How is it Monday again?

Back to work... ugh. Where did that weekend go? I didn't really do anything, which was wonderful, but I also didn't accomplish ANYTHING so that's annoying.

I got off work early on Friday, swung by the grocery store to pick up some peeps and a six pack (what else do you need for Easter?). I had the house to myself Friday night which is always lovely. I love my roommates to death, but when you live with friends/roommates its always nice to get a little alone time. and I'm a girl who LOVES my alone time.

Saturday I hung out around the house some more. Did some cleaning, cooking, ran an errand or two, caught up on blogs, etc. Exciting life I lead. I finally got bored and took my roommate BW to explore our local neighborhood bar. We live in an area of DC that I'm not super familiar with. It's not the nicest of neighborhoods, but the longer I'm hear the more I love it. It's called Bloomingdale and is hipster-tastic. I'm certainly the preppiest person around, but no matter. I add to the diversity of the hood, right?

We popped over to a bar called the Boundary Stone and we immediately fell in love. It's a hole in the wall kind of a place. A solid list of craft brews on tap, well priced for dc ($5 a pint of a Saturday night sounds good to me)

The service was awesome! The bar tenders let us sample the beers before we ordered. Let us split a beer in half pint glasses (do bars normally do this? I don't think I've ever asked before), and were generally friendly and fun. Needless to say we tipped them well and told them we'd be back again soon. This could get dangerous.

Sunday was more lounging around. Easter brunch at home included: deviled eggs, salmon, potatoes, grits, spinach salad, etc. It was good.

Then I made the mistake of finally starting the Hunger Games (I know where have I been?) at 5:00 pm. Needless to say I took a 2 hour break to fold laundry and watch Mad Men and the season finale of Real Housewives of Atlanta (so sad it's gone). But I raced back to bed to do more reading before bed. Well. I read the whole darn thing. I turned off my light at 3:00 am, but my heart was still racing and I was thinking about whats going to happen in book two and three. I need to see the movie ASAP now. Anyone want to go with me?

Anyways, that's about it for me today. Hope everyone had a great Easter!

{Friday Cocktail} A Peep-tini

I would like to document the fact that I LOVE peeps. They are my FAVORITE.

I can could sit and eat trays of them at a time. I don't discriminate between the bunnies or the chicks, but nothing is better than the classic yellow chic. Have you ever tried one dipped in chocolate? You need to. Have you ever put one in the microwave to watch it turn into a godzilla peep? You need to. Have you ever had a liquidfied peep in your cocktail? well... not sure you need to do that, but you can make a delicious peeptini with a peep on the side :)

via

• 1.5 oz Marshmellow Vodka
• .5 oz vanilla simple syrup
• 1 oz cream
• 1 egg white (optional)*
• Peeps (for garnish or dipping... your choice)

In a shaker combine vodka, simple syrup, cream  and egg white. Shake for 1 min or until you are happy with the fluffiness of the egg white. Pour into a rimmed martini glass and top with a peep.

*Please don't be afraid of the egg white. The alcohol "cooks" it so no gross germs to worry about and it creates this yummy frothy foam on the top. You need to try it once.

This is going to be a super SWEET cocktail, which is not normally my taste, but it's easter!

Let me know what you think if you try this. Also you can try adding a little food coloring to coordinate with your peeps. Go crazy! Hope y'all have a great easter!

Thursday Randoms

• The week is finally coming to an end. Well. Actually this has been an extremely low key week, but I'm ready for a break.
• I'm doing the Photo A Day April, here's what I've got so far



April 1. Your Reflection
I forgot to take a pic of my reflection, but this is an action shot of the cat and mouse battle in our bathroom Sunday night. I wish this was an April Fools joke....



April 2 Color:
 Loving my bright new Banana Republic Sweater

 

April 3 Mail:
My stationary for some thank you notes



April 4 Someone who makes me happy:
Silly Oliver on a walk, rolling around in the grass. Love him



April 5: Something Tiny
My to-do list today!

• I can't decide if I want to go to yoga tonight or do a happy hour. #lazypeopleproblems
• I bored with all of my nail polishes right now, but I have so many I don't want to waste money buying new ones. Here my look of the week... and yes, those are Gator colors... I know. Sorry UGA.

• I have no plans for easter. Trying to figure out something fun to do, brunch maybe?
• I need to start planning my birthday party (April 24, the party's on Cinco de Mayo) but I'm not motivated.
• I'm feeling a little stuck today. Wondering if it's time to make a change. New Job? New city? Go to school? I don't know what to do.
• It's baseball season again! Can't wait for the Nat's to come to town in a week so I can hit up the ball park!

I guess that's it. Hope y'all are having a great day!

Politics 101: Super PACs

I'm sure you've tuned in to any of the 2012 election coverage you've heard mention of Super PACs. I know a lot of folks outside of the beltway that don't know what a PAC is, let alone a Super one. A political action committee aka PAC is essentially a group of people who come together pool their contributions and donate money to a politicians and candidates. PACs are generally focused on a single issue and thus are a more effective means of influence because a candidate will be able to recognise the cause. If I wrote a check to a candidate he/she wouldn't know the issues I care about or what's important to me, but if I join a PAC that supports environmental protection and that PAC writes a check to that same candidate you can be sure they'll know what I care about. Most companies, trade associations and even interest groups have a PAC now a days. There are literally thousands of PACs out there, if not hundreds of thousands.

The FEC (Federal Election Commission) has created strict guidelines for PACs to follow. The maximum a PAC can contribute to a candidate per election is $5,000. PAC's have to report ever dollar they spend and it becomes public record. Any lobbyists who use the money to attend events are also reported and monitored closely. And any individual who contributes more than $200 to the PAC also has to be listed with receipt reports to the FEC.

Super PACs are a different story though. Based on a Supreme Court case decided in 2010 (Citizens United) Corporations are people too. For the first time corporations can create "Super PACs" and contribute unlimited funds to elections. There are not necessarily people behind these Super PACs so that information does not have to be disclosed. There is NO limit to what a Super PAC can contribute to a candidate. No Limit. They are free to make their own advertisements where they can blatantly disperse lies, but who cares? because no one's name is really attached to it.

In the 2010 election cycle over $4 billion dollars were spend by candidates, party committees, and Super PACs. That's the most in history, and 2012 looks to far exceed even those numbers.

It's really sickening how out of control this spending is getting. If you think lobbying is bad  just think about what these politicians will do after being propped up by a Super PAC. $5000 is nothing now. It's scary really.

Unfortunately in these highly partisan times we are unable to tackle real reform, but now is when we need the reform the most. What to do what to do. Does this all just infuriate you? I am beyond tired of it all. I might need to pick a new industry to work in and leave politics as a hobby.

Hope you're having a great Wednesday!