Weekend Review: 3/25/12

Well, hello, dear bleaders! How were your standard two days off? Mine were excellent and I wish to tell you all about them, starting with the start of the standard two days off, which is actually Friday evening, you know. 

Friday

When Sam got home from work we hopped on Metro and headed straight to Chinatown because we had tickets to see....

AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! 

I had to see The Hunger Games the day it came out because I knew I wouldn't be able to stand hearing all about it on Facebook. In fact, when I was pre-ordering our tickets just to make sure we got seats I almost bought them for the midnight premiere because I was jealous of all those preteens (plus Gretchen) getting to see it before me. But, alas, I didn't want to put Sam and myself through the torture of finishing out the work week on little to no sleep, so I sucked it up and bought them for a more reasonable hour. 

I'm glad to say that the movie did not disappoint. It was so good, I am STILL geeking out over it and fully intend to re-read the first book again. Also, if you haven't read the book I highly suggest you do so before seeing the movie. Not that you won't get it or enjoy it, it's just better if you understand the details of the character relationships. 

Saturday

Saturday was a very special day because I got to attend my very first blogger meet-up! My first multi-blogger meet-up, anyway, since I got to hang out with Lauren last weekend. We were going to hang out at the zoo but the forecast was crap so we decided on Sweetgreen for lunch instead. I arrived first and sat wide (aka spread my stuff out like I owned the joint) to reserve a big table and waited for the bloggers to arrive. All together, our group consisted of Lauren, Gretchen, Ashley, and Sarah.

Sarah, me, Ashley, Lauren

Gretchen, me

I was so excited to meet everyone, especially Gretchen because I've been reading her blog since I knew weight loss blogs existed and I feel like I already know her. And now I do! I'm newer to Ashley's and Sarah's blog, but having met them and enjoyed their company I can say that I will now be a faithful follower. Now, onto the eats. 

Sweetgreen has delightful salads (no, really- they're delightful!) and I'd eaten there enough times to know exactly what I'd be ordering. 

I had the Guacamole Greens, hold the chicken, chips, and bread, add shrimp, with light dressing. I guess being around other healthy living bloggers really makes me want to live up to my genre. That didn't stop me from trying their frozen yogurt, though! 

They only have one flavor, a plain, tart yogurt, and you get to pick three toppings out of about 10 choices. I had blueberries, strawberries, and coconut and my mouth and I both enjoyed the combination. It was my first time having plain frozen yogurt and I really liked the simplicity. My usual bowls of fro-yo tend to have 5 or 6 flavors happening at once. 

We ate and talked about everything from The Hunger Games to battling hunger and before you know it three hours had passed and it was time to part ways and get on with the rest of our Saturdays. Before we left, though, Sarah gave us all little treats she had made up. How cute is that?

We said our goodbyes and I headed out to meet Sam and Dan (who was visiting again- girl just can't get enough and luckily we feel the same) in Chinatown for drinks and dinner. We started out at RFD because the beer selection is tops. 

I always get a kick out of the Miller Lite sample price.

This is one of my favorite candids ever taken. 

Clearly Sam wasn't getting enough attention. Love you, too, snookums.

After a few drinks, we headed to dinner at La Tasca where we ordered a plethora of tapas and shared. I ate way too many fried things, as usual. I just can't seem to keep it healthy on the weekends.

Oil, bread, fried chips, empanadas...it was a bad scene, folks. A baaad scene.

After dinner we were all pretty stuffed and ready to head home. We enjoyed a few rousing hands of a game that Dan brought called Spot It and then hit the hay.

Sunday

I originally had a butt ton written about all of our Sunday activities, but then I accidentally shut the browser and lost it all, so here's the bulleted version accompanied by pictures when available.

• I woke up and made black bean brownies. They were good. 
• I also made breakfast burritos and a batch of Yummm Sauce to pour on top. 
• We went to Old Navy and I spent a lot of money on new shirts because mine are all too baggy. 
• We went to Trader Joe's to show Dan what the cult-like following is all about...she is now a Kool-aid drinking follower.
• We walked around Alexandria, stopping at Virtue Feed and Grain for lunch. 

"What, my water's not good enough for a picture?"

Dan's lunch

My lunch

Sam's lunch

I told myself I wasn't going to eat any more than half of my potatoes, but... 

• We walked around Alexandria some more, popping in various shops and taking random pictures.

My first 4-leaf clover...and then I found two more.

Dan's first, too!

The end!