really lucky that the company I work for actually cares that I get something that I can eat. We had told the Chef that we needed two vegan meals. We had no idea what we were going to get before we got to the party. Everyone else had a choice of sirloin, pork, or salmon. Since our meals were different we got the pleasure of being served first. I just knew that we would be served pasta but I was pleasantly surprised. 

Salad with balsamic vinaigrette with olives, and tomatoes. 

Rice mix with spinach, snow peas, and tomatoes with a little bit of  marinara sauce and sides of zucchini, asparagus, bell pepper, broccolini and a  couple of brussels sprouts 

While others were served a variety of small desserts (creme brulee, key lime pie, and chocolate candy) we got some very good fresh berries. We really enjoyed not having the sugar and just good tasting fruit. 

Fresh Berries