12.11 - champagne problems
what’s going on in washington d.c.?
This weekend, Mount Vernon is offering evening tours of its grounds, including Holiday lights, carolers, an outdoor maze, and a very large camel named Aladdin. If you haven’t been, Mount Vernon is about a half hour south of D.C.
If you’d rather stay in D.C., The Yards in Navy Yard installed its annual holiday lights. This year’s theme is stars and the free event is visible each night from 6-10 p.m. Or, check out outdoor holiday movies at The Wharf or RFK Stadium. The Wharf is showing How the Grinch Stole Christmas (reservations include one fire pit) while RFK Stadium is offering a Home Alone drive-in on Sunday night.
let’s talk food and drinks
14th St. staple Taqueria Nacional (on T St. next to Ice Cream Jubilee and Colada Shop) is closing on December 20th. A small silver lining is it’s not a total loss - there will still be a Mt. Pleasant location.
Want to order Hanukkah takeout? Here’s 11 spots offering matzo ball soup, latkes, babkas, and other favs.
Looking ahead - two Foxtrot specialty grocery stores are opening in D.C. in March 2021. The Chicago import will open two locations - one in Georgetown in the old Jonathan Adler space and one in Mt. Vernon Square. These are hands down the cutest/best-curated markets I’ve been to, so excitement levels are 10/10 for this one.
what’s on our minds?
Since launching over the summer, over 5,000 individuals have claimed benefits through the D.C. paid family leave program. The law provides eight weeks of paid leave to care for a new child, six weeks to assist a sick family member and two weeks to recover from a medical emergency. Thus far, about 75% of claimants are requesting the benefits for a new child.
The inauguration may be a virtual affair, but these hotel packages for the festivities are charging some very in-person rates. If you have $40k to spare, the Hotel Riggs in Penn Quarter is offering a three-night stay, limo service, and an inauguration watch party for up to 10. Or, if that’s not quite fancy enough, $60k will grant you private use of a full floor of the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City.
Quick links to other weekly #goodreads:
Uber made big promises in Kenya. Drivers say it's ruined their lives - per NBC News, “Uber made big promises in Kenya. Drivers say it’s ruined their lives.”
Tony Hsieh’s American Tragedy: The Self-Destructive Last Months Of The Zappos Visionary - per Forbes, “When the business icon died in a fire last week, questions abounded. The answers seem rooted in a Covid-period spiral, where he turned to drugs and shunned old friends.”
What’s the Matter With Cultural Politics? - per Mother Jones, “It was about race and but it was about class and but it was about culture, the all-at-onceness of oppression in America being met by necessity with the all-at-onceness of liberation.”
what are we watching/reading?
Evermore, Taylor Swift’s latest surprise album dropped last night. Ever the queen of productivity, Taylor released Folklore over the summer, is rerecording her old songs, and - surprise - Evermore last night. The style is similar to Folklore, and one listen in, just as melodic and addicting. So far, I’m really liking No Body, No Crime with Haim, Gold Rush, and Champagne Problems.
Alabama Snake on HBO. Full disclosure, haven’t actually watched this one yet, but it’s on my list. A la Tiger King, this sounds like a wacky true crime saga - it’s a documentary about a Pentecostal preacher accused of trying to murder his wife via snakebite.
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‘til next time -courtney