As part of his efforts to woo me, Keith took me to Hermosa Beach in California for our first Valentine's Day together. While out there we visited one of his college buddies, who told us how he and his wife received an ice cream maker for a wedding gift. They envisioned making ice cream with their family and building all these wonderful memories, when in fact they've made ice cream once and stashed the ice cream maker away in the back cupboard. 

Just when I thought we couldn't top last Saturday, I think we did this past weekend.

Since learning Catoctin Creek Distilling Company offered a bottling workshop, Keith and I were convinced this would be something we needed to check out.  Yes, Keith ventured out there two Saturdays in a row. And trust me when I say I don't think he minded at all.

The workshop started with signing labels with any personal message. So if you see any of their Watershed Gin referencing the Mavs or asking if you "Got tonic," then you're quite lucky to have acquired a bottle we labeled.

There were several stations that allowed you to actually bottle, insert the cork, or seal up the bottles before they were handed off for labeling and then packing. I'd estimate that at least half the group simply stayed put with the labeling like Keith and me. The work was followed up by a tasting and pizza as a thank you for helping them bottle about 2,000 bottles of their gin.

Rather than stick around for the pizza, we slipped out and ventured over to Leesburg for lunch. We both love French food and with Saturday being Bastille Day it was a given we were going to properly celebrate. I've learned to let Keith's sense of adventure be our guide because lunch was simple but phenomenal at the little Eiffel Tower Cafe.

Keith enjoyed plump moules and I had an unexpectedly light shrimp salad free of any mayonnaise Deviating a bit from the usual drink selections we shared a bottle of rose' wine and,  of course, had to finish off with desert. Desert was also delicious. I'm still craving that light lemon sponge cake with fresh berries.

It's not often that venture outside of the Beltway, or even the District for that matter, that we had to make the most of the trip. I have wanted to explore the Virginia wineries and Keith was open to the idea. We visited two that were near our closet location. One was a solid winery and one was a bit off to say the least. I'd highly recommend checking out the North Gate Vineyard. I found several of their wines to be quite enjoyable and was disappointed to learn they haven't made their way into the Whole Foods in DC yet. There was something romantic about their vineyard...the haze from the earlier rain, the vines, and just being out with my handsome husband.

The second winery was the Notavia Vineyard. This place just started on a sour note for us. You don't tell us that you knew nothing about wine when you started and that you purchased the land on a whim. That definitely didn't impress us. Secondly, this vineyard's unique selling point is their pairing the wine with music over food. Didn't really work for me. It must have worked on Keith because he purchased the bottle that paired with the Dropkick Murphys. For those not familiar with the band, let me introduce you. 

Don't worry, if you hadn't heard of them before then. We had to find them online while driving away from the vineyard. It was almost decided to head on over to Charleston, WV for the casino, but reason stepped in and we headed back to the District.

Are there any vineyards in Virginia that you recommend? Or maybe there's a distillery near by you would suggest instead? Hopefully, you're weekend was awesome too!

“I do not have my soul mate,” Ms. Roiphe realizes, “and most likely will never have another, but I will be fine…I will be sad often but not always."

Last Saturday, the 7th of July, I had a pretty damn good day.  First thing in the morning, I drove out to the South Riding Golf Club to take a golf lesson that my lovely wife purchased for me as an early birthday gift.  Within five minutes my instructor, Kevin Hamluk, had me hitting the ball farther and straighter.  After bombing about 50 drives, we cut the lesson short because it was nearing 100 degrees.  I was okay with this because I had already sweat through my golf shorts.

Since I was out in "Real America" (Nicole and I don't go outside the beltway terribly often), I decided I'd pop over to Purcelville to visit Catoctin Creek Distillery.  This was a big day for Catoctin, as they were releasing 100 bottles of a cask strength version of their excellent Roundstone Rye.  There were about 50 people in line, which was fortuitous because they limited each customer to 2 bottles of the cask strength rye.  I was about 30th in line so I secured my allotment with no problems.  While I was at the counter I decided to pick up their Watershed Gin and a bottle of their barrel aged maple syrup.

Since I was out in Virginia anyway, I decided to stop at the local VABC store.  As luck would have it, I was able to find the latest rye release from Jim Beam, Knob Creek Rye.  So it was sort of a big day for booze purchasing.

When I got home, I was fairly tired (I hadn't driven that far in one day in over a year), but I pushed through and sampled the Cask Strength Roundstone Rye.  It starts grassy with a little mint at the end and is a seriously spicy rye--it is the purest form of rye I've ever tasted.  I very much enjoyed my first pour, and I'm looking forward to spending some more time with it in the future.

After a brief nap, Nicole and I got dressed and went over to Citronelle, which is widely regarded as one of the best restaurants  in the city.  It. Was. Phenomenal.  We both had the 10 course tasting menu with the wine pairing.  Everything from the lobster sandwich, to the halibut, to the foie gras (which I usually don't like) was fantastic.  We both agreed it wasn't as good as Komi, but far better than  CityZen. 

Anyway, Saturday was one hell of an enjoyable day.

The Fourth of July is by far my favorite holiday of the year. Apparently, I have a hidden pyromaniac just waiting to burst out. Unfortunately that has been repressed after moving to Washington, DC. At least, we call the nation’s capital home and are never short on things to occupy the time.

The heat wave mentioned on my prior occasions seems to be around for the remainder of the summer. Talk about putting a damper on most plans. Somehow we have found a way to power through and enjoy ourselves. Yesterday we hosted friends for grilled burgers and hot dogs along with fresh salads and watermelon. And because life is short there were Rice Krispy treats, blueberry crumble, and of course a little bourbon thrown in for good measure.

Monday has been a little slow moving for us. It felt like most of our weekend was spent with this as the view.