Tag Archives: washington

Twitter Spotlight: Kelly Collis

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Isn’t it wild how I keep featuring Washingtonians in the Twitter Spotlight?

It makes me wish that I had done a better job reaching out to these interesting folks during the ten years I lived in DC. Kelly Collis aka @CityShopGirl is someone I’d have enjoyed meeting. An entrepreneur who created CityShopGirl, she worked in marketing and public relations before becoming…a radio personality of all things.

Kelly is still the Publisher of CityShopGirl, but is also the co-host of The Tommy Show, a DC area morning show on 94.7 Fresh FM.

OneChicklette: Your favorite qualities in a love interest

@cityshopgirl:  He must have a passion for life and the energy to keep up with it, a genuine interest in my children and a healthy sex drive.

OneChicklette: Your chief characteristic (one word)

@cityshopgirl: Witty

 KC

OneChicklette: What you appreciate most in your friends Continue reading →

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Guest post: Mark Kuller on his favorite Miami eats

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Years ago I was dining with my friend Joanne at the bar of our mutual neighborhood favorite, Palena. We had snagged seats, ordered Sidecars and starting perusing the menu when a couple came up behind us.

“Oh great,” we whispered to each other sarcastically, assuming the couple would spend the next twenty minutes ordering drinks over our heads and stalking our bar stools with their eyes.

Instead we made friends, and stayed friends.

The male half of the couple, Mark Kuller, subsequently opened his own restaurants, Proof and Estadio in DC. The much prettier half, Kristin Connor, is Managing Partner of Whisk Gourmet in South Miami at which her brother Brendan is Executive Chef.

The lovely couple married several years ago and splits their time between two cities.

Mark kindly agreed to share Five Great Eats in Miami. Hopefully a guest post by Kristin isn’t far behind!

1. Little oyster sandwiches, caviar and house made blinis at the bar at The Dutch on Miami Beach.

2. Bánh cuốn and Vietnamese chicken curry at Hy Vong in Little Havana.

3. Truffled Roast Chicken and roasted tri-color cauliflower on the patio at Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill in Midtown.

Via Ocean Drive

4.  House made pastrami with a side of the house made kimchi on the patio at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in the Design District.

5. Fried green tomatoes, chicken n’ biscuits, and pretty much everything on the menu at Whisk Gourmet in South Miami/Coral Gables.

If you have Miami favorites, share ‘em in the comments.

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Twitter Spotlight: Melanie Spring

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I gain something from each of the participants in the Twitter Spotlight. I’m grateful for the time they give to answering my little questionnaire, and the words of wit and wisdom they share stick with me beyond their week on the hot seat.

This week, the words that resonated with me from Melanie Spring, principal of marketing/branding agency Sisarina, are about happiness and contentment. Melanie managed to say what I strive for in one simple, perfect sentence.

melanie-wonderwoman

Get to know this cool entrepreneur, runner and dog-lover here:

OneChicklette: Your favorite qualities in a love interest

@MelanieSpring: They don’t make me listen to talk radio, believe in me and tell me so, and are ambitious in life and love.

OneChicklette: Your chief characteristic (one word)

@MelanieSpring: Daring. (OK, I almost said ‘overwhelming’)

OneChicklette: What you appreciate most in your friends

@MelanieSpring: Their authenticity. Being real is a big deal to me and my friends are no-BS people. They show up as they are and keep me authentic.

OneChicklette: Your idea of happiness

@MelanieSpring: Contentment. I met a man on the Live Your Brand Tour who told me “Most people look for happiness their whole lives. What they really want is contentment. But you can’t search for contentment; you just have to be content.”

Now I am learning to be content with where I am, what I have, and who I am.

OneChicklette: Your idea of misery

@MelanieSpring: Having nothing to occupy myself. I have to stay busy. I’m like a fish, I have to keep swimming or I die.

OneChicklette: Your favorite fictional character

@MelanieSpring: Sisarina. She was my imaginary friend as a kid and now she’s my business. She’s real and buys me coffee a lot. Best boss ever.

OneChicklette: Your favorite thing to eat, and also to drink

@MelanieSpring: EAT: Avocado. I don’t share them. My best friend got part of one once and said “The Few. The Proud. The Avocado’d.” DRINK: A Pimm’s Cup. Mmm…

OneChicklette: Five tangible things you can’t live without

@MelanieSpring:

  1. My MacBook Pro, Lilly. She has my whole life on her.
  2. My dogs, Bailey & Griffin. They keep me responsible.
  3. My FiveFingers. I LOVE to run and since I recently moved, I have been exploring my new neighborhood in them!
  4. My Moleskine notebook. I now have a place to put all of the things I need to remember.
  5. My Nutribullet. That thing has changed my life and eating habits.

OneChicklette: What’s the number one item on your bucket list? (question via @SaraLang)

@MelanieSpring: Well, it was to see the Grand Canyon but I crossed that off last month. Now it’s to hike it.

Grand Canyon

@OneChicklette: Who do you know via social media that you’re dying to meet in real life?  (this question came via @floridagirlindc)

@MelanieSpring: @BarefootTed – he’s the revolutionary behind barefoot running and although I’ve always been barefoot, he created a shoe (Luna Sandals) allowing me to feel like I’m barefoot.

OneChicklette: A question I should ask the next participant

@MelanieSpring: What did you parents give you (good or bad) that made you the person you are today?

OneChicklette: Random shout out (can be a person, your business, a web site, a favorite product or brand…anything)

@MelanieSpring: To the incredible team at Sisarina who daily makes me a better boss.

bad-ass-fairies

Related posts:

 

 

Twitter Spotlight: Derek Brown

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Originally, Derek was ‘just’ my bartender. The dapper gentleman who introduced my friends and me to Sidecars at Palena in DC’s Cleveland Park.

I should have known that he had a lot up his sleeve, so to speak. Among other things, Derek has a company called Laughing Cocktail with business partner Angie Salame. He owns The Passenger with his brother, Tom, and has also lobbied successfully for the Rickey to be named Washington, DC’s native cocktail.

There’s more – lots – but let’s have Derek do the rest of the talking.

OneChicklette: Your favorite qualities in a love interest

@betterdrinking: It may be the least romantic thing to say but a sense of wonder. We’re goddamn lucky to live in such an amazing world and it’d be hard to spend time with someone who didn’t get how special that is. Also, someone who understands that the world is fickle. I’m tempted to use the word humor, which originally meant fluid but then specified ever-changing moods. Someone not bewildered by that change and can see what really matters.

Lastly, the ability to laugh at oneself. We can be certain that by the time that we can articulate our purpose, we will long live past our abilities. My grandfather used to joke about how my grandmother was shrinking. It wasn’t sad anymore, to be old. It was silly. It made loss and pain sometimes easier to handle. If you’re going to love someone, you have to see them down the long haul.

Derek dip

OneChicklette: Your chief characteristic (one word)

@betterdrinking: Thirsty.

Continue reading →

Five things I want to do in DC

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In two weeks, I will spend seven nights in Washington, DC, where I lived for ten years, for a combination of business and pleasure. These are some of the things on my to do list.

1. Revisit old favorite hangouts like Proof and Estadio and Dino and Chinatown Coffee Company and The Passenger and Taylor Gourmet and Palena and…wait. How many days do I have?

2. Check out Union Market especially Righteous Cheese and Salt & Sundry. How cool to see these female entrepreneurs pursue their dreams!

Photo via Righteous Cheese

Photo via Righteous Cheese

3. Meet some of the fine people I have connected with via Twitter including @floridagirlindc, @washingtina, @jigolden and more! I also very much need quality time with @candacearm.

4. Attend my friend’s baby shower. Yep, this friend whose bachelorette weekend we celebrated in Miami last January and whose wedding I posted about. She done got knocked up.

5. Jog around the monuments. Kidding. I didn’t do that when I lived in DC. Why would I do that now after all of this?

DC people, what am I missing? If one of your favorites opened in the year since I left, I’d love it if you told me about it in the comments.

Related post:

  • Five things I’m jealous of right now

Twitter Spotlight: Tammy Gordon

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Update: @FloridaGirlinDC is now @Tammy. What a great Twitter handle!

Tammy is another vivacious woman I regret not meeting during my years living in Washington, DC. Know that I plan to rectify that during my upcoming trip there.

Tammy’s Instagram account is a terrific way to peek in at her exciting life full of good friends, good food and one super cute dog named Ike.

OneChicklette: Your favorite qualities in a love interest

@floridagirlindc: Funny Democrats with jobs that like girls who eat out a lot and have small dogs. So, clearly I’m about to fall in love with a dull Republican that hates farmers markets and loves cats.

OneChicklette: Your chief characteristic (one word)

@floridagirlindc: Social

OneChicklette: What you appreciate most in your friends

@floridagirlindc: Loyalty, laughter and lots of wine.

 

OneChicklette: Your idea of happiness Continue reading →

Twitter Spotlight: Sara Lang

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Update: Sara now has a blog. Check it out!

Meet Sara Lang. Because I want to. If we lived in the same city, I can’t help but think we’d become good buddies.

Plus she likes to bake all kinds of tasty treats for her friends and, well, I like eating tasty treats.

If you haven’t met Sara, here’s your big chance.

OneChicklette: Your favorite qualities in a love interest

@SaraLang: Liberal, loves food, adventurous, outgoing, and of course funny.

OneChicklette: Your chief characteristic (one word)

@SaraLang: Talkative

OneChicklette: What you appreciate most in your friends

@SaraLang: Honesty, loyalty, and an intense love of chick flicks. Oh, and a willingness to try any and all baked goods that I throw their way!

OneChicklette: Your idea of happiness

@SaraLang: The Sunday Times, a cup of coffee, and homemade pumpkin scones.

OneChicklette: Your idea of misery

@SaraLang: Las Vegas

 

 

OneChicklette: Your favorite fictional character

@SaraLang: CJ Cregg from the West Wing – one day, I hope to be her.

OneChicklette: Your favorite thing to eat, and also to drink

@SaraLang: Everything! I think my favorite thing to eat would be chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting, but you’d be hard-pressed to find cupcakes I don’t love.

Favorite drink would definitely be coffee – with or without the bells and whistles. Oh, and a dirty martini.

 

OneChicklette: Five tangible things you can’t live without

@SaraLang: iPhone. Coffee. KitchenAid stand mixer. Twitter. Oven.

OneChicklette: What would be your theme song? (via @aswinn)

@SaraLang: Julieanne Hough’s “About Life”

OneChicklette: A question I should ask the next participant

@SaraLang: What’s the number one item on your bucket list?

 

OneChicklette: Random shout out (can be a person, a web site, a favorite product or brand…anything)

@SaraLang: I love, love, love How Sweet It Is – I’ve made as many recipes as I can from there, and next time I have free time I’ll make more.

Better drinking in DC

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The Passenger is already a great place to get a drink in Washington, DC.

Courtesy of Jim Webb

Great location in my old hood, quality spirits made into tasty cocktails and terrific, unique bar food made by brothers Derek and Tom Brown, plus the bar’s excellent staff.

But The Passenger’s staff has taken the inventiveness they apply to creating cocktails a step further.

I asked The Passenger’s head bartender Alex Bookless how the drinks – and the fun signs that promote them – came to be. This is what she had to say:

We’ve always enjoyed playing around with pop-culture and the zeitgeist, and bringing that into our bar. We put what we think is funny on our chalk boards and hope everyone else agrees with us. We try to make cocktails that are a fun representation of whatever pop-culture phenomenon we’re referencing, and we try to make them delicious too.

The Passenger succeeds in that effort. I’m overdue for a visit.

I’m so single

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I’m single. Stubbornly so, if that’s A Thing.

Usually that’s A-OK with me. I have total freedom and flexibility. Nobody to negotiate with – or fight with. No one looking at my computer’s browser history or mocking my Twilight fangirling. No dude questioning the amount of money I spend on dining in restaurants with my friends or dragging me to action movies I don’t want to see.

Although…as my ex-bf used to say, “how ’bout some sex?” And I could use some hugs, kisses and free back rubs too.

(yeah, I went there)

Continue reading →