Exorcist stairs

 

On Friday night, I went to Zero Dark Thirty at the theaters in Georgetown (by the way, have you seen this?! go see this!).  I go to G-town pretty much never because it's relatively difficult to get to, and I lack some of the unspoken prerequisites that one needs in order to fit in there.   Afterwards, we walked the length of M Street, heading East until we hit 36th St.  And there, there at 36th and M, are the stairs that were made famous in The Exorcist.  You know, the ones that the priest throws himself down when he's all possessed.  You don't know?  I couldn't remember that scene either because I've only seen the movie once, and it was over a decade ago.  That's why Google exists! The stairs are insanely steep and would not be fun to fall down.  That is all I have to say about that.

To count the Electoral Vote

On January 4, 2013, the 113th Congress convened in a joint session to count the Electoral Vote.  Yours truly sat in the gallery of the House of Representatives for the duration (about 24 minutes) of the session.  While it was not overtly eventful, it was one of those special kinds of experiences that DC affords to me time and again. To be in attendance for the official certification of the outcome of an election for President and Vice President of the United States was a moment that might not be repeated in my life and that most Americans will likely never experience but really ought to! Guess that's what we have C-Span for :)

On leaving.

The funny thing about leaving is that you always take yourself with you.  You can escape to the ends of the Earth to lose problems and find yourself, except that you actually can't do that.  My mom was right.  You always take yourself with you.

All of the somethings that really are nothings will still be dancing around in your head.  It might help that the point of origin of all of those nothings is thousands upon thousands of miles away, but they'll still be there with you.  Waiting for you.  When a bear wakes up from hibernation, it's ravenous.  Same thing.

There is an opportunity cost to having gypsy feet.  When you go away, the world keeps turning.  Off in distant lands you'll learn new things, struggle, grow, appreciate, teach, discover, adapt... but when you come back, if you come back, you'll have to do that all over again here.  This place you knew so well.  This place that made you think that all of those nothings were somethings.  It's been changing and adapting, too. Waiting for you.

When you return, you'll push too far trying to find yourself again, the person you thought you left at home.  You'll realize now that in springing forward, you also left behind.  Now you've tucked other somethings into one more pocket of the Earth.  You take yourself with you, but you always leave a piece of yourself behind.  Sometimes that's the cost.  You don't get to pick what pieces stay behind.  Maybe you leave a nothing piece, but maybe it is a something piece.  You probably won't recognize that piece as yours, next time you see it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's like Harry Potter?  Horcruxes.  Maybe I just felt like referencing HP.

I heed my mother's wisdom.  Don't run, because everything runs with you.  But for goodness sake, when will I learn that I can't have it all? You'd think I'd have taken the lesson to heart by now. When I choose to leave, everything does not wait for me.  Sometimes you lose the good somethings while you're gone, returning to find that they've vaporized into nothings.

Salted Caramel Mocha cupcakes

When I first returned from Germany, I was SO excited to be able to bake again. You'd think that in Germany I'd have been a baking fool, seeing as how the country is full of delicious baked goods and daily life usually involves cake and coffee. Imagine a long-term stay hotel room with a kitchenette, and that's basically what my little home was like. I spent the year oven-less and only got to bake on a few occasions at Anja's house (see: this post).  Once settled back into my house in DC, I got down to business. After all, I had a cupcake-loving man to bake for and one year of ideas to test out.

The first batch I made were inspired by Starbucks' Salted Caramel Mocha latte.  It's delightful, and I felt it was not out of my league to whip up a couple.  Of course, this meant I had to do research.  I sat at my local Sbux, drank the hot beverage, sweat because it was warm outside, and wrote down the essences I wanted to capture.  After a trip to the grocery, the baking began.

My old apron from my Starbucks days. Seemed appropriate.

In the days when the oven clock worked and I could bake in Fahrenheit! When the power came back on after Hurricane Sandy, the clock was out and it only functioned in Celsius. What?!

I used my chocolate cake recipe and dabbled with instant espresso for a nice mocha flavor

Caramelized sugar to make toppers.

The future toppers, cooling.

Carved out the centers and put a bit of fleur de sal in each

Made a batch of caramel for filling and drizzling over the frosting

Added some of the caramel to mascarpone and filled the cupcakes

Made a chocolate ganache-like frosting, drizzled with caramel, added a few flakes of fleur de sal, and topped with the caramelized sugar pieces

It was delightful.

Overall, I give my creation a 4 out of 5. They were really tasty, but the standard mocha cupcakes I've made in the past top these salted caramel ones.

Advent season on Capitol Hill

Here are a couple snapshots from my phone from the Christmas season on Capitol Hill.  It was chilly here this December, but welcomed weather for the season.  It seemed as though every window had a lighted tree in it this year.  While work kept me particularly busy, I did manage to squeeze in time to make a few batches of cookies, walk down to the Capitol Christmas tree, admire the lights around the neighborhood, hang lights in my kitchen, and enjoy memories from last year's Christmas in Germany-- such as the incense snowman pictured below.  I even made it to the White House to admire the decorations within.