Perfect Getaway

Before Valentine's Day, I entered the Morrison House's Facebook contest: Share your most memorable Valentine's Day and be automatically entered to win a Free 1-night stay.  I happen to have a story for such an occasion. 

For our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple, My Heart's Desire arranged to have a lovely orchid sent to my office. Unfortunately, there was a DC area blizzard and no delivery trucks could brave the roads. On February 15th, a dead orchid arrived on my desk. We still laugh about it.

And that story won the free night at the fancy hotel!

I received in the mail a package of hotel information and a gift certificate good for one year.  I was not about to wait, I've been slightly stir crazy and need of a getaway.

After a leisurely Saturday morning at home, My Heart's Desire and I packed one very small bag and headed across town.  We stopped first at the charming Del Ray neighborhood and bought some cheese and a fresh baguette from a cheese boutique, browsed at local shops and art galleries, tried key lime custard for the first time, and strolled in the sunshine.

 We have been to the Morrison House before, for a wedding in September, and thought it was lovely.  We checked in and found waiting in our room a selection of truffles, healthy juices, and an orchid as a gift!  It really was above and beyond our expectations. The room itself was fabulous!

On Saturday evening, we walked around Old Town and had a light dinner.  Many of the shops were closed, so after room service pancakes on Sunday morning, we resumed our walk.  We visited the Torpedo Factory (former torpedo factory, now art studios and galleries), many small boutiques, walked around, had lunch, purchased Girl Scout cookies, and headed back home, relaxed and happy. 

Today I am grateful for: reading glasses = 98% fewer headaches!!! (and I can whip them off dramatically when I want to make a point), hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, good books, only 33 days until Spring, sound machines, Roku, and looking on the bright side.

You Know When the Men Are Gone

One of the members of my writing group lent me Siobahn Fallon's You Know When the Men Are Gone, a collection of related short stories about the Army wives of deployed soldiers and what their lives are like.  Well written and engaging, I sat down with this book and didn't get up until 90 minutes later when I was done, and wished there was more. (2)

Today I woke early to the sounds of a wood chipper on my street, enjoyed pre-Valentine's Day pancakes My Heart's Desire cooked (all the tastier because I had nothing to do with making them), tided up the house a little bit, got a huge kick out of Cash Peter's Gullible's Travels: The Adventures of a Bad Taste Tourist (3) that my colleague lent me and now have a desire to go to the Museum of Bad Art, did laundry, talked to one of my favorite aunts, had friends over for Middle Eastern food dinner, played Bop It with their 10-year-old daughter (I got to 50!), nibbled on mini cupcakes and brownies, warmed myself by the fire My Heart's Desire made, chatted up the proverbial storm with my BFF, and now am going back to the fire.

Who are you calling cheap?

I finally read Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell, which explores where bargains come from and what the real costs are.  The history of retail discounting and the far-reaching consequences are discussed, as well as the human and environmental costs of inexpensive goods and food.  And it shows what, exactly, you are supporting when you buy a (practically disposable) coffee table from IKEA, cheap toothpaste from Wal-Mart, or eat all the shrimp you can at Red Lobster for one low price.  Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture shows how quality and craftsmanship have been traded for fun design at low prices and how that affects workers, the environment, and American businesses.  (1)