• The $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit was extended earlier this week. The credit will now run through April 2010. [WBJ]

• Park Place, the mixed-use development across from the Georgia Avenue Metro station in Petworth, will feature a Thai restaurant, a diner, and a wireless store. [UrbanTurf]

• The city council has agreed to redevelop a parcel of land in Southeast into a new fire station. The space is also expected to feature office and retail space. [DCMud]

On Monday night, Coppi’s Organic co-owner Nori Amaya was found dead in her apartment, according to NBCWashington.com. Police ruled that the 38-year-old, who owned the U Street restaurant with her brother, Carlos, was strangled.

D’Acqua, a seafood-centric restaurant in downtown DC, shut its doors for good on Friday after its landlord proposed a rent increase, reports the Washington Business Journal’s Missy Frederick. Chef Enzo Febbraro’s other two businesses, a mini D’Acqua in the Verizon Center and the recently opened Forno in Ashburn, aren’t affected by the closure. Febbraro is scouting locations to reopen D’Acqua.

Ping Pong Dim Sum, which has 16 storefronts in England, signed a deal in July for an outpost in DC’s Penn Quarter, its first US location. The company said Tuesday the opening is set for December.

For our complete guide to events happening this weekend, click here. Also, check out our calendar of events.

Friday, November 6
Once upon a time, you were a Lego master, constructing sprawling cities, fire stations, and pirate ships until your older brother kicked them to pieces. Get building again today at Arundel Mills mall (7000 Arundel Mills Cir., Hanover ) as it celebrates the grand opening of the Lego store. Join a top Lego architect to build a 12-foot Christmas tree. The event is free and runs today until 7 and starts back up tomorrow at 11. We promise your brother won’t be involved.

College of William and Mary alumna [Ed. Note: Tribe Pride!] Thao Nguyen knows how to rock. She and her alternative folk/rock band, Thao With the Get Down Stay Down, will be back on their home turf tonight when they play on the Black Cat mainstage . Also playing are the Portland Cello Project and David Shultz. Tickets are $15. Show starts at 9.

A picture’s worth a thousand words, so when five emerging local photographerss display their work at the Rock & Roll Hotel, there’ll be more than enough words to go around. As part of FotoWeek DC, the shutterbugs will exhibit their art tonight from 6 to 11. Free.

More>> After Hours Blog | Arts & Events | Happy Hour Finder | Calendar of Events 

>> See more Knock Out photos in our slideshow here 

What: Knock Out Abuse Against Women 16th anniversary fundraiser.

Where: Ritz-Carlton, Washington, DC.

When: Thursday, November 5.

Ticket price: $500.

Attire: Cocktail or “groovy ’60s attire.” Lots of women got into the spirit with sequined minidresses, psychedelic prints, headbands, and touches of tie-dye. More than one sported afro wigs, and several wore perfect bouffants that would have made Jackie O. jealous.

Who: The sold-out gala hosted more than 750 Washington women. The more notable names in the crowd included Channel 9’s Andrea Roane, who played emcee for the evening; Knock Out founders Cheryl Masri and Jill Sorensen; actress and domestic-abuse survivor Robin Givens; socialite blogger Pamela Sorensen; and two of Bravo’s Real Housewives of DC, Mary Amons and Lynda Erkiletian. Among the handful of lucky men in attendance were fashionisto and founder of Evolution Look modeling Paul Wharton and hair guru Erwin Gomez. Hunk-of-beef Clinton Portis was scheduled to attend, but word around the party was that the Redskins star got sick and had to cancel.

Batik
Gaithersburg

My fantasy is a small restaurant, thoughtfully and tastefully designed, with good jazz as background music and, best of all, offering three-star food at one-star prices.

Despite the adage that says be careful what you wish for, we found it! It’s a new Asian-fusion restaurant in Gaithersburg. My report card would read like this:

Pork skewer (served with rice and pickled veggies): excellent.
Noodle dish (large enough for two): excellent.
Dumplings (in light, delicious wrappers): excellent.

The food cries out for a nice cold beer, but the menu says “beer and wine coming soon.” I fear that by the time that becomes a reality, the lines will be snaking out the door and the prices will be forced upward.

But for now, I’ll just savor and enjoy this gem of an eating experience.

My rating: **** stars

Big week in Congress: Pelosi releases a healthcare bill for all to read, resulting in the usual grumbles about how long it is. To which we reply, would you rather have a bill one could scrawl on the back of a Big Mac wrapper? Luckily our representatives, brilliant, biting humorists that they are, are able to see the funny side.

In other news, Pete Hoekstra is on Huckabee, Joe Wilson is making friends in Europe (don’t tell him they’re all socialists over there), Cynthia Lummis is hanging out with someone named “Hoppy” and Bob Latta is abusing the caps lock key. And happily, many representatives gathered outside the Capitol Building at the end of the week to protest the healthcare bill, resulting in yet more bad jokes for the weekend.

It might have been Halloween, but there were few costumes and not much candy up on the Hill. Apart from John Shimkus, who’s been inexplicably playing the part of a preacher all week.

Airline meals and security checkpoints notwithstanding, travel—or at least the idea of it—can be glamorous. Bring some of that class home with these pieces.

Get a cool taste of the coast with these chocolate-and-cream chandelier lampshades. Each six-inch parchment shade features a map of San Francisco in amber and slate-blue, and they’ll fit any Pottery Barn chandelier. The three-shade set is on sale for $23, down from $29.

More than 150 Redskins fans gathered at Union Jack’s British Pub in Ballston on Tuesday night to meet two of the team’s most beloved icons—and one of its most beleaguered players. For $98, fans at ESPN 980’s “A Night of Quarterbacks” could down Sam Adams beer, nibble on meatballs and drunken chicken, and put questions to the evening’s guests of honor: Sonny Jurgensen, Joe Theismann, and Jason Campbell.

As fans lined up to pose with the three quarterbacks, Rick “Doc” Walker, tight end for the Redskins 1988 Super Bowl championship team, stood by the bar, biting an unlit cigar. Asked how much of the season’s woes can be put on the management, he replied, “Players win or lose games. This team hasn’t proven to be skillful enough to get the job done.”

Doc placed his stogie in the ashtray and looked us in the eye when asked about the fan fracas at Fed Ex Field, where stadium security have confiscated critical signs directed at the team’s owner, Dan Snyder, or its top executive, Vinny Cerrato. “I don’t like anything that is restrictive,” he said. “But as a player, if a fan says something that crosses the line, I’d like to kick his ass, so I understand why [management is] doing it. The sign of a good fan base is how you react to the bad times. Once you only start cheering for wins, you become a Cowboys fan.”

A goddess-inspired wedding gown for under $100.  

The Do's and Don'ts of Wedding Etiquette. [courtesy Good Morning America]

Dealing with a fake wedding cake.   

With the groom a no-show, one Chicagoland bride turned her wedding into a senior citizens soirée. 

Offbeat Bride talks up wedding pins and buttons. 

Saturday, November 7
Envi Consulting & Associates cuts out the guesswork with its four-week wedding-planning series, “I Do It Myself.” The sessions will help brides and grooms steer through Washington’s wedding industry, offering tips on local professionals, trends, and keeping the big day affordable. Couples will receive expert advice, a course workbook, and a light lunch at each class. The series is $100 per couple and starts at 10:30 at Farmers & Fishers restaurant in Georgetown (3000 K St., NW).

Take a tour of your potential wedding locale at Foxchase Manor’s free bridal open house. Couples can check out the facilities (8310 Chatsworth Dr., Manassas; 703-369-3638) and visit the manor’s showroom, where there’ll be a variety of vendors. 11 AM.

Sunday, November 8
The Montgomery Parks Event Center challenged teams of bridal experts to develop plans for an elegant but economical wedding for 65 people costing less than $15,000. See what they came up with at Rockwood Manor (11001 MacArthur Blvd., Potomac), where the finished plans will be on display. Couples can get inspired from noon to 5.