Tuesday Top 5

Hey everybody! I'm back from DC and my photography filled weekend! Which means, the office is back on track and we're rocking and rolling like never before! I've been so busy this past 5 days, but I'm LOVING it. Busy is a good thing ;)So DC was amazing, though hot. I really had fun exploring the DC food scene with my hubs and I definitely feel a lot smarter & cultured from all the time we spent in museums! And the two weddings I shot this past week were AMAZING. They were both so different but so  so so fabulous! I am on a high. A wedding high. I can't believe how amazing my clients are, how much love is in the world, how awesome my job is! I am a lucky lady!So now onto Tuesday Top 5!1. Volt. If you said, "what was the best meal of your trip Ashleigh?" I would say. "going to Volt! Duhhhh!" Yeah it was that good. Volt is Bryan Voltaggio's (of Top Chef fame) restaurant in Frederick, MD. And it is truly a-maz-ing. We had the 3 course prix fixe lunch. It started with in-house baked sealt-rosemary breadsticks, in house baked bread, and in house made sea salt butter. The waiters present your food to you in perfect form, making sure your flatware is appropriate, and that you know all the delectable components to your dish. Very much like how the chefs present their dishes on Top Chef. For my appetizer I had the yellowfin Tuna Tartare which was to die for. It was wrapped in a thick jasmine rice paper and finished with cilantro oil and a soy foam. Um AMAZING. AJ had the goat cheese ravioli with wild mushrooms and it was in this insane sauce. The raviolis melted in your mouth. Mmmm baby. For the entree, I had the halibut with pea puree and carrot risotto. Everything was so uniquely presented and perfectly cooked. AJ had a homemade pasta with braised lamb sauce. We finished with dessert which we shared. First for our anniversary, they brought out an orange-mint semi-fredo which was quite refreshing. Then there was Textures of Chocolate. Yes the dessert was called Textures of Chocolate which is as fancy and delish as it sounds. It was a chocolate ganache that you could mix with other chocolate textures on the plate, such as chocolate syrup, chocolate ice cream, cocoa powder, crunch chocolate and more. It was very interesting and wonderful. Lastly was my favorite-- cheesecake with sour cherries. The cheesecake was deconstructed which was an unexpected twist. The flavors were spot on and I loved the cherry ice cream! Seriously every dish was a presented in an original and unexpected way. Yet the flavors were spot on and divine. I'm SO glad we made it to Volt! It was a totally fab experience!2. Good Stuff Eatery. Another place we ate in DC that I am still drooling over is Good Stuff Eatery. Owned by another Top Chef contestant, Chef Spike Mendelsohn, Good Stuff Eatery is like slow food fast. Good food. Farm fresh, organic, earth friendly ingredients in a fast food, burger joint set up. If fast food was like this everywhere, I would not hate it so much. So Good Stuff is a burger place and AJ said the burger was legit. But y'all I ate the "Vegetarians Are People Too Shroom Burger" and it was AWESOME. Fresh baked bun. Pickles. Good Stuff sauce. Lettuce, tomato, onion. And the piece de resistance....A portabello mushroom cap, stuffed with cheese, rolled in panko and flash fried as the patty. WOW. Eating this was so satisfying and tasted so meaty. But it was vegetarian. But it had all the great classic burger flavors. It was GREAT. I only wish I could eat it all summer long!!! I hope Spike will expand Good Stuff and bring it to LA. I know I always say I hate chain restaurants...but Good Stuff Eatery seems like the kinda chain I could get behind, if did in fact become one! I love the principles of this restaurant and I love the food! Oh and I almost forgot...they have AMAZING milkshakes! The toasted marshmellow shake is mind-blowing. Seriously.3. Landing Safely. I love traveling. LOVE it. But flying? It makes me a little nervous. Not like I need to take a valium nervous. Just a tad nervous. I actually never used have nerves at all. But when I met AJ and fell in love, all the sudden I'd get nervous flying. I got afraid of something bad happening. I think it's because I love him so much and I love our life and I'm so excited for our future...so I don't want that to end...you know? But I try to disregard these nerves. Because I know deep down it will probably be okay. And life is about LIVING and not being afraid. And I should see as much of the world as I can during my short time here! I know all this. I do. But still. The whole flight there is always this little pit in my stomach. So when the plane touches down and we are all safe and good, I get really happy. I thank the universe and feel a big sigh of relief! Anyone else feel this way about flying? Anyone? Bueller?4. Seeing my kitties. Basically from the second we left for DC I missed my cats. Call me lame. Call me a crazy cat lady. Tell me to get a life. Whatever, ain't no thang. Cause I know that me and my kitties got something very special going on. Every night in DC was hard to sleep. I am so used to having my nightly kitty-cuddles and feeling them curled up by my feet while I sleep. On the plane back to Long Beach I kept thinking "almost time to see those sweeties!" So finally we were home. And I saw there sweet faces. And I was so very happy! And ever since I have been in cuddle city. Because apparently they really missed me too. Like I said, we have a special thang going on, those kit-kats and I!5.  My Seriously Amazing Clients. Besides being creative and getting to take photographs for a living, one of my favorite parts of my job is getting to meet,  know and work with so many amazing people. My clients continually blow me away with their kindness, and with their warm and genuine hearts. This week especially so. Pam & Justin's wedding in Maryland was so lovely and so fun. I truly felt like I was amongst friends all day...and honestly that's because I was! Then there was Ryan & Kristina's wedding on Saturday. Another couple who are just so welcoming and caring and feel like old friends. I was so giddy all day long for them! Then I came hone to such a sweet thank you note from the lovely Serene & Mike! When my couples take the time to thank me, it means so much! Because really, I thank all of you for allowing me to live such a dream! And lastly, there was the sweet Patricia & Matt on Sunday. They bought me & AJ a funnel cake after our session, which was so unnecessary but oh so very very awesome!!! And it was great to just chill with them over deep fried goodness and develop even more of a friendship. You see, 4 days packed with wonderful client interaction that melts my heart! I really am so ecstatic about all my weddings and all my clients, and so thankful for everyone of you. I can't wait to see who the next generation of awesome clients will be! But I'm sure they will rock just as much! Because I really do run my business based on the philosophy that my clients should be friends! It's just so good that way!