(Just) A Few of My Favorite Things

Well - it's August. And I just can't even wrap my head around that yet. I mean, there are only 5 months left in this year...and essentially, that means there are only about 20 weeks left in this year too! I'd throw out something cliche like "time flies when you're having fun"...but I'll refrain.

Not that it isn't accurate - it definitely is. It's also just...cliche. Like I said. So, we'll avoid that.

I do love my mug.

The tale of my mug! I guess if I wanted to get weird about it...this happened last Sunday night and should have made my last weekly recap post, but I didn't drink out of my mug until Monday morning, so it makes this week's recap and that's that.

I have a mug very similar to this one that says "Virginia" and I love it so. Every single time I've been to Reagan National in the past year (which has really been a lot...good gracious) I've seen this DC mug sitting on the counter. It's always $15 - which is some serious price gouging because the state mugs in rural Starbucks are only $9.99 - granted, this mug is not only in DC, it's in an airport in DC. Every time I'd see it, I'd want it...but I refused to pay $15 for it just because it was in Reagan National. Well...I had a change of heart.

I started walking religiously about a month ago and I have pretty much cut myself off from Starbucks - the calories in those drinks would make your head spin and I'd rather not waste calories on liquids. So I had a little over $20 on my Starbucks card and wasn't planning to use it for anything of the liquid variety. I realized that I was headed into DC to stop in at Reagan and pick up my parents and so I decided I'd use $15 of that $20 and finally get my mug - it was Starbucks without the calories! I did just that; which is how I also managed to accrue another (almost) 2 miles last week on Map My Walk. The Starbucks is literally at one end of Reagan National and the baggage claim where my parents arrived is literally at the opposite end of Reagan National. So - I walked to one end...all the way down to the opposite end...and then back to the middle. Mug - Check! Miles walked - check!

Two of my new favorite things...

Okay - but this is really my new favorite thing. Ha!

I have so many new favorite things - it really is splendid! I don't know if you've ever heard of BioFreeze but let me assure you, it truly is a lifesaver. Since I decided I wanted to become some kind of hardcore exercise beast, it has become my best friend. My muscles haven't been 100% appreciative of my sudden lifestyle change and thankfully smearing this bright blue gel on them has made them a bit more amiable. Another really handy item? A case for my iPhone to hang out in while I burn up the roads with the walking - because I'd been putting it in my bra and let me be 100% honest: that was good for no one but especially unpleasant for my phone. Gross. Salvation in the form of an armband.

Perhaps my most favorite thing though? If you guessed my purse, then you'd be a million percent correct and right on the money. I've been eyeing that purse for weeks and weeks and I just couldn't justify spending that kind of money on a purse - even though I wanted it SO very much. However, being on the MLB Store's mailing list has some perks and one of those is being notified of sales...and a sale just so happened to coincide with an offer to get 25% off your order. I was fairly certain I wouldn't be able to combine the two, but I gave it a whirl and it all worked out - so less than a week later, I was holding my beautiful Curly W purse. So...now I want to see a few more Curly W's on the field. :)

Flowers blooming in the hedges!

Cotton Candy clouds rolling over the mountaintops on Wednesday evening!

So...I guess the rest of the week itself went by in something of a blur. Why do I say that? Mostly because I have two pictures from Wednesday morning through Friday afternoon...so I obviously wasn't doing much. I mean, what I was doing was working and walking and probably watching baseball on TV (or on the computer). It's not riveting, I'll give you that - and since I've already posted pictures of myself watching baseball of both the TV and the computer variety in other posts, I thought you probably weren't interested in that this week too.

Friday evening in Flint Hill...dinner overlooking the gardens...

I'm easily amused by sunflowers that are taller than me...ha-ha!

The work week wasn't exactly exhausting but for some crazy reason, my office seems to come unglued on Fridays and it tends to be the most hectic day of the work week. Suffice it to say, by the time 5 o'clock rolled around on Friday, I was glad to be staring down the barrel of the weekend...and as much as I love to have places to go and things to do, I was also glad that there wasn't much on my agenda. My Mom doesn't cook on weekends - seriously - she just doesn't...so we drove about twenty minutes up the road to the town of Huntly to eat at Flint Hill Public House. We've been before and really enjoyed it; this visit was nice as well, but they've changed their menu and I think I preferred the old one. I did discover that Kale chips are delightful, I don't like lobster (at all) or Parsnips (especially not in puree form) and that they had a lovely Pinot Grigio.

Supper - Jeffrey with his steak, lobster & cheese grits. I got the Lemon Piccatta Chicken with Kale Chips & a Parsnip Puree. 

I do love Flint Hill Public House!

Saturday morning - I'd like to say I was lazy...but I don't think I can. I mean, sure...I slept until almost 9 PM, which I never do but then I also walked over 2 miles and so I think that counteracts the sleeping in, right? I'm going to pretend that you're nodding yes because those two miles were killer but I managed to conquer them and so it left me feeling pretty fine the rest of the day. I guess exercise has that effect sometimes, right? I spent the majority of my Saturday morning walking, reading and getting ready to go to tea at Rosemont Manor in Berryville...so it was a pretty relaxed morning.

Fizzle at Rosemont

The details of our Travelers Tea

We attended a Travelers Tea at Rosemont on Saturday afternoon; this was my first tea but my parents had been to another at Rosemont last year. We also toured the house together at Christmas, so while I was familiar with the house, this was a chance to see it as it is most days of the year. We were "hosted" by the chef at Rosemont, who has spent a large portion of her life working on yachts and by doing so, has traveled all over the world. The tables were designated by countries she'd visited on her many travels and we were seated at the table for Germany - complete with a picture of a yacht cruising down the Rhine River. She told stories about the many countries she'd visited and shared with us how the food we ate tied into some of the countries represented at each table - she certainly has crammed a whole lot of living into her life, it was very impressive!

Another gorgeous home in the area - Rosemont Manor

I would have had to walk out a mile to be able to fit it all into frame!

Just a selfie in front of Rosemont - because, why not?

Our first course was the Savory course: Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce, Halibut Dip on Croutons and Cucumber Sandwiches (India, Alaska & England) with Black Tea. The second course was the Scone course: a Peach scone and a Cheddar Bacon and Leek Scone served with Jam and Devonshire Cream and a Green Tea (Georgia & she insisted this was the only savory scone she knew how to make & it had no connection to anywhere she'd visited). The third course was the Sweets course: Mango Ice Cream, Lemon Curd Tartlet and Speculaas Cookies served with a White Tea (Jamaica/the Azores, England & Holland). Everything...well, except the Halibut Dip because I'm just not a fan of anything fishy...was delicious!

Gorgeous grounds to an even more gorgeous house!

Columns - original to the house, built in 1811.

I think I'll go ahead & move in - they say it's not haunted...

The house has a lot of history in it's 200+ years and the range of guests that have stayed in the house are varied but include: John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Dwight Eisenhower, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill...just to name a few. It's used largely as a wedding venue and I know my Mom tries to get me to entertain the notion every time we visit by pointing out all her favorite features of the house. It's certainly a beautiful spot and well worth spending some time at if you're ever in the Berryville area - especially since it's also a Bed and Breakfast!

My sweet boy, exploring the Arboretum on Saturday evening.

I'm all about those selflies!

I couldn't believe how many things were blooming in August!

The weekend rounded up pretty quickly after that - a late evening trip to the Arboretum for Watson and I on Saturday, looking at houses on Sunday afternoon before grabbing some groceries and supper at TGIFriday's and then heading home to watch the season finale of Poldark. Weekends always seem much too short; can I get an amen on that? So, now we are on to another week filled with work and trying to cram in some fun here and there... I'll be back here at the same time next week, probably still lamenting how short the weekend is!

I buy weird groceries now.