It's Britney Betch!

I could not be more excited for this weekend!  Two of my favorites are arriving in the DC area!  The first – Olivia (Boliv) Bulcao, my littlest sister!  The second – Britney Spears, pop icon and favorite troubled celeb!  I have been “possessed” with Britney since the 90s!  This included the “Blackout” period when she shaved her head, dated a fugly paparazzo, and fired the genius team that led her to stardom! 

Even though I have remained a loyal fan of Ms. Spears – I have never sprung to see her in concert – UNTIL NOW!

Why Pippa? Why?

While I thought the princess looked very nice on her tour of Canada, it is a bit premature to call Kate a "style icon."  She spent 65K on her wardrobe for the trip.  She bought wrap dresses, crocheted blouses, patent navy pumps, and some horrible blue dress with an awkward slit. For those tempted to rock these "trends" - Please dont.  You are not 90, you are not 90 lbs, and you are NOT a princess.  Donning multicolored pumps is a small price to pay if you are going to become the Princess of Wales, but I am certain that if Kate had her druthers she would have nabbed some cute sandals and ditched the stockings.

Pippa on the other hand - WHAT THE HECK!?!  Pippa has money, a great figure, and no obligation to be frumpy.  If I were in her place - regularly photographed - I would see a stylist ASAP.  Her footwear is terrible, the coat should not need mentioning, and the full nude outfit with brown purse and white shoes is ugg...should I even go on?  Dear Pippa - you are too cute for this.  

Hail to the Chef!

Tack always says, “there are people that eat to live and people that live to eat.”  We are the latter. 

When I was contemplating what to give Tack for our first Christmas – I settled on cooking lessons.   Culinaerie is a recreational cooking school in the heart of DC! It is run by a talented (and witty) chef, who left one of the city’s finest restaurants to start a cooking school.  She was trained in France…which is not important but very JC (Julia Child that is)!

Since December, Tack has been in search of the perfect class.  We wanted to learn a new skill and come away with a few good recipes!  Last week we attended, “Where the Beef?” 

Great Class.  We learned….

-how to purchase meat

-which cuts are better cooked with dry v. wet heat

-how to mince garlic without the press

-when NOT to marinade a steak

-what temperature is appropriate for various cuts…

Additionally, we took home fabulous recipes.  Ate three cuts of delicious beef.  Drank copious amounts of vino.  Made two new friends (Kelly and Dirk – fellow foodies). 

 All in all, a great Wednesday!

Here are some pictures of us making sirloin with a garlic and herb butter.  Kelly and Dirk are in the background working on the flank steak in a red wine and shallot sauce.  Yum!

One Year!

Thank you, Tack!  You have made me very happy!

Cutting our Wedding Cake!  July 10, 2010

Cutting the top tier of our Wedding Cake!  July 10, 2011

WTF?

I grew up thinking that squirrels were sweet woodland creatures that snacked on nuts and berries.  That was before I met the Alexandria Squirrel, a ferocious scavenger.

Let's start at the very begining...

One of the exciting things about homeownership is that you have a place to put your pumpkins and welcome trick-or-treaters.  My first year in Alexandria (renting), I bought loads of candy for the local kids.  We did not have a single trick-or-treater.  It was very sad - and fattening.

Last October, Tack and  I purchased three pumpkins at a church sale.  As I was displaying them on my porch, I noticed that we were the only house with pumpkins.  Odd?   I thought so too!  In actuality, my neighbors are not mean spirited…they are seasoned squirrel fighters.

Tack found the carnage when he left for work the next morning.  The squirrels had eaten half of the large pumpkin during the night.  When we came home from work they were out there – chowin’ down.  They would even look at you and keep eating.  WTF?

Fast Forward...

When we were planting our garden this spring – we saw this small plant growing by our door.  My mother-in-law said that the previous owners must have planted a squash in the flower bed.    It was not until a few weeks ago that my neighbor said, “I like your pumpkin plant!”  Those dang squirrels planted a pumpkin patch in our yard!  It is VERY tacky, but we don’t have the heart to tear it out.  I would like to introduce….

THE RICHARDSON PUMPKIN PATCH

Around the same time that we discovered that we had pumpkin patch, we also noticed that something was clawing at Dusty’s food bin (pictured below).  I thought it was a raccoon.  It was not until a few days later that I walked out the door and a damn squirrel was eating the rubbermade container and looking at me as if I interrupted.  WTF?

Moral of the story: BEWARE OF SQUIRRELS!  They are dangerous!!!

Dear Loser (Chris)!

Pending:  Pictures of SSI, Tack and I cutting the top tier of our wedding cake (Happy 1 Year Anniversary, Tacka - I am a lucky girl), and some other shots from the past two weeks!

In the meantime: I am going to share a special You Tube treat.  Unfortunately, I cant take credit for uncovering this gem.  Olivia and Sloane- thank you for sharing!  I died laughing.

I am going to see 8/10 of my girls this weekend!  Hooray! 

I know, I know...

I am shaping up to be a poor blogger.  No posts in 12 days!!! 

My Excuse:
I spent the past 10 days on St.Simon's Island with family!  Yes, I could have blogged while on vacay.  However, I was hesitant to break rule one of the Richardson Family Social Media Policy - "Thou shall not discuss vacation plans on any social media site in advance of said vacation."

Rule one is the ONLY rule in the Richardson Family Social Media Policy, which makes it very important.  I think that advertising your vacation is not only braggadocios (the ppl reading your blog are likely at work ) - it is unsafe!

A pre-vacation blog post is similar to putting a note on your door that says,

"Dear Robbers,

Welcome!  Please see below for a diagram showing how to locate my Hide-a-Key!  

Best,
The Richardsons 

PS: I have some milk in the fridge that might go bad - we are going to be gone for a LONG time - please help yourself!"

Apologies to my loyal readers (all 5 of you)!  In my defense, I have been brainstorming topics while I have been away!