[Desserts as big as my head.]

@ Serendipity3 on a delightful(ly scandalous) Friday night in Georgetown

[We Had a Ball.]

So I went to a ball. Normal, right? I sort of treated it like adult prom, hence the ginormous living room photo shoot that occurred before the event (thanks roomies). Didn't even take any pics at the actual ball--trying to be cool, you know? But it was kind of a magical night. How can you not adore a boy in uniform? As I walked down the stairs to greet him, "Tale as old as time..." was definitely playing in my ears (I just saw Beauty and the Beast 3D in theaters, okay??), and maybe for a second I felt like a princess. At one point the lieutenant literally swept me off my feet to carry me over some rough terrain (like that army speak there?), aaaand I basically died. 

This LA girl hasn't spent any time around the military (we worship film producers, not army generals), so this was a glimpse into a completely foreign world for me. I loved the ceremony of it all -- glad to see something like that is still alive in this world of ours. There were eight toasts before the meal: "I propose a toast to our Commander-in-Chief." "To the President!" "I propose a toast to The United States Army." "To the Army!" "I propose a toast to The Engineer Regiment." "Essayons!" "I propose a toast to the ladies." "To the ladies!" etc. Generals spoke, awards were given, a lot of "Sir"s were thrown around, army songs were sang...and I loved it all. Such a wonderful night, literally a highlight of my life. 

And then, after a brief hot chocolate stop, we went bowling at the military base, of course.

Turns out that bowling straight and not tripping on your dress are mutually exclusive concepts, which I discovered after uncharacteristically bowling like five gutter balls in a row. So, like the classy broad I am, I hiked it up and proceeded to dominate. In a loose sense of the word.

Thank you, Lieutenant. :)

[Ball sneak peek.]

Last night I went to an army ball. LOVED every second, especially the pre-ball photo shoot (you know I love me a good posing opportunity...).

Took a million pictures, claro, too many to sort through now, but for now here's the dress and the man:

Yes, that's a bronze star. #legit

More prom...er, ball pictures later.

[Just a little date.]

[At the drive in.]

On Sunday, Chad and I took a day trip up to to Gettysburg, and then continued north that night to catch the last summer showing of a small town drive in. I never grew up around a drive in -- I only ever went once every summer on my family's annual Cape Cod vacation -- so the evening definitely brought out the kid in me. As you might be able to tell from the watery car windows (or my awful, frizzy hair), it was raining POURING during the movie, which made it a little hard to see or hear the movie (not to mention drive home - we contemplated staying in a hotel because it was so dangerous out!). I loved this drive in, because they've really tried to keep it as authentically 50's as possible (and I would know, because I've seen Grease), even down to the pre-movie concessions commercials.

Now that I've checked off the drive in from my summer to do list, bring on the fall!

[Night at the county fair.]

Pictures from the Montgomery County Fair, this weekend. I made a goal to consume, in no particular order, fried oreos, a corn dog, a pulled pork sandwich, freshly squeezed lemonade, and an elephant ear. Turns out this wasn't a SMART goal, because though it was specific, measurable, relevant, and timely, it was not attainable, SO, disappointingly, I failed. I did manage to ingest a corn dog, fresh lemonade, and 4/5 of my fried oreos (heaven in my mouth, people, really) before the nausea set in, so it wasn't a complete disaster of a night. Meanwhile, Chad attempted and failed at several fair games, as pictured below. He experienced similar failures at the fair last year, the same night I won him a stuffed crab, and the theme continued this year when I won him a stuffed dolphin by popping two balloons.

[National S'more Day!]

:: obscure food holiday ::
:: stay at home date night ::
:: ghiradelli chocolate ::
:: urban campfire ::
:: accidental fiery marshmallows ::
:: someone likes the camera ::
:: a lot ::

:: and i like him ::
:: a lot ::

[Take me out to the batting cages...]

So before our usual Saturday night dinner and a movie date, this week Chad and I went with Steph and Jake to the batting cages in Falls Church. And yes, obviously I wore patent leather espadrilles to the batting cages. Chad made me change into some Converse so I wouldn't roll my ankle, but he obviously doesn't know how coordinated and athletic I am. Case in point--I only missed 6 of the 50+ balls pitched at me. You know you want me on your summer softball league. Steph, on the other hand, demonstrated that hitting is not one of her numerous strengths (how many did you get, Estefania? Three? haha ), but her former Columbia baseball player husband more than made up for it. Little League coach Chad also had a solid performance, but I think we can all agree that he needs to stick his butt out a little more, like I do.