"dress classy and dance cheesy"

Shakira is pregnant, she's going to be a judge on The Voice next season AND it's officially autumn (pumpkin lovers, watch out). What, what!?

This past week was a busy, but fun one. Looking back, it had some international flair, best described with images. 

On Wednesday, I attended the Swiss Soirée, which is an annual event held at the ambassador's residence to "focus on the creativity and innovation of the Swiss; an opportunity to reinforce the excellent image Switzerland has in this town as a hospitable country that offers high-quality products in a stylish setting". The venue was very modern and is on a beautiful green hill near Woodley Park, there were drinks, Swiss food and decadent chocolate at every turn. Also, a raffle with some amazing prizes, that sadly did not come home with any of us: Swiss Army watches, flights to Switzerland, signed basketballs, etc. 

Raclette (cheese dish)

w/ Diana

Goodie bags (filled with Toblerone, a vegetable peeler, an umbrella, a shaver, etc)

That same evening, my mom arrived from Cape Cod and is passing by on her way to Asia. Looking back, we realize that she was here at the exact same time last year. That's saying a lot for this lil' traveler! 

At DSW in "black heel heaven"

On Friday, it was our five year anniversary and Matt surprised me with dinner at Adour, a French-American restaurant, at the St. Regis Hotel. A real treat; the food was fantastic (I had the filet mignon, with mashed potatoes) and the service was perhaps the best we've ever had. Highly recommend it for a special occasion. We hear that one of their desserts has gold flakes in it, but we cannot confirm this. Some argue it's the best restaurant in DC! 

Afterwards, we ventured to H St. (in the NE) for the first time, to meet up with some friends, who were out and about, due to the visit of our friend Ramin from Geneva. The area reminded us of Brooklyn a little bit. It was a super fun, celebratory evening. As a joke, I got Matt this t-shirt :)

Complimentary amuse-bouche (just learned that word, it means single, bite-sized hors d'oeuvres) - cheese puffs

New favorite picture of Lydia at Little Miss Whiskey's + Clare, Ramin and Laura

w/ Clare and Lydia at Cusbah

Shuffleboard at H St. Country Club - had not played since Houston!

Last night, we went to a potluck at Matt's friend, Thomas' house. He also went to Rice, just graduated from law school and is about to start work here in DC. Kate joined us and afterwards, we had to make a pit stop at FroZenYo (at this rate, we should invest in their stock). It was quite happening there, with board games, 25% off and a contest that resembled beer pong, but sans beer.

Building our future home...

w/ Matt & Kate

To finalize our tour around the world, a song - Gangnam Style (K-Pop single by PSY). It's popularity baffles me, but I have to admit that it's quite catchy and very amusing. We even danced to it in zumba yesterday, for the first time! My mom thinks he sounds like Ricky Martin, although I fail to see the connection. However, maybe she is onto something...?

If you want to learn the moves, PSY tells Britney Spears that the mindset of this dance is to "dress classy and dance cheesy".

*Washington monument photo by Kate, taken today.