Big news!

I was the regional winner of the DhoonyaFIT summer challenge! I ended up winning these beautiful bangles and this beautiful clutch. Kajal presented my prize to me tonight in class. 

Notice anything else new?

Yep, I'm engaged!!

The boyfriend asked me to marry him on Friday, September 30th while we were on a family trip to Walt Disney World. Check out all the details here.

Well I guess that means I'm going to have to get in shape again. I've loved sharing my health and fitness journey on "How You Dhoonya?" so I've decided to continue to update this blog in an effort to look great for my upcoming wedding. 

Days 104-112: Dhoonya Tech III

Monday, September 12th: Tonight was my first Dhoonya Technique III class of the semester. Tonight was the first night I went to a dance class feeling nervous. Although I had danced growing up and had years of training I hadn't danced in 6 years when I started Dhoonya classes in April. I also had never taken Indian dance lessons in any capacity. Deciding what techniques class to take was difficult. I had taken Level I/II over the summer and enjoyed it. In fact, I felt like I excelled at it every week. I really wanted a challenge in the fall. I remember choreography easily and have good body awareness but am lacking in style and technique. I was hoping the technique III class could help me focus on my body alignment, style and expression. The first class was a bit intimidating. Everyone in the class is extremely talented and also has no problem remembering choreography, so as I hoped we were able to spend more time perfecting our individual styles. This class was my favorite yet, which is saying a lot considering I haven't missed a class yet and look forward to Dhoonya instruction every Monday.

Tuesday, September 13th: Enjoyed another lunch at Starbucks and an evening catching up on television shows.

Wednesday, September 14th: Went to the farmers' market and Whole Foods after work, enjoyed a dinner of cheese and olives and then took my second Oriental 2 class with Nica at Saffron Dance studios. I love taking class with Nica so much and tonight was no different.

Thursday, September 15th: Met up with my girlfriend and my sister at my sister's new apartment in DC. Enjoyed a pizza dinner at Red Rocks in Columbia Heights.

Friday, September 16th: Went to Sweet Lobby in Barracks Row with my BFF to pick up macarons and then enjoyed a fabulous dinner of mussels at Ted's Bullentin.

 The INCREDIBLE Sweet Lobby. Cannot recommend more.

 Delicious gin cocktail at Ted's.

Mussels and frites. Nothing better.

Saturday, September 17th: Woke up super early for a Saturday to attend my first big event for the Junior League. Our new member Saturday Session at the Washington Court Hotel by Union Station where we learned all about the League and our requirements for the year. Enjoyed a bagel and coffee at the banquette hall and had a lunch of cheese and crackers when I returned home. Went with the boyfriend to a Fraternity alum's house for a delicious BBQ of burgers, bison and sausages. Met a lot of great married couples who love food just as much as me and the boyfriend. Even met a lovely girl who loves Disney as much as me. Fabulous evening, especially with the wonderful fall weather.

Sunday, September 18th: Went to a fabulous Pilates reformer class today with a jumpboard. I felt like I was flying through the air on a trampoline, only lying down. I can't wait to go again next week!

Monday, September 19th: Enjoyed lunch from a kabob truck in town. Love the spicy chicken! Ran 3 miles after work, picked up an iced chai for dinner at Northside Social and then attend my second Dhoonya Tech III class. Class was brilliant tonight! Loved the new song in the warmup. Really felt alive. Learned a bit more of our dance for the semester. The song is really growing on me. I'm loving all of the sassy movements and learning how to style my arms, hips and eyes. Especially love a particularly cheeky part in the dance where we shake our heads side-to-side. 

Tuesday, September 20th: Had lunch at a Cajun food truck today. Gumbo was perfect for a rainy Tuesday. Met up with a girlfriend after work at Art & Soul and enjoyed a delicious Flounder (sad to be eating my favorite character from Little Mermaid though). After dinner and drinks I went to Pentagon City mall in search of khaki pants. Happy to report I found some at Banana Republic. (They're required for a Junior League event this weekend.)

Days 99-103: Sinus Infection

Wednesday, September 7th: We arrived back to DCA at 9am on Wednesday morning. I made it into work by noon in the pouring rain. After work I went to Pinkberry in Clarendon to meet up with my new member Junior League advisor. But I skipped my Oriental dance class because I felt so ill and fell asleep by 8pm.

Thursday, September 8th: I woke up sick on Thursday so I stayed home from work and went to urgent care to get antibiotics for my sinus infection.

Friday, September 9th: Made it into work today. Enjoyed a latte and scone for lunch. Met two wonderful couples for dinner at Rasika. I love Indian food and the spices helped my sinuses.

 The males in the couples.

And the lovely females.

Saturday, September 10th: Went to a Pilates reformer class this morning and then went on a 2.5 mile training run. Dropped by Crate & Barrel to order two beautiful couches for our apartment and then picked up some Red Mango fro-yo. Went to District of Pi for a friend's birthday and then went to see the Nationals play the Astros. Finished the night at Clarendon Ballroom for my friend's birthday.

At the Nats game.

Sunday, September 11th: Walked over to Saffron studios in the morning to make up my Oriental 2 class I missed on Wednesday. Came home and spent the rest of the day in my pajamas. The sinus infection caught up with me and I was in need of some rest. 

Days 94-98: San Diego

Friday, September 2nd: Friday was my last day at work before flying cross-country to California. I ended up eating a lot of random produce because I was trying to use up anything that would go bad while I was away. This meant a salad for lunch and dinner because we had so much leftover arugula. I spent my free-time getting a spray tan, cleaning the house, packing my bags and calling the cab company.

Saturday, September 3rd: Had to hop in my cab at 4:40am to make it to the airport for my 6am flight. I'm always so grateful on these days that we live 5 minutes from DCA. I didn't eat anything before the flight because it was way too early, but enjoyed some animal crackers on the first leg of my flight to Boston and some blue potato chips on the second leg of my flight to San Diego. I ended up landing at 1pm, which meant it was 4pm in DC. The first thing we (the boyfriend, the boyfriend's mother, and I) did when I got there was go grab lunch. We got tacos and toured Mission Beach. After we went back to the boyfriend's parents' house we changed into workout clothes and took the boyfriend's two dogs on a walk on the beach. After the boyfriend's dad returned home from work we enjoyed a fish dinner in Del Mar and a little hula dancing back at the house.

Mission Beach and the taco shop we ate at, Roberto's.

Family trip to the beach with boyfriend, bf's mom and 2 dogs.

The large cliff we walked down to get to the beach.

Mika catching her mini tennis ball.

Tippy catching her normal-sized tennis ball.

Delicious sea bass.

Me at dinner in the beautiful necklace my BFF got me in Africa.

Hula night!

Sunday, September 4th: When we woke up on Sunday we took a long walk with the dogs around the bf's parents' neighborhood. Did I mention the boyfriend's parents are extremely active? After the walk, boyfriend's mom took us to her hot yoga studio. The class was great and cleansing, but extremely hot. I almost didn't make it through the hour! We showered at the studio and then headed out for lunch in Del Mar. I got a split pea soup and a salad. After a little shopping and a nap, the boyfriend's grandparents and cousin and cousin's girlfriend came over for a Thai food dinner. 

Monday, September 5th: We took another dog walk first thing in the morning. Then we headed to Torrey Pines national park to go hiking in the hills. The hike led us out to the beach and the views were terrific despite a little rain. After we got cleaned up we headed to the Del Mar horse races for a little gambling and drinks. After the rain we saw the sunset on the beach and went to Chart House for a fabulous dinner.

 The boyfriend and I at Torrey Pines.

 At the Del Mar horse races.

 Sunset on the beach.

Out at dinner.

Tuesday, September 6th: Our last day in California was spent at the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park. After the park the boyfriend and I made a delicious scallop and steak dinner before heading to the airport for our red eye flight home.

Days 87-93: Hurricane Irene

Friday, August 26th: I rushed out of work on Friday to meet the boyfriend at Cosco to grab some much needed food and essentials in case we lost power over the weekend. We ended up at Giant afterwards since it's unrealistic we'd eat the quantities they sell food in at Cosco.

Saturday, August 27th: My BFF returned from Africa!! I met her, her little sister, and my sister at Kafe Leopold in Georgetown for sister brunch. My sister and I ordered one order of the malted waffle and one order of the lemon pancakes and split them. :) I bought some marcarons for the road and enjoyed the rest of the day at home watching movies with the boyfriend.

 My favorite dessert.

 Delicious latte. 

 My BFF and her sis. 

 The cute little sisters.

Me and my very best friend.

Sunday, August 28th: Spent most of the day indoors cleaning out the kitchen. Reorganized everything. It looks beautiful!

Monday, August 29th: Dhoonya Monday! Learned an amazing dance (my favorite yet) to "Bole Chudiyan." Left the class feeling like I took Bikram yoga. So energized and sweaty!

Tuesday, August 30th: Took yoga with the boyfriend after work and then came home and make an absolutely delicious dinner. Even hopped on the treadmill after dinner to run 2.25 miles!

Pork Tonkatsu with Watermelon-Tomato Salad

Wednesday, August 31st: Had Whole Foods put two tuna steaks on hold for me and picked them up on my way home. Made a delicious dinner with the boyfriend and ate it on our balcony in the beautiful weather. Fall is almost here!

Maple-Glazed Tuna with Pear-Potato Salad

Thursday, September 1st: Long day at work! Enjoyed leftovers and light snacking all day. Finished my book while relaxing in bed. So happy it's September!

Days 85-86: Rest and Relaxation

Dinner with the boyfriend at Bayou Bakery.

Wednesday, August 24th: I had half a bottle of Naked Juice: Green Machine for breakfast and then split a deep dish pizza from the Pi truck with my co-worker for lunch. After work I met the boyfriend for dinner at Bayou Bakery. I had the mixed green salad and a cup of gumbo and then split the beignets for dessert. Upon arriving home I fell fast asleep from 7:30pm-midnight and then woke up, got ready for bed and fell back asleep until 7am the next morning. I guess the earthquake really tired me out!

Thursday, August 25th: For breakfast I had the Chilled Swiss Oats from Corner Bakery and then I had a tuna fish sandwich for lunch from the deli near my office. After work I had a small bowl of ice cream and then the boyfriend make orange chicken and jasmine rice for dinner.

Days 82-84: DC Earthquake

Sunday, August 21st: I planned to attend the 10am yoga class at Saffron Yoga, but unfortunately, after walking to the studio, the instructor didn't show up. Fortunately, my Oriental 1 teacher, Nica, was teaching an Oriental 1+ class at Saffron Dance at 10:30am. The studio manager allowed me to use the studio to do a few yoga poses before class started and then I was able to enjoy a wonderful last dance class for the summer session.
After class I ran across the street to meet two of my girlfriends at Northside Social. I enjoyed an iced chai tea latte and a savory muffin. After brunch I walked home and cleaned up the apartment until the boyfriend returned home from NYC. We ordered Indian take-out from Delhi Dhaba for dinner.

Monday, August 22nd: Dhoonya Monday! I attended the Dhoonya Basics class with Kajal after work. Here is the description of the dance as copied from Facebook:
"As today's Basics class falls on the festival of Janmashtami (Krishna's birthday), Kajal is celebrating by teaching "Maiyya Yashoda" from Jhoota Hi Sahim a playful song about the mischievous young Krishna."
The dance was a ton of fun and I was excited to learn about flirty Krishna who I had actually learned about prior when studying the Mahabharata in college. I hope to post the dance soon (if I can remember it!).

Tuesday, August 23rd: Tuesday was obviously a very strange day in DC thanks to an unexpected earthquake at around 2pm. You can read my thoughts on it here. I ended up walking 6 miles home so I decided not to do my 2 mile training run and instead grab a bite to eat at Cava in Clarendon.

Here I am exhausted and a little sunburned after my 6 mile walk home. 

Days 77-81: Restaurant Week

Tuesday, August 16th: Enjoyed a Greek salad at Vapiano's in Chinatown with the other new members of the Junior League. Then went with the 90+ girls to see The Help. So good!

Wednesday-Friday: The boyfriend left me for NYC and the weather has been awful so I spent the evenings relaxing, cleaning and doing some weights in my living room.

Saturday, August 20th: Did a 1.75 mile training run on the treadmill after enjoying some watermelon courtesy of a thoughtful co-worker. Then met up with two of my long-time girlfriends at Fogo de Chao for a decadent Restaurant Week dinner.