Quick Update...

I'm sitting here, eating some raisin bran, watching a show about "Rebel Monkeys" in India (??), and waiting for my mint tea to cool off. It's been a wild few days, and yesterday in particular was extremely exciting and productive!

Josey celebrated his birthday yesterday, which was super fun, although we have decided not to do gifts while in DC (which is fine because that means the birthday celebrations will be extended and therefore, in my mind, neverending). I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown in the AM given the extensive task list that was waiting for us, but everything ended up turning out perfectly!

- We picked out invitations (!!!) - somehow we managed to agree on something. José is incredibly easy going and amazing, but his taste and mine could not have been more different re: invitations. Luckily we found something perfectly traditional but with a fabulous twist. Check.

- I got my wedding dress !!!!!!!!! BALHHHHHHHHH !!!! I am on Cloud 9. My Dad finally got to see it and he loved it! The girls at Hitched were nothing less than amazing and I feel so good about that part of the planning process.

- After getting measured for my dress, we went on over to POV at the W Hotel (next to the White House) for birthday champagne for Josey. The place is kind of a zoo, which gives me hope for DC in a way ... I was so surprised/happy to see a bar at capacity on a Tuesday night (and not a bar like Rhino in Georgetown where you know students will always be. Hell, we made MA's a hotspot on Mondays during Senior year.) We didn't get lucky enough to snag a table on the outdoor corner of the terrace, but our table had a perfect view of the Washington Monument and the champagne was perfection! The waitress even brought over a little birthday cake, complete with insane sparkler, to add to the celebration.

- Last, but not least, we dined at Rasika. I have been dreaming of this place since it opened in 2005. It. Was. Amazing. I loved it. Of course I did. I am an Indian food devotee verging on the border of serious obsession. It was just everything I could have wanted in a dinner and more! How sad does that sound? Not sure. Anyway. Actually I was happily surprised since I wasn't entirely sure what to expect - maybe something more along the lines of Indique which uses Indian flavors in modern dishes? - and I was really in the mood for traditional and amazing curries. Done and done. I am still drooling over the crunchy crispy fried spinach with tamarind we had as our appetizer ... José's PERFECT chicken tikka masala (not all are created equal), my spicy and fresh mint/coriander chicken ... and my heaven-sent gulab jamun for dessert. The 10lbs I have gained as a result are entirely worth it.

Now I'm still with my Rebel Monkeys and wondering if today will be as good as yesterday. Ooh we're getting massages so I'm going to say ... yea it probably will be.