Nestie GTG FTW (part 2)

I am a lucky, lucky girl, let me tell you. this month, I've had the pleasure of having TWO encounters with Internet strangers, and it has been awesome. I mentioned in this post of yore that I was planning on having a little get together with good friend and fellow Nestie, Tara, when she came to visit from Florida. fortunately, fellow DC'er Rebecca was able to join in on the fun as well! 

we decided on a girls night... one, because Sean was too busy drinking his life away during the Ravens loss to the Steelers, and two, because girls nights are more fun anyway. we met up at Jaleo on 7th Street in the city (Rebecca's recommendation... SO good) and started the evening off with a pitcher of sangria. 

and let me just inform you that this beverage was, hands down, the best sangria I've ever tasted in my life.

pardon the quality, it was taken on my cell phone.

before we knew it, that pitcher turned into 4 (yes, four) and we were talking over each other in conversation... about books, husbands (and how stupid they are sometimes), pets, our jobs, city living, etc. we tried hard to convince Tara that a move up north would be exceedingly beneficial for her, but something about the 40 degree weather was giving her enough reason to decline. 

ring shot, courtesy of Tara (clockwise from left: Rebecca, myself, and Tara)

we ate a multitude of different foods... from miniature sweet shrimp, to salmon, to roasted potatoes, to asparagus, to scallops with a butternut squash puree, to hazelnut cake for dessert. it was the first time I'd ever eaten at a Tapas style restaurant. 

I was a little nervous at first, being a picky and somewhat non-adventurous eater, but the food was absolutely wonderful and our waitress was amazing as well. she made sure to keep me updated on the Ravens/Steelers score so that I could somehow gauge my husbands' drunk factor in my head. 

photo courtesy of Tara  (clockwise from left: Rebecca, myself, and Tara)

all in all, I'd say my second ever Nestie GTG was a huge success, and I can't wait for more. in fact, I'm even interested in bringing Sean to this restaurant to try out more items on the menu. I'm not sure if he'd agree to it after seeing our bill. 

like I said, that sangria was fucking delicious. 

Happy Thursday!