We made it through the first full week of 2017. So far so good. It’s also the second installation of “This week on Instagram,” and I have so many things to share! I did a ton of eating out and not as much recipe testing. I’m really excited to share my delicious experiences at the restaurants in the DMV (that’s DC, Southern Maryland, and Northern Virginia).

I found this amazingly easy recipe for dog treats Best part? I already had everything in my kitchen. I couldn’t find my bone-shaped cookie cutter, so I went with stars, which actually yields more pieces to break off when you’re teaching new tricks.

Did I mentioned we have a dog? Everyone, meet Leia. Really, she’s my brother’s dog. What’s his is mine, right? Tell me she’s not the most adorable thing in the world.

I just found out someone at work is going through a really rough breakup. She’s the sweetest, and I wanted to bring her a little bit of joy. So I decided to pull together a Cheer Up Kit. Contents include: Bottle of Wine, Godiva Chocolate, Buddha Board, Instant Happy Journal, and a card with a little note inside. I left it at her desk and she was the happiest I had seen her in a while. It’s the little things.

I had my very first ramen experience, and it wasn’t ramen from the 10 for $1 packets. Chaplin’s in DC is an interesting place – I’d say more hipster than authentic Japanese. I highly recommend checking it out. Their cocktails are fun too.

It seems like I’ve been on the Asian food bandwagon this week. With looming snow on the way (it was a false alarm on the snow front Thursday night by the way), it was the perfect freezing cold day for steamy Pho.

We got our first snow of the season! It was beautiful. Unfortunately it fell on a Saturday, so we didn’t get a snow day.

OH MY GOSH. Hen Quarter is amazing. I loved every bit of it from the biscuits, to the fried chicken skins, to the chicken and waffles. And I ended off that dinner with a spiced hot chocolate, because it was 19 F out!

I love this little gem of a place in Annandale. They have a mix of Swiss and German food, and their berner rösti (potato pancake) is yummy, especially with the melted cheese and poached egg. You’ve got to get on their bread bandwagon too. Yums.

Until next week …. follow along on Instagram