Shenandoah

So I woke up yesterday and the universe spoke to me. It said "Jules, you need to go hiking today." So I did. I drove down to Shenandoah National Forest and hiked what they call the White Oak Canyon/Cedar Run Loop, and I'm going to tell you, that hike ain't no joke. About eight and a half miles, and steep. But really pretty.

I was unable to find someone to come with me on short notice, so I ended up just going alone, and honestly, I really enjoyed that (for those of you with safety concerns, don't worry; I let three people know that I was going and where I would be hiking, chose a relatively popular route, and checked in with the park ranger). It was nice to be able to just go at my own pace and be alone with my thoughts and stuff. And the biggest danger I found myself in was when I slipped on a slick rock and fell on my face. Which is the only reason I somewhat regret not having anyone along, because I'm sure that was hilarious.

Watch for slippery rocks

Anyway, it was a tough hike and I'm definitely feeling the descent in my calves today, but I think I was smiling literally the whole time. Particularly after I got to the summit.

And also when I made it back to the car. The last few miles took some grit. And it started pouring rain, which was fun for a while, but then my socks got wet, and that's no fun. Anyway, I'm glad the universe told me to go because it was awesome. Now I need to go back in a few weeks when Fall finished turning all those trees to fun shades of Autumn. More pictures from the hike can be found here.

This Is a Post About Running

New running shoes in bright red? Of course,  I can totally run faster and jump higher in them.

I took the month of August off of running. Mostly because I dropped heavy things on my feet while moving and one was starting to twinge bizarrely when I ran and the top of the other one was just sore. I thought to myself: perhaps I should take some time off running. And I did. Instead I spent a lot of excruciating on the elliptical machine.

A very distant secondary reason that I took August off of running is that I had worn through the soles of my running shoes and I used August's clothing budget to build up my work wardrobe, and I had to wait until I engaged the September clothing budget to buy new running shoes (sometimes the budget goes to September before the year does)

So anyway, all through August I'd been telling people that in September I was going to start running again, and I was all "yeah, running, whatevs" like it's just what I do to burn calories and maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. Then I engaged September clothing budget early so that I could have new running shoes available at the beginning of August. I went to a running store, but they were exceedingly not prompt in attending to me so I ended up just ordering new shoes off of Amazon.

And then something magical happened. As I completed my order, an excited feeling started to swell within my breast. And I said within myself "you're getting new shoes to run in and on Monday, you can GO RUNNING!" and my soul squee'd in delighted anticipation.

Guys, I WAS EXCITED TO GO RUNNING!

I think that this officially makes me A Runner.

And you know what, I WENT running on Monday. Sure, it was just an easy mile -- have to break in the shoes and the feet -- but it was a-MAZ-ing. 'Cause, you know, *Jules nochelantly shrugs her shoulders and makes her "it's no big deal" face* I'm A Runner now.

Sunday Evening

Went with one of my favorite people to one of my favorite places. Love.

Four Lists of Five Things

Five Things I Miss About Key West

1. The sun. I feel like I somehow managed to be outside much more often when I was in Key West, but that might just be because Reston is a super shady (as in there is a lot of trees and therefore shade) town, so even when I am outside, I'm still not getting that full Sunshine effect.
2. The people. This should probably actually be number one, but oh, I miss the sun. Facebook is nice because I still feel like I know what's going on, but also sad-making because I wish I was there. Yay! for staying clued in, Boo! for making me miss all my awesome friends.
3. Annie's. I did not realize how great of a deal Annie's Buying Club was until I starting having to buy veggies individually from stores. And I also am still not sure about this whole, plan your menu and THEN go to the store business.
4. My tiny office. I work in a huge office building now filled with strangers (and some familiar faces). I miss both the closeness of a small office and the feeling of being a big fish in a small pond. I'm now just a regular sized fish.
5. The Cafe, Matheessen's, Big Johns, Thai Life, Goldmans, etc. Sure, there are a ton of restaurants here too, but I haven't discovered my favorites yet. And none of them is a floating restaurant.

Five Things I Do NOT Miss About Key West

1.  Living on base. Ordered pizza for lunch today, and just gave the dude my address. And then he came and knocked on my door. No need for a call from the corner of Whitehead and United. Invited my friends over, same thing: just gave them the address and they knocked on my door. Genius!
2. Geckos. They aren't cute.
3. That stink that sometimes happens in the late summer. If you've ever been in Key West during the stinky times, you know what I'm talking about.
4. Mopeds. I'm sure they are great for the people who drive them, but I hated getting stuck behind them.
5. Tourists. Luckily I live far enough away from the tourist hot spots that I just don't have to deal with them anymore. And it's glorious. I love being a tourist, but I don't love living in an area that a lot of people tour to.

Five Things I'm Loving About Northern Virginia

1. Old Friends. I do miss my Key West friends, but it's been great to start integrating old friends back into my daily life. And I don't want to sound elitist or anything, but it's been awesome that so many of them are single.
2. Target. And Macy's. And specialty running stores. And specialty grocery stores. And DSW. And holy heck how did I live my life without such convenient commercialism!
3. Smart people. I'm not saying that people in Key West are not smart, just that if you've decided to live in Key West, it's for a reason, and the reason is not so that you can randomly start talking about the Napoleonic Wars and expect five people to join in the conversation.
4. Bike paths. Everywhere.
5. Cultural Events. All the time. 

Five Things I'm Not Loving About Northern Virginia

1. Traffic. And roads that make no sense. And the people who drive here.
2. Rent. I'm getting a great deal for my area, but its still substantially more than I was paying. And also, it's not just being withheld from my paycheck like it was, so I actually see that giant chunk of money disappear.
3. The lack of a horizon. Between the trees and the hills and the wonky curvy roads, you just can't ever see that far ahead of you. Sometimes it's cozy, and sometimes it's claustrophobia-inducing.
4. Having to put make-up on every day. I sort of hate feeling like I have to look good all the time.
5. Slow hymns. Our pianist at church in Key West always played the hymns at a wonderfully fast pace and I loved it. Now I feel like I'm singing dirges all the time.

Spices are the Spice of Life

I was digging around in my spice cupboard the other day looking for my ground ginger, and I thought to myself "holy dude, have I got a lot of spices" and then that thought split in two different directions, one thought train started heading down the "There's got to be a better way to organize these" track and the other thought train chugged along the "I love that I have and use all these spices" track. Which is fun, because spices are awesome. And that is why this blog post is about my favorite spices -- which, weirdly, all begin with C -- which are:

Cumin

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I love, love, love cumin. It's such a deep, warm flavor and it is used in so many different types of cuisine, and so is really versatile for a lot of different kinds of food. I use cumin in my food probably half the time.









Cinnamon

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Traditionally, you think of cinnamon as a sweet flavor, but that's because we mix it with a lot of sugar and stuff. I'm finding more and more that cinnamon is a wonderful spice in savory dishes like enchiladas, chiles, soups, and even on red meats. How could you not love a spice that lives just as happily in an apple pie as in a quesadilla?






Cardamom

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Cardamom is another spice that easily crosses the sweet/savory border and it's one I've only recently discovered. It's a wonderful flavor that's almost as much about smell as it is about taste. It's holy cow expensive, but luckily is nice and strong so a little goes a long way. When I see a recipe calling for cardamom, I squee a little inside.





Chile, in all its variety

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I used to think that chile powder was chile powder was chile powder, but that's just not true. I now know the difference in flavor between ancho chile powder and cayenne pepper and chipotle chile powder. What I want to do next is get me a mortar and pestle and start grinding my own dried chiles for even more of a flavor punch.






There are a lot of other spices in my spice rotation that I enjoy -- basil, thyme, coriander, nutmeg -- but these are the ones that make me think "mmmm, I just love this" and do a spicey happy dance as I'm adding them to my dishes. Who else has some favorite spices? Or favorite recipes that use my favorite spices?

In Unrelated News, ...

...it's a beautiful day out today. You know how I know? Everyone and their dog was out for a walk on the trails while I was riding home for work. Every. Single. One.

... I just made enough not-quite-authentic pasta carbonara to feed all those starving children in Africa.

... I believe in brunch. I had brunch yesterday with Tim and Adopted Family, and it was both delicious and delightful. People should brunch more. And by people, I mean I should brunch more. My contribution: Watermelon Gazpacho. Yes, it was as awesome as it sounds.

... I may or may not have finally gotten around to signing up for Pinterest.

... my sister-in-law gave birth to Niece #2 yesterday-ish. Through a series of convoluted logic steps, I'm claiming the baby is named after me. Since I am the favorite Auntie after all. (I make sure this is the case by buying lots of fun presents.)

Welcome, Make Yourself at Home

Remember when I finally moved into my new house a week and a half ago and it's taken me this long to finally get everything put away and the apartment in a condition suitable for visitors? Well it's finally suitable for visitors, let me show you some of my favorite spaces.

This is the first area of my house that I see when I come through the door:

I L-O-V-E it. It's so cozy and serene and relaxing and I spend a lot of time curled up on the circle chair reading.The whole living room is actually quite nice, and I LOVE being home.

This is my kitchen:

You can't see all of it, obviously, but the kitchen was a major selling point for me -- cabinets go all the way to the ceiling, lots of good counter space, gas oven and stove, and overall, just a really good use of space.

My closet is hands down the best thing about the bedroom:

Seriously.

There's only one room in the house that I'm just not sure what to do with, and that's the dining room:

(As you can see, that's also where the bike lives.) My house in Key West was mostly windows in the dining area so I don't have any ready made dining room decor, and there is a LOT of white wall in there. I've been thinking about maybe getting one of those fancy wall decals for in there, but I don't know yet.

Anyway, if you want to see more, I have a virtual tour over at SmugMug that you can check. Or, if you're in the area, come on by because I totally want to just start showing off my awesome, cute house to everyone.