Scouting for Bricks and MacDowell Brew Kitchen

Today we headed to Leesburg, VA for an event called Scouting for Bricks.  The annual event had amazing Lego displays, Legos for sale, and a play area with over 100,000 Legos. It cost $5/person over age 2. Here are a few pics:

We got through the event pretty quickly so we decided to have lunch in downtown Leesburg. After a quick search of kid friendly restaurants in the area, I stumbled on MacDowell Brew Kitchen. The restaurant was basically an outdoor beach scene, covered in sand and even had beach toys for kids. There were lots of craft beers and casual fare.

I love the concept of this place and would have stayed longer but Mason was sleepy and hot from the sun so our lunch was brief.

Ladies Night at Mango Tree

I haven't been able to have a weeknight out in weeks so I was very excited for a night out with the ladies!  Yesterday, we headed to Mango Tree, an upscale Thai restaurant in City Center for dinner.  It's part of a larger chain and this location opened in February to mixed reviews but we had an awesome dinner. I thought the place setting was a great visual introduction to the spicy theme of the menu.

There was a really fun cocktail menu; my favorites were the Spicy Siam and Red Sangria. We shared a bunch of entrees and apps and the group favorites included the lobster pad Thai, the grilled octopus salad, the crab fried rice and the coconut ice cream. Everything was delicious and spicy - yum!

After dinner we had a night cap at OEG - I love Clyde's Restaurant Group!

Thanks for a fun night ladies!

Charleston for Memorial Day Vacation

Mark and I love Charleston and for the past 6 years have been taking an annual trip down to the area. Four years ago our friends Mike and Alyssa bought a house in Mount Pleasant, aka our vacation home! We had an awesome vacation...here are some of the highlights:

As I mentioned in prior posts,  Mason is my little water baby! Here he is taking on the waves at Sullivan's Island like a champ.

Barney also got to enjoy Sullivan's Island during approved off-leash hours.  Dogs need vacation too!

The adults headed into Charleston for a parents night out! We started at Bay Street Biergarten which had a very cool layout and concept. There are beer taps places all over the restaurant and you can just walk around and help yourself to sample pours or pints.  It was a lovely night so we headed to the outdoors area.

We headed over to Edmund's Oast for dinner. Everything was delicious and they have a really pretty outside dining and drinking picnic table area. The Fresh Ricotta plate was heaven and we were still talking about it the next day.  Yum!

We checked out Palmetto Park, both the dog park and Big Toy playground. We also noticed there was a spray park but will save that for a future trip.  Mason was minimally interested in the age appropriate structures so here he is playing on the big kid equipment.

Even though I didn't meet/see/befriend Shep and Cameron (maybe next year!), it was a great vacation in Charleston seeing old friends, enjoying the beach, pool and playground, wearing Lilly everywhere, and eating and drinking too much! See you next year South Carolina!

Westminster Park and the Potomac Hunt Races

This weekend was full of family activities! On Saturday we headed over to 14th Street for a lunch date with our friend Sarah. I heard that Westminster Park was this little tucked away park in nearby Shaw neighborhood so we decided to check that out. The park had play structures, swings, tons of cars and a water feature. We weren't prepared for the water but that didn't stop us! Mason is such a water baby!

The park had an amazing mural that I thought was very cool....

After the playground we headed to lunch at Ted's Bulletin and enjoyed adult milkshakes, burgers and fries. Thankfully they have a lenient dress code (at least for kids) and Mason dined in a damp shirt, diaper and shoes!

Today we headed to the Potomac Hunt Races in Maryland for horse races and tailgating. We recently purchased a red rider wagon for Mason to ride around with his buddies, and it came in quite handy today!

Here is our kid friendly tailgate:

We had a great spot on the infield rail to enjoy the races. 

I saw on the race website that they were holding stick horse races for kids for the first time so of course I signed Mason up. The idea was cuter than the reality but I enjoyed the photo op. 

Our little #2 came in last in his heat (4 and younger) but he won best dressed for sure! My competitive nature is already scheming that I need to get Mason his own stick horse and start practicing for next year!

Mother's Day Weekend in CT

For Mother's Day weekend Mark, Mason and I went to my parents house in Connecticut. On Sunday we visited Elizabeth Park, where I played as a child. Last year, the park was renovated and dedicated to Ana Grace, one of the Sandy Hook victims. It is a lovely memorial and incorporates her artwork into the equipment.

The park has structures for small kids, big kids and swings. Mark and I had fun being kids with Mason!

On Monday I took Mason to Trinity College where I attended undergrad. It's important to start those college visits early! Here is Mason running around the main quad.

Lastly we had Masons first flight this weekend! He did awesome and we got lots of great tips from friends on flying with a toddler so thanks everyone! I'm especially pleased with myself for flying home solo with Mason, and a car seat, and a stroller, and a bag! Here I am being Wonder Woman:

Great Mother's Day weekend!

Officially a Part Timer! And Nostos and High View Park

Last month I was transitioning and now it's my first week with my new part time schedule - yippie! Yesterday Mark and I had a lovely lunch date at Nostos near his office. Mark commented that we've probably had 5 week day lunches in our 13 year relationship so I proposed we do this monthly. Nice part time perk! Anyway, the decor at Nostos was very simple and clean, and even though I haven't been to Greece (yet!), it was what I imagine restaurants are like there.

We started with the combination of dips:

This picture looks not very appetizing but they were! I liked the feta dip, Mark liked the eggplant and we were both "eh" on the fava. For lunch we both ordered items from the special menu, after I confirmed with the waiter that the fish was a filet, aka not served with a head. Pan seared trout - yum!

I love checking out new restaurants and this place was great!

Today was playgroup day and it was a beautiful sunny day to go to the park. Mason and I jogged over to High View Park which was a nice mile plus run. I think this is one of my new favorite parks. There was a section specifically for toddlers and it was all fenced it.  There was a play structure, swings, large sand area, and playhouse.

Mason had a great time playing and since everything was age appropriate and safe I enjoyed chatting with the other moms.  Great play group today!  (As a note, there is no shade in the tot area but there is a covered pavilion with picnic tables.)

Marathon Date Night - SER, Kapnos, Water & Wall, Willow

So many restaurants have been popping up around us and I've been anxious to check them out. Date nights aren't as frequent these days so I planned a marathon date night to hit many spots and see what we like!

Our first stop was SER to watch the derby and enjoy some pre dinner apps and bevs. The food is Spanish but not tapas! They have neighborhood hh every day between 4-7pm and basically all the food and drink items are $7. Mark noticed that all the beers were either local or from Spain which we thought was interesting and I enjoyed that they offer sangria with cava, rose or white...the rose sangria was a delight! I loved it here and will absolutely come back for a date or with Mason. They had a large patio and there were several couples with babies having an early dinner. I always feel better bringing Mason to restaurants after I've seen others doing it.

I love Chef Mike Isabella so I picked his new restaurant Kapnos Taverna as our dinner spot. The menu was very similar to the 14th street location but additionally offered a raw bar. Mark and I have been getting into oysters lately so we started with those and shared 4 other dishes. The food was great but we both agreed that this was not going to be a regular date night spot. The decor felt very industrial and the dishes came out so fast we were done within 45 minutes. I think I'd come back with a group of friends or to check out the brunch menu. I'm also excited about the addition of a patio later this spring!

We headed to Water & Wall near Virginia Square metro for dessert. This restaurant has actually been around since 2013 but I only recently heard about it. I had the Peanut Butter Chocolate Tart...so good I ate nearly this whole thing myself:

This definitely seemed like a place to have a nice lingering dinner and I'd love to come back and check out the full menu.

We probably didn't need it but we stopped for a night cap at Willow which is "our spot." Pre baby and even when Mason could sleep in a carrier, we would go in frequently for the Nosh menu at the bar.  The staff even calls Mason the "Willow Baby" because I went into labor hours after having dinner there! Anyway, we caught up with the bartending staff and enjoyed our last drink.

All in all a great night and I'm excited about the expanding culinary scene in Arlington!

Glen Echo Park Family Day

Today was Glen Echo Park Family Day in celebration of the opening of the 95th year of operation of the Dentzel Carousel so we decided to go check that out. Family Day offered lots of activities- face painting, art projects, magic shows, puppets and storytime, and of course, carousel rides!  I love carousels so in anticipation of a long line, made sure we left extra early. Here we are on the first ride of the season!

The activities were held 11am-4pm which is not so awesome for Mason's nap time and I felt like we were a little young for a many of them (and waiting in lines!). The weather was lovely so it was just nice to be outside doing something. Anyway, we stayed for an hour or so and headed out. It was a good thing we arrived early because the parking lot was a disaster by noon. Some frustrated parents got in a fight over our spot-yikes! My advice for future family days: get there early, this is best for age 3+ and the face painting line was super popular so lots of waiting for that activity. I have heard great things about the puppet shows which are held regularly so I hope to come back on a non-event day.