Weekend Report: Skiing in Tahoe

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a lovely holiday, finished off 2012 strong, and started 2013 right!

My year ended (and the new one started) with a living room dance party that may or may not have involved my trampoline. Then I for-reals started 2013 with a relaxing day of leftover Chinese food, a little run, yoga, unpacking, and apartment cleaning. Despite its mellow start, 2013 has been officially designated (by 6x6 et al.) The Year To Be Brave. I am ready!

Lookout Mountain at Northstar, looking at Martis Valley.

But before I we fully return to real life, let’s backtrack to my time at home – specifically, my time skiing at home! On the Thursday after Christmas, my mama and I drove up to Tahoe where we were greeted by our little house buried in 4 feet of fresh snow. She handed me a shovel and my dad’s snow boots – Dig us a path to the back door! (Our front door is boarded up right now because a bear broke in just before Thanksgiving!!!)  Shoveling snow isn’t exactly the same as playing in it…but after last year’s no-snow Christmas, I’ll take it.

The next morning we got up, put on all our layers (6 on top for me…I may be a skier but I do not like being cold), and headed to Northstar, the resort where I learned to ski and which I know better than my favorite cookie recipe.

Northstar, driving through Martis Valley.

The Lake Tahoe area is having a pretty amazing December, and on my first day on the mountain the snow gods blessed me with three of my favorite conditions: powder, tracked powder, and groomed powder (aka "hero snow"). We skied 9-4 and it really was pure perfection. Seriously guys, I could do that all day every day for the rest of my life and be completely happy.

West Ridge overlooking Martis Valley at Northstar.

(For those of you who don't know me personally, I am a skier. I haven't blogged about it much because it's a whole huge can of awesomeness that could fill many many an internet page and this is not a skiing blog; but just fyi I literally ski raced instead of going to high school. I grew up skiing in Tahoe for the Northstar, then Diamond Peak, then Sugar Bowl ski teams. For those of you who know ski racing, I raced USSA, FIS, and Elite FIS for Far West and my best events were downhill and slalom.) (Ok, Mollie-life-summary over.)

Though skiing every day of my life isn’t in the cards right now, Mama and I did get in three very solid days.

Don't judge...our faces are frozen.

On Day 2 we headed to Mt. Rose, where I finally got to experience The Chutes, semi-recently opened double blacks that are closed unless there’s a lot of snow. My feet and quads and back hated me a little bit, but it was totally worth it!

The back side of Mt. Rose, overlooking Carson City.

On Day 3 we went back to Northstar for some more tree skiing (what’s better than tree skiing in soft powder when it’s 20 degrees? Nothing. Unless you’re tree skiing in soft powder when it’s 20 degrees after eating blueberry pancakes from the Old Post Office. Oh wait we did that.)

Gratuitous glamour shots of the lake apres-ski. Tahoe is a beautiful place, no?

Sadly all good things must come to an end, and considering that today, 3 days later, I still can’t feel the ends of my toes, a few days off snow was probably for the best…but here’s to winter and snow and skiing and 2013!!!

East Ridge overlooking Lake Tahoe at Northstar.

Weekend Report: Biking and Eating in Sonoma County

Well here I am, weekend reporting from the great state of Northern California, because I’m still at home! And I had a completely lovely completely cliche Sonoma County weekend.

Petaluma, though not much of a thrilling locale, happens to have some of the best bike-riding in the area. It’s definitely hilly, but beautiful, and with minimal cars. So Friday afternoon, in my post-Thanksgiving need-to-work-off-all-that-desert inspiration, I borrowed my dad’s hybrid bike and my mama’s biking shorts and biked out to Dillon Beach. The last 10 miles, from Tomales to Dillon, are pretty brutal in the hills department, but totally worth it.

(My mama met me with her car at the beach, so this was a 25-mile one-way experience.)

Saturday morning I did it again, this time riding one of my favorite Petaluma loops. I distinctly remember doing this ride for the first time on Thanksgiving day when I was in 7th grade. My mama led the way, and I rode my mountain bike. It was sooooo hard and I thought I was going to die.

Luckily I’m in better shape than 7th-grade-Mollie, so this ride was pleasant. I was feeling leisurely, so I paused to take some pictures along the way. Here's the 30-mile route, in case you're interested.

Saturday afternoon the weather was skirt-and-t-shirt beautiful, so we all drove to Napa and Yountville for lunch and dessert and Christmas card pictures (for Sister1’s little fam).

Lunch was at Gott’s, a delicious semi-fancy “diner.” As in, you sit outside, and it’s burger/diner-ish, but with all “artesianal and fresh” ingredients. (I told you this was a NorCal cliche weekend.) Mama and I split Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos and a Blue Cheese Burger and Onion Rings. Ummm hello yum.

After meandering around Oxbow Public Market (another local, artisen, and omg-it-all-looks-SO-good experience), we drove over to Yountville to a) take pictures,

Is my nephew the cutest thing ever? Yes.
Is my hair a scary shade of blonde? Yes....but don't worry I fixed it.

and b) go to Bouchon Bakery.

As we waited in line, Sister1 and I discussed what to order.
Me: What should I get?
Sister1: Everything.
Me: No but what do you like? What are your favorites?
Sister1: No Mollie. Everything. You should just get everything.

I didn’t quite take her advice, but definitely walked away with a Chocolate Almond Croissant, two eclairs (one regular, and one espresso), two cheese danishes, and a cup of coffee. (Don’t worry, not all of this was consumed at once.) But half a croissant and coffee may or may not have made my afternoon!

We also walked around the Domaine Chandon winery, just to see how pretty it all was. Grapevines in the fall are so colorful and pretty!

Sunday was spent fixing the aforementioned hair disaster (omg I thought I was going to die), so nothing too too exciting going on there. I'm still in CA for a few more days, and have epic plans...no just kidding. I'll probably go on a long beach walk, see a movie with my mama, and spend the rest of the time with Liam, who now knows/loves me!

Bike and Roll Segway Tour

After living in DC for three full years (plus an intern summer), I finally did it. I went on a Segway tour. Yes, Segways, those semi-ridiculous looking tourist-mobiles that you see around the monuments and on the Mall. 

Mama and Dad were visiting for the week, and after soooo much walking – in and out of museums, up and down the Mall, to and from Dupont Circle again and again and again – even my athletic parents needed a break (I have come to realize that no one walks like my friends and I walk)

And I’m happy to report that it was awesome. Seriously. So. Much. Fun! We did the inaugural Bike and Roll Segway Tour. (This company has been leading bike tours for a while now, but the Segway thing is new for them.)

We arrived at their office at the Post Office Pavilion and were immediately suited up with helmets, headphones/radio-ish things to hear the tour, and Segways. After watching an intro video, Charlie-and-Rachel-the-tour-guides gave us a brief tutorial on how to ride and steer (surprisingly not difficult at all!). 

Mama was worried she’d run down some unsuspecting pedestrian, but I assured her that in my three years of DC life I’ve never seen a Segway accident. (I optimistically like to think of us as smarter than the average tourist…if they can master Segways, so can we!)

And then we were off, Segway-ing down the bike lane in the middle of Pennsylvania toward the Capitol. Charlie spouted fun facts along the way (looove me some fun facts!), about the buildings, DC history, monument symbolism, etc. etc. etc. 

As we rode up Capitol Hill, bypassing tired walking school groups, my dad, with the biggest smile I’ve seen since he’s been there, announced, “I LOVE this! These things are great!!!”

Our route went down Pennsylvania, around the Capitol, along the Mall, and then up past the White House. We made a few stops – at the Canadian Embassy, the Capitol “Summer House,” and at key photo-op locales. The tour provides water and a granola bar, which made for a pleasant mid-morning snack! (Haha, not that we were exactly exercising...but Segway-ing requires a bit more effort than it looks!) Our tour finished 2 ½ hours later back at the Post Office Pavilion, just before a rain storm hit. 

Ridiculous as they may look, Segways are actually a great way to get around and see a lot in a short amount of time. Plus they’re fun to ride and the tour guides were interesting and informative. Judge me accordingly, but I’m officially pro.  

The votes are in and it’s official: the morning was undoubtedly a super Segway success.

Parents Visiting and Dinner at Eatonville

It’s already Wednesday! 

I feel like a juggler – I had a couple scarves, a few balls, and two bowling pins going  – then someone threw in knife or two so I had to strategically decide which things to keep in the air, which means I kinda dropped the blogging ball this week…

The big news is that my parents are visiting! This is my dad’s first trip to DC, so they’re touristing it up while I go to work.

Notable events so far include a parental dinner at Eatonville with the usual suspects (6x6, LLC, LOTR-Emily, and SpeedyKate) on Monday night. 


It was delicious – especially the Blackened Sea Scallops (fingerling potatoes, wilted spinach, roasted baby beets, saffron coconut cream) and the Catfish & Grits (jalapeno-gruyere grits, cider-braised collard greens, tomato butter) – yummm. 

And for dessert, don’t let them sell you on the Coconut Cake – the Pear Cobbler and Pecan Oatmeal Pie are much better!

Then yesterday, after the worst work day ever, I met up with my parents for the Millennium Stage show at the Kenney Center. It was a Marvin Gaye tribute (What's Going On...NOW!) that was mostly spoken word poetry by the DC Slam Team, but also some freaking awesome tap dancing (watch the video starting at 41:30). 

The show overall was pretty meh (though very impressive if you consider that they're students), but the best part was when they played this song, which I can’t hear without getting up to dance like it’s 1993 and we’re having a Got to Give It Up dance party in the living room with my dad’s record player…

You're welcome. 

December Dipping in Lake Tahoe

I'm home in CA for Christmas. My mama and I drove from our home in Petaluma to our cabin in Tahoe, originally planning to ski, but the 4 runs open did not justify the $90 ticket prices (bahhhh no snow!), so we opted out. Instead we went for walks, read books, oh, and dipped in Lake Tahoe.

Let me give you some back-story on "dipping." Mama worked at a camp in Michigan this past summer, and first thing in the morning the kids ran down to the lake to dip. At the end of the summer, awards were given to all the "Perfect Dippers" -- campers who had dipped every day of the summer. Mama, being the competitor she is, was upset -- If I'd known there was a prize I totally would have done it!

So when she returned to CA in August, she decided that as long as she and my dad were in Tahoe, they had to dip in the lake every day. And they did it through October, but then moved back to Petaluma (there's some weird house-splitting going on in my family right now).

Naturally, we just had to dip in December, mostly for the sake of saying we'd done it. 


The day was surprisingly auspicious -- December 21, Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. What better day to jump into an icy cold lake?


The water temperature (50 degrees) was only slightly warmer than the 40 degrees air. (Yes, above is an ice-covered rock.)

We drove the one mile down to the lake feeling a bit apprehensive. I'm not much of a jump-in-water person even in the summer, so doing it when there's ice on the edges of the lake and patches of old snow on roadsides did not immediately appeal to me.


We got out of the car and a woman and her husband looked at us like we were absolutely nuts. 


"You're not going swimming, are you???"


"No no," responded Mama, standing outside in a bikini in late December. "We're just going to go dip and come back out."


I held out my camera to the woman, "Actually, would you mind taking pictures of this?"


Luckily she obliged and was a very good photographer! Thus, we have evidence. 


I took off my fleece and was ready to go.

We walked down the rocky beach and kicked off our flip-flops at the edge of the icy-blue lake. I saw Mama's feet go into the water and thought, Oh my gosh we're really doing this! I took three big steps into the water and plunged. 


(You may notice from the picture that I dipped first...not saying it was a race...but I won.)

We came up gasping and spluttering and shrieking.


We trudged out of the lake, shaking and freezing, but surprisingly elated. Our hastily enlisted photographer snapped photos all the while, herself shouting, "Oh my God! I can't believe you're doing this! Quick get a towel you crazy girls!"

It took some time for me to stop shaking, but I'm happy to report that dipping is just as fun and satisfying as Mama promised it would be. 

I hope that wherever you are, you're having a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and wonderful winter season!!!

Running 7 Miles with My Mama

SpeedyKate and I ran my favorite 7-miler on Monday night, and I'm ashamed to admit that I finished feeling a little sorry for myself. Sorry in that I felt it shouldn't have been as hard as it was, and that I should be faster than that night demonstrated...

But then I started thinking - there was a time when running 7 miles was a major accomplishment.

Flashback to the summer before my freshman year of high school, circa 2001. I'd already been running (slowly and no more than 4 miles) for two years, since 7th grade track. But beginning high school is a scary and daunting and serious event, and I was a bit nervous about starting cross country in the fall.

My high school team wasn't awesome - no one was going to the State meet or anything like that - but we weren't a total disaster either. In July before school started, our coach organized a cross country camp in Tahoe. We all met and spent a week giggling excessively, playing truth or dare, and whipping ourselves into some semblance of running shape.

A few weeks after cross country camp, I returned to Tahoe with my mama to spend one final weekend at the beach and on the trails before summer officially ended.

Of course, we went running. Until that time (and even afterwards), running with my mama was on-and-off terrible. She's a Step-Ahead Susan, and I hated her for it with all the rage of an angsty junior higher. (Go here to read more about my super running family.)

But when she said, “Ok, let’s do the 7-miler,” I agreed without question. Sister1 had already proven her cross country abilities, and now it was my turn. The concept of a long run with my mama (the woman who once ran a 2:46 marathon) was daunting, but I felt up to the challenge. I was almost an adult – about to start high school – and just beginning to identify myself as a runner.

I don't remember any details of the run, but I do remember that I kept up the whole way without whining or begging (or yelling) at her to slow down and wait. Maybe she was having an off day, or maybe I was just feeling good (let’s go with option 2), but 7 miles later we finished the run together.

Afterwards, maybe in the car to head home, she said, "Mollie, I'm impressed - you're in great shape!"

And I felt awesome. 

Weekend Report: Mother's Day and EU Embassy Open Houses

I feel like this blog is unofficially dedicated to my mama.


She's the reason I love to cook. Some of my earliest memories involve Sister1 and I "helping" my mom in the kitchen. We each had our own kitchen stools, and installed ourselves on either side of her as she chopped fresh veggies for salsa, rolled out blackberry pie crusts, and baked sheets and sheets of biscotti and chocolate chip cookies.


She's the reason I love to read. Every night before going to bed my mama read us books - from Goodnight Moon to Frog and Toad to Little Women. Since I started reading on my own, we're constantly trading books - almost everything I read comes from my mama's recommendations.


Both my parents are the reasons I love to run. My mama is an amazing athlete - my goal is to someday be as good as she was. (That's to the tune of a 2:46 marathon...oof...we'll see...) She ran every day for years, and now does Bikram yoga every day. That is dedication. (Read more about my running family here.)


And she made me the writer I am - the hours and tears and frustration spent ripping through my elementary school and junior high papers taught me how to edit and write coherently (Mollie, what exactly are you trying to say here???).


So Happy Mother's Day Mama! I love you!


But since I'm in DC and my mama's in CA, my weekend involved no actual Mother's Day activities...


Saturday morning LOTR-Emily and I started early on the EU Embassies Open House tour. We learned our lesson from last year, and this time strategically planned our attack. We started at Belgium - kicking off a day of sampling with some delicious chocolate and a mini Belgian waffle.

Next we went to Finland. Their embassy is LEED Gold Certified and so freaking cool inside! They're also the only embassy I know of that is always open for tours, so if you visit DC definitely check this out.

At Great Britain we toured the gardens, chatted with accented soldiers, and were given a book of short stories by British authors.





Luxembourg's embassy was small (much like the country), but very nicely wood-paneled inside. The Dutch ambassador's residence was gorgeous, the Slovenian embassy offered maps and delicious cinnamon roll-like bread. 

The Estonian embassy had one of the coolest buildings ever, and we finished off with the Bulgarian embassy. (10 points for whomever can place all those countries on a map!)

I felt quite accomplished after completing so much tourism in just one day. Followed by a run with SpeedyKate and check! Saturday was complete.


Sunday's morning long run was gorgeous...but absolutely awful. We started at Carderock, just 20 minutes outside DC, and ran up past the Billy Goat Trail. 


I hated running through my 8-mile slog (it was supposed to be 10, but there was just no way that was going to happen). SpeedyKate and I re-fueled with Cosi squagel egg sandwiches (SpeedyKate as we're about to order: "I'm annoyed that I have to say 'squagel' right now.") that despite their ridiculous name were de-freaking-licious. 



I spent the afternoon practicing French then hanging out with my refugees (translation: making a 4th grader sit and do multiplication for an hour and a half. Ick - when do they get to use calculators? When was the last time you had to do 496 x 55 by hand???).


Then we hit up my favorite Ethiopian restaurant (Madjet) for dinner - it was sooo tasty and satisfying!


Hope you had a good weekend too!

Weekend Report: Mama and Mollie, Eating Our Way Through NYC

I’ve blogged before about tourism with my mama (catch up on her first DC visit, and her second). When we get together, things are inevitably intense. This weekend for example, we headed to NYC with very minimal plans…and somehow managed to walk a gazillion miles and see everything in a day and a half. I don’t mind – I’m happy to do it all!

We stayed at the Newbie’s apartment in Harlem, and she and I went for a 6-miler (the long run in her 25 days to a 10-Miler plan) on Saturday morning. Then my mama and I went museum-ing. We visited the Cooper-Hewitt, a design museum in Andrew Carnegie’s mansion on the Upper East Side. 

The special exhibition was “Set in Style, The Jewelry of Van Cleef and Arpels” – we learned about jewelry innovations and saw many many gorgeous pieces. I really liked the zip necklace/bracelets (which we later saw in a window on 5^th Avenue).

[Sidenote: Have you seen The Devil Wears Prada? You know the part where the assistant, Emily, says, “I'm on this new diet. Well, I don't eat anything and when I feel like I'm about to faint I eat a cube of cheese.”? Well tourism for us is kind of like that. We go and go and go and go until we’re about to faint, and then we eat. But that’s where the similarity ends – “Emily’s” cube of cheese is my mama’s and my piece of pie with ice cream, hamburger, chocolate chip cookie, etc. We needed fuel for all our activity!]

After the Cooper-Hewitt we were off to the Museum of the City of New York. But first I needed food. STAT. So we stopped in at El Museo del Barrio to take advantage of their South/Central American cafeteria fare. With plantains and chicken in my tummy I was ready to go once again.

I really liked the Museum of the City of New York – their main exhibition on “How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment” was interesting, but I liked the smaller exhibits even more. “Moveable Feast: Fresh Produce and the NYC Green Cart Program” was a beautiful photo exhibit of street vendors in NYC. And “Denis Wortman Rediscovered” showed cartoons of New Yorkers 1930-1953.

We ended with “Timescapes: A Multimedia Portrait of New York” – a film tracing the entire history of NYC. Twenty-two minutes of warm dark movie time was exactly what we needed to rest our feet.

By the time we reemirged into the spring sunlight it was late afternoon and we needed food and coffee. We wandered down Madison Avenue and stumbled into Nectar of 82nd Street. Pie and ice cream and coffee? Done and done and done. It was homemade and delicious. I got cherry and my mama went for the blueberry.

Then we wandered through Central Park and down 5^th Avenue, eventually making our way to meet the Newbie at Social Eatz, Angelo (from Top Chef)’s new restaurant. It was very good! And cheap! Mama got the Charred Bibimbap Burger (Korean for "mixed meal", it's ground beef with a slow cooked egg, covered in lettuce and served with pickled carrot and cucumber - $12):

Newbie went for the Hanoi Burger (ground beef with mint, lemongrass, cilantro and red onion topped with lettuce and served with a chili-mayo and a sweet onion jam - $10), and I got the Chicken Corn & Coconut Tacos (organic chicken, sweet corn, tender coconut relish in lime, cumin, and chipotle - $7). The food was delicious and the atmosphere was fun - nicer than fast food, but not too fancy or expensive – Social Eatz would be a great place to meet friends for a casual dinner. (The portions were good for the price, but be warned, the tacos are literally just two tacos, so you may want to order a side or an appetizer too!)

On Sunday we walked a ton (again). We retraced LLC’s and my best-eating-day-ever steps: Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookies and Elephant and Castle brunch. This time I took pictures – I got the Eggs’n Apples Benedict on Brioche French Toast with maple syrup (picture above), and my mama got the Canyonland Poached Eggs with balsamic jus, fresh tarragon, tomatoes, avocado and wild mushrooms, and toasted english muffin. Yummmmm.

(Evidence shows we're good eaters, right?)

And it’s not a trip to NYC without some cake! We got a slice of Magnolia Bakery’s Caramel Cake, and a slice of Billy Bakery’s Coconut Cake (both to bring back to DC with us - we can eat a lot in one afternoon...but two pieces of cake would have put us over the top).

The weather was beautiful, the food was great, and our NYC weekend was (per usual) absolutely exhausting but altogether fun!