» Around DC

Meet Our New Puppy !

Nicole — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 17:19:05 +0000

Here he is…

Ollie !

He is a Wheaten Terrier,

and will get lighter…

and bigger !

He is a sweet boy

and he’ll be perfect when he learns how to go to the bathroom outside

The Ultimate Ribbon Outlet … And it’s in Hagerstown, MD!!

Nicole — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:58:26 +0000

I have found Nirvana…
And it is called the Berwick Offray Ribbon Outlet in Hagerstown, MD!

That’s right- one of the Top Ribbon Manufacturers in the entire country is located in Hagerstown, MD… and they have this outlet too!

Look at my picture- do you know how much I spent on all this ribbon…

$23.00!!

The little spools of paper ribbon were 5 cents a ROLL!

Most of the larger fabric ribbon spools were $1.25 a ROLL, except for the grey, big one on the left –

which was … 50 cents!!

I ‘splurged’ on the green and brown polka dot ribbon spool ($10).

I completely over-did it, I have enough ribbon to wrap all my Christmas presents, birthday presents, house-warming presents, and more… for a long, long time,

but when over-spending is… $23 dollars- it’s all good!

Thanks to the Carroll County Times for EXACT directions!

This outlet is EASY to get to- To get to the Berwick Offray Ribbon Outlet Store, take 270 North to Interstate 70 to Hagerstown. Get off at exit 29, Md. 65 North, Sharpsburg Pike. (This is the same exit you’d take for Prime Outlets, so visit them after going to Berwick; they’re only about five minutes apart.) As you head north on Md. 65, you’ll pass Prime Outlets, three schools and a Sheetz. Make a right turn onto Wilson Boulevard at the traffic light. Go to the end of Wilson (there’s a Food Lion in Kenley Village on the right) and make a left at the light onto Frederick Street, Alternate U.S. 40. Make the first right after you turn onto Frederick at Willow Circle Drive and proceed to the end of the street. You’ll see the outlet store at the end of the factory building on the right, and their parking lot is right in front of the store.

Berwick is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Their phone number is 301-745-4714 and you can e-mail them at offrayout let@berwickoffray.com to check on sales or to sign up for their e-mail newsletter, or sign up when you visit the store.

They accept Visa MasterCard, Discover and American Express. All sales are final, no refunds and no exchanges.

Now Get Thee to Thy Ribbon Outlet!

It’s so fun,

and like mentioned above,

The Hagerstown Prime Outlets are right there too!!

My First Painting!

Nicole — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:15:00 +0000

Here it is. My First Painting!

I’ve always thought it’d be fun to paint,
so I’m doing it-
‘Live Every Day to the Fullest’ kind-a-thing!

So, I’ve got my easel, my paints, my paint brushes and palettes,
and now I’m a painter!

Pretty Cool!

Start doing something today that you’ve always wanted to do…

And DCers: Where Was I standing when I took the picture that this painting is based on?

We Did It! The Redskins Beat Dallas! It’s a New Era… (at least for a week)

Nicole — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:50:52 +0000

We Did It!

We have a new head coach, a new quarterback and

WE BEAT THE COWBOYS IN OUR SEASON OPENER!!

It wasn’t pretty- but we did it-

I’ll take the ‘W’ any way we can get it!

I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid and I’m in… at least until next weekend.

Could this be the start of a new era? Could watching Redskins games be fun again and a cause for celebration? Gasp… the possibilities!

At least for this week- it’s wonderful to be a Redskins fan in Washington!!!!!

GO SKINS!

That’s Me and My Little Guy on the TBD TV Commercial

Nicole — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:16:41 +0000

Hello Everybody and Man, O Man- is it a perfect day in the DC Area or what ?!
Skies are blue, it’s breezy and 70 degrees…
If you close your eyes, we could be in San Diego!
Anyway, check out this TV Commercial that starts airing TODAY on TBD TV (formerly NewsChannel 8)! Yes, that’s us- we start out the TV Promo!
(Note to Self: Even though your son has ‘Paul Newman’ hair, it does get unruly sometimes, so next time- put a comb through it)

TBD.com Has Launched in the DC Area!

Nicole — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:10:23 +0000

Okay, this happened a few weeks ago, but it was August…

I was in full Mommy mode.

But now, my son is in his first day of school, so I have a little time to tell you-

TBD.com is up and running for DC, Maryland and VIrginia!!

What is TBD, you may ask? TBD (To Be Determined…) is an online community of local news and local blogs, BananaBlueberry being 1 of them!
TBD comprises Local News Channel 8, now known as TBD TV, WJLA’s website, now TBD.com and like I said, great writers, news stories and Blogs from around the area!!

It’s an exciting concept- check out TBD.com for yourself,

For all Things Around DC!

Remembering Reagan in August

Nicole — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:59:14 +0000

It’s August in Washington.

The nice thing is- it’s not crowded anywhere, except maybe Target,

in the the ‘college dorm’ section.

So, in honor of lazy August, here’s a great quote about us,
that Ronald Reagan said back on August 17th, 1992…

“In America, our origins matter less than our destination,
and that is what democracy is all about.”

Nicely Said, Ron

Win $1000 for Your Original Crab Recipe- Right Now!

Nicole — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:38:55 +0000

GET OUT YOUR COOKBOOKS AND CRABS!

GIANT FOOD &

PHILLIPS SEAFOOD PRESENT

the ‘ULTIMATE CRAB CHALLENGE’ !!!!!

Crab Lovers and Cooks are Invited to Submit Relished Recipes to Win a Cash Prize and a Spot on the Phillips Menu!

Giant Food and Phillips Seafood are hosting the first “Ultimate Crab Challenge” recipe contest, inviting crab gourmets to submit their favorite original crab recipes for a chance to win $1,000 and the opportunity to have their recipe featured on Phillips Harborplace’s menu. Entries will be accepted online at

Ultimate Crab Challenge

beginning July 16 through August 15, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. A panel of Giant and Phillips Seafood chefs will serve as preliminary judges. The top three finalists of the recipe contest will participate in a cook-off on Saturday, September 11, at the Maryland Seafood Festival taking place at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, Md.

General rules of participation in the competition are as follows:

 All recipes must be original creations and submitted electronically at http://www.UltimateCrabChallenge.com by 11:59 p.m. on August 15, 2010

 Crab meat must be the primary ingredient and recipes must call for at least one pound of crab

 Recipes can be for a hot or cold dish

 Preparation time, including cooking time, must not exceed 30 minutes

 Three finalists will be selected by a panel of Giant and Phillips Seafood chefs; if selected as finalists, participants will be allowed 30 minutes to prepare their original crab creations during a cook-off at the Maryland Seafood Festival on Saturday, September 11, 2010

 All U.S. residents of at least 18 years of age and of the legal age in their state are welcome to participate

Recipes will be judged based upon taste, ease of preparation, creativity and clarity of cooking instructions. Three finalists will be selected and notified on or before September 2, 2010. Finalists will be invited to participate in the inaugural “Ultimate Crab Recipe Challenge” cook-off at the Maryland Seafood Festival from 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. on September 11, 2010. The first prize winner will receive the grand prize of $1,000 and the honor of having their recipe featured on Phillips Harborplace’s menu. The second and third place winners will receive $100 gift cards to Giant Food and Phillips Seafood Restaurants.

For contest rules and to enter, please visit Ultimate Crab Challenge!!

GOOD LUCK!!

The 6-Year-Old take on who is responsible for the power outages in DC

Nicole — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:11:41 +0000

WHERE: Our home, surprisingly cool, even though there is no A/C or electricity, due to the storm that barreled through the DC Area.

WHEN: Sunday Night, right before bed.

My Husband, “Say a prayer that God will get our power back on soon.”

My 6-Year-Old son,

“Dad, it’s not up to God. It’s up to Pepco.”

’nuff said

Thank you God Pepco, our power is now back on!

Visit The National Postal Museum!

Nicole — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:34:47 +0000

We just made our first trip to The National Postal Museum !

What a great little museum- and it’s so easy to get to!

It’s located in the Old Post Office building next to Union Station in D.C. It’s been around since 1993,

is open 7 days a week, from 10 am – 5:30 pm,

and of course, admission is free!

This is not an entire day trip, it’s not a big museum,

but the old train car and old planes that are there to show you how they used to move the mail are very cool.

The coolest: an actual cab of an 18- wheeler that moves the mail- that kids can climb up into and ‘drive’,

my son LOVED IT!

Check it out if you’re looking for a little ‘field trip';

take metro to Union Station, look at the trains there and go next door to the museum!