Cookies

Well, tonight I baked my favorite chocolate chip cookies for my co-worker's going-away potluck tomorrow. I have not baked anything in so long, it was nice to get back into it. I just didn't really do much baking over the summer because it was hot out/inside and I didn't really feel like using the oven much, but it is officially fall, so let the baking begin!

I want to make some Halloween cookies too. Maybe I will pick up some fun Halloween shaped cookie cutters next time I go to Sur La Table in Santa Clara.

Kinda forgot to share this picture before, but this is the result of sugar cookies in fun shapes + lots of frosting colors + lots of sprinkles. My Halloween cookies shall be just as festive!

I won a raffle!

Something exciting happened to me last weekend. I went to that neighborhood potluck I mentioned, bringing with me this lovely quinoa salad, and I won a raffle! Everyone who came to the potluck was given a raffle ticket, and my housemate and I each got a ticket.... and with one of the tickets (I received both tickets while he went to sit down, so let's just say the winning ticket was mine, haha) I won a lovely casserole dish from Grocery Outlet full of goodies for an Italian meal.

I won... some dish towels, some organic pasta, some fancy pasta sauce, a bottle of chardonnay, some organic chocolate, some iced coffee (not already iced when I got it, but in a can meant to be iced at a later date), a bottle of olive oil, and the dish, which would be fantastic for a nice, big lasagna or some other hearty casserole. I had been eyeing the prize ever since I arrived, and it was my good fortune that my ticket was called. It was a really nice evening, I got to meet and talk to some of my neighbors and also talked to a local librarian about volunteering over the weekends. Busy, busy, busy.... that's me. Busy, but happy.

This weekend I just did a bunch of studying. I still have to catch up on some homework from last week. Just reading at this point, mostly, so that's a relief. I should probably head to bed soon so I don't start the week off totally tired already!

DC Trip, Abridged

So, I got a new phone today... and attempted to email myself all the rest of my DC photos but some of them did not go through in time. But, here are the ones that did.

Flamingoes at the National Zoo! I love flamingoes, they are so pretty in pink.

Neat mural near the U Street Metro station! This district is often associated with the Harlem renaissance, a very artistic and creative time, hence the gentleman playing a violin.

A glimpse of the Potomac River while whizzing by on the metro.

The white house, and a stunning view of DC sky. Look at those billowing clouds!

A closer look. It was kind of awe-inspiring to be that close to the white house. I could have gotten even closer, too. There were some ladies protesting on the white house lawn about women's rights. They had songs, too.

A deep fried oreo from the Arlington County Fair. I just couldn't resist. They had deep fried twinkies, too. We also watched a piglet race and just browsed the game offerings-- everything you'd expect from a classic fair/carnival.

So, fun times... guess that's all for now... not pictured are some jaunts to Georgetown and Dupont Circle; a visit to Friend's favorite specialty grocery store, Wegmans; a day at the National Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum; and more National Zoo highlights (lions and pandas and monkeys, oh my).

Hope everyone's having a good weekend! I am off to a neighborhood potluck tonight, maybe... and a much needed trip to the Campbell farmer's market tomorrow.