Jon's America VII (The County Ag Fair)

Thanks for your thoughts and love on my last post, dear readers; they're a real comfort. There's been a lot going on for me recently, and Jon offered to write another guest post for the blog so we can finish off the week on a lighter note. With that... take it away, Jon!

A few weeks ago, I was able to tick off another quintessentially American experience off my extensive list of things I need to do in this great land before I can be considered one of you – a county fair (next up, visit Taco Bell). To be fair (hah), county fairs aren’t necessarily as “American” an experience as many of you might think. I grew up in a rural country called Suffolk, and visiting the Suffolk County Fair every year – the “Suffolk Show” - was a staple of my childhood. While my mum forced us to go watch the sheep shearing competition, all I wanted to do there was clamber over the tractors. That’s all I want to do now, really, but I have this wife and this job and this urban thing going on, and I’ve somehow persuaded some people that I’m an adult with a diverse range of interests and talents so I can't.

But I digress. The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair was everything I hoped it would be, even though it’s not one of the most rural fair experiences to be had. Whereas my Suffolk memories involve horses showjumping in a soggy field, this new world has pigs racing for cheese doodles in front of a baying mob! The Nascar-themed pig racing, complete with strong biblical overtones (really), was only bested when the announcer revealed that, for the final race, they’d be racing Vietnamese pot-bellied micropigs! Having super-cute animals race doesn’t diminish the thrill of competition, it only adds a new and adorable element to this already compelling sport.

But what about the food, you ask? What stick-based treats did I manage to ingest? To be honest, that was the only mild disappointment of the day – there was a surprising lack of ingenuity when it came to getting the most outlandish food possible stuck on wood. Across the country, the Idaho fair had recently taken place and I’d been staring wide-eyed at pictures of Hilary Clinton pretending to enjoy pork on a stick. I made up for it with deep fried cheddar cheese balls that arrived still floating in grease. Betsy tried half of one and couldn’t keep it down. I made it through about half the box, more on principle than anything else.

The fairground section was great – along with doing my whole “look, you can see the rust flakes” routine while on the top of the ferris wheel with Betsy, I witnessed my first Drown the Clown attraction. For those of you who’ve yet to experience this, it consists of a guy in makeup sitting above a pool of water, and you have to hit a metal plate with a ball to dunk him in. Your incentive to do so is that he taunts you, and this one guy in particular was brutal. Nasty, barbed comments flew from him aimed the participants’ worst insecurities – weight, age, appearance… every “ism” that would collectively enrage Jezebel was screamed at anyone stepping up to play. Things got pretty dicey with a stocky bald guy, and I think the collective cheer that went but when he finally dunked the clown was tinged with relief that he wouldn’t then to go round the back and administer his own style of “payback” on the antagonizer.

Betsy at this point would want to me to be fair (again, hah), so I shall also say that much of the experience was charming as well as entertaining. The old boys who maintain and proudly demonstrate the vintage farming machinery they had there were great, especially the elderly gentleman who printed us a free postcard on the old school printing press he had up and running! The areas selling livestock, often overlooked by the crowds, were fascinating to witness, and it’s comforting to know that there’s still a small-scale farming industry in this part of the states. Also, funnel cakes are delicious, and mostly make up for the deep-fried cheddar balls – the powdered sugar grease cancels out the savory cheesy grease very nicely. All in all, a great day out!

Connecticut Bound

Jon and I are heading up to my grandparents' place in Connecticut this weekend, and I'm so looking forward to getting away. We've been on exciting day trips through the summer, but we haven't gone for a real vacation since the Shenandoah Valley over Memorial Day weekend - a few days in Litchfield County sounds like bliss.

I actually haven't been there since summer 2012, when Sarah and I spent a weekend in Connecticut with our grandparents, but I'm eager to make the most of the house and of the uninterrupted time with Nana and Pappy. Jon's been up before - we stayed there the first time he came to visit me in the States, and I have really special memories of him meeting my grandparents and getting to know my family better on that trip.

If only we could go for a whole two weeks, like we did when when I was younger! But alas, adulting is hard, and a long weekend will have to be enough. Can you believe the weather we'll be getting? I'm definitely packing my bathing suit and my running kit. I predict 90% of the weekend will be spent outdoors! (Jon's happy about the sun not just because it means pool time and long walks, but because it also means I won't drag him antiquing.) We'll spend a bit of time in Litchfield so we can share some more Revolutionary War history and I might bring him to Washington Depot, where I first discovered the Redwall series at the gorgeous Gunn Memorial Library. Nana and Pappy will also be taking us to a camber music concert one night, which will be lovely! Ah, I can feel the work week melting away even as I type.

Jon and I are both packing our bags this morning and we'll set off after work in just a few hours. Side note: creating a Polyvore board of what you're packing is an excellent way to realize you have, in fact, overpacked! Here's what's in my bag for the weekend:

eShakti Elephants

My birthday is tomorrow, dear readers! And, like last year, I'm celebrating by throwing myself a party. This year, though, Jon is here and we have even more to celebrate - we're hosting a triple bash for our wedding anniversary, my birthday, and his first full year as a legal alien in the United States. (Three more weeks until we toast to that last one officially!) We've got about 30 people coming over for drinks and food on the patio behind our building, and I'm so excited to gather so many of our local friends in one place for an evening.

One of the special things about tomorrow is that we really are celebrating with people we - both of us - love. It's so hard to move to a new city, let alone a new country, but Jon has really made DC his own. He's put down roots, he's developed friendships independent of me, and he feels at home here in his world, not just in mine. It's such a joy to see and to be able to share.

Another sign that Jon's comfortable in Washington: he understood that we couldn't just do one grocery store run for everything we'll be serving! When you plan coordinated trips to Costco, Safeway, and the farmers' market, you know you know your town.

Of course, the party isn't just an excuse to celebrate with friends and food. I've been thinking about what I might wear for the occasion for weeks now, and when I got to choose a dress from eShakti back in July I looked for a dress in their collection that I could wear for the occasion. This paisley/elephant printed one is so fun - I wanted spaghetti straps and a lower-cut neckline because I'm quite fond of my shoulders, but I love that the midi length keeps the dress garden-worthy. It's fully lined, which is a nice touch, though I have to admit that I'm not crazy about how the skirt is attached to the bodice of the dress - it's gathered rather than pleated, which can make me look like I have more of a tummy than I really do from some angles. Happily, my mom was quickly and easily able to sew darts in under the bust to give the shape a little more structure. And you know how I feel about a dress that has pockets!

Fair warning, party guests: there will almost certainly be some Costco chocolate sheet cake-fueled twirling in this dress tomorrow night!

Bake Off Bake Along: Biscotti

We're on week two of the Great British Bake Off, and the theme is cookies - sorry, biscuits, since the show is set in England! The three challenges were biscotti, arlettes, and a biscuit box made of biscuits.

As before, I went for the classic choice with a little twist: gingerbread biscotti. I last made Smitten Kitchen's recipe in the winter, when the biscotti were delicious dunked in hot chocolate, but I thought they'd also make a fab summer treat served with ice cream and grilled peaches. And, dear readers, they were!

Open City at the National Cathedral

For the past few weekends, Jon and Charlie and I have gone up to the old Herb Cottage at the National Cathedral, where an outpost of Open City, one of Northwest DC's favorite restaurants, opened late last year. From the comments on my Instagram of the cafe when I held the We The People DC handle, a lot of Washingtonians don't know it's there - and that's got to change, because it's fantastic, with a delicious mini-menu and amazing ambiance! Plus, it's always a joy to walk around the Close and, if it's your thing, to stop into the Cathedral for a moment of reflection. If you go early on a Sunday morning, you'll catch the sunrise from the highest spot in Washington (and entry into the Cathedral will be free). It really is magical:

A Not-So-Frock Friday

Remember a few weeks ago, when I was all excited about buying a drawstring dress from Loft using some credit (and a birthday gift card) I'd received? Well, dear readers, I was excited - so much so that I went to four different stores over the last month to find even one of them in my size.

I failed. And I had to use the money in-store, so purchasing online wasn't an option.

So, instead, I bought two linen tops, one short-sleeved and one sleeveless, and I've been wearing both nonstop since I got them. When I sorted out my shirt drawer earlier in the summer, I realized I had to trash quite a few tees and tanks that were either more stained or more holey than I'd wanted to admit, so I'm actually counting these as "need" rather than "want" purchases to replace the ones I threw out.

white top / pink top

I do still have $20 left, so I might run into another Loft or three before the end of the month (when my gift card expires) to pick up something a bit more frivolous. If I were responsible, I'd get a plain white button-down, but I'll definitely skim the sale racks for dresses!

Peaches and Blackberries, Oh My!

I last went peach picking in August 2013, but Mom keeps Homestead Farms and the other pick-it-yourself places in the Maryland exurbs in business every summer. She and her friends drive out River Road about twice a month between May and September, and come home laden with bushels of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, and, eventually, apples.

After making those two peach clafoutis with fruit from last weekend's farmers' market, I jumped at the chance to go picking with Mom yesterday. We were told they only had peaches ready for us, but we were delighted to find the blackberry vines heavy as well.

Between us, Mom and I came home with nearly 40 pounds of peaches, a flat of blackberries, armfuls of tomatoes from the seconds box, and bags of zucchini, eggplant, and yellow squash for ratatouille. It was a gorgeous morning, and the perfect way to round out an August weekend after a day at the beach!