Back from Spring Break

I had a wonderfully relaxing week in Virginia last week. It makes me wish Spring Break was two weeks long instead of just one. I would be willing to have a longer school year if it meant we could have two weeks for Spring Break.
I spent most of my time getting my bearings over there. Last weekend, Tim and I were driving around trying to find a housing development, and I had to laugh because we were literally going around in circles from offramp to onramp to offramp again. It was funny, but had I been the one driving, I never would have gotten us home. I will definitely have to buy a GPS before I get out there, just so I can find my way back to the house!
There is a very large shopping center right across the street from our apartment building, so I spent last Monday "getting my bearings" over there. Had way too much fun and probably spent too much money, but I did get some nice things.
Here is the recipe for a salad I had at Nordstrom:

Apple, Chicken, and Goat Cheese Salad

green apple sliced thinly
red onion sliced thinly
grilled chicken strips
crispy apple chips (not the mushy, dehydrated apples)
goat cheese
candied almonds
salad greens
Nordstrom's Champagne Vinaigrette

It was so good, I ate it twice last week! Yum! Had to buy a bottle of their dressing so I can make it here for mom.
Spent a day at the National Holocaust Memorial Museum too. The permanent exhibit required a pass to get into, which of course I didn't have, so I plan on heading back there, but the rest of the museum was very intriguing. They had an exhibit on Darfur, which hit home for me more than the Jewish Holocaust because it's happening right now.

I also managed to find a yarn shop. Julie from the knitting group gave me directions, so I spent 45 minutes on the metro to find this tiny little shop in Bethesda called Knit + Stitch = Bliss. And Blissful it was! I found some lovely pink Rowan Organic Cotton that I'm using to make a summery scarf out of, and I could have bought out the entire stock of cashmere, but that doesn't exactly fit into our budget, so I had to control myself.

On the subject of knitting, I figured out how to knit socks using the Magic Loop! I can't believe I was afraid of knitting socks before now. I haven't gotten to the part where I start turning the heel yet, so then it may be a different story, but for now, knitting the cuff is going really well. I'm off to the yarn store after work today to buy more sock yarn and another needle so I can knit my wee tiny sock for my sock pal tonight.

I get to go a knittin' again tonight. I wasn't there last week, so I've missed out for the last two weeks at Flying Star, and am eager to get back. I sure am going to miss those gals once I'm in VA.