Hockey bookends

Well hellloooooo there. Happy Monday! How are things looking in your neck of the woods? It was still pretty chilly when I left the house this morning (34, I think), but they are saying it could wind up in the low 70s this afternoon!! We are soooo close to Spring, I can almost taste it. I did spend a good part of yesterday with the back door open while I cleaned and lounged, which is always nice, but it was super windy yesterday and my wind chimes were clanging like crazy. I am ready for the long days of nice weather!

This weekend started and ended with Capitals games, with all kinds of things packed in between. The home team ended up with a win and a loss, so that's not so bad, I suppose. A nice set of hockey bookends for the weekend!

Friday night, we headed into DC with our friends, Stephanie and Chris, to catch a Caps game in person! This was only the second game of the season that we've been to in person, and it is always so much fun to be in the arena. We started with a quick dinner at Penn Quarter Sports Tavern, where we braved the wind and opted to eat al fresco. Might not have been our smartest decision, but it was where there was a table open, and we all had jackets... so we made the most of it and kicked off outdoor-eating weather! (PS - I had the Guacamole burger, with guac, cheddar, and pico de gallo, and loved every bite. Highly recommend!)

Hockey games are always way more fun in person than they are on TV, and I love the atmosphere of being at a game live. Unfortunately, the Caps couldn't get us a win this time around... but we still had a great time with friends and enjoyed our night in the city.

On Saturday morning, Stephanie and I went over to a local event that was going on: the Weecycled Children's Consignment sale! We had no idea what to expect when we got there, but it turned out to be really well organized, and the prices were pretty good, too. I told myself that I was just going along as moral support, but once I got inside and saw all the tiny baby girl clothes... I couldn't help myself! I have so far avoided buying anything clothing-wise for our niece (due next month!), but the dam finally broke. Once I gave in, it was really hard to stop!

I texted my sister-in-law to find out what items they actually still need for Baby Girl, and tried to limit myself to only those categories. All those tiny ruffles and adorable dresses are so tempting, though!

Yes, that is a tiny onesie that says "I love my auntie" - !!!!

After several hours of shopping, I stopped at home to grab C, and we headed to Wegmans for lunch and grocery shopping. We are really exciting, aren't we? In case you've never been to Wegmans (I'm sad for you!), they have a huge prepared foods / hot & cold bar area, and you can get all different types of cuisine. We each piled up a container with the foods of our choice and enjoyed a little lunch date in their upper dining room. It was a good rainy afternoon activity!

Saturday night consisted of binge-watching season 7 of Parks and Rec - we are halfway through and I never want it to end! #saveJJsDiner

On Sunday, I did the taxes - whoop, whoop! Not. But our taxes are quite simple at this point (two steady jobs and one mortgage, done) so it only took me a couple hours to have them completed and filed. No refund for us this year... just handing over more money to the IRS. Cry. That was a depressing-enough way to spend the morning, so I let myself lounge for most of the afternoon. Yesterday evening, we headed to our local Buffalo Wild Wings to meet up with C's cousin and his family to watch the second Caps game of the weekend! The outcome of that one was much better, and it was fun to catch up! C's cousin and his wife have two super cute little boys, and we love getting to see them. Plus, babies in Caps jerseys! So cute!

I ended up with a horrible stomach ache by the time we got home, and pretty much put myself to bed immediately. So that part kind of sucked... but the rest of the weekend more than made up for it. We are about to have a solid month of booked weekends, so it was nice to be able to enjoy one that was spent mainly at home before the madness starts. Everyone needs a little time to rest and relax - it's good for the soul!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun? Have a great week!

If it's not on Instagram...

...did it even really happen?? Like just about everyone these days, I Instagram a lot of things (or, to clarify, a lot of pictures of food and my cats - whatev!). I thought it would be fun today to share five pictures from my phone that I DIDN'T put on Instagram... filter-free and not squared off, these are just random, every-day-life shots!

My friend, Aileen, made me this adorable birthday cake - isn't it the cutest? Her pink rosettes were just gorgeous, and the cake was delicious, too!

A few weekends ago, C & I went to a Capitals game with the rest of my family - we had such a blast, and the Caps won! Can't ask for much more than that. We enjoyed some food and drinks in the Player's Club beforehand, and had a great evening.

My sweet Mother-in-Law surprised me with some birthday goodies! We happen to work in the same building (small world, huh?), so she snuck up to my desk before I got to work and left me muffins and fruit to share with my team. The sign says, "from the birthday fairy!" Lucky for me, I know her name.

After the Capitals game, we stayed the night at my parents' house since it's a little closer to DC. The next morning, my mama made a special birthday breakfast: huevos rancheros from scratch, with fruit salad! Yes, that is approximately one inch of guacamole on top of my eggs... it was delicious!!

Last weekend, C and I ventured out to one of our favorite wineries: Old House, in Culpeper. My sister and brother-in-law got us a wine club membership for Christmas (best gift ever!), and we needed to pick up our first shipment. We enjoyed a free tasting and then sat and admired the view with some wine and snacks. It was such a lovely afternoon - perfect day-date for us!

Do you follow me on Instagram?? If not, you should! @lndsywst - lots of food, fitness, and cats, just like this blog... ha!

Dim sum & a Devils shutout

On Saturday, we went to our first (and probably only) Caps game of the season! C & I (along with the rest of my family) are huge hockey fans (we had our first date at a Caps game!), and have made it to several games for each of the last few seasons, but with ticket prices rising and increasingly busy schedules, we hadn't had the opportunity yet this year. We remedied that by buying my parents tickets to a game for Christmas, and included ourselves in the fun. The game was this weekend against the New Jersey Devils, and we had a blast! We also took the opportunity to bring my uncle along to his first NHL game, and my college roommate and her husband got tickets to the game, too, so we had quite the crowd!

On the metro into the city

Dad & I down by the ice

We started with dinner at Ping Pong Dim Sum, which was a new experience - I've never had dim sum before, but was willing to try it out! Since only Michelle and her husband had been there before, we let them lead us through the dinner choices and order lots of fun things to try. Dim sum is kind of like Spanish tapas: lots of small plates with a few of each item. If you like something, get another order of it; if you don't like it, try something else! We had fun passing plates of food and bowls of dipping sauces around, and we all found new dishes that we liked. My only complaint was that it was very dark in the restaurant, which made it hard to read the menu and hard to see what I was eating (oh, gosh, I'm getting old, aren't I??) - other than that, it was a lot of fun, and really delicious. I would definitely go back!

After dinner, we headed to the Verizon Center early. We wanted to get there in time to see warm-ups! You are allowed to go down to the boards and see the players up-close during warm-ups, even if your ticket is for a higher-level section (like ours were). We haven't done this in a long time, but we wanted my uncle to get a chance to experience it. It's fun to see the players that close and see how big and fast they are!

Ovi goes flying by...

Awkward goalie stretches. Love Holts!

There were a bunch of kids standing in front of us, and Ovechkin came over to stretch and checked the boards in front of them (which was very exciting for the little ones). He even flipped a puck over the glass to a little boy who was there! I love how interactive the players are with the fans and how appreciative they are of the people who come to see them play.

Uncle & mama having a blast!

The game itself was a bit boring (hate to say it, but it was) - the score was 0-0 until the third period! Towards the end of the third, the heavens opened up, and our Washington Capitals scored three goals in just minutes! It was looking rather bleak, and all of a sudden, we were dominating. I was thrilled that my uncle got to see a couple good goals, and got some excitement (amidst the inevitable excitement of just being at a game) - it was a great way to end things! A shutout is always a great ending - it's so much fun to send the other team home scoreless!

Fun times with one of my favorite friends <3

Hockey selfies (hi girl in the back...)

Back where it all began ;)

So tell me...

• How was your weekend?
• Have you ever tried dim sum? 
• Have you ever been to an NHL game? Or some other kind of professional sporting event?

Can't contain my excitement!

Y'all. Did you hear someone shrieking this morning?? If so, that was me - I am too excited to contain myself, because it is officially my favorite month of the year!! OCTOBER IS THE BEST MONTH EVER. The end.

Brilliant. From etsy!

This month is jam-packed for us: we are warming our house (officially), the neighborhood I grew up in is having it's annual chili cookoff, we're celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary, and we are attending the wedding of some sweet friends of ours in North Carolina! Every weekend has something super fun to look forward to. I'm also looking forward to Halloween this year, because the neighbors told me that there are tons of kids who trick-or-treat around here! I LOVE trick or treaters. I also love candy. It's a great time of year for me :) And, in October, I'm pretty much justified in eating all the candy corn and little pumpkins that I want... right?!

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Finally, today marks the official kick-off of hockey season! We are headed out to a bar tonight to watch some of the first Caps game - can't wait to Rock the Red and see how the boys do tonight!

I am pretty much jumping for joy that my favorite month is here... now, if only it wasn't 84* today!

Change of plans

Today, I was supposed to go see Titanic in 3d with my sister. Then I planned on getting a pedicure, doing some laundry, cleaning a little, and going to the gym. Typical Sunday ahead.

INSTEAD... We're going to the Caps game!! Yesterday, we watched as the team stole an exciting game 5 in Boston, and after the game ended, a friend of C's called and asked if we'd be interested in going to game 6 today if he could get tickets. Umm... Yes!! Tickets were found and purchased, and today we're headed downtown! We're rocking our red and excited to be getting to watch this game in person. Anyone who know us knows we are huge hockey fans - we never pass up an opportunity to go to a game. (side note: our first date was at a Caps game!) So cross your fingers - the Caps could clench the series today! GO CAPS!!

Monday Morning Update: Caps lost :( It was a good game, and we had a lot of fun. But it wasn't a win. It went to overtime, though, and Boston scored first... the end. Game 7 is Wednesday night! Looks like I'll be needing to find a new shirt to wear - we're a bit superstitious in this house about what you wear for wins and losses. Actually, we're a bit superstitious about a number of things when it comes to the playoffs... normal, right?