Things I Love: November 2023
– Vitamin D3 supplements
– Green Goddess seasoning at Trader Joe’s
I’ve been using this seasoning on my salads and vegetables while cooking at home.
– My [near] daily little treat: the Morning Bun at Tatte
– Practicing my Spanish live on Twitch.
– Cute and cozy little sweaters for Bali
– Hiking in Great Falls
When did I become a Nature Girl, you ask? Well, to be honest – I’m still not… quite! But, spoiled from guided expeditions through Yellowstone National Park a la Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Big Sky, Montana, I’ve definitely fallen for Mother Earth’s spell.
Great Falls Park is located just outside of D.C., named for the beautiful series of rapids and waterfalls that it overlooks. There are multiple hiking trails within the park of varying difficulty. Old Carriage Trail is one of the easiest, being paved along the entire length and lined with tall trees. It has a favorite of mine for this time of the year because of the gorgeous fall foliage and the birds chirping overhead.
I also love to walk the length of the Potomac River by using the River Trail and the North River Trail. Though rocky, narrow, and steep at many times, it its so rewarding to look over the edge of a cliff and see the majestic Potomac River. As you venture further North or South, the river becomes calmer. Though wading and swimming are not permitted, I like to sometimes navigate the shallow stone paths out onto the huge river rocks. I can’t help but feel a sense of peace when looking out over the placid, serene water.
I look forward to more outdoor adventures at Great Falls and other National Parks, especially now that I have a National Parks pass! Thank you so much to the person who gifted it to me. I look forward to exploring the Mighty 5 in Utah, Yosemite, Olympic National Park, Denali, and beyond! (And I’ve already started saving up Amazon gift cards for some wildlife appropriate lenses: the Sony 200-600mm is my next purchase!)
– The delicious successes and failures that have come with my pastry-making attempts.
– Planning winter vacations in warm destinations for exclusive date travel with you
– Maintaining my regimen of facials, spa massages, and personal training sessions… in an effort to keep my summer body all winter! I hope to keep my skin glowing and my my body in tact all year long
– Makeshift wine tasting dates, featuring interesting wines ordered from Happy Gemini.
I am still mourning the loss of Komi, the critically acclaimed Greek restaurant in Logan Circle where Johnny Monis delighted diners over a 12 course tasting menu. Even though I’ve eaten at hundreds more restaurants since visiting in 2018, I still can’t put that impeccably prepared katsikaki – a bone-in leg of baby goat, roasted for four hours – out of my mind. Monis closed Komi during the pandemic and paused the beloved downstairs Thai restaurant, Little Serow, in the fall of 2022. In their stead is Gemini x Happy Ice Cream (or Happy Gemini), a little neighborhood wine shop and carry-out eatery that serves up everything from pizza to gyros, mozzarella sticks, and salads. Though I favor more traditional ice cream and gelato flavors, their eclectic selection is always tempting.
What keeps me coming back most often, though, is the curated selection of natural wines they stock. Gemini is my go-to wine shop when I want something outside of the ordinary and outside of Itay, France, and Spain, where three-quarters of all the wine in the world are produced. For a recent date, I picked up a bottle of Veltlínske Zelené from Slovakian winemaker Magula. Fearing it might be too experimental for our palates, doubled back for a bottle of Rioja Tinto, made from Tempranillo by Sandra Bravo at Sierra de Toloño – just in case! I should not have been fearful, though: we promptly polished off both bottles over a take-out order from 2Fifty BBQ!
Monis said that closing Komi and focusing on Gemini has allowed him to be “…part of people’s lives in a more relaxed way”. And, truly, I can’t think of a more relaxing way to spend time with my lovers and friends than with a nice bottle of wine, carry-out containers, and great conversation!
– Depeche Mode’s album “Violator”
– Watching the sun rise on my morning runs.
I typically run first thing in the morning. I love the energy boost that comes from a tough workout to start your day, but the problem is that the energy comes after the workout. Not before.
Some days it is hard for me to drag myself out of the bed, so I have to find an incentive. And, as of late, that incentive has been the opportunity to watch the sun rise during my morning run.
I love the quiet, meditative stillness that is held in the atmosphere just before dawn, which yields to the burst of life and color that accompanies the sun as it comes up over the horizon. It is an invigorating experience to watch the sunrise – all the more so on those challenging days where I have to tap into my self-discipline mechanisms to overcome the temptation to sleep in.
