A Fall Day In Alexandria

- November 04, 2014

Old Town Alexandria

Sunday mornings in D.C. seem to have a routine. Breakfast, coffee, lunch, pictures in the park. Last week we made the trek to Georgetown for our favorite brunch spot. This week, we stayed local. Sunday morning starts with Jellybean and I cuddling in bed while Matt takes Abby to the park across the street. A dog in the city is not something I would recommend. Especially a big dog.

In the spirit of the season, we've been scarfing down these awesome Pumpkin Pancakes from Williams Sonoma. Yes, Williams Sonoma is overpriced, but these pancakes were AMAZING and definitely worth it. And yes, of course, I shared with Jellybean and he loved them too. Now that my little guy is mobile, I spent quite a bit of time with him on the floor testing out his low crawling abilities by putting toys just out of reach. His favorite thing to crawl to though? Abby of course. He scoots his cute little booty over to his big sissy and Abby showers him with kisses, which of course, he absolutely loves.

Overpriced and delicious.

Jellybean needs breakfast too!

This particular Sunday, we bundled up the family and made the trek to our favorite restaurant for nachos. Matt and I kind of have an obsession with nachos. It started in Tucson where we discovered that Risky Business has the MOST WONDERFUL nachos *in the universe*. I am not even kidding. I have no idea how to describe these nachos, but we love them, crave them, and have since been trying to find places to compete with them. In Texas, our nacho restaurant of choice was BJs. In D.C., it's Virtue at the end of King Street in Old Town Alexandria. This last Sunday was cold and windy, but sunny. So we got our winter coats on, grabbed the sunglasses, and off we went to satisfy our nacho craving.

A mandatory pit stop at Misha's Coffeehouse put us off course for a block. But like I said, it's a mandatory pit stop. Being a Washington girl, I whole heartedly support local coffee shops and find that they are most often much better than Starbucks....*gasp* I know. But really.....people from Seattle prefer local coffee shops to Starbucks. It's only when we aren't in Seattle that we know we have Old Reliable to go to because who knows what those copy cats might be trying to serve. If I'm not trying to satisfy an immediate coffee craving though, I'll brave the local shops and am always pleased when I can find my go to local joint. In Alexandria, that's hands down Misha's.

At Virtue, I shared the tomatoes from our nachos with Jellybean. That was the only part of the meal I felt comfortable giving him. Not quite sure how he would handle BBQ pulled pork or sour cream.....soon my son, soon! I love that when he sees us eating, his mouth begins to water and he smacks his lips together. He's gaining an understanding of family meal times, a concept that Matt and I will push on him despite how many times he may try to fight us on it. Family meal times, without phones and televisions, will be a priority in our house and that kid of ours better get used to it! I love that baby led weaning helps us teach our little man that when we sit down to eat, he does too, vs the more traditional method of he eats a jar of pureed mush before/after we sit down to our meal. Instead, he eats WITH us, which teaches important values right from the start.

Working on that dexterity.

Blue Corn nachos, yum!

On our way back, Jellybean and I hung out at the park while Matt went up to get Abby. I had to take advantage of us in our winter coats, the sunshine, and the fall leaves everywhere- so out came the Nikon and another family photo session resulted! These boys of mine sure do know how to put up with me and my impromptu family photo session obsession. But look at Jellybean in that big poofy jacket. Who wouldn't want to capture those moments?