B and JM Get Engaged!

B and I have great news to share with everyone.  We’re engaged!  B proposed on Friday evening, and it was the most perfect proposal I could imagine.  The story starts three weeks ago; when I was back in Pennsylvania and B called me to tell me he made dinner reservations for the Friday before my birthday.  He called my Chief of Staff to make sure it would be ok for me to leave work a few hours early, because he was taking me somewhere about an hour and a half outside of the city.  This of course made me speculate and wonder if he was planning a proposal, but I had myself convinced that it was not anything more than a birthday dinner. 

Fast forward three weeks later, to the car ride on Friday.  B was pretty quiet on the ride down, and I still did not know where he was taking me, until I saw a sign for The Inn at Little Washington.  I glanced over at him and asked, “Are you taking me where I think you are taking me?!”  He got a big smile on his face, but didn’t answer.  I found out 5 minutes later, when we pulled up to the Inn.  

We were about 45 minutes early for our reservation, so B suggested we walk the grounds.  He grabbed his suit jacket out of the car, and I saw a big white gift box with a ribbon.  Of course, I wondered if there might be a ring in that box.  I found out, after we walked into the garden and sat on a bench.  B handed me the box and said to go ahead and open my birthday gift.  I opened it to find a pretty silk dress.  As I was thanking him for my present, B said there was one problem with the dress, and that was that I didn’t have any jewelry to go with it.  I was a little confused, because I have a lot of jewelry, but I went with it and said that I wasn’t sure what shoes would go with it either, but it doesn’t matter.  Then B said, “Well, I did get you one piece of jewelry to go with it, but it’s conditional.”  He got down on one knee, pulled out a ring box, and said, “Will you marry me?”  I was so thrown off by the dress earlier; I couldn’t believe he was really proposing!  After I recovered from my shock, I of course said yes!  I cried, and B slid the ring on my finger. 

The surprises kept coming, when B told me that our dinner reservations were later in the evening and we were actually staying at the Inn.  Needless to say, I was thrilled.  We went back to the car, where B pulled out a bag he packed for us, and we walked up to the Inn.  Right away the valet ran up to us and took the bag and welcomed us to the Inn.  The host took us right in for a welcome drink and to congratulate us on our engagement.  He gave us a tour of the Inn and took us up to the room, where they had an ice bucket and glasses for us (B brought champagne).  Our room had a balcony, and it was so nice to have an hour before dinner to let it sink in and enjoy some champagne and celebrate together. 

Later in the evening we went down for dinner.  Every staff member that greeted us congratulated us, and we were so blown away by the consideration and extra gestures the entire staff gave us to make our engagement special.  Our server gave us our menus and a glass of champagne.  When we opened the menu, it was printed with a congratulatory message just for us.  We shared a bottle of wine (the Inn’s Cabernet Franc), and the most incredible meal either of us have ever experienced.  The chef even wrote best wishes and congratulations on our desserts.  At the end of the dinner, our server asked us if we would like a tour of the kitchen.  Of course we did, so the host took us back and introduced us to the one and only Chef Patrick O’Connell.  He was so nice and considerate, complimenting my ring and taking pictures of us in the kitchen.  It was such an honor to get to meet one of the best chefs in the world. 

After dinner, we retreated back to our room, where we took our bottle of champagne onto the balcony, along with a video B made of the pre-proposal process.  He taped everything, from scouting out proposal sites, the ring, and the phone call to my dad asking permission to marry me.  It was so wonderful to get to see that video, and we continued it the next day, when B recorded my reaction at our proposal site.  We look forward to incorporating the video into some part of our wedding. 

The proposal was so special and wonderful, and we are so excited, happy, and definitely looking forward to planning our wedding.  We’ll be sure to keep you updated on the process!  

Restaurant Review - The Boulevard Woodgrill

So B is having surgery for some back pain he’s been having and since his sister (K) is down for the week to help us out, we decided to go out for dinner.  We wanted to get something in the neighborhood good and not too expensive, so we decided to go to The Boulevard Woodgrill in Clarendon.  We’ve both been there a few times, so after tonight we feel we can give a fair review.

Since we were just in for a quick dinner and B’s having surgery the next day, we skipped the drinks and went straight for the food.  We shared a crab and artichoke dip with pita bread for a starter, which we all really enjoyed.  The pita bread was fresh and hot, and the dip had a good crab to everything else ratio.  It was also a good serving size for 3 people, just enough to do what an appetizer is supposed to do (whet your appetite and hold you over until the meal arrives), not stuff you before the rest of dinner even gets to the table.  The service was good, the timing between the arrival of the appetizer and the meals was right (I hate when you get rushed through your appetizer because the main course has arrived- what’s the point of the appetizer?).  Our server was also friendly and attentive. 

For the main course, B had the cheddar bacon burger with French fries.  B said it was one of the better burgers he’s had in the area.  I snuck a fry or two, though they were nothing to write home about.  I thought they were a little soggy, but B thought they reminded him of Boardwalk fries and didn’t have anything bad to say.  Maybe I’m a picky fry eater. 

B’s sister got the chicken Caesar salad, which had plenty of sliced chicken (K said it was a ridiculous amount!).  She enjoyed the meal, but thought the amount of chicken overwhelmed the rest of the salad. 

I ordered the special, a roasted duck and arugula salad with a mimosa vinaigrette.  Overall I enjoyed the salad, the dressing was the right amount of sweet and tart, and countered the peppery flavor of the arugula well.  The duck was a little overdone; I didn’t get much flavor from it.  The salad was topped off with sliced oranges (could have used more), cherry tomatoes (didn’t add anything to the salad), candied pecans (YUM) and dried cranberries. 

Combining our past experiences at the Boulevard Woodgrill, we would have to say that it’s a bit of a mixed bag.  Some menu items are fantastic, while others are so-so.  Can’t complain about the service though, even when they’ve been busy we have had attentive servers.  We are also both fans of the décor- a nice bar off to the side, plenty of booths (restaurants under-utilize booths these days), and floor to ceiling windows perfect for people watching.  It’s somewhere we’ll continue to dine since it’s walking distance from home and overall a pretty good restaurant, but it wouldn’t necessarily be our pick for a special trip.