A New Chapter

I am happy and excited to share that I am shifting my career focus to rental events as Corporate Rentals Coordinator! Building and maintaining relationships will be a key aspect of the job [in addition to planning fun and fresh events!], as I meet clients and vendors and introduce them to our amazing organization and what it has to offer. It’s a bittersweet transition, [as the “sun sets” on my previous position as Program Coordinator, Special Events] but I look forward to exciting things to come.

Stay tuned for brainstorms, photos, tips, and more, as I continue to learn about the event and rental industry, meet new people, and grow both personally and professionally. As always, I would love to hear from you along the way, too!

Jackietara

Shower Solutions

It has happened. I have been invited to and have attended my first bridal shower. As an inexperienced bridal shower goer, I asked many of my more experienced friends and family what I should wear and what type of gift I should buy. Choosing an outfit was easy compared to the long, agonizing process of choosing a gift.

I am not one for registries, as I have always preferred to make or buy sentimental gifts [paintings, framed photos, hand-made cards, that sort of thing]. However, as the bridal shower date inched closer and I grappled with ideas, my list of options was growing shorter. My solution? World Market.

I was easily able to pick a theme [outdoor party] with all of the fun, colorful options World Market has to offer. I ended up with a table runner with matching hand towels and threw in hand-dipped wooden salad severs. Super cute and useful for entertaining!

The next step is always my favorite: wrapping. Thankfully I already had some white and green wrapping paper at home, so I decided to add some turquoise raffia into the mix.

The end result: a simple, useful present and a happy bride-to-be.

Jackietara

Summer Stripes

With summer comes the traditional pool-side gatherings, ice cream, hot nights, and fun summer fashion. More recently, the past couple of years have resurrected one of my favorite trends: classic stripes.

My sister and I embraced this trend as we sported matching striped dresses for a 4th of July block party down the street. Anyone who lives in D.C. knows that it was a hot one that day – although we may look cool as cucumbers, there were water guns in store for us later!

Sisterly love.

Wearing: blue striped dress: ModCloth // red flats: Steve Madden // link bracelet: stella & dot // necklace: ModCloth // black striped dress: TJ Maxx ($20) // blue flats: Old Navy

Photography by Teddy Wolff

Jackietara

Fourth of July Fun

Sandwiched between a long week at work and two Harry Connick, Jr. events at Wolf Trap, July 4th was a low-key holiday for me this year. But “low-key” didn’t mean I had to sacrifice on fun and creativity! Before our guests arrived, I decided to prepare my famous deviled eggs [a labor intensive but satisfying dish to make], melon with prosciutto [one of my all time favorites], and a berry champagne cocktail.

Luckily, Teddy made a blueberry syrup on a whim the day before, so all I needed was fresh strawberries and blueberries. After having a little fun shaping the strawberries into hearts, I froze the berries for a couple of hours and chilled a bottle of prosecco.

This [red, white, and blue] berry champagne cocktail was a festive and refreshing libation after spending a few hours in the sun and a perfect way to celebrate our nation’s independence before watching fireworks on the National Mall. The best thing is, you don’t have to wait for the next holiday to enjoy this drink – you can make it all summer long!

Jackietara

A Snail Tale

If you didn’t know already, my three year anniversary with Mr. Teddy Wolff was this month [June 19 to be exact]. To celebrate three fantastic years as a duo, we planned a day of delicious culinary experiences.

The first was an unassuming authentic lunch at A&J in Annandale, VA. If you ever want to have an inexpensive, traditional, and gratifying meal, go here. A&J’s Chinese tapas are the epitome of comfort food and warm your soul with every bite. I recommend the scallion pancake, pork dumplings, and spicy beef noodle soup [all menu choices were perfectly chosen and ordered by Teddy]. The soup is to die for and the noodles are homemade!

That night, Teddy and I opened a bottle of Lovingston Winery Pinotage [that I had been saving for a special occasion] and got going on our second delectable meal of the day, escargot. Both of my parents have made escargot several times for the family throughout my life and it has always been one of my favorite treats. How can you go wrong with butter, garlic, shallots, and more butter? The snails are pretty good too…

Jackietara

May is for Music

Growing up sans internet and mostly sans television, I spent a lot of my time listening to music on the radio, which involved a very time-consuming [yet satisfying] hobby of making copious amounts of mix tapes. Several hours of my childhood were spent on the wooden floor of my bedroom waiting for the perfect song to play on the radio and to press “record” on my 1980’s styled boombox.

These days I no longer have the boombox, nor the time to spend listening to music for hours in my room, but I do still love to create the perfect “mix tape.”

My sister, Natalie, has just graduated [yay!] from Sweet Briar College, which presented a golden opportunity to put together a graduation playlist, complete with uppers, downers, and all the in-between songs that encapsulate the roller coaster of feelings post-grads experience as they leave a familiar home to burst [and sometimes meander] into the “real world.”

A couple tricks of the mix tape trade:
1. Choose music that is meaningful to you and that you’re excited about. I rarely create mixes with songs that aren’t currently floating around in my head for one reason or another.
2. Have a purpose in mind. It’s easy to put songs together that you like in in one playlist, but way more fun to stick to a theme and find the “perfect” songs.
3. Order matters!
4. Don’t sweat the length. It may be 8 great songs, or 20.

Natalie’s Graduation Mix
1. Boy – This Is the Beginning
2. Youngblood Hawke – Stars (Hold On)
3. Icona Pop – Ready for the Weekend
4. Ke$ha – All That Matters (The Beautiful Life)
5. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Can’t Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton)
6. Capital Cities – Patience Gets Us Nowhere Fast
7. Taylor Swift – 22
8. Junip – Your Life Your Call
9. Phosphorescent – Ride On, Right On
10. The Horde & The Harem – Chasing Crows
11. John Mark Nelson – Reminisce
12. The Shins – It’s Only Life
13. The Gossip – Heavy Cross
14. Grimes – Oblivion
15. Junip – It’s Alright
16. Youngblood Hawke – We Come Running
17. Beach House – Wishes
18. Two Door Cinema Club – This is the Life

Happy listening!

Brunchiness

As I have been dutifully completing #2 on my spring to-do list, I have been taking [mental] notes on a couple of local brunch spots in town. Here are my favorites so far:

The Argonaut: Bottomless mimosas for $9. The eggs benedict with smoked salmon was terrific the first time I ordered it, but overcooked the second time. Needless to say, overcooked eggs benedict is not as pleasant an experience as perfectly cooked eggs benedict. Although a little more expensive, the fish tacos are the best thing on the menu. The fish is flaky and delicious, the cabbage-cilantro slaw is crisp and light, and let’s not forget the delicious rémoulade. The guac is an additional dollar or so, but it’s well worth it.

Sixth Engine: The short rib hash. How can you go wrong with braised beef, a twice-baked potato, poached eggs, and hollandaise? Although not on the “brunch” menu, you can still order the cheeseburger off of the lunch menu during brunch. Teddy swears it’s the best burger you’ll get in D.C., and I’m definitely with him on this one. Big, juicy, made with house ground beef, topped with their own no.6 sauce, and served on a sesame bun, this is clearly a winner. Sixth Engine also has amazing cocktails. Try the Finocchietto Rosso, made with local Greenhat gin, muddled strawberries, fennel liqueur and lime juice, yum.

Belga Café: There is no reason to get anything but a mussel pot at Belga, ever. Usually my favorite to eat at home is mussels “mariniere”, with white wine, shallots, and garlic. This time though, Teddy convinced me to try the mussels “truffels en prei”, with leeks, truffles, spicy sausage, cream, red onions, and herbs. Best decision I made all week. And all mussel pots come with Belgian frites and mayo. Bingo.

Teddy and I were not alone in our Belga Café brunch adventure. My mom and sister, Natalie, joined as well, which gave me an excellent opportunity to be a paparazzo for the morning. It was an absolutely gorgeous spring day and I had couple pretty good looking subjects to test my photography skills on. So, why not? Thanks to Teddy for giving me a few more pointers and also for taking a few guest shots!

2013-04-12_Shabbasana @ 6th & I-2

Octopus [I promise it’s delicious] Salad

As I promised in my last blog post, here is the recipe for octopus salad! My dad has made this dish several times, and I have always wanted to try it, so I finally took the plunge and bought a package of frozen octopus on my last trip to Harris Teeter [I obviously haven’t been grocery shopping in a while… on my to-do list!]. Once you get past the tentacles, this is a quick, simple, and delicious dish to create.

Ingredients
2 lb octopus, thawed and rinsed (buy frozen and pre-cleaned)
3 tomatoes, quartered
1 shallot, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup roasted bell peppers
1/4 cup cured black olives (a key ingredient!)
1/3 cup fresh or dried parsley
(I recommend fresh, but dried parsley works in a pinch)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp capers
1/2 tsp salt

Preparation
1. Thaw frozen octopus.

2. Slice tomatoes, shallot, and garlic, and combine with other ingredients.
Add pepper to taste.

3. Boil octopus for 20 minutes with a cork. This can be any cork without plastic. It may seem odd, but my chef-of-a-dad swears by it. Be careful not to boil for more than 20 minutes. Any more than that will make the octopus rubbery!

4. Remove the octopus from the boiling water, let cool, and slice into 1 inch pieces.
The octopus should be a nice eggplant purple color.

5. Mix octopus and the prepared salad and serve.

Enjoy!

Spring To-do List

I love lists and it’s spring, so here is my to-do list for the new season!

1. Go outside! This “task” may seem like a no-brainer, but working a 9-5 job and then some + teaching makes it hard to get outside during the day. My goal is to be able to pry myself away from my desk for 10 minutes a day to enjoy the sunshine and get some Vitamin D.

2. “Live it up” and go to brunch. Brunch has always been something I have viewed as a hoity-toity expensive and frivolous activity. Having experienced brunch at District Commons and all it’s glory last weekend, I have decided that it’s actually a great way to catch up with friends after a long week, enjoy some comfort food, and have one of my favorite things in the world – mimosas. I’m going to depart from my usual frugality and go to brunch more often, starting tomorrow ($9 bottomless mimosas at the Argonaut!).

3. Experiment with food. Not in the Frankenstein or Flubber sense of the word, but to have more of an adventurous spirit while cooking. Growing up with a French dad I have had it all, from escargot and pate, to venison and Cassoulet. I am a pretty decent cook and I most certainly have an open mind when it comes to food, so I think it’s time to put the two together. My first shot this week was making octopus salad (recipe and photos to come!).

4. Discover new music. I have been listening to NPR’s podcast All Songs Considered a lot lately on my commute to work. One of my favorites right now is Junip’s new song “Your Life, Your Call,” which reminds me of my best friend’s motto [in reference to all the stupid things that people do], ” it’s not my life.” Never mind the disturbing video, the song is great.

The Flaming Lips’ new album, The Terror, will be released tomorrow, April 16! Apparently I have an affinity for disturbing music right now, because The Terror has also been described as being “disturbing” by Wayne Coyne himself.

Another album I am anticipating is Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires of the City. Take a listen to “Diane Young.”

5. See the cherry blossoms. Although, I think the storm this morning may have undermined by plans to go downtown tomorrow to see them. This is how I feel about the situation in haiku form:

Pink and white blossoms
Disappear from the old trees
Untimely cruel storm

What are you planning on doing this spring? Please share!

Spring Fashion on a Budget

Happy Spring!

After painting in the grass while the boys played ultimate frisbee yesterday and enjoying a fabulous Sunday brunch at District Commons [I had the pan seared salmon cakes “benedict” and bottomless blood orange mimosas, yum] this morning, I have decided it is officially spring.

With the emergence of spring comes the necessary [and long-awaited] shedding of clothing layers plus the acquisition of new exciting pieces. When I was out with a good friend she looked at my outfit curiously [I don’t remember exactly what I was wearing, but it must not have been too shabby] and asked, “Jackie, how do you keep your wardrobe fresh while sticking to a budget?” This got me thinking – how do I keep my wardrobe interesting without crying every time I check my bank account?

Here are a few simple rules that I stick to when a new season comes around:

1. As you pull out your spring/summer wardrobe from under your bed to hang your favorite pieces up in your closet, take this moment to set aside anything you didn’t wear at all last season to donate. Do not ignore this step: it’s much easier [and feels better] to make room for anything that’s new!

2. There are a lot of fun trends this season, but if you plan accordingly you can get by with just a couple of key purchases. Here are my affordable staples for this spring/summer:

Bright [comfortable] flats. As much as I love heels, I hate myself for wearing them by the end of the day. There will be no hating myself as I sport these fun and comfy Steve Madden shoes from DSW!

Simple solid dresses, like this $25 one from TJ Maxx. I can dress it up with colorful jewelry or down with a cardi, tights, and boots.

Fun studs to pair with clothes that could use some extra umph. Check out these pretty [and cheap!] ones from the Lou Lou boutique in Annapolis. Obviously these will go in your ears and not on plants…

A chambray shirt, like the one I am wearing in the photo above. I have been wearing this shirt silly over striped tops, dresses, even with other denim.

3. There is NO need to go crazy with buying a whole new wardrobe. You already have clothes, and probably forgot about most of them during the winter, so it’s time to rediscover what you already have! Some of my own favorites include these old gems:

A navy and white tank from Old Navy. This season I am excited to pair it with with a hand-me-down floral skirt.
A black and white gingham collared shirt from Old Navy [apparently I used to shop at Old Navy a lot]. I can pair this top with bright blue skinnies from Gap or a long solid skirt.
A vintage pleated purple skirt from my Great Aunt. I can wear this with a plain white tee [see what I did there?] a belt, and maybe my new flats!

4. Have fun! Don’t be afraid to try piecing the old with the new and creating outfits you haven’t tried before. It is a new season after all.

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