HwK's Washington, D.C. Holiday Guide

There are less than four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Lots of people let the holidays take over their lives. All the merrymaking can lead to some negatives: feisty relatives, rowdy shoppers, upset tummies, terrible flight delays etc. etc.

To counteract the hard parts of the holiday season, I've compiled a list of things to do between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with an emphasis on free and a de-emphasis on shopping.

Happy Friday (August 15, 2014)

Image via Rate your Burn

What are you up to this weekend?  I'm going to take it easy and do some much needed unpacking from our vacation. 

I do plan on going to my first class at Soul Cycle's new DC location.  Like many people in Washington, I've been anticipating this opening for a long time.

Afterwards, I'd love to make these snow cones from Little Miss Party Planner.

The Muppets covering the Beastie Boys.

Since high school, I've been in the practice of wearing some type of sun protection on my face almost everyday.  Here's a great primer on sunscreen.

And in case you missed them here are my posts from this week: a recap of our vacation, packing your airplane diaper bag, and awesome baby sandals.

Happy Friday (Summer Solstice Weekend 2014)

What are you up to this weekend?  I am going to a bridal shower.  I start boot-camp this Sunday! 

Still figuring out your plans?  Check out my Summer Reference Guide.  Or, you could spend your whole weekend drinking caipirinhas and watching the World Cup. 

Washington DC Summer Guide (Bookmark Me)

Kiddos swimming in Rock Creek Park. 

Summer is not my favorite season here in Washington. 

I grew up in Miami where getting to the beach was easy, and the public pool looks like THIS.  Then I spent several years in Chicago where the lake and a bevy of summer festivals make summer one of the city's best assets. 

But I call Washington home, so I need to make the best of my summers as long as I'm here.  What I have discovered is that enjoying a DC summer requires planning.  And planning can be hard especially because May, June, and July are typically our city's busiest months. 

Behold, Handle with Karo's Reference Guide to a Washington summer. 

Happy Friday (June 6, 2014)

What are you up to this weekend?


Friday:

• It's Pride Weekend!

• The National Museum of Women in the Arts is hosting a happy hour.

• The Source Festival begins tonight. Get ready for a month of original plays.

Happy Friday (May 29, 2014)

Summertime photo via Pinterest

 
Summer is here! Dive In! What are you up to this weekend?

Hop on your bike and get your beer tasting on, this Satuday at Tour de Fat. I can say that this event is a lot of fun.

Free Summer Saturdays at the Corcoran

The Phillips Collection will be showing Clive Owen's Film, Words and Pictures.

Step Afrika performs at Catholic University on Saturday and Sunday.

Also on Saturday, from 12:00- 7:00 pm, Glen Echo Park will be hosting the Washington Folklore Festival. There will be music, storytelling, dancing and crafts. This looks very kid friendly.

Lil Om Yoga has two great workshops this weekend. On Saturday afternoon, there will be a Mother Daughter Playdate Yoga for moms and their 4-8 year old daughters. On Sunday there will be a pre-natal workshop on Breastfeeding.

In other news.

On the beauty of writing letters to your children.

For those of us who don't go to the movies anymore, the Washington Post has a list of newly released DVD's.

Did you read about how hair length might be linked to success in the work place?

Loyola Law is telling students not to wear stilettos to their summer internships.  Leave the Louboutins for the weekend?
 

 

Happy Friday (Memorial Day Weekend 2014)

Heading out of town this weekend? The Washington Post says the best time to get out of town is before 9am Friday.

The Delaplane Strawberry Festival is this Saturday and Sunday. I've never been but it looks like fun.

If you are staying in town you probably already know that DC is probably one of the best places to spend Memorial Day. The Washington Post has a list of things you can do this weekend.

For starters, there is the National Memorial Day Concert on the Capitol Lawn. I've gone to this before and it is worth going to. Gates open at 5pm for the 8 pm concert.

I would tell you to head over to Good Stuff Eatery after for a burger but it's closed on Sundays. This is an open message to Good Stuff that they should really be open on the Sunday before Memorial Day.

Memorial Day weekend in the DC area also means that it is the start of pool season. Something this Miami girl never fully understood is why pools in this area don't open until Memorial Day weekend.

The Petworth Community Market is back—this week, country artist Jeff Smith will perform. There’s storytelling and arts and crafts for the kids. Fresh produce and locally foods.

This Saturday is your last chance to catch the Diva and the Bear at the Kennedy Center. The 11 am performance is sensory friendly.

Many of their contributions have been forgotten and are not recorded in today’s history books. The Women’s Memorial at Arlington Cemetery is changing this omission through a massive oral history and research project.

Happy Friday (Happy Bike to Work Day!)

Happy Bike to Work Day! Hope you have a poncho and rain pants. . . 

If you are free at noon today, why not bike over to the Arts Club of Washington for the Story of Babar noon concert?

On Friday evening, Dance Place's step team is hosting Step it Up. Get ready for a night of crafts and step dancing.

The annual Dragon Boat Race is happening in Georgetown this Saturday. The opening ceremony begins at 8:30 am. If you find yourself up earlier, the setup begins at 6 am.

Shopping and drinking? Don't mind if I do.

• NYC-based fashion line Meg will have a trunk show at Cork Market on Sunday, May 18, from 1-5 pm.
• And at the same time, DC Flea will be at Marvin.

16 Restaurants that are great for vegetarians in Washington, DC

Commencement season is in full swing! Click HERE for a commencement speech that my Graduate School professor, Charles Wheelan gave. To date, it's my favorite.

Posted with Blogsy

Happy Friday (May 9, 2014)

Mary Cassatt's Child Picking Fruit
via the National Gallery of Art

Mother's Day is Sunday.  If you haven't made reservations then consider arranging a special picnic for the mom in your life. Pack something delicious then take her and the kiddos somewhere beautiful. Voila you have a wonderful Mother's Day brunch. 

You can pick something up at the store or prepare it yourself.  Bon Appetit has 25 Mother's Day Brunch Recipes. Some, like the Tortilla Española and the sticky buns, are portable.

And my favorite picnic locations are:

• The National Cathedral
• Rock Creek Park (Just of Calvert Street)
• The Portrait Gallery's Courtyard
• The Georgetown Waterfront followed by a walk along the canal.
• The Woodend Sanctuary in Bethesda
• The River Farm in Alexandria

Now for the rest of the weekend:

The EU embassies are hosting their annual open house this Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm.

On Saturday night, head over to the Yards for an evening of circus fun, better known as the Side Yards. 

The National Gallery of Art's  Degas/Cassatt exhibit begins this Sunday and runs through October.

If books are your thing, Nicole Mary Kelby will be reading from her book the Pink Suit at Politics and Prose this Sunday at 5.

Lil Om Yoga is hosting a special Mother's Day event on Sunday night between 7 and 9 pm.

Goop has a great discussion with Brigid Schulte on motherhood, work, and the rest of it.   

The Motherlode has a list of books on Motherhood.

What are you up to this weekend?

Morning Entertainment (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's Music Box Theater)

Photo via Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Saturday mornings post-baby sure are a lot different.  If you are lucky, the morning starts at about 6:30.  You could spend the morning in your home biding time until the nap, but let's face it, staying inside can be torture for everyone.  Life's a little trickier now, but that doesn't mean there aren't things for you to do with your little one before noon.    

This weekend baby girl and I had a morning date to see Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's (BMO) Moo Baa Neigh at the Strathmore. The performance was part of BMO's Music Box Series for children between 6 months and 3 years of age. It featured a clarinet quintet and story teller Maria Broom. 

You might remember Maria Broom as Marla from HBO's the Wire. But this Saturday she was Miss Maria, the expressive and sweet storyteller, who led kiddos through 30 minutes of dancing and singing to Mozart as well as some classic barnyard tunes like Old MacDonald.

Miss Maria gets the crowd going on Saturday.

I would recommend this event to other parents for a few key reasons.

Happy Friday! (May 2, 2014)

DC Artist Jean Maisel's painting on display at the Phillips Gallery

This weekend is the White House Correspondents Dinner.  Get excited to see celebrities descend on our nation's capitol. If you can't make the dinner itself, the event has morphed into a 5 day fiesta so hopefully there's something for everyone that wants to partake in the fun. 

It's sundress season, can someone please take me shopping this minute?

Aimee Mann and Ted Leo perform at the 9:30 club this Friday.  I won't be there :(.

But I will be going to the Strathmore to see Maa Baa Neigh part of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's Music Box Series, for children between between 6 months and 3 years old and their chaparones.

Last chance to check out DC Artist, Jean Maisel's exhibit at the Phillips Gallery. 

Let's go ride a bike! A bunch of women are meeting up Sunday Morning at Jones Park in Alexandria for a bike ride called Women on a Roll. 

A Wall Street Journal article saying that DC is the most expensive city in the country, or is it?

A great piece from NPR on Nokia's unforgettable ringtone.

And links to some of this week's posts:

• A Mother's Day Gift Guide
• Mother's Day Tablescapes
• Changing Demographics in DC

Our Changing District (The Urban Institute's Microtrend Series)

Have you checked out the Urban Institutes's series on Washington DC called Our Changing City? It's super interesting for the on again off again data nerd that I am.

Bye Bye Palena (Cleveland Park Boogaloo)

A quick snap of Palena late Saturday night before it shuttered.

Palena, my favorite neighborhood destination, closed on Saturday. 

Palena's end seemed to have come quite suddenly.  Neighbors found out the restaurant was experiencing serious trouble through a report in the Washington City Paper. Then on Friday, Palena's owner, Frank Ruta, announced that he would be closing the restaurant on Saturday night.  It is my understanding that the employees didn't find out much sooner than the rest of us and were equally taken by surprise. 

Restaurants come and go, but Palena's shuttering has left me quite surprised and wistful. It's clear that I'm not the only one who feels such strong feelings about Palena's closing. 

Given more time to digest the news, I can't help but wonder if the community would have tried to do something to save Palena. If folks had known earlier about its difficulties paying rent, I bet that someone would have suggested a Kickstarter campaign.  Or maybe the neighborhood could have banded together like in, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. But Breakin 3: Cleveland Park Boogaloo has yet to be produced, and we were left with one day to say goodbye to our Palena. (The clip below can't be seen on a mobile format.)

Happy (belated) Earth Day (Renew and Reuse)

Happy (belated) Earth Day People! 

I planned on doing this post yesterday for Earth Day, but I've been tending to a sick child and husband. But, Earth Day is everyday.

One of the best ways to help the environment is by consuming less.  Children's stuff becomes obsolete to your little one in no time, so buying second-hand items for your kids is really a no-brainer. 

When I was preparing for the arrival of my little one I acquired a lot of her items second-hand.  For Earth Day I wanted to post a list of places where I had luck finding second hand baby items.

Where have you found second-hand items for your little one?