Do not FEAR, Spring is HERE!

It's spring time, loyal readers! It has finally arrived. Yesterday was the first official day of spring, and with it came 30 degree weather and a morning full of snow flurries. But did that stop me from having a delightful day? NO, SIR!

Since the owner of my company is Irish, St. Patrick's Day is an official company holiday. However, I have an important meeting every Tuesday afternoon, so I took yesterday off instead. I pledged to myself that I would take advantage of my free Friday and make it a legitimate staycation that I could be proud of.

I maintain a list of local restaurants that I want to try. It mostly consists of friend and co-worker recommendations and raves from Tom Sietsema's reviews. Yesterday I managed to cross off THREE of the restaurants on my list!

I had breakfast at South Block Cafe, a local juice and smoothie bar recommended by one of our neighbors. I ordered the Super Green smoothie, (pineapple juice, spinach, kale, bananas & mangoes), and the breakfast burrito, (whole wheat tortilla, potatoes, avocado, egg whites & salsa). The Super Green smoothie was alright, (could have used some more sweetener) and so was the breakfast burrito, (could have used some ketchup), but I wasn't incredibly overwhelmed. Next time I'm going to order the Caveman Bowl, (acai blend, dates, coconut, banana & granola), and the King Kong smoothie, (chocolate, bananas, cashew milk, dates, peanut butter & protein powder).

Breakfast kept me full for several hours! When I was finally hungry again, I ordered a Shack Burger from Shake Shack. (No cheese fries! Had I been more hungry, I would have DEFinitely ordered cheese fries). The burger was very tasty. Now I know what all the hype is about. And next time, I'm definitely ordering cheese fries.

Dinner took place at Pupatella Pizza, a local joint in Arlington, VA that serves up authentic Neapolitan pizza pies. The restaurant wasn't very organized, (their ordering/seating/delivery system is a hoopla of insanity), but the pizzas were very good. The pizzas were clearly made with fresh, high-quality ingredients and were pleasantly flavorful. YUM!

To me, spring and summer mean finally getting outside, trying new things and having fun adventures and new experiences. I am proud to say that the first day of spring was a success!