With freezing temperatures forecast for Saturday and a 40 percent chance of snow on Sunday, its a perfect weekend to stay inside. Fortunately, there are plenty of events including the Washington Auto Show and Alexandria Restaurant Week. And of course, the biggest sports event of the year, Super Bowl XLIX, takes place in sunny Arizona on Sunday. Even if you couldn’t afford tickets, sit in front of a big screen TV and pretend you did.

This weekend, Silver, Blue, Yellow and Green line trains will operate on a regular weekend schedule every 12 minutes. Red and Orange line trains will operate on a regular weekend schedule every 12 minutes on Sunday. On Saturday, Red and Orange line trains will run every 16 minutes. Red line trains will run every 10 minutes between Shady Grove and Silver Spring from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.

Nick Bullock, left, takes a ride with Haley Gauley in a 2015 Wrangler Unlimited on an off- road display called Camp Jeep at the Washington Auto Show. Gauley is a representative at the Jeep display. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

Washington Auto Show

More than 700 new cars from more than 42 manufacturers are on display at the Washington Auto Show filling two floors at the convention center. You can test drive Mazdas, Toyotas, Kias, Scions and others; and be driven through an obstacle course at Camp Jeep during the show’s final weekend.

Through Feb. 1 from noon-10 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday and and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW. Admission is $12 for adults and $5 for children 6-12 online or at the door. Children 5 and under are free. Active and veteran military and seniors 65 and older receive $2 off weekends.

Alexandria’s winter restaurant week is happening Jan. 23-Feb. 1. (Graphic: Visit Alexandria)

Alexandria Restaurant Week

Alexandria Restaurant Week is wrapping up at more than 60 participating restaurants. For $35 choose from a dinner for two or a three-course prix-fixe menu, depending upon each restaurant’s special offer. At a range of locales, from fine dining establishments to casual neighborhood favorites, guests savor the flavors of Alexandria’s distinctive collection of eateries. This year, a handful of restaurants are also offering lunch specials ranging from $10-$20.

Through Feb. 1 at more than 60 participating restaurants in Alexandria. Price: $35 for dinner for two or a three-course prix-fixe dinner. Click here to see specific restaurant’s offers and menus.

Sixth Annual Meat Week

Meat Week is Jan. 25-Feb. 1. (Graphic: Meat Week)

For the sixth year, Washington barbecue lovers will gather to enjoy slow-smoked meats across the Washington region during Meat Week. Simply show up at the host venue and look for the Meat Week flags. Participants order and pay for their own food and drinks and then join in the festivities with other Meat Week attendees. Most host venues will be offering Meat Week specials. The food truck face-off has been dropped this year.

Through Feb. 1 as follows: Friday – Rocklands Barbeque & Grilling Co., 7 p.m.; Saturday – Acre 121 for lunch at noon and Denizens Brewing Co. for dinner; Sunday – Mr. P’s Ribs & Fish, noon.
 
 

Like Water Through Stone

Like Water Through Stone will be shown at American University. (Photo: Aleandre Baxter)

In the remote Espinhaço Mountains of Minas Gerais, four young women approach the end of their sheltered and relatively calm adolescence. In Like Water Through Stone, filmmaker Marília Rocha sensitively recounts their coming-of-age, even as the outside world begins to intrude. These authentic, unsentimental women seem compatible with the raw beauty of their landscape.

Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Malsi Doyle and Michael Foreman Theater, McKinley Builidng, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Admission is FREE! Parking is free on campus after 5 p.m. or ride the free shuttle from the Tenlytown Metro.

MacBeth

University of Maryland students will perform MacBeth this weekend. (Photo: James Levin/The Diamondback)

In this daring adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic MacBeth, an ensemble of four actors will transform The Clarice into the deadly corridors of Dunsinane Castle. In this production, directed by School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies artists Riley Bartlebaugh and Sean Patrick Forsythe, three witches plague Macbeth in his torturous afterlife and force him to revisit his egregious wrongs, which manifest through the traditional play format. Instead of watching scenery change from a seated position, the audience adopts a more exploratory role and travels from the battlefield to the halls of Scottish castles — or in this case, from the Cafritz Foundation Theater to the light lab — along with the cast. Hallways, stairwells and passages between rooms are fair game as well, for Macbeth, at least in this production, cannot be confined to a single space.

Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 31 at 3 and 7:30 p.m. at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland, Admission is FREE. Tickets will be distributed 30 minutes before curtain time on a first-come basis.

Tour the National Museum of Women in the Arts free on Sunday from noon-5 p.m. (Photo: NVMA)

Community Day

The first Sunday of every month is free Community Day at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Be sure to check out NMWA’s special exhibition, Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea, which delves into the concept of womanhood represented by the Virgin Mary, as well as the social and sacred functions the image has served through time.

Feb. 1 from noon-5 p.m. at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
 
 

Super Bowl XLIX

Katy Perry will perform during halftime at the Super Bowl. (Photo: NFL)

The New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. Many bars and restaurants are having Super Bowl viewing parties. Others will watch the game – or maybe just the commercials – in homes across the country. Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz headline the halftime show with Idina Menzel singing the “Star Spangled Banner” before kickoff.

Feb. 1 with kickoff at 6:30 p.m. at the University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The pregame show begins at 1 p.m. on NBC (locally WRC channel 4) with the game broadcast beginning at 6 p.m.

Sugar and Champagne

Leashed dogs are welcome at the Washington Humane Society’s “Champagne & Sugar” on Feb. 4. (Photo: Rich Kessler)

The annual Washington Humane Society dessert and champagne reception, Sugar and Champagne, returns. The event honors local animal crusaders while raising funds to help care for the homeless pet population in the nation’s capital. This celebration of all things sweet, showcases the D.C. area’s most talented pastry chefs. Enjoy delectable confections complemented by some of the world’s finest sparkling wines. The VIP Chefs’ Tasting Room presents an exclusive savory gathering prepared by the finest chefs of the national capital region. A new Exclusive Experience provides special guests with a unique opportunity to make their own desserts, learn to concoct magnificent drinks, view exceptional demonstrations and try items not offered to any other guests. Join host Chef Todd Gray at the Exclusive Experience as he delights guests with a liquid nitrogen “dip-n-dots” demonstration station. It also includes sugar pulling demonstrations by Co Co Sala, the opportunity to hand craft truffles with the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center’s pastry chef Shane Goettlicher and exclusive drinks from Cava Mezza’s Jason Gehring. Leashed dogs are welcome.

Feb. 4 from 7-9 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $90. VIP Chef’s Tasting Room Tickets are $150 and Exclusive Experience tickets are $250. Tickets are available here.

With only 19 days til Christmas, there’s plenty of holiday events on tap to fill your weekend. If you aren’t out shopping, you can ring in the holiday season as Rosslyn lights up on Friday or Old Town at the Alexandria light up boat parade. There are plenty of bazaars to pick up a special Christmas present or sing along at one of the many holiday concerts.

Now through the holidays, Metro is curtailing weekend track work. This weekend, Red, Silver, Blue, Yellow, Green line trains will operate on a regular weekend schedule with trains every 12 minutes. The Orange Line will operate on a regular weekend schedule on Sunday. On Saturday, trains will run every 16 minutes instead of every 12 minutes.

Decorated boats sail in Alexandria Harbor last year. (Photo: R. Kennedy/ACVA)

Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights

The 15th annual Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights features live music and festive activities. Santa is scheduled to arrive on a fireboat around 4:15 p.m. in the water taxi slip near the Chart House restaurant. He will visit each floor of the Torpedo Factory to welcome guests. Throughout the evening the Torpedo Factory will offer free fresh-baked cookies and drinks, a choir singing and a gourmet hot chocolate bar. Yelp will host a hands-on activity making luminaries. At sundown, Alexandria’s harbor lights up as dozens of illuminated boats cruise the Potomac River at the historic waterfront, led by Alexandria’s fireboat Vigilant and Washington, D.C.’s fireboat John Glenn.The Waterskiing Santa will have a boat in the parade, to celebrate his upcoming show in Alexandria on Christmas Eve. The boats are dressed to impress a panel of judges who will award prizes in a dozen categories including Best in Show, Thinking Outside the Christmas Box and Hardiest Souls.

Dec. 6 from 4-9 p.m. at the Alexandria Marina, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria. Admission is FREE!

Rosslyn Holiday Market and Skyline Lighting Ceremony

Arlington buildings will light up tonight for the holidays. (Photo: Downtown Decorating)

Thirty-five vendors will be at the Rosslyn Holiday Market, which will showcase many local and renowned vendors who will be offering a variety of unique and high-quality gifts. It’s the one-stop shop for all your holiday needs. Find something for everyone from your boss to your pets and don’t forget yourself. As a special treat, at the close of Friday’s Market, there will be a ceremony for the lighting up of Rosslyn properties and the skyline. From 4:30-5:30 p.m. there will be a performance by Beltway Brass followed by remarks from 5:30-5:45 p.m. and the rooftop lighting at 5:45 p.m.

Dec. 5 and 6 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at 1500 wilson Blvd., Rosslyn. Admission is FREE!

Thip Khao grand opening

Thip Khao the new Laotian restaurant in Columbia Heights opens at 5 p.m. Friday. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

Thip Khao, chef Seng Luangrath’s Laotian restaurant finally opens in Columbia Heights after a few delays including an unexpected trip to Laos to visit her ill father. The D.C. offshoot of Bangkok Golden, the Thai and Laotian restaurant in a Falls Church strip mall, will focus exclusively on Laotian food. Though Thai and Laotian cuisine share many of the same ingredients — lemon grass, shrimp paste, galanga root — the main difference comes in the preparation. In Laos, cooking methods are less advanced, so there’s more stewing, steaming and grilling instead of wok cooking. Following the Vietnam War, Luangrath fled to refugee camps in the Laotian capitol of Vientiane with her family where she learned recipes from the northern and southern regions of Laos. Read our review.

Dec. 5 at 5 p.m. at 3462 14th St. NW. Thip Khao is open Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5-10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5-11 p.m.

Handel’s Messiah

The Washington National Cathedral’s choir sings Handel’s Messiah. (Photo: Washington National Cathedral)

The Washington National Cathedral’s Choir and Baroque Orchestra perform Handel’s Messiah nightly this weekend. The National Cathedral provides the perfect setting for some of the season’s most joyous music, performed by a team of international soloists with the Cathedral’s own combined choirs and Baroque orchestra. There is no better way to start off your holiday season. The concert includes all three parts of Messiah and runs just shy of three hours.

Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 6 and 7 at 4 p.m. at the Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Tickets are $25-$85 online or at the door.

Smithsonian Holiday Festival

Holiday events will be happening at all Smithsonian museums this weekend. (Photo: Smithsonian Institution)

Celebrate the season with the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian Holiday Festival will get you in the holiday spirit with musical performances, films, book signings, trunk shows, crafts for kids and more. Events include a family holiday photo beginning at 10 a.m. at the American History Museum, special holiday foods beginning at 10 a.m. at the American History Museum, freeze dried space food testing beginning at 11 a.m. at the Air and Space Museum and a holiday card workshop at 1 p.m. at the Postal Museum. Check the website for the whole schedule of events.

Dec. 6 and 7 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at various Smithsonian museums. Admission is FREE!

Swedish Christmas Bazaar

Swedish goods will be on sale at the House of Sweden Saturday. (Photo: SWEA)

Shop, eat, and win prizes at the Swedish Christmas Bazaar, the official Swedish Christmas celebration in Washington, D.C., hosted by SWEA Washington D.C., supported by the Swedish Embassy and House of Sweden. Experience Swedish Christmas traditions and enjoy excellent Swedish baked goods! Enjoy a café with home baked goods and Swedish sandwiches, raffle with great prizes including a round-trip ticket from Washington, D.C. to Stockholm, Santa Lucia Procession singing Swedish Christmas carols and Swedish arts and crafts; crystal, textiles, artwork, decorations and much more on sale.

Dec. 6 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at House of Sweden, 2900 K St. NW. Admission is FREE!

Jingle on Lake Anne holiday event

Santa arrive on a lake barge at Lake Anne Plaza. (Photo: Lake Anne Merchants)

Lake Anne Plaza invites people of all ages to head down to the lake for some warm merriment and holiday cheer as they host their annual family-friendly holiday event Jingle on Lake Anne. Community organizers and plaza retailers will host a variety of festive activities including a visit from Santa who will arrive at noon on a lake barge, strolling carolers, a petting zoo, music, wine tastings, merchant specials, children’s crafts, cookie & ornament decorating, holiday arts & crafts market, holiday entertainment and much more.

Dec. 6 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Lake Anne Plaza’s waterfront, 1609 Washington Plaza, Reston. Admission is FREE!

Holiday open house and Christkindlmarkt

The front parlor of the Heurich House Museum. (Photo: Heurich House Museum)

The Heurich House Museum welcomes the public to celebrate the winter season during its annual holiday open house and Christkindlmarkt. The museum will honor the Heurich family’s German heritage by recreating a traditional German public Christmas market in its garden. This holiday shopping event, Dupont Circle’s only holiday market, will feature goods from local artisans, including jewelers, ceramicists, chocolatiers, coffee roasters and makers of housewares, baby clothes and more. Visitors who enter the open house may stroll through the festively decorated historic mansion on a self-guided tour, enjoy the sounds of live holiday musical performances in the conservatory and bid on traditional Nutcrackers during a silent auction. The museum will be collecting new and gently used children’s books for a local children’s charity book drive and guests can create ornaments to adorn the museum’s holiday tree. Café Berlin will sell Glühwein, sausages, strudel and other authentic German treats.

Dec. 6 and 7 from noon-6 p.m. at the Heurich House Museum, 1307 Connecticut Ave. NW. Admission to the museum and Christkindlmarkt is $15 for adults and $5 for childen in advance or at the door. Tickets for the Christkindlmarkt only are $5 and will only be available at the door.

Holiday Sing-A-Long

Sing along with your favorite Christmas carols withl local choirs and the United States Marine Corps Band at Wolf Trap on Saturday. (Photo: Ginny Filer)

Once a year, Wolf Trap invites local choirs, the United States Marine Corps Band and you into the Filene Center for a free holiday sing-a-long. Bring a candle and your best ugly sweater and warm up your vocal cords for an evening of songs like Silent Night and Jingle Bells. Wolf Trap will accept donations to Toys for Tots before the event.

Dec. 6 starting at 4 p.m. at Wolf Trap, Filene Center, 1551 Wolf Trap Road, Vienna. Admission is FREE!
 
 

Rockin’ the Holiday

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington performs is rendition of Jingle Bells. (Photo: Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington)

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington brings their Christmas show Rockin’ the Holidays to U Street this year. Expect traditional and nontraditional takes on seasonal classics. The show features 220 singers performing signature holiday classics and new arrangements of seasonal favorites. Songs include Little Drummer Boy, Silent Night, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). The concert will also include dancers, costumes, soloists and an appearance by Santa Claus.

Dec 6 at 8 p.m., Dec. 13 at 3 and 8 p.m., and Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. Tickets are $25-$59.

Herndon Holiday Arts & Crafts Show

Shoppers check out holiday items at the Herndon Holiday Arts & Crafts Show. (Photo: Town of Herndon)

More than 80 artisans and craftspeople will exhibit and sell their work at the 36th Herndon Holiday Arts & Crafts Show sponsored by the Town of Herndon Department of Parks and Recreation. A variety of handcrafted items and fine art will be on sale including wreaths, quilts, jewelry, Christmas ornaments, decorations, original artwork, photography, stained glass and more.

Dec. 7 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Herndon Community Center, 814 Ferndale Ave., Herndon. Admission and parking are FREE!

Bendy Brunch participants practice yoga among art. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

Bendy Brunch

Release all your stress from the busy work week with this trifecta of art, yoga and brunch. At Bendy Brunch, hosted by Grip The Mat, you can explore yourr doshas while sipping mimosas and admiring the beautiful space at Blind Whino. Think of it as a mixed-level, sensory yoga class featuring art, yoga, food and drinks.

Dec. 7 at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at Blind Whino, 700 Delaware Ave. SW. Cost is $35 online or at the door.

Logan Circle Holiday House Tour

Tour Victorian homes decorated for the holidays in Logan Circle on Sunday. (Photo: logancircle.org)

The Logan Circle Community Association will host its 36th annual Logan Circle Holiday House Tour. The holiday house tour will take guests through some of Logan Circle’s most memorable and breathtaking interiors and will feature a variety of musicians and singers lending holiday cheer, as well as the always-warming and welcoming Wassail Reception at Studio Theatre. Guests will find block after block of 19th-century Victorian residences restored to their original grandeur amid soaring contemporary condominiums, together creating a community unlike any other in Washington, D.C.

Dec. 7 from 1-5 p.m. at Logan Circle. Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door. The starting point is the Studio Theater, 1501 14th St. NW at P Street).

Indie Arcade

The American Art Museum’s Kogod Courtyard is turned into a video arcade on Sunday. (Photo: Smithsonian American Art Museum)

The American Art Museum teams up with MAGFest and American University’s Game Lab to transform the Kogod Courtyard into an Indie Arcade complete with such classic games as Pac Man, Tron, Star Wars and Donkey Kong. There will also be indie games from local chapters of the International Game Developers Association and the chance to make games using the Hirshhorn Museum’s ArtLab+.

Dec. 7 from 1-7 p.m. at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Kogod Courtyard, Eight and G Streets NW. Admission is FREE!

A Collection of Funny True Holiday Stories

Story League, Washington D.C.’s home for funny stories, offers you Presents: A Collection of Funny True Holiday Stories about inappropriate gifts. Featuring Andy Christie, Robin Gelfenbien, Leslie Goshko, JiJi Lee, Adam Ruben, Jennifer Tress, D’Arcee Neal, Valentina Stackl and SM Shrake.

Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. at the Kennedy Center’s Theater Lab, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are FREE and will be available beginning at 5:15 p.m.

Winternational

Join the Ronald Reagan Builidng for its third annual Winternational celebration. Explore the different ways in which the world celebrates the winter season through food, culture, customs and traditions. The event will feature an international bazaar featuring 20 embassy exhibitors and artisans, a gingerbread cookie decorating station, complimentary cookies, hot cocoa and apple cider, a sampling of global bites and cultural performances. Participating embassies include Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Fiji, Guinea, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, League of Arab States, Nepal, Organization of American States, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Uruguay.

Dec. 10 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the atrium of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE, but preregistration is required.

Whether you are treating yourself to a night in or trying to impress that special someone with your non-existent cooking skills, there’s a new service that will take care of all the hard work and make you look like a gourmet.

ScratchDC makes meal preparation easy. They take the hassle out of creating incredible meals at home. Monday through Thursday you can go to their website and order meals for two from about $27 to $33. They take most of the work out of dinner – they cut, chop, peel, measure, marinate and package all the ingredients into green packaging and deliver it to your home and office for you to cook that evening. All you add is heat and maybe water.

My bundle of garlic shrimp with jalapeno cheddar grits and snow peas from ScratchDC (Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

American University graduate Ryan Hansan, who grew up in the D.C. burbs, started the service last August. Every morning, Hansan and his team of four others chop, marinate, measure and bundle the ingredients for that day’s recipe in their kitchen at National Harbor. Then Hansan or another of the guys personally delivers each package between 3-9 p.m. They originally delivered only to parts of Northwest and Capitol Hill, but have expanded to Northeast and into Alexandria and Arlington.

They’ll also deliver to your office or leave your package in a cooler you supply on your porch. Office deliveries can earn a discount of 10-20 percent if multiple people get their deliveries at the same address.

Wide choices

The meals vary day-to-day and week-to-week, with the next week’s menu posted on Friday. Meals vary from burgers to ethnic meals and everything in between such as meals like chicken tikka masala, mozzarella & prosciutto pizza, phyllo wrapped tuna rolls and balsamic flank steak. There are also often vegetarian meals or vegetarian options.

Each morning, the ScratchDC team starts with fresh, mostly locally-sourced organic ingredients. You receive the individually-packaged ingredients and an instruction card in each bundle. Just follow the directions boiling, baking and frying and in about 20-30 minutes you have a tasty meal without having to fight the lines at the market.

Each bundle includes all the prepared ingredients and directions (left). The finished meal (right). (Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

Trying it out

Last week, I tried the garlic shrimp with jalapeno cheddar grits and snow peas. My ingredients arrived right on time packed in a brown box tied with a twine bow. All the ingredients, including the butter and salt and pepper, were individually packaged in clear biodegradable corn starch containers or a Ziploc bag. The package also included a sheet with the directions on it. All I needed to complete my meal for two was a pot with a lid, a skillet, one cup of water and a spoon. There was even a telephone number included in case I got stuck cooking or had a question.

The instructions were easy enough that even a non-cook could make a great home-cooked meal. The recipe was so specific that it explained that medium heat was between 5 and 6. The directions were almost spot on, although the grits weren’t creamy, but more like cornbread batter (though still tasty). The ingredients produced a meal for two with generous portions including 11 medium size shrimp each. Enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day.

ScratchDC purchases their ingredients from suppliers and farms that use organic, sustainable and humane practices, and tell you where your food comes from. On the back of each bundle’s recipe card is a list of all the ingredients and their source. They get most of their in-season produce and herbs from Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative, one of the largest farming co-ops in the Mid-Atlantic based in Lancaster, Pa. Most their beef, pork, lamb and duck comes from Baltimore’s Fells Point Meats, and their poultry comes primarily from family farms all over Pennsylvania via Murray’s Chicken.

Give it a try and save!

Want to know more? Check out the ScratchDC site or follow them on Facebook or Twitter. Want to try ScratchDC? They have offered DC on Heels readers a 15 percent discount off your first order! Just enter the promo code DConHeels at checkout until June 21, 2013.

Have you tried ScratchDC? Let us know what you think or tell us after you use your 15 percent off.