Love the Place You Live - Georgetown, Washington DC

Gabrielle Blair of Design Mom has challenged her readers to love the place where they live. She wrote:

 I think it’s so important to embrace the place where you are living. Even if you’ll only be there for a short time! Learn to love it. Discover its treasures! 

She will be doing a roundup of posts about loving the place you live today, so make sure to go visit her!

We moved to DC an year and a half ago and like many people who move to DC, I just didn't like it. I thought the people were pretentious and didn't feel that DC was a real city.

Then, last fall we moved to Georgetown and my opinion has completely changed. I think it has as much to do with the move to a more livable neighborhood as it does with our effort to get out and experience the city and meet more like-minded people. I've talked about some of the things I love about DC here, here and here.

This past weekend, I didn't want to go out of my way to find something I loved about the place I live. Instead, I wanted to live a typical weekend and then reflect on how it demonstrated what a great place DC is.  Incredibly, everything I write about below happened within half a mile of our house and all in Georgetown.

I woke up Saturday morning and prepared for what I've heard referred to as a DC institution- brunch. I love brunch and I can't help love a city that embraces it so openly. I was having an old colleague and friend from Istanbul who recently had a baby over. I woke up and realized that the present I had bought her baby would be too small by now but luckily we live so close to the Georgetown shops that I was able to walk out and find a bunch of options for baby gifts just a few minutes away. I also realized that we didn't have anything to prepare brunch with but that was ok because Dean and Deluca is just a skip away from our house as well. Even though I find it too overpriced for regular grocery shopping, it is great to pick up some potatoes, fruit and a loaf of freshly baked bread. I love that DC loves brunch and we live in such an accessible place.

Red Anjou pears, clementines and crepes topped with powdered sugar and honey.

I also made some Pakistani style scrambled eggs and country style potatoes.

My friend came over and we spent over four hours catching up and having cup after cup of tea. I think brunch is a time when people just kick back and don't bother to look at the clock. It was wonderful. As soon as my friend left, I started to prepare for some more friends who would be coming over. I had promised to make them pakoras and realized I didn't have all the ingredients. Another run to Dean and Deluca. 

We ended up eating and playing games close to midnight. Our friends even cancelled their Saint Patty day plans to stay and play Carcassone. We enjoyed some of the great French pastries my friend brought over earlier and had a fun time teaching our friends our favorite game. I love that DC has people that are so open and will change their plans.

Bringing more people into our obsession with Carcassone.

Sunday morning, I had plans to meet my friend David who was down for the weekend from Princeton. We headed to Cafe Divan, a great little Turkish place, for breakfast. I love that my friends from all over visit DC and I love that DC can teleport me back to my life in Istanbul without me even having to leave Georgetown.

David with his cay after speaking to our waiter exclusively in Turkish and after we
had the best kunefe I have tasted since being back in the states. 

After a leisurely three hour breakfast, I had to head to my painting class at Brush and Blush. This was the painting we were supposed to make.

When the teacher went around, she would exclaim what great colors everyone was using or how amazing their painting looked. When she passed me she would say, "That's coming along," and later, "We have a touch up class you can come to." To my credit this wasn't a painting class, as I expected but more of a people sit in a room and paint at the same time class. There was definitely a wide range of results in the paintings and nobody painted a tree like  the one above. I think my tree looks a bit like Sideshow Bob.

The main problem (ha) with the painting is that we ran out of time. I will repost once I finish.

I love that DC has so many options for creative outlets so if, hypothetically speaking, you weren't the best painter, you wouldn't feel so bad because you know there are lots of other things you can still try. 

Even with such a packed weekend, I had a great time. I love that there is never a dull moment in DC and that even on the days we aren't in museums or at shows, we still have so much to gain from this great little city.