Damage in the District

Hello there!
I hope everyone has had a great weekend and is rested up for the short week. I can't say I'm rested with all the happenings that went on this weekend but I sure am ready for a 2 day week since I've got the 4th of July off and will be spending Thurs and Fri in Louisiana!

What sort of happenings are you referring to, you ask? Well let me share...

Damage in the District:

Take 1 -- DERECHO damages the District! A derecho (Spanish: derecho "straight", pronounced [de̞ˈɾe̞tʃo̞]^[1]), is a widespread and long-lived, violent convectively induced straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms in the form of a squall line usually taking the form of a bow echo. Derechos blow in the direction of movement of their associated storms, similar to a gust front, except that the wind is sustained and generally increases in strength behind the "gust" front. A warm weather phenomenon, derechos occur mostly in summer, especially June and July in the Northern Hemisphere. They can occur at any time of the year and occur as frequently at night as in the daylight hours. (Thanks, Wikipedia)

Honey and I had a girls night Friday which involved an awesome pitcher of Honey's homemade sangria, playing "hot or not" with my wardrobe and letting the boys (Tripp and Beau - Honey and Chuck's black lab) play. Jay sent a couple of texts at about 10:30 describing a bad storm that was coming through that we needed to be aware of but when I looked outside, all was calm.  About 10 minutes later it sounded like it was pouring outside but to our surprise it was just ridiculous wind of DERECHO! Needless to say I took Honey home via car so she didn't get knocked out by a flying tree and saw the damage below - keep in mind this was only about 10 minutes after the storm started.  When I got back about 7 minutes later my apartment was ready to flood due to the terrential rain that had picked up. The storm cleared out within 45 minutes or so.  It was a doozy though and I'm not sure that DC residents could handle a hurricane! News reported over 3million people in the greater DC area without power - and this weekend has been a record breaker for high temps.  Sheesh!



Next door



Clean up the next morning

Take 2 -- Courtman shows that age doesn't damage having a good time!
Sorry - no pics here but we had a great time celebrating Courtman's 28th birthday out in the H Street Corridor.  We started at Sticky Rice(great sushi bar that turns into a fun dance bar with 80's music and music videos) then went to the Beer Garden (great outdoor patios and mist machines help us to keep our cool).  We all got together for a delicious brunch this morning at Busboys and Poets in Shirlington - a precious town right outside of the District.  I hate we don't have pictures but we'll continue celebrating Court and how awesome she is on the 4th and will make sure to take pictures then!

Take 3 -- I did damage to some homemade baked goods!
My friend Alyssa shared a great recipe for homemade granola so I've been eating the heck out of some parfaits!  I also made a Yonge family tailgate favorite: peanut butter brownies (as seen in Some Like it South).  I sent them with Jay for his fishing trip but those boys didn't finish them and I just can't let food go to waste ;) YUM!

Take 4 -- I did some damage on some eggs! 
I was hankering some good old fashioned scrambled eggs Saturday morning and decided that two would be plenty.  Until 2 actually turned out to be 4! The two eggs I selected from the carton both had double yolks!  What are the odds? Well, I asked a former coworker who is a brainiac statistician and he said "Odds of a single double-yolk egg are about 1/1000, but big eggs have them more often. Plus, if you find one in a pack, you're more likely to find a second from the same batch. So maybe 1/10,000?"  So it may not be THAT rare, but I think I'll buy a lotto ticket or two just in case.

So as you can see, there was some major damage in the District!!!
Well, that's all for me! I'm looking forward to celebrating our nation's birthday on Wednesday and heading to LA for the weekend! I hope y'all have a great one!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO THE BEST DAD AROUND!!

I LOVE YOU, DAD!!!!

<==== THIS GUY!

28's going great

Hey guys! It's been a while since I've posted but it's because I've been riding the high that is my birthday.  Now that I'm a good week into 28 (which is still MID-20's in my book!), my "birthday rule*" has expired and I figure it's time to fill you in on what it's like to be Chandler Yonge in her late, er MID!, 20's. 

Pics from bdays past: back left - 26th when mom and dad surprised me in DC; 21st in Auburn, Cover's 21st; back center - 24th & first bday in DC, 26 before the big surprise, 21st at home because you can't just celebrate 21 once!

First of all, I AM BLESSED! Before my birthday, I knew two things to be true, 1) the older you get, the more you appreciate what you have and have had and 2) you don't want to get older! But I will tell you what, 28 has changed me! I'm not saying that I want to get older, but what I am saying is the older I get the more I appreciate birthdays - not just for the gifts anymore (because let's face it, it's no longer Barbie in her Ferrari and beach house - the gifts you get when you are mature like me are the things you need and don't want to buy yourself :) ) but because it is an opportunity for reality to slap you in the face and say, "LOOK HOW LOVED YOU ARE!". I feel like I've had an epiphany (which may just be a result of my 30's looking down and saying 'you better shape up before you get here!'); the true meaning of birthdays has hit me and I owe it all to the wonderful people in my life.  Birthdays are to celebrate YOU! No, not just, "here's a button that says it's your birthday and now we will do whatever you want because we have to because it's your birthday", but truly CELEBRATING your life! And that doesn't mean let's look through an old photo album and discuss your accomplishments but LOOK WHO YOU ARE TODAY! Sure, take into account everything that you have been through to get here - both good and bad - but look at how great your life is! And I realize that this may be coming off as arrogant, especially to those of you who don't know me, but the bottom line up front is, it's true - I live a great life - and I know it's true because that's how awesome my friends and family make me feel!

That's the kind of celebration we had last weekend - just enjoying how great life is, how great we are doing in the grand scheme of things and how we wouldn't be that way if it weren't for each other and the family and the friends we've gathered along the way. Last weekend could not have been any more perfect than it was and I owe it all to my friends, both local and nation wide, (thanks, Annie for giving me an opportunity to say that!) and my family. I'd like to share a little bit of that with you now.

Friday night Jay threw one heck of a party for me at my apartment and some great friends joined us.  To bring the Gulf Coast to me since I couldn't go home for my bday, he planned a shrimp boil complete with fixin's (potatoes, corn and andouille sausage). It was delish! The weather was perfect so we ate outside on the back deck and drank cold adult beverages - homemade Bushwackers included! - and told ridiculous stories that kept us laughing well after the sun had set. (When I saw my neighbor Monday morning I asked if we had been too loud that evening and she said not at all, but that our stories that she overheard had made her laugh).  We finally all came in for the birthday cake around 11, and then headed to the bars.  We were hell bent on trying something new and getting off of the Hill but our old bones found their way to a nearby spot, the Ugly Mug, for dancing and more drinking.  We tried to shut the place down, but it turns out we were just too old :)

Some of the wonderful friends I speak of: Allysa, Kim, [Me] Honey and Courtman

The infamous model Blue Angel - a MUST at all 'Pcola girls in DC' parties

Saturday morning came a little too quickly for me and I figured what better day than my birthday to sleep in until 11?! But the weather was once again amazing and we weren't going to let it go to waste so we headed out to Lagrange Vineyards in Virginia to do some tastings and sip on some sangria.  And we did just that - we took a blanket and had some left over gourmet cheese and crackers from the party and we had ourselves a lovely little picnic through the late hours of the afternoon. (I'd also like to mention that we stopped and had Chick-Fil-A on the way to the vineyards. I realize this isn't a big deal to those of you in the south, but there are NO Chick-Fil-A's in DC and so this was a treat. They even gave me my meal for free after Jay explained to the cashier that it was my birthday, and the one thing I wanted to do to celebrate it was go to a Chick-Fil-A.) 

The crew at LaGrange Vineyards (sans Honey and Chuck)

Once our wine glasses had run dry, we headed just a bit further into Virginia to the quaint little town of Flint Hill and ate at The Griffon, a restaurant recommended by Jay who is familiar with the area.  We once again enjoyed the cool temps while we sat on their deck, continuing adult beverage consumption and sharing more stories.  By the time the sun set, a band began to play and warmed up with a lil' hit I like to call, "Happy Birthday, Chandler".  We all shared a delicious piece of lemon meringue pie and called it a night after the hour drive back to the city. The day was nothing but relaxing, and getting out of the District and away from the hustle and bustle of the city was exactly what we all were looking for.

Enjoying the evening at The Griffon

Sunday came and I realized that people had other things to do than just celebrate me... a hard fact we all must face at some point in our lives :) After a day of shopping, Jay took me out for a hibachi dinner - a birthday tradition of the Yonges' that has been around forever, but one that I hadn't been able to partake in in the last several years. 

So as you can see, it was quite the weekend. Just perfect.  I hope you all have birthdays that are just as fabulous as mine and that your friends and family make you feel as wonderful about yourself as mine do!  And for those of you who still dread your birthdays, BE HEALED! It's not about getting older or getting loot - it's about taking a look around and seeing how BLESSED you are!

Dismissing the Sunday Blues!

I don't know about you, but I often get the Sunday blues.  I know you know what I'm talking about - it's that feeling that hits you early Sunday evening when you realize your 48 hours of you time is about to go back to being 5 days of office time. But I've decided I'm not going to waste anymore me time thinking about office time, and instead, I'll sit back and reminisce about last week's good times in hopes of having similar smiles this week!




From time to time I like to walk home from work. It's about a 30 minute walk from Chinatown to Capitol Hill and last Thursday the weather was perfect and I couldn't resist.  About a block away from home, on a residential street, I stumbled upon this nugget of sweetness. I'm a huge fan of thoughtfulness when it comes to showing your love for someone and this immediately melted my heart. There's just something about knowing that probably a hundred people in addition to "Mom" walked over it on their way to and from work and they too likely smiled at this simple gesture.

When I don't walk to work I typically metro, which is exactly what I did Friday morning. I know it may be creepy, but I just had to take a picture of the lady who greets EVERYONE with a genuine smile and a "good morning" as they start their day.  The way she says hello gives you just the right amount of optimism for the day.  I wish I was stealthy enough to take a video of her greeting everyone as she hands them their morning Express before they hop on the train, but I'm not, and would probably just look like an uber weirdo. So, you'll just have to take my word for it.

Also Friday, was my MOM'S BIRTHDAY! She's not just a highlight of last week, she's a highlight of my life! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM, I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday I joined some wonderful friends and ran the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k.  It was an absolute zoo, but it felt great to be running again.  Huge storms made their way through the District the night before so the weather was absolutely perfect. It was amazing running alongside women who had survived their battle with breast cancer and others who just wanted to support those who had to fight the fight. I ran with my mom and my grandmother Deeder in my heart and on my shirt!

After the run I was energized for the day and helped my handsome boyfriend (see below ;) ) prep for a crawfish boil he and some of his buddies were putting on in Georgetown that night. After a day of running errands and toting live crawfish around, I finally got my shower and was able to sit back and enjoy some delicious food, beverages and great friends. We had a blast at the boil and it looked like the other 140 people there enjoyed themselves too.

And today was a pretty great Sunday. I spent it on the couch with the boyfriend and 3-legged dog and had two doses of Mexican for meals :) I even got a little cleaning done thanks to the above mentioned duo.   Now I'm winding down and dismissing the Sunday blues!

Thanks for reading - Have a GREAT week!

 (...not so) Fun Fact #2: Finding Zatarain's crab boil in bulk in the District AIN'T EASY!

Allow me to introduce myself...

      Allow me to introduce myself.  I'm a 20-something Southern girl who's been living in DC for the past 4.5 years.  I've adapted to the city life quite nicely (I've adopted just the necessary amount of bitterness for a city, lost the slight accent I had, and adapted a very defensive approach to driving) and couldn't be more grateful for how it has made me appreciate where I've come from. Born in Pensacola (yes, West Florida is the South!),  schooled in God's country (Auburn, Alabama, of course) and sweet Starkville, MS, I landed an internship in Washington, DC the last semester of my Master's program. After having just a taste of what life was like without school - I'd been in it for over 20 years! - I decided that not hitting the books was the life for me, and I chose to stay in DC and pursue my career rather than continue into a PhD program at Auburn (you know, God's country).
      After a few short months in Alexandria, VA and a couple of more with some great girls in Georgetown, I moved to Capitol Hill where I've resided in my one bedroom apartment ever since. Yep, my 3-legged dog, Tripp, and I are quite cozy in this place we call home, with its exposed brick, hardwood flooring,  brand new appliances and a working fireplace. The only catch is it's in a BASEMENT (hence the blog name). But it's actually quite quaint and has plenty of windows for the sun to shine through.  To top it all off, it's in a great location.  If I could pick anywhere to live in DC, I'd be right back where I am today on Capitol Hill (maybe on a nicer couch, but still). Just 8 blocks from the Capitol Building and 1.5 blocks away from some great friends, I sometimes find myself thinking how surreal it is that I ended up here. Furthermore, the rent - although ridiculous for standards outside of the DC metro area - is actually pretty reasonable. But now I'm just babbling (hey! there's that blog name again!), so let's chat about what I plan to share with you. 
      I don't really have an agenda, but over the years there have been some awesome things/places that I've stumbled upon in DC that just really excited me and made me want to share. So, I intend to tell you about a bit of those as they occur and inbetween I'll tell you more about me, my hometown, my friends and family.  I won't talk about work, because who wants to do that?, but I will say that I may be leaving this fine city sometime next Spring due to work, so in the meantime I'd like to share with you past memories and the new ones I'll make as I go through my DC Bucket List before leaving. Here and there, I'll also give you some DC tips and fun facts (not so much historical) if any of you plan on visiting our Nation's Capital in the future. The bottom line up front though is the blog will be random; babblings from my basement.  I hope you enjoy.

 DC Fun Fact #1: Fourth of July fireworks in DC are pretty awesome