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.)

George Clooney is Getting Married (Who's that Lady)

George Clooney is getting married to the gorgeous, successful, tri-lingual, Oxford-educated Amal Alamuddin.  Or as Slate puts it London Human Rights Lawyer Amal Alamuddin Is Engaged!

I must say I'm excited by this.  George Clooney, the superstar that everyone thought would remain single, is settling down with what looks like a no-nonsence, interesting, engaging, career oriented person.  As an added plus, she's stylish, and gorgeous.  I can't wait to hear more about this couple!

Handle with Karo's Mother's Day Gift Guide 2014

 

 

 

 

Mother's Day is two weeks from yesterday.   HwK's suggestions.

David Yurman's Aluminum Cuffs (Two Cuffs for the Price of One)

Have you seen the David Yurman anniversary aluminum cuffs? They came out in February. I love the monochrome look.  An added bonus is that since they are made out of aluminum the price point is low enough that you can buy two cuffs for the price of one of the standard silver and gold cuffs.

This would be a great graduation or Mother's Day gift.  

Meat and Potatoes (Heavy Cooking)

It feels like I haven't cooked in ages. Since I returned to work we have done lots of takeout, sandwiches and my favorite, oatmeal for dinner. Now that we are all getting used to the new schedule I'm looking for new things to make that require little fuss. This recipe from, Dinner a Love Story is a bit heavier than I typically make, but I loved the simplicity of it.  

I tried this recipe twice, and each time, my husband and I were underwhelmed by the results.  I will say I liked the recipe more when we made a few modifications: using turkey sausage and reducing the number of apples.

Dinner a Love Story billed this recipe as a time saving recipe that you can make once a week. I'm not sure that our arteries would survive having a dish like this ever week. It's easy, and if you want to make a filling meal for your family quickly, this might be worth trying.

If you want to make the recipe healthier, I recommend using turkey sausage and just the tiniest bit of olive oil. 
 
You might ask why I would blog about a recipe that I don't love.  The answer is, I started blogging in part to try all of these recipes I've seen on blogs.  They always look so pretty, but sometimes they just don't pan out.  I think it's important that there is feedback out there, to say you know what these recipe looks awesome, but it doesn't taste awesome.

You can find the recipe here and here.

Happy Friday (Joie de Vivre)

Bonjour via Mentol Art

Georgetown's annual French Market is this Friday and Saturday.  I'm so excited to get there bright and early this year.

I'm not really a Francophile but the French Market did have me thinking about all things French. 

French baby clothes are expensive but wonderful, and not overtly girly or princessy. Petit Bateau is pricey but I will say their clothes are the prettiest, most durable, longest lasting baby clothes I've come across. Also pricey but eco freindly and durable is Qeuf (owned by a Franco-American Couple).

It looks like Frenchie's croissants might be more readily available thanks to Kickstarter.

If you are into movies, the Goethe Institute is showing Franco and German Shorts this Saturday.

If a little one prevents you from watching a movie, there is French Storytime this Saturday at the Aliance Fraincais.

As an aside, the Cleveland Park Library has Frenchy Story time on Thursdays at 4 PM.  In my limited experience of attending story times, I've found this one to be one of the best.

Bloombars and the Aliance Francais  DC are teaming up to host weekly performances for children en francais.

And let's not forget  Le Diplomat. Have you been?  It's delicious. I can't wait to go! 

Take Our Children to Work Day (Oh the Cuteness)

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Baby girl is too young to come with me to work today, but I can't wait for the day I can bring her to the office. 

In the meantime, I really enjoyed seeing all the kiddos at work today.   My heart melted when I saw this clip on the Today Show this morning. Here are some other fun photos from around the country.