Georgetown Cupcake

On Sunday, Mike was nice enough to walk all the way to Georgetown so I could finally go to Georgetown Cupcake. If you don't know, the owners have a show on TLC called DC Cupcakes. I remember my Aunt Alice telling me about it and ordering Erin some of their cupcakes. They were delicious! Such unbelievable original flavors and other creative cakes baked to perfection. 

 Mike being such a great sport, waited in line (red shirt in the back) for me while I took pictures.

I was definitely surprised how small the shop actually is. It explains the line! I suppose that is a great marketing tactic. If there is a line, its for a reason... because their product is damn delicious, on top of appetizing to the eye.

Red Velvet is always my go-to. 

Red Velvet, Strawberry (unbelievable), Vanilla Birthday, Milk Chocolate Birthday, Caramel Apple (Sept. Special), Cinnamon Coffee Crumb (Sept. Special), and Peanut Butter Fudge (very rich).

The October cupcakes on special look amazing too.

Georgetown is literally a shopping dream come true. I wish I could've had a whole day there, but I didn't want to make Mike bored all day long. So, I just stuck to the cupcakes. haha.

That wraps up our weekend. DC was never a place that was on the top of my travel list, but I'm so glad that we went. If you are looking for a great mini vacation, Washington, DC and Georgetown are great places to see.

DC

Mike and I had a fabulous weekend in Washington, DC. We got in on Friday night and were in awe of the drive in. At one point I thought, "is that the Pentagon?" and sure enough, there it was. HUGE. The Arlington Memorial Bridge is a pretty awesome entrance for our capital too. DC was completely different than I envisioned. Before we went site-seeing on Saturday, Friday night we went out near our hotel in the Foggy Bottom area. Let me tell you, parking has got to be the worst I have ever encountered near our hotel. I would suggest finding a spot ANYWHERE (cheap all day/night garage, on the street, etc.) and then taking a bus or train to where you need to go and walk. But hey, if that was the only bad thing about our trip, we will take it. It all worked out. 

George Washington University is also in this area, so we were able to check out a few nightlife hot spots. A cute little place called Froggy Bottom Pub, is where we spent most of our time that night. Good local brew and free smells. We already ate before we got there, but holy moly did that place smell delicious. Garlic and fresh spices, yum.

Saturday was for site-seeing. The Lincoln Memorial was Mike's favorite because he loves Abraham Lincoln. I can't tell you how many movies and books he has about him. 

It was so massive. 

 The reflecting pond was massive too. The walking we did on this trip has left me exhausted. My legs are actually sore. I was surprised to see that the pond was very dirty, especially compared to the other ponds and fountains. But the view, wow. It looks like they are doing a lot of renovating to the Washington Monument and other memorials. 

 Korean Veterans Memorial. I loved all the fountains, but definitely this one for this engraved piece. "Freedom is Not Free." I think some people forget about this. We are not entitled to anything. People fought and died for our freedom.

And finally, we made it to the Capital Building. Once again, massive. I can now say that I've been on the ground that millions of people have gathered for many presidential inaugurations. When I see the coverage now, I can truly understand that surface area of people that are there. Unbelievable. 

How could we come to DC without visiting the White House? Its crazy how you can only see the front of it from yards away. The house is so secluded, which I understand. We kept walking around expecting to be able to see it if we were in the vicinity. Wrong. You can't even tell that its there from the back or sides. Pretty awesome for being located in the middle of a city. 

The United States Navy Memorial.

I loved just about every fountain there. They were so pretty and most quite elaborate.

I was so excited to finally get myself into ZARA. I never went to the ones in Chicago, but they have two near and in DC. I'm in love with all of their clothes because everything is my style. Leather, unique cuts, fabulous shoes, chic comfy clothes, etc.

 The Nationals Park was much different from The Cell or Wrigley. You get off the underground metro, walk outside, and are greeted by the welcome sign below. Extremely convenient. 

Saturday night we watched waited for some Washington Nationals baseball. Unfortunately, we were unable to see the game because it kept raining and raining, and raining some more. Eventually it was cancelled, but we waited it out for Mike's friend, Tanner Roark #59.

I'm going to save all of my other "sweet" photos for tomorrow, but here is a glimpse of Washington, DC and our experience there. We will definitely go back, especially since we have Nationals tickets to redeem for next season! Hope everyone had a great weekend. I'm tired and can't believe its Monday already. I'll be looking forward to the weekend all week again, to relax this time and maybe do some Fall baking.

Saved

We can all have a sigh of relief after the announcement on September 8th, reinstating the sport of wrestling back into the 2020 Olympic Games. Back in February, I was shocked that the sport was put on the chopping block. Of all sports, really? Isn't wrestling the oldest sport? The sport that was part of the Ancient Olympic Games? 

This is how I felt in February.

Although I have obviously never participated in the sport, my brother Blake was introduced to wrestling by Jon Morrison's (OK State) dad, when he was just about 5 or 6 years old. I remember Blake thinking that he was going to be giving people the Stone Cold Stunner and showing them what The Rock was cooking. He found out very quickly that was not the case, but started to love the sport anyway. I remember getting up entirely too early in the morning (I'm not a morning person) for weigh-ins and sitting in a gym for countless hours every Sunday. After time, I started to love the sport too. In high school and college I was constantly checking Illinois Matmen, The Mat.com, and Flowrestling for coverage, stats, and wrestling talk. I even wrote an article for class about the Minooka Wrestling team and their 2010 Illinois Dual State Championship. My article about Morrison and his experience at Oklahoma State was featured on Illinois Matmen. Very exciting! Being so far away from my brother in Iowa for college, I was unable to see the majority of his matches in high school. These sites were all of my outlets, along with fellow fans and parents texting me the play-by-play.

There is something about the mental and physical toughness in wrestling that is so great to watch. You don't have a team with you on the mat. Its just you against your opponent. Although Blake has taken a different road to the sport of golf, I think that wrestling taught him respect, discipline, and mental toughness to never give up. Its not just a sport, it teaches kids valuable lessons for life. Blake was lucky enough to have some pretty great coaches, team mates, and fans surrounding him.

Because of the long tournaments, traveling, and amount of time that you spend with the people on your team, it creates a new family of its own. A wrestling family. My own family has met so many wonderful people because of the sport. I met one of my best friends when we both attended the 2008 NCAA tournament in Saint Louis, MO. I have some friends for a lifetime. 

I think its a testament to the wrestling community how much support has been generated to "Save Olympic Wrestling." Football has the NFL, baseball has the MLB, but wrestling only has the Olympics. I'm so glad that young men and women still have the opportunity to make the Olympic Games their ultimate goal in the sport. With the Olympic success wrestling has earned recently, how can you take it away? Well, I'm glad the IOC didn't. 

I want to say thank you to everyone who helped "Save Olympic Wrestling." 

Perks of Being a Wallflower

Infinite.

By definition: limitless or endless in space, extent, or size; impossible to measure or calculate.

Don't we all at one point or another want to feel infinite? The moments in your life when you truly feel like you belong, right where you are. In Charlie's case, it could simply be a time when the perfect song comes on the radio.

I've been wanting to read and watch Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky for quite some time and I finally got my hands on it. I'm going to start off by saying its not what I expected. 

Its interesting how the book makes every character completely anonymous, while the movie puts faces with names. I'm a firm believer in reading the book before watching the movie. Normally it tends to disappoint me, but not in this case. The movie did a great job of sticking to the book and giving the characters and setting more substance. I also enjoyed the actors that were chosen for the movie. Emma Watson (Sam) and Logan Lerman (Charlie) were great choices! 

Charlie writes letters to an anonymous friend explaining his world around him. You immediately know when reading these letters that as a freshman in high school, Charlie is different. Different in a naive, almost childish way. Yet, extremely intelligent. Charlie is a wallflower. He meets a group of friends that happen to be "different" just like him, but in their own ways. Prior to meeting them, Charlie had a difficult time finding friends. Charlie finds quality over quantity. Its a lesson that I have always circled back to. The people that are always there for you are your true friends. There is no use in having 100 "friends" if no one is there when you need them, in the best and worst of times. The way the author narrates through the letters in Charlie's naive tone, you are still able to understand what the actual setting is or what other characters are thinking. Not just what Charlie believes. 

One topic I found intriguing was when one of the characters brings up how there are such high standards for things because they have already been done before. "...the problem was that since everything has happened already, it makes it hard to break new ground. Nobody can be as big as the Beatles because the Beatles already gave it a 'context.' The reason they were so big is that they had no one to compare themselves with, so the sky was the limit." Even though times change, this concept does not. I think it applies to sports, pop culture, music, and the people you surround yourself with. We often compare people to others and really, is that fair? I understand that sometimes its just easier to compare when trying to help people relate or understand what you are getting at. But at the same time, we are all different. We are all our own person and shouldn't be limited to what someone thinks we are.  Even if you are a Wallflower. :)

Charlie finds true friendship in Sam and Patrick. There is always that moment in a friendship where something clicks and you know that someone has really been a true friend to you. You can look back on everything that you have been through together and know. Charlie travels through a year of high school, "participating" for a better quality of his life. And even still, there is always room for improvement. He learns a lot about himself and finds where he believes he belongs. I would say he found his Infinite. 

If you haven't read it before, put this book on your reading list! A nice, easy read that makes you question and think about different topics, which I find intriguing. The movie won't disappoint you either.

Taste and See

Looking for healthy recipes to fuel your athletic physique, deal with food allergies, improve overall health, or shed some pounds? Taste and See may be a solution for you! My cousin, Lisa Lubanovic (who happens to live in NC too!) put together a cookbook that includes 100% paleo, primal, zone, gluten-free, and dairy-free recipes. The cookbook manages to create solutions without sacrificing flavor. I personally know people who struggle with food allergies and have resorted to juicing most of what they consume. Taste and See can now provide other options for them too.

Growing up Lisa went from specialist to specialist trying to diagnose her issues. She has been tested for Celiac, Crohn's, and even Cancer, among other things. At the age 30, she was finally tested for food allergies and to her surprise, several foods showed a reaction. After two weeks of completely eliminating wheat/gluten (her highest food allergy) from her diet, nearly all of her symptoms were gone.  Lisa was taking medicine that doctors had told her she would be on for the rest of her life. By adjusting her diet, she was able to come off of every single medication she was on, under her doctor's supervision.

When adjusting her diet, she had to reinvent her family's menu. Lisa went from creating meals to survive to creating dishes that were even better tasting than the pervious versions. A lot of her recipes were created through trial and error, while acting as a sort of "food scientist." She was asked by some Paleo-devoted-diet friends to compile her recipes in book form. After three months, she had over 100 recipes to share and ultimately the birth of Taste and See. Lisa has been eating clean for over three years and as a result, has unbelievable energy and no returning symptoms. #WIN

One of my favorite blog posts on her website is Eating Healthy for Life. Lisa provides an informative outline for maintaining a healthy lifestyle mentally, at the grocery store, and in the kitchen. I always have a hard time at the store by caving for the unhealthy snacks. And after a long day at work, its difficult to always choose the healthy option in the kitchen. However, Mike and I have planned out meals for the week in advance and its proved to be both more economical and healthy. 

I will be using some of the recipes in our weekly menu from Taste and See. Our objective is to simply eat healthier and fuel our work outs. Mike and I do not have food allergies. Its easy to say you want to eat healthier, but it can be challenging to put together diverse, tasty, and nutritional meals day in and day out.  I also find myself wondering how to actually cook some of these foods and still maintain a healthy recipe. Coconut oil has been a great substitute in cooking for me.

Lisa has agreed to giveaway one of her fabulous cookbooks to one lucky winner. You can enter to win up to eight (8) times by joining my site, following me on bloglovin', sharing this post on Facebook, tweeting about the cookbook giveaway, liking Taste and See on Facebook, following @_tasteandsee_ on Twitter, joining the Taste and See Newsletter, and signing up for the Recipe of the Month.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please be honest about your entries. Make sure to actually join, follow, like, or sign up for each entry. You can also purchase her cookbook in print or digital form on the Taste and See website. Thank you!

Fifty Shades

Everyone is in a craze about the man named to play Mr. Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy will play Mr. Christian Grey. While fashion model, Dakota Johnson as Miss Anastasia Steele. I guess you could say I'm a little bit disappointed. Although I'm sure they will do a great job, they are not who I envisioned. I absolutely loved the books and pictured actors I thought would fit the characters. 

See what I mean? :/

When I think of Christian Grey, I think of someone with darker hair and brilliant blue eyes. Christian is a perfectly sculpted and chiseled structure of a man. I've always thought of White Collar's Matt Bomer...

I mean, c'mon right?

Anastasia Steele has fair skin and beautiful, flowing dark hair. She needs to be innocent looking and young, yet feisty in an awkward and surprisingly sexy way. I don't see that when I look at pictures of Dakota. In my opinion, either of the following would be excellent choices for Ana.

Troian Bellisario (Spencer) from Pretty Little Liars.

Anne Hathaway.

What do you think about the cast? Who would you choose? 

If you haven't read the books yet, you must! A lot of people get their pants in a bind about the content. My response is if you can be mature for 1,000 pages, then you can enjoy the wonderful love story of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. The story kept me turning the pages more than anything. The interesting start to their relationship is intriguing and keeps you wanted to know more. 

Laters, baby.