After a week away, we spent a lazy week at home getting adjusted back, but we will be leaving again soon (this time with the whole family) for the east coast.
This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…
We are so thankful to be back home with the girls.
I started reading Divergent on our way to Singapore. I like futuristic sci-fi stuff; it’s been interesting so far.
Ben and I have been craving certain dishes we ate in Singapore, so I’m excited to start trying out some new recipes to recreate those delicious dishes here, but maybe with a much healthier slant.
I want to make this peanut ball soup.
Soul learned bangs aren’t for her.
Jessica emailed me to share her shop, Oh Miroir Miroir, and I can totally imagine my children having so much fun pretending in front of these mirrors. Adorable!
Love this cute dress and it seems to be reasonably priced too.
We’re so excited and thankful to be invited by Colonial Williamsburg to check out that wonderful historic city, and since we will be there, we planned to spend a couple days touring Washington D.C. too. I get super geeky about historical things, so the girls and I are gearing up by reading lots of books to learn as much as we can before we go. Ben lived there for a few years before moving to California, so he’s still somewhat familiar with certain things, but it’s been over a decade since he lived there. I’ve been a couple times, one of the times was with Ben while we were dating. We will be staying downtown near the National Mall, so if any of you have any suggestions of places to eat, we’d love to hear them! I have a list from my research on yelp, but I find you guys always have wonderful suggestions.
I lived in CW during high school. The cheese shop in historic CW is a landmark. Make sure you ask for bread ends and house sauce. So yummy.
AWWWWWW. Soul looks so cute in her bangs, so sad (in a cute way) that she didn’t like them. You’ve raised confident girls who certainly know who they are! 😉
Danica
Love the peanut ball soup too- its called Wedang Ronde in Indonesia and I could eat bowl after bowl of it aswell.
I’m going to try give it a go, perhaps we can compare notes afterwards? Be interesting to see the similarities even though we will be cooking it in totally different hemispheres.
Best of luck
Loovvvveee Divergent! loved the movie, loved the books, totally got sucked into that world. And I would love to see you recreate Singaporean dishes 🙂 Mei and I are missing you and Ben!
How fun! I’m sure the kiddos will LOVE Williamsburg! We live not too far from there and love to take daytrips to that area. Be sure to try Good Stuff Eatery while you’re in DC. It’s near the Library of Congress and well worth the visit!
Thank you for the suggestions!!! I can’t wait to be out there with the whole family!
you HAVE to get a burger, cheese fries and a concrete (ice cream) at SHAKE SHACK in DC! you will not regret it at all. also spike mendolson (of top chef) has a pizza place called We The Pizza thats so so delish!
I love williamsburg! i went there as a kid and had the best time.
Read the American Girls Felicity books with the girls…your older two will so get it when they get there. And explore…there are so many “secret” gardens.
Ben will definitely be about the gardens!
We were in D.C and Williamsburg last year. (We’re in Delaware so it’s not far). You’ll have tons of fun. Visit the Zoo in D.C. for sure! I also recommend going to Jamestown if you are in Williamsburg. It was much more exciting for my fiancé’s son than Williamsburg, actually! (And us adults, too). Have fun!! Bring sneakers!!
I will look up Jamestown. We won’t have a car, but if we can get there somehow, and if it’s close enough, I’d love to visit Jamestown too!
Did you try the rice dumplings when you were here in Singapore? We often buy them frozen, boil them in some water and roll them in chopped peanuts. It’s really good. I had some last week at home. You might be able to find them in Chinatown in LA but I understand if you prefer to make it since you are the kind who makes lots of stuff. Will love to read about it if you try.
Oh and I am a divergent fan too. I love futuristic shows that tease my imagination.
I need to find frozen ones here!!!
I second the votes for Good Stuff Eatery! The burgers are ridiculously delicious (better than Shake Shack in my opinion). It’s on Pennsylvania Ave in Capitol Hill. The Native American Museum, while rather disappointing museum-wise, has a really good food at the Mitsitam Cafe. There are 5 different food stations with various Native American dishes to try. Unique, delicious and convenient, if you are on museum row for the day. There’s something there everyone will like because the variety is quite large.
Some of my favorite places as a kid in DC were The Botanical Gardens (right next to the Capitol), the Zoo, FDR Memorial, American History museum (which has been recently re-done and more amazing than ever) and the Hirshhorn (which has lots of shade for kiddos to run around and a fountain to enjoy too).
If you want to get out of the city (and the heat!) for a few hours, Annapolis is only 45 minutes away. It’s Maryland’s capitol, right on the water. So charming and historical and the home of the Naval Academy, which is free to get in as long as you have your ID’s. There is a really neat (free!) museum and lots of places for little ones to run around. Plus, it’s usually about 10 degrees cooler than it is in downtown DC!
Welcome to East Coast! Hope you enjoy your time here.
We probably won’t have time to get out of the city, but I will bookmark this for next time. We’re so excited about our trip and I appreciate the time you took to share suggestions! A lot of you are recommending similar things, so we will be stopping by those places for sure!
Hi Ruby – I also second a lot of the recs here.
You can probably start one morning at the Smithsonian museums– Natural History for dinosaurs, etc., American History, and/or Air & Space– and then grab lunch at the Native American Museum since its closest to the Capitol. From there, pop into the Botanical Gardens and/or walk up to the Capitol dome for fun photos. FYI, there are tours for both the Capitol and Library of Congress but might not be as entertaining for the little ones. Both Good Stuff (burgers) and We the Pizza are a short walk on the other side of the Capitol for a snack (milkshakes!) or early dinner.
For a second day, you can probably do Gallery Place/Chinatown and the zoo, both off the red line on the Metro.
The zoo would be fun to check out the baby panda. Here are some food recs in that area:
http://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/1e6hn3/some_good_restaurants_by_the_national_zoo/
Around Gallery Place/Chinatown, there’s the Spy Museum (with Shake Shack next door), the National Building Museum (which just opened this maze exhibit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2014/07/03/at-the-national-building-museums-big-maze-you-can-test-your-internal-gps/), and the National Portrait Gallery (pretty indoor courtyard for the kiddos to run around). Chinatown itself is very small and commercialized but there are family friendly restaurants in that area. Matchbox (pizza) has several locations in the city, including one in Gallery Place/Chinatown, and is pretty laid back. Hill Country BBQ, originally based in NYC, also has a restaurant close by.
I’m originally from an hour south of Williamsburg but what I will say about DC/VA summers is that it is hot hot hot (and humid!) so its always good to factor in indoor activities like museums to get a reprieve from the heat.
Enjoy!!
Thank you!!!! I’m going with a lot of your recommendations! I really appreciate you taking the time to share!
If you are willing to take a short drive outside DC, there is an awesome Persian restaurant called Shamshiry in Vienna, Virginia. They serve just about the best chicken and steak kabobs, as well as fluffiest rice you will ever find. I’ve been going there for over 10 years and the place has never let me down. It is completely off the beaten path- in the midst of high-rise buildings. You would never find it unless you knew it’s there.
This sounds delicious, but we unfortunately won’t have a car! We plant to use metro and our feet to get around.