In my last entry, where I admittedly was a bit ridiculous ("uh, that is every post?") I said I would be posting the next day - well I, I got distracted by... good question, what did I get distracted by? Right now I'm distracted by the smell of red onion and green pepper I threw out from my chef's salad I ordered for lunch. I really don't like red onion or green pepper, I like almost every other variety of pepper and onion but those two, yucky-ewe.


So onto the Part II: Saga Returns/Back in the Habit/Electric Boogaloo/The Two Rawrers of the birthday celebration week for my Monkey. We had a quite jam packed week of restaurants, friends, and visits to the movie theaters around our area. I am always determined to try new restaurants, I get sick of chain restaurants, and I like the little guys. I like supporting local businesses and I ALWAYS advocate for the underdog over the mass corporations. I might be a fan of some corporations (target for instance, as you WELL know) but still the small business is where its at (although its easier to shop at small places when you have more income, which I do not) shh down with the corporation take over. I always argue with my mother that when you travel somewhere new (or at home), you do not go to a chain restaurant, you try something local - that is the only real way to experience a place in my opinion. For instance my mom went to NYC recently and went to a flippin Cosi, I was like "Mom, NYC is known for their delis and you go to a chain sandwich shop, whats the matter with you?" and she was like "I didn't know, I never heard of a Cosi." I facepalmed.

Anyway, the picture above is a restaurant we tried called 'La Capilla' (the site is down at the moment or I'd link you to it, the picture to the left has a bit of history on the church, it was in a movie *nods* never heard of this movie but it was...in a movie) in a converted and quite stunning church on Main Street (I love Main streets) in Manassas. It took some convincing to get my boyfriend there and I conveniently left out the fact that it was a tapas place (oppsies :). The service was great, the food was delicious, and I love the decor. It was a bit pricey and my boyfriend complained about being hungry after but I hope we'll get to go back. They have a bar as well in the bottom level of the church which I didn't get to see but I very rarely go to bars, I've been to clubs a lot more than bars. I could probably count on two hands how many bars I've been in. The reason I'm talking about it in the detail I am (get on with it) is just because I loved the entire experience. I even ran across the street to take a picture to share with you where I tripped on a 1inch landing and almost sprained my ankle and then the light took forever to change, I yelled to my boyfriend who was on the other side "We may never see one another again." It was a joyous reunion... 5 minutes later.

Outside

Inside

I really liked the Main street area of Manassas even though it is a bit small and a few blocks from Main Street I stumbled upon this section of gorgeous homes. I really wanted to take a picture but the area was super busy and I felt silly pulling over and taking pictures. I am determined to go back and take pictures though, it will happen.

I really enjoyed everything we ordered at La Capilla (snappy name, say it, you know you want to: La La La Capilla), we had: chicken enchiladas that were ahmazing, chicken meatballs in a tomato broth, some chorizo queso, and I had a chicken breast stuffed with asparagus and cheese. Rawrnomnoms.

We also tried a new place in Frederick called AKA Friscos with our friends Row, Megan, and Cody. All the girls ordered bakers or baked potatoes, mine had roast beef on it and it was really delicious. Cody had a sandwich and my Monkey had chili. It was a cute little place and they played Heart! Heart is a way to my heart (pathetic, cheeseball).

Afterwards we went to the mall and saw (a bit early) Halloween stuff including witch hat and gloves, a couple who looked like they stepped out of that famous American Gothic picture except young or perhaps Children of the Corn - they were seriously cool, and then to Hot Topic where Row got asked out by a cute chick that worked there, the girl was really sly in her approach and Row was so adorable about it. After we went back to her house for a bit and took an impromptu late night drive to Emmitsburg. We couldn't see much but I love spontaneous adventures.

We also went to Maggianos (twice actually over the course of the week) on my boyfriends actual birth day with Darrell and Alexia. Afterwards we saw 'Cowboys vs. Aliens' (it was okay) and carried on like we usually do. They were amused by the fact that I do this little bark/chomp expression, its inspired by my cats trying to catch a ribbon with their mouth, kinda hard to describe but if you have cats you might be able to picture it. I tried the gnocchi and o-m-g, you must try it. It is melt in your mouth-potato-epic-goodness and quite filling.


I was determined to get a picture of my outfit I wore for my boyfriends birthday but alas, this is my final product, full of split ends (I really need to get my hair done, yikes). Maybe you can kind of tell, the outfit that is? I'm wearing a dress I ordered (and spoke of awhile back) from ASOS, one of my favorite cardigans (bought like 8 years ago) from Bmoss , and black target sandals. Hey, I tried. I am successful in taking pictures where my feet look... weird? Its the little successes that count...

These are the Target sandals I mentioned, they are still available if you happen to likie them. Link Here.

There was a rainbow (a double rainbow in fact) on my boyfriends birthday, I was driving so I didn't get a good look at it or a good picture but D, Z, and I found it a bit ironic since my boyfriend is not the rainbow appreciation type. My boyfriend likes to see himself as dark and mysterious so D & Z described it perfectly saying "Rachel is the rainbow and you're the dark cloud behind it" and he was pleased with that answer, as was I. Monkey provided the picture.

We also saw 'Transformers 3' (again for me since my boyfriend had not seen it), 'Captain America' (x1 1/3 times, long story to why the one time we saw only a third of it), 'Bridesmaids', 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' (I realllyyyy liked), and as I said 'Cowboys vs. Aliens'. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this fact but I collect movie ticket stubs, I have since about 2000 or 2001. Sometimes I forget but I try to always remember to keep them. I laughed a lot during 'Bridesmaids', I really like Kristen Wiig. I enjoyed 'Captain America' too but I felt like it started off swinging and kinda went downhill after.

We also had some Thai that was really delicious, so delicious I forgot to take a picture, and more Mexican at Don Pablos and another little (local) place in Manassas that I didn't really like all that much. Also stopped by American Cafe for dinner & a smore sundae and lastly Red Robin for some burgers, fries, and shakes. Yes the last three are not local restaurants, we try, what can I say. We did a little shopping as well at Wegmans, Target, FYE, and Hot Topic.

The last birthday adventure day was Friday where we celebrated the birthdays of both my boyfriend and our roommate Chris. We went to Big Bowl in Reston with Jamie, Chris, and Christina. Reston Town Center is a zoo but we had a really great time ranting and joking with everyone. The Big Bowl was quite tasty and I had hibiscus tea, chicken wraps, and stir fry with chicken and noodles. Afterwards we saw a movie and stopped by a cupcake place I mentioned in my previous post.

Reston and Tyson are a bit too snobby and upscale for my liking, I'm not fond of pretentious people, I don't see a need for pretension. I prefer laid back people and areas with old world charm. It was especially irritating at Tysons II where Maggianos is (and there hour and 15 minute wait), we kept getting so many dirty looks from the my shit don't stinkers who think they rule the planet because they can shop at high end retailers like Chanel. In my experience people who act really stuck up, judgmental, or discriminatory are very insecure people who have never really established their own identity. If they were truly comfortable with themselves they'd be comfortable with other peoples differences and accept everyone. I'm sorry for the mini rant it just gets really frustrating at times especially when you're a chubby, eccentric, sometimes loud person who likes metal, some gothic stuff, and hello kitty. Its exhausting feeling as if you have to try all that much harder for people to recognize you as who you are instead of what they may think you are. 

So anyway,  we had a lot of fun, we explored many a place (as you might tell). I'm currently awaiting for a dress to come (which I will have to tell you about later since it too is a loong story) and the house search stuff is the same as it always is - frustrating, nerve wracking, and a lot of waiting. I have my eye on a few houses I'm dying to see and my itch to look at architecture is large as always.

Oh, oh True Blood has been keeping me on the edge of my seat the last few eppys. I really don't like the Jessica/Jason angle they are shooting for though and Down with Debbie Pelt. I don't trust her, I got my eye on her!

All three GORGEOUS houses above are for sale by the way, in case you're in the market to buy me a present, so if you've got Scrooge McDuck type fortune, snatch em up and send me the deeds. Me kidds' although I must admit, that would be nice.

Well I think I've said quite enough already. Question: Is my excessive chat working against me? I get the feeling I'm probably saying too much and scaring people off? I hope not, but I will try and cut back. Anyway it has become a trend so, I'm going to leave you with a few music videos.