Date Detox: Free Movie Night!

This past Friday night boyfriend and I decided to save some money and go to a free outdoor movie. DC's Golden Triangle has a great outdoor movie program at the The Heurich House Museum in the garden. It was surprisingly small and intimate, and the movie, A Philidephia Story, was fantastic. Katherine Hepburn was hilarious, and Cary Grant - le sigh. 

I put together a picnic and a pitcher of Pimm's, and we headed over for a fun and free night. 

I highly recommend heading over for the next movie. They have one left because of a rain date. Some Like it Hot will play July 28th at sunset! 

Foodie Detox: Taco Thursday

Last night was gorgeous here in the District. It was breezy -jeans and long sleeve t-shirt weather. I had to have dinner outside. Since our apartment doesn't boast a patio, we headed over to Pizzeria Paradiso (best pizza in D.C. in IMHO) for brews, antipasto, and Paradiso pizza. It was delicious, and even though we had to wait twice as long for the patio, it was worth it. However, beautiful al fresco dining does not help to reinforce my determination to spend less on dinners out.  In order to renew that determination, I'm on a mission: discover the best summer taco recipe. One night a week for the next four weeks I'm going to cook up a taco recipe and rate it. (I really like tacos). 

Here are your contenders: 

1. These "the best you'll ever have" fish tacos from A Cup of Jo . . . I've tried recipes from this series before and they've all been delicious. This spaghetti sauce really is the best I've ever had. 

2. These delicious looking shrimp taco's from theKitchn . . . 

3. These shrimp tacos with chipotle cream . . . 

4. These shrimp tacos from the Pioneer Woman Cooks . . . 

These are all seafood because I like seafood. In the summer it just feels lighter somehow. I'm excited to cook up the first batch tonight! Possibly with margaritas. Studying for the bar necessitates margaritas. 

What To Do When You Want to Spend

The urge to shop generally creeps up on me over the course of a couple days. It starts as a little twinge at the back of my spine, a little thought that I just might need something, and ends up as a serious nagging that if I don't have that dress/rug/painting my life will not be complete. (That description is ever-so-slightly melodramatic). 

I think the solution is to stop the urge while it's still a twinge. To do that...its important to figure out why you feel the need to spend. For me, its generally one of a few things: 


Problem: I feel insecure. If my skinny jeans are feelings less than skinny and my bon-bon intake has been at a high, I start to feel uncomfortable in my skin. I want new things that make me feel good. 

Solution: Do something else that will make you more comfortable. For me, a long run, or an extra sweaty session at the gym is usually a cure. Most people do not gain weight in a matter of a few days. You feel bad in your clothing, you do not look different. You need to change your perception, not pull out the plastic for a new dress. So do what it is that makes you feel better, a workout, a long walk, or focus on healthy eating for a few days. 

Problem: I am disorganized. I am generally an organized person. I don't like a lot of clutter, especially since we live in a one bedroom apartment - with animals.

Sidenote: This is actually an issue as boyfriend is a clutter-monster. How can one person generate so much paper/letters/stuff that has no place? I purchased baskets for these things, and am forever putting his useless crap clutter into them. This starts arguments about where things are - "In a basket!" "Which one?!" "Not sure...check the kitchen" --- angry silence. Take whichever side you choose - but in a 750 sq. foot apartment with a dog and two cats, you need ALL the space you can eek out. 

However, we all get disorganized at times. With traveling, work, school - you get busy and things fall behind. I want to buy things for the apartment when it gets messy. When I don't know where my things are, I can tend to forget that I actually own the thing I think I need to buy. 

I share this for the sake of honesty. I was changing over my wardrobe from winter to summer and things were a MESS. 

Solution: Organize. One way I like to do this is by placing the clothes I'll wear most during a current season on a clothing rack in my bedroom. If I can see everything, I'm more apt to realize I actually have quite a few options. Organizing also forces you to come into contact with the skeletons in your closet: read - the dress you just had to have, then put in your closet and never wore. This also discourages shopping. 

So clean your apartment, organize a bit, and you may find that you don't need anything at all. 


Problem: I am bored. This might be the reason people spend the most. Since I've been trying to spend less, I am trying to go out less. However, when the weather is nice and outdoor patios are calling to me, This can be ROUGH. Maybe I'm spoiled, but one too many nights cooking at home and I want to go out and explore (and yes - spend). 

Solution: Get excited about little things. 

Make dinner special somehow. I have a new goal this summer to perfect the fish taco. I love them, but when I make them at home they lack the pizzazz of restaurant fish tacos. A challenge like that makes it fun to cook at home. 

Find a show to get excited about or have a girls night in. I don't watch much T.V. religiously. A couple staple shows can give you something to look forward to. Sunday nights are reserved for Game of Thrones (I am still grieving, even though I knew last night's episode was coming). I'm currently also loving Hannibal (Thursday nights at 10 on NBC). 

Girls night in is great, you get to spend the evening having conversation with the people you want to talk to, without waiting in line for drinks or yelling to hear one another. I'm not saying that anyone should get glued to the T.V., just that if you don't watch much already, it might be fun (and economical) to substitute cocktails or a meal out for a night in. 

Prepared for a Friday Girl's Night In 

Play a game. I'm a big fan of scrabble. Cribbage is another favorite; my boyfriend and I learned to play it over painkillers with a bartender at a dive bar in Vieques, a small island in Puerto Rico. I am the current reigning champion. (I also handle winning with grace)

The main thing is to identify what it is you actually need when you think you want to spend. Do you desperately need a new pair of jeans, or do you need the peace of mind that comes from a clean apartment or a good workout?

Restaurant Detox: Granville Moore's Moules Bleu

It's pretty safe to say that eating is the center of my day. I love food. Breakfast - good. Lunch - good. Dinner- what I live for. I take dinner seriously, and trying a new restaurant is one of my very favorite activities. One activity that trumps trying a new restaurant? Having mussels and beers at Granville Moore's. That wins. Hands down. 

Granville Moore's is a staple in D.C. It's on H Street, which is one of my favorite areas to have a great time.  You can pretend to be British at the Queen Vic (order the bone marrow!), participate in a drunk spelling bee at the Rock and Roll Hotel (8 p.m. every Friday!), eat giant bowls of amazing ramen noodles at Toki Underground (don't miss the pork belly bourbon cocktail!), and hang out at the Star and Shamrock, a place that's half Jewish deli, half Irish pub. Yes, thank you, I will have some latkes with my Guinness. Okay....I digress. 

With all that awesomeness Granville Moore's is still my first choice on H Street. They serve a million kinds of Belgian beer (clearly I never engage in hyperbole), and they have the best mussels. 

If you come to D.C. for a visit, you MUST check out H Street. If you live here, like me, a trip to H Street can become an expensive habit. Because it's an up-and-coming area it doesn't have great metro access, so getting out there is generally a taxi ride. Then I can never visit just one of the bars there, so it ends up being a pretty expensive night. 

However, Grandville Moore's Chef Teddy Folkman was kind enough to do provide a video recipe with instuctions on how to make their famous Moules Bleu. SO SO good. 

My boyfriend is the mussels cook in this apartment, and they turn out almost exactly like Granville Moore's! The upside? it's MUCH MUCH less expensive than a trip to H Street. 

Yummmmmmmm

The breakdown: 

(We had spinach and cooking oils in the apartment already). 

Mussels: 3.99 a pound at Whole Foods (3.99 a pound!)

White Wine: 8.99 (plus most of the bottle left for drinking!) 

Bacon: 5.00  (plus leftovers for breakfast) 

Bleu Cheese: 5.00 (also with leftovers for other meals)

Crusty Bread: 1.99 (must have for dipping up broth) 

Total: 12.4 Dollars/ Person 

So you know I'm not a dirty liar... 

That INCLUDES 2 glasses of wine each and leftover ingredients. At a restaurant, you couldn't get two glasses of wine for 12 dollars. 

Compare with a night for 2 on H Street 

Taxi ride (both ways): 25.00

Pit stop at the Queen Vic: 15.00

Dinner at Granville Moore's: approx 50.00 for mussels/beer/service (still its not horrible for dinner out!)

My insistence that we continue to galavant on H Street: 30.00 

Total: 60.00 per person 

So clearly it saves to cook! Plus, cooking is fun! (It's also fun to blog while watching boyfriend cook). 

I will absolutely continue to support Granville Moore's by eating in the restaurant, as a treat or when friends come into town. This is a great option for saving some money and still having a great dinner in! 

P.S. I do in fact realize that my 12.40/person dinner falls pathetically short of the money-saving meals that are out there. This is a blog about being responsiblish. ISH is the key word, or ...suffix? fake suffix? 

Whatever it is, it's about the progress! (Plus, I'm pretty sure those 99 cent meals do not include wine. If you can include two glasses of wine per person for 99 cents... well that is just clearly impossible...challenge not accepted.)