in honor of making an effort to maximize funemployment in every way possible, i spent a few days this week helping Emma move back to Atlanta after calling DC home for the past year. we visited spots she didn’t have the chance to visit until now, as well as tried-and-true favorites.

the first order of affairs was grabbing bagels from So You Mama to kickstart a day of shipping out packages, coordinating Facebook Marketplace pickups, and getting her apartment cleared out.

we stayed at the Line Hotel with all of Emma’s belongings in suitcases and participated in happy hour at No Goodbyes before going to…..

SHOTO!!!!!

it did not disappoint – the atmosphere and service was top-notch. the rei mizuna was their take on the pstar martini and was so SMOOTH.

while in the area we made a stop at Off The Record for a nightcap. they make their drinks STRONG so you definitely get your money’s worth. one of my favorite parts about the bar with its location in the iconic Hay Adams hotel is all the DC-focused art you get to see.

we went on a Monday night close to closing time, so the place was nearly empty besides our barmates. the private equity price sitting next to us took his beer off his napkin to reveal a very happy smiley face, which felt like a good omen.

we spent the next morning deep cleaning her apartment after a rooftop breakfast of pastries from Soleluna.

we then ubered over to the Yellow location at Union Market. it brought forth an entirely unique and inviting take on Levantine cuisine that reminded me a bit of Brassica back in Columbus. i had the coconut cardamom foam cold brew and split the labneh dip and cauliflower pita with Emma. we ate in complete silence for a good 30 minutes from how good the meal was.

move over tomato girl summer – corn has made its arrival. we had corn on the cob (pictured above from Shoto), corn nuts, and corn-topped labneh within the course of 24 hours in the city.

after shopping around Union Market we started the trek to the National Mall (on foot) for Emma to see the monuments one last time as a DC resident. we started at the Capitol, and from there made pit stops at the Smithsonian American History Museum, Washington Monument, and finally, the back side of the White House. after little convincing we walked back to our hotel via 16th Street, and 45 minutes later found ourselves in 20k steps deep for the day (and it wasn’t even 5PM).

after laying horizontally for half an hour, we mustered the courage to walk to another location for a drink before dinner, Easy Tiger Tavern. there weren’t any open spots for two in the main area, so we found ourselves overlooking the spot with the upstairs entirely to ourselves.

it was only right that we went to Lapis for Emma’s last supper. we ordered family style and split the following items:

• leek and onion & potato bolani
• aushak dumplings
• sabzi
• pilaf rice
• sheer berenj (sans pistachios on account of my nut allergy)

the last late-night spot on Emma’s DC bucket list was Green Zone. lets just say that the drinks were so good that i would have a problem if i lived within a 1-mile radius of this place. i opted for the zero-proof version of the Fadooleh and Emma got the iconic mint lemonade with gin. some unexpected details that made quite the impact was a perfect ice ratio and using metal straws.

the next morning we grabbed breakfast at the Dupont Tatte, which provided for some concrete jungle sightseeing opportunities of birds fighting over breadcrumbs after patrons left their outdoor spot.

after dropping Emma’s keys off near the White House, we decided to keep the momentum we had going with getting our steps in and made our way to the National Cathedral. it’s home to the highest lookout point in DC, in addition to some beautiful stain glass and mosaic murals.

we worked up an appetite again after logging 15k steps within the span of a couple hours and shortly after found ourselves splitting a “Crunchy Boy” from No Complaints and dreaming about eating it on the beach.

Jenni Bock Custom Journals was our last shopping spot that provided many opportunities to walk away with a DC memento.

and to conclude Emma’s time living in DC, we walked away with bellies full of Dolcezza burnt strawberry gelato and hearts bursting for the memories we got to make moving her out. this truly has been one of the most eventful and transformative summers of our lives.

until next time DC ❤

💘, HANNA