Life is Good

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T17:16:00.002-05:00

Today is one of my favorite holidays! What could be better than pink, flowers, hearts, chocolate and love all in one day!? I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day <3

DC Food Part 2

2012-02-08T09:32:00.001-05:00

To see part one click here.

After I got my job offer last summer Haley and I celebrated at Cafe du Park. It such a beautiful place to eat. Definitely fancier than normal, but we were celebrating.

Love how cute it is. Inside the hotel they had a man playing the piano and fancy shops to wander around in.

French Onion soup is one of my favorites.

Presentation is huge to me. They did a great job. I probably won't be back anytime soon, but it was fun to try out and have a reason to go somewhere a little nicer.

Haley and I went to Dino's because she had a LivingSocial deal there. It's conveniently located and Haley loved her meal. Mine wasn't the best, but if you go to Dino's then be sure to eat the Bruschetta. This was definitely amazing even though the picture is a little trippy.

Good Stuff is a very classic DC place to eat. Even Obama goes there sometimes! You have to eat here while you're in DC.

Great burgers and the most amazing shakes.

Liberty Tavern is in Claredon and has great food. Haley and I still talk about this place all the time. Get their fries, they are amazing. We seriously sat there in silence as we inhaled them because we just couldn't focus on anything else.

Best.fries.ever.

Amazing pizza.

Delicious chicken. And their rolls are incredible too. We totally gorged ourselves here, but enjoyed every minute.

Ok, now on to Potbelly's. This is a chain sandwich company, but comes highly recommended by many of my East Coaster friends. Their sandwiches are quite delicious and I, like most people, recommend ordering "the wreck." I'm not typically a fan of hot sandwiches, but these really are delicious and very reasonably priced.

DC has no shortage of Cupcake shops. I've been trying to go to as many as possible and so far so good. There's one not too far from where I work called Crumbs that I just went to for the first time. To be honest I had low expectations but it was actually pretty amazing! I got the Milkshake flavored one (shown below) and just about died eating it! Vanilla and chocolate swirled together with a surprise center and cream cheese frosting. Yumm. And their cupcakes are HUGE, especially compared to Sprinkles and Georgetown.

While we are talking about desserts I need to mention Thomas Sweet in Georgetown. They're quite famous here in DC and rightfully so. I've tried their cookie dough ice cream and cookies and cream fudge - both delicious. I loved the ice cream and I think that's because there's a slight malt flavor to it.

Went to Georgetown scoops for a cupcake. At the time all they had was red velvet. It was decent, but I won't be back anytime soon.

Points for the cute heart on top.

Speaking of red velvet, here's Red Velvet the cupcake shop. They have good cupcakes and I enjoyed mine, but nothing super special.

I can't believe it's taken me so long to post this. I could have sworn I posted it a few months ago, but then I found it sitting in my drafts, weird. More posts to come!

Happy Chinese New Year

2012-02-06T16:40:00.000-05:00

My new roommate, Britt, lived overseas most of her life (South America and Asia). She attended High School in China and so to celebrate Chinese New Year we went to her friend's home in Silver Spring and made Chinese food! They lived in China together and invited about 12 other people who had either lived in China or had some sort of Asian association. I love celebrating any sort of holiday so this was a lot of fun.

Me learning to how to cook Chinese food! I'm just getting all sorts of Asian cooking exposure lately. The little dumplings were fun to make and even more fun to eat!

Part of the spread - check out that fish! Eww. I guess they were going for authentic. The other dishes were all delicious though.

And not only did we enjoy Chinese food, but we also watched part of the movie "Shower" which actually seemed equal parts interesting and strange. It's all in Chinese and a majority of the movie seems to take place in public bath houses. One day I want to watch the whole thing start to finish because I really enjoy foreign films. We also watched (and some sang) to this little gem. Watch it once or twice and it will be permanently stuck in your head.

Happy belated Chinese New Year! It's the year of the dragon, which is supposedly the luckiest year in the Chinese Zodiak. Awesome.

Bitter is the New Black

2012-02-06T15:48:00.000-05:00

About: "This is the story of how a haughty former sorority girl went from having a household income of almost a quarter-million dollars to being evicted from a ghetto apartment...It's a modern Greek tragedy, as defined by Roger Dunkle in The Classical Origins of Western Culture: a story in which 'the central character, called a tragic protagonist or hero suffers some serious misfortune which is not accidental and therefore meaningless, but is significant in that the misfortune is logically connected.' In other words? She had it coming."

I bought this book on Amazon after Haley raved about it to me. I think Jen, the author, would be a fun friend to have - she's definitely full of life and has lots of crazy stories, but I didn't find her particularly hilarious. More than anything she's just mastered the art of sarcasm and a snarky sense of humor. But overall the book kept me entertained and I'll probably read the sequel. This would be a good book to take to the pool or beach, but overall it's not a must-read.

Quotes:

Page 59, "Or how about all the buffoons who drive buses in this city? The few times I've ridden the 56 route, the driver acts like he's doing me a favor if he comes to a complete stop when it's time to exit. Yeah, sorry, Manuel, but it's kind of hard for me to tuck and roll in a Calvin Klein cigarette skirt. No wonder I always take cabs!"

Page 137, "I follow her to the room where the rest of the new volunteers have gathered for orientation. Again, I'm the only well-dressed person here. Why is that? Do these freaks enjoy looking like the creatures from the bar scene in Star Wars? Regardless, it's charity, so I'm going to be on my best behavior and not make fun of the mutants. Maybe I'll even try to be friendly."

Page 223, "I break into a cold sweat, as it dawns on me that everyone else in this building is planning to run 26.2 miles on Sunday. They're looking at me wondering how on earth I'm going to compete in this race! With each step I take, I feel cellulite blossoming on my arms, my stomach, and my calves. Stop it! I think my chin just multiplied and my thighs inflated. No! Deflate! Deflate!...Eventually someone in a Just Do IT t-shirt asks me, 'How's your training going?' 'Great. I find carb-loading Big Macs and Hershey bars right before the race really helps me achieve my personal best,' I reply. An awkward silence falls over the group while they stare down at the hundred dollar running shows. 'You guys understand I'm kidding, right? I'm just picking up the packet for a friend,' I add. They break out into a relieved (and highly insulting) laughter.'...At this point, every single person on the south end of the exhibit hall is watching me. So I pull the Twix bar out of my bag and begin to masticate loudly and obnoxiously. I do an exaggerated waddle up to the T-shirt area and see the lines are broken down by size. I wave a chocolate-coated hand at the volunteer and shout in a faux-New York accent, 'Yo, yuh, you, little girlie. You got dese shirts in triple XLs? Gotta make sure it covers all my beauty-ful curves.' Karen Carpenter II meekly raises an emaciated finger in the direction of the biggest shirts and I'm off."

Page 241, "Does she think I'm completely stupid? I may have arrived here in a yellow vehicle today, but it was a cab, not the short bus. Is she afraid if I can't find the bathroom, I'll whiz in the coat closet?"

Page 242, "I scrub the desk's surface, drawers, and cabinets with the unopened bottle of Fantastik I found buried under a pile of month-old newspapers in the corner of her work space. The paper towels turn black with my very first pass. I bet she's out sick because she caught Ebola from her desk."

Page 253, "Lemme see if I've got this straight. You want amenities, safety, and affordability?Easy enough. Pick two."

Page 293, Her response to a hate mail letter is too long to type, but it's great.

Miso Hungry

2012-02-05T20:44:00.001-05:00

Haley and the Glenns (Kelly and Bill) both in lived Japan for a number of years and share of a love of Japanese culture and food. The Glenns are going to be leaving DC soon and moving to Utah (sad!!) and before they left Haley wanted to make them some Japanese food. I was lucky enough to get invited to this feast :)

Here is chef Haley working her magic in Kelley's kitchen.
Chef Kelley cooking too. They are such great cooks.

And here's me - proof that I actually helped. But really I mostly supervised and stirred. Although I think I learned enough that I could make it on my own, even if it didn't taste quite as good.
This picture has two purposes - I actually caved in a bought colored pants! I love them far more than I thought I would. And also, my hair is getting long again - yay!
Haley's Yakisoba turned out better than even our beloved Kushi restaurant's. It's just that good. I really want some now as I'm writing this post actually.
The final product - Yakisoba, Katsu and curry over fancy Japanese rice that I am learning to appreciate. (Apparently Americans think all rice tastes the same).
Paula Deen Caramel Cake, courtesy of Kelley. At first we were skeptical of how it would turn out, but it was actually divine. Like, I could eat this every day of my life good. Thank you Kelly. And thank you Paula Deen, even if everyone is on your case for having diabetes. In fact, I'm probably going to get diabetes just from eating this, but it's so good I can't think about that right now.
Thank you Haley and Kelley for such a wonderful meal! It was delicious! And I'm excited to know how to make a couple of Japanese dishes now! PS. The title of this post is for you Haley :)

"After" Pictures

2012-01-29T16:08:00.002-05:00

It's taken me forever to post these pictures because I wanted to have my room completely finished before I posted the "after" shots, but then I realized that to get everything just how I want it will probably take months and so I should just post it as is. Besides, this is about the furniture, not the interior decor of the room. Still a lot left to change/add etc., but here's what I've got so far. What a difference a little black paint can make!

My closet is tiny and so I have to hang the clothes that don't fit inside out on the rack.
For a flash back at where this all started...in the basement with all disassembled furniture and me not really having a clue as to what I was doing.
Looking at these pictures reminds of how extremely happy I am to be done painting. Totally worth it though.
Making progress, but not quite there yet...
And then.... ta-da!

Room Makeover Story

2012-01-16T16:28:00.002-05:00

As you all know, I've recently moved to a new home in Virginia. It's the first place I've ever lived that did not already come furnished, which means I have been on a major furniture hunt. The process of finding furniture has actually been really fun in a way - I feel so grown up! I bought a cute bed from Ikea and a large dresser, a mattress from Sears, and a desk and nightstand from Target. What I've learned is that even cheap furniture is not cheap. Luckily though, before I had opened and assembled any of the products I was able to find used furniture from various people in the area for a great price (thank you listserve!). The best part is that they were selling exactly everything I needed! It was no small feat making multiple trips to return all of the furniture I had already purchased and then going and picking up all of the new pieces, but it was worth the money I'd be saving (thank goodness for my 4runner!). However, because all of the pieces came from different people none of them matched which meant I now needed to paint everything. Black seemed like the obvious choice because I really like black furniture, and also, it seemed to be the most logical option for this kind of project since it would hide the imperfections and not look too cheesy as other colors might.

So off to Lowe's I went. I think I've been there 4 or 5 times since starting this project. I've spent about $85 on painting supplies and countless hours paining everything. It's been a huge learning process. It seemed so easy in my mind, but it's really time consuming. First of all, the internet is full of contradictions. Some website say only sand real wood and use primer for "fake" wood. Others say to sand and prime any surface. They also vary on whether to use oil or water based primer and whether or not to use a top coat. So I consulted the Lowe's employees in the paint department and they all told me completely different things as well. In a way this was reassuring because it meant there wasn't just one right way to do this so I probably couldn't go too wrong.

After a lot of trial and error I painted all my furniture black. For most of the pieces I didn't sand, used primer, two coats of paint and a top coat. Although, there are some things I would do differently next time. Such as: not paint in a very dark room where you can't tell exactly what's happening (basement at night after work). Only do one layer of primer because over night it would start to run down the sides and clump together making part of the furniture bumpy (this only happened on the bed which luckily is covered up by my bedding). I would be more of a perfectionist while painting. I would not be rushed. I would lightly sand everything. before doing anything else. Possibly buy paints that already have the primer included which would eliminate a step. Stir my paint better before using. Have more spare brushes on hand. Wear really grungy clothes with long sleeves and pull my hair up in a bun (because once that primer gets on you, it's never going to come off). And I might even just considering spray painting furniture next time. I saw some furniture Mom had spray painted black and it looked equally as good (actually better) and seemed a lot easier to do. Live and learn. I'm dearly hoping I don't have to go through this process again anytime soon though.

I am not a bargain hunter or do-it-yourself kinda girl by nature. The amount of work required and money saved doesn't usually out weight the frustration of the process for me, typically. But sometimes there isn't a choice.

All of these pictures are from the original owners taken in their homes (that is not my clutter!) This gives you an idea for all of the "before" pieces.

I can't find the original picture of the bed, but this is extremely close to it -style and color. I was a bit nervous getting a used bed and mattress (eww) but then I realized I have slept on probably a dozen beds the past few years at college, all of which had been extremely used - who knows how many people had used those beds before me, and I survived so I was okay with continuing with getting a used mattress. Turns on the mattress had hardly been used and was in great condition (phew). The style is not exactly what I would have chosen, but now that I have my bedspread and pillows on it, it looks great!

I don't know why blogger hates me right now, but I can't adjust these pictures, so they're just gonna chill on the left side of the page for now. Anyhow, after I got all of the above furniture, this is the room it came into. My new room. It's hard to get a feel for it since these pictures can't capture its full size, but it's a decent sized room with two windows and a little closet. The final result is coming soon!

Fells Point, Baltimore

2012-01-15T19:18:00.003-05:00

Went to Baltimore a month or two ago and had a great time with Haley and Emily. It's really not far away at all from DC and was an easy drive. We had a good time. Walked by the water and looked at shops and had a sushi dinner. And of course had to listen to "Good Morning Baltimore" as we drove up :)

Screwtape Letters

2012-01-13T11:36:00.001-05:00

About: "This classic has entertained and enlightened readers the world over with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life and foibles fromt he vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to 'Our Father Below.' At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and stringly orginal, C.S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the wordly-wise old devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an odinary young man. The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging account of temptation - and triumph over it - ever written."

I wanted to read a book by C.S. Lewis (that wasn't Narnia) and this one sounded intriguing. Basically it's letters from a devil to his apprentice. This devil, Screwtape, advises his apprentice how to best lure his subject away from God and all things good. C.S. Lewis presents some really interesting ideas that made me look at my actions and what influences those actions a little differently.

Page 25, "It is your business to see that the patient never thinks of the present fear as his appointed cross, but only of the things he is afraid of. Let him regard them as his crosses: let him forget that, since they are incompatible, they cannot all happen to him."

Page 28, "The great things is to direct the malice to his immediate neighbors whom he meets every day and to thrust his benevolence out to the remote circumference, to people he does not know."

Page 40, "He [God] leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs - to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayer offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best....He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles."

Page 60, "It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signpotsts."

Page 136, "He gives them the seasons, each season different yet every year the same, so that spring is always felt as a novelty yet always as the recurrenence of an immemorial theme."

Page 139, "We have trained them to think of the Future as a promised land which favored heroes attain - not as something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is."

Page 161, "He sees as well as you do that courage is not simple one of the virtures, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty, or mercy, which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful till it became risky."

Page 163, "For remember, the act of cowardice is all that matters; the emotion of fear is, in itself, no sin and, though we enjoy it, does us no good."

Some Day

2012-01-12T23:18:00.002-05:00

"There are 7 days in a week, and some day is not one of them."

Entertaining Websites

2012-01-10T13:51:00.001-05:00

I've been accumulating little websites that have been entertaining to me over the past month and thought I'd share a few of them. Perfect if you need a little break from work. Just click on the link attached to the word "this" in each sentence.

This website is so clever. People are hilarious. I think primarily blogger/pinterest girls will enjoy this.

This one is strange, but I couldn't stop laughing.

I keep listening to this song over and over. I love it.

This little video is so sweet and is a good reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.

This photo contest will amaze you. Can't get over some of the pictures.

Read this and was surprised at Mark's comments about FB. I totally agree.

Even though I'm in DC I have still have Jimmer pride. Read this article.

Old love Tumblr. I think other celeb gossip addicts will like this. I had no idea some of these people dated.

This video is so intense. The things people will do for an adrenaline rush is insane.

On that note, this video is also insane. My friend Lisa just shared this with me and it freaks me out because we went bungee jumping!

Home for the Holidays

2012-01-04T18:36:00.003-05:00

It was so good to go back to Bakersfield for Christmas. For the first time I realized just how far away I moved. Far! I love California. Maybe it's the weather, but it's just so easy to be happy there. Plus it was so wonderful to be back with my family. Now I am back in DC, and it feels very different than California, but I love it here too. It's nice to feel at home on both sides of the US.

Christmas was wonderful. It really is the best time of the year. I started listening to Christmas back in October and I'm still not tired of it!

This is my least favorite Christmas tradition. ha

G and I on our way to church Christmas morning

Went on a drive to look at Christmas lights

So good to see friends from high school

Mom making her famous Rocky Road Supreme Fudge

Dance Central on the Kinect is seriously so much fun! I didn't think I'd like it that much, but I love it!

G and I went to the gym together and he is such an athlete! He was the one telling me what I should be doing. I could only jump half as high as him (just jumping flat footed) even though he's a good few inches shorter than me.

Had our annual family Christmas party at Aunt Heidi's beautiful home!

DELICIOUS dinner! Please ignore the massive amount of sour cream on my potato.

And yummy dessert! Creme brulee is my favorite.

Seesters

All the girls met up for Olive Garden and everyone wore grey! What are the odds. Definitely related.

The bonus to the whole trip was that my flight out of Btown was majorly delayed which meant I'd miss my connecting flights which meant I wouldn't get to DC in time for work on Friday which meant I got to stay home an extra 3 days before flying back :) Yay!

Such a wonderful Christmas and visit home. So much more I could have posted, but this is already getting a little long.

Randomness

2011-12-30T17:32:00.000-05:00

Please prepare yourself for random picture overload.

My team's amazing contributions to our work bake-off.

I love these food trucks!
Haley and I went to the Chanel makeup event and got our makeup done. It was way fun, but whoa, that is a lot of makeup on my face - just look at the eyebrows! Love the eyes and lips though.
My coworker with the original LG.
Whenever I have to work on weekends, LivingSocial gives us money for lunch so I always buy a lot more food than normal. This time I went Baja Fresh crazy. Yummm. Other days I typically opt for Sushi or Indian food.
More food trucks!
Karli's birthday dinner!
Ice Cream in Old Town :)
This random dude regularly dances in the cross walk outside of my office.
Dressing up with my team at work as the different LivingSocial verticals. We have Escapes, Gourmet, Daily, National, Families, Adventures etc. etc. So great.
I have even more random picture post coming up very soon.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T01:46:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone has a great Christmas!!

Best Work Party Ever

2011-12-16T21:34:00.002-05:00

Work holiday parties can be interesting. Sometimes good, sometimes not. But I'm pretty sure I'll never go to a better one than my work party last night. LivingSocial really knows how to do it right because it was awesome.

Tons of great food, a photo booth, and people who cleared your plates for you the instant you had finished. And a live band (called Rage Against the Hungry Machine - a little LS humor there in the title).

Tim really is a CEO Santa. He treats his employees very well and everyone loves him.

My cute coworkers

Sooo many people

"Boom"

Into the Wild

2011-12-12T12:12:00.002-05:00

Sometime, somewhere, someone (hope that narrows it down for you) recommended this book to me and so I added it to my list of books to read. I just finished reading it recently and really enjoyed it.

About: "In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abadoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself..."

Chris wrote, "Greetings from Fairbanks! This is the last you shall hear from me Wayne. Arrived here 2 days ago. It was very difficult to catch rides in the Yukon Territoy. But I finally got here. Please return all mail I receive to the sender. It might be a very long time before I return South. If this adventure proves fatal and you don't ever hear from me again I want you to know you're a great man. I now walk into the wild. Alex."

Chris was a very interesting person who led an equally interesting life. I could relate to Chris' desire to travel and explore and be free. I admired his courage, determination and resourcefulness. But the more I read, the more I realized he was one of those genius minds who borders on insanity. You really would have to be a little bit crazy to live the way he did.

The author did a lot of research to piece this true story together as best as possible with the limited resources he had. He interviewed many people who met Chris along the way, talked to his family and friends and retraced his steps. The timeline of the story was a little sporadic, not exactly chronological, but flows nicely overall. The book also included stories about other people who lived similarly to Chris. I would definitely recommend the book, although I think it's the kind of story that some people will find far more fascinating than others.

Quotes (none of these are Chris' quotes, just ones quoted in the book):

Page 155, "I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life." - Leo Tolstoy

Page 155, "It should not be denied...that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolutely freedom, and the road has always led west." -Wallace Stegner

Page 142, "A trancelike state settles over your efforts; the climb becomes a clear-eyed dream. Hours slide by like minutes. The accumulated clutter of day-today existence - the lapses on conscience, the unpaid bills, the bungled opportunities, the dust under the couch, the inescapable prison of your genes - all of it is temporarily forgotten, crowded from you thoughts by an overpowering clarity of purpose and by the seriousness of the task at hand." - Jon Krakauer

Page 151, "It didn't occur to me that I might be bound by the same cause-and-effect relationships that governed the actions of others. Because I wanted to climb the mountain so badly, because I had thought about the Thumb [mountain] so intensely for so long, it seemed beyond the realm of possibility that some minor obstacle like the weather or crevasses or rime-covered rock might ultimately thwart my will."

Page 155, "It is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God-given right to have it."

Fall

2011-11-29T13:59:00.000-05:00

The past few days have been shockingly warm here in DC. Although it's starting to look cold, it sure doesn't feel col yet. I've been loving this pleasant and lovely weather, but with December just around the corner I realize this isn't going to last much longer so I'm really trying to enjoy the last moments of fall. And if I haven't said it before, the East Coast has the BEST fall. Seriously, so gorgeous.

Hello There

2011-11-21T22:25:00.005-05:00

Hello little blog, I have missed you. Life has been really busy. I'm working full time at LivingSocial (which I love) and am in the process of moving from Maryland to Virginia. In addition to this I am bargain hunting for furniture and then painting it black. It's much harder work than I expected. In fact, as I type this I have dried paint on me from my forehead to my ankles. I'm sitting on a mattress which is just resting on the floor since my bed is in the basement being painted. And I keep thinking about all of the things I have yet to do tonight before I go to sleep. However, posting someone on my blog was something I couldn't put off anymore.

Back when I was in college (oh my goodness, did I really just say that? I feel so old) I had a lot of homework. And because I loved to procrastinate doing my homework I spent lots of time blogging. In my mind I rationalized that I was being productive, but really I was just avoiding the necessary evil that is called homework. However, in "real" life I cannot procrastinate going to work or moving or registering my car or other responsibilities the same way I could with school. Therefore my posts have been lacking. But after I get settled down in my new place (and actually have a real bed to sleep on) I will start catching up with my blog posts. Now it's time to go wash off all this paint.

West Virginia

2011-11-05T09:16:00.000-04:00

Did you know West Virginia is only 69 miles away from my house? I didn't realize it was so close until just last week. Haley and I made the incredibly short drive over there to enjoy the fall leaves and I also got to mark a new state off my list. I have pretty much been listening to John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads nonstop since our trip.
We went to Harper's Ferry, which is a very historic area with famous Civil War sights near by.
Perfect Fall day.
This is where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers cross.
A mini photo shoot occurred on the bridge.
I went to come back and go rafting here during the summer. It's such a nice area.
I want to take this picture and frame it in my house.
West Virginia, you are great. Very woodsy and calm. I'll be back.
All of these photos were taken from my iPhone. There were probably be another post later with the pictures taken with my SLR.

Fall is Here!

2011-10-29T09:32:00.000-04:00

Have you ever heard of First World Problems? It's a website that makes fun of the "problems" people living in a first world country have. I think of this often as I go throughout my day when I mentally complain about something silly. For example, I adore my iPhone, but I'm sad that my instagrams don't look as grainy as they did on the older versions now that the camera is higher quality. Definitely a first world problem. Anyhow, these pics were all taken on my iPhone were editing with instagram.

Fall is such a gorgeous time of year - wish it would last much longer.

A Fall Walk

2011-10-27T14:32:00.002-04:00

I went for the most beautiful walk this week. I had only intended to go for a quick jog, but luckily my iPod died, which gave me the chance to get rid of distractions and to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring this beautiful area. I ventured off the main trail and came across a smaller path that led to this pretty bridge over a little stream. I love the outdoors so much - it's so calm, beautiful and has a way of putting everything into perspective. So glad I am close to such beautiful areas during this wonderful time of year. This picture is my favorite, but I took many more that I will post later this week.

Steph's visit

2011-10-24T14:06:00.000-04:00

Steph and I had such a wonderful time while she was here. She is a little city girl at heart and learned her way around almost instantly! I was very proud :) We packed in a lot while she was here and saw most of the sights. My favorite moments though were when we were just lying on my bed talking and laughing.

She is just one of my most favorite people. She catches me off guard with her witty comments and quick sense of humor.One of my favorite memories from her visit is riding bikes around Arlington. We rented bikes from one of the local bike shares and just went around the cute neighborhoods near the Pentagon City Mall. It was the middle of a work day so we had the whole place to ourselves.

Spent Sunday afternoon walking around the temple. So beautiful and peaceful.
And huge!

Hello?

Got to see the very new Martin Luther King Memorial.
Botanical Gardens - the fountain is so gorgeous at night.

Steph, I miss you, come back!

Loving this Song

2011-10-20T16:29:00.000-04:00

Senna

2011-10-16T20:41:00.003-04:00

I saw this movie at Sundance last year and loved it. Senna was such an interesting, passionate, attractive and likeable person. I knew nothing about him before the movie, but now I'll never forget him. For some reason it really made an impression on me and I definitely plan on seeing it again.

Food in DC Part 1

2011-10-16T11:23:00.002-04:00

This post is all about food!! I've been incredibly impressed with all of the delicious restaurants found here in DC. I'm sure you've been wondering why I haven't been posting about food lately in my posts like usual and that's because I've been saving all my food comments for a post of their own. And this post started getting so long that I've broken it up into three parts.

I've been spoiled for life with all the food I've been eating out here - I don't think I'll ever view food the same after all of the incredible things I've tasted in DC. I'll include the places I didn't love so much either to be fair, but for the most part it's all been amazing.

Let's start with Matchbox. It's a very popular and delicious place to eat. There are a couple of them around town which makes it even more convenient. There's a always a line on the weekends, so be sure to get there early.
You MUST get the sliders. I got a different kind of cheese on each burger. So good.
Their pizza is great too. I tried the fire and smoke pizza. I'm really turning into a thin crust pizza girl with a variety of quality toppings.
In Georgetown there is a little crepe place that I'm obsessed with called Crepe Amour. I've always been a dessert crepe person, but this place has converted me to savory crepes because of how good they make them. This one has basil, mozzarella, tomatoes and chicken. Everything about it is delicious.
Another fun place is Serendipity. The atmosphere is great, however my sundae was only average. It tasted like all the ingredients were low end grocery store products. I guess I just have high a very high standard for desserts or ordered the wrong thing. I've heard the frozen hot chocolate is great though and plan on getting that next time.

Wok and Roll in Chinatown has very good sushi. I feel like it is on the expensive side for the amount that you get, but it is really good. I really liked my sushi roll and highly recommend the Moo Shu pork dish - I can't stop thinking about it....soooo good.
Another classic is Shake Shack. It's new to DC and is most famous in NYC. It has great burgers, fries and shakes. Especially great shakes. However, I felt like my body was about to explode of grease after I finished my meal. That is a disturbing analogy, but that's pretty much how I felt. Super good food, but you pay for it physically.

Sometimes you don't need anything fancy, just good. Panera is a great place for this. Reminds me of Zupas in Utah. This is a chain restaurant, yes, but can be very satisfying for a light, quick meal.
Cafe Asia - pass on this one. Overrated. Everybody and their mom loves this place and so maybe we just went on the wrong night or maybe Haley and I just have higher expectations than others, but it didn't live up to its reputation.
I went through a long phase of being totally obsessed with Chopt. It's basically the Coldstone for Salads. You pick your ingredients, they chop them all up and put them together in a bowl. So yummy and healthy. It's about a 20 second walk from my office so I go there all too often. The best thing they offer though is their salted caramels. They have a little seasalt in them which makes them straight up perfection. I'm obsessed. The girls at the cash register totally know me now because I order them all the time, even if I don't buy a salad.
A friend at work recommended this place and it is amazing! Cowgirl Creamery (love the name). It actually originated in California (no wonder I like it so much) and is totally all about cheese. This store was made for me.
It's close enough for me to walk to at work which is dangerous. I tried their Mt. Tam cheese and it was delicious. It reminded me of Brie and Camembert. I bought a loaf of bread and went to the court yard at the American Art Museum and ate it.
More to come!

24 Birthday

2011-10-11T20:21:00.012-04:00

This past Saturday I celebrated my 24th birthday! Wait, what? Am I ever going to feel my age or is life just going to keep going by this fast? 24...I think that constitutes as mid-twenties. Yikes. But I have good feelings about this year, I think it's going to be really great. Stephanie flew out to be with me this weekend which was so unbelievably nice of her. It completely made my day a million times better to have her here to celebrate with me. We took it easy and just enjoyed the day. I really appreciated everyone who sent me birthday texts, emails, wrote on my fb wall or called and sang/left messages. They totally made my day.
Seesters.
Haley made me cinnamon rolls with extra butter and sugar :) Yummy!!
Birthday shrine. I feel so lucky to have so many thoughtful people in my life who thought of me on my bday! This doesn't include everything, I just kind of start throwing things on the desk and then snapped a picture.
Waiting for the metro...story of my life...why not turn it into a photo opportunity!
Butterfly sighting...I'm very easily amused.We walked around Georgetown since I love that area and did a little window shopping. Then we ate dinner at Papa Razzi since my co-worker recommended it and because it's also in Georgetown.
Haley met up with us and we enjoyed a great meal! I especially loved what I ordered. Everything I tried was very tasty.
Rigatoni with Italian sausage, tomatoes and caramelized onions.
Roommates from Utah all the way to DC.
Haley gave me a birthday card from Japan that was signed by Prince Harry! :) Yes!
Cell phone picture.
Cute and delicious birthday dessert!
Next stop - Les Miserables. After dinner there was a small amount of chaos as we realized time had gone by really quickly at dinner and we were running late, so we went to Haley's car only to realize that Steph had forgotten her phone at the restaurant and Haley couldn't find her valet parking pass. Steph ran back to the restaurant and then Steph and I ran at top speed down M street and then 25th to find the Kennedy Center (which neither of us had been to before). Haley got her car and offered to come find us and drive us the rest of the way, but by that point Steph and I had pretty much found the Center. It was a birthday miracle because we walked in just as everyone was going to their seats, moments before the started. Phew. Steph is pretty much the best sister ever and got us AMAZING seats - second row center. We are both obsessed with this play (we've lost count how many times we've each seen it, but it's the 7 times range) and were both so happy to see it once more. This version had more props than any other version I've ever seen and I loved it. I was so engrossed in the show as if it were the first time I had seen it. Sometimes I get nervous for the actors - worried they aren't going to reach the high notes or something, but not with the people in this production - they were all unbelievable. In Les Miz you laugh and you cry and at the end you just want to be a better person. Steph is a great person to see it with because A. She really appreciates and loves it and B. She knows the answer to every single question you might have about the plot, characters, music etc etc.
I would also just like to point out that the Kennedy Center Opera House is Gorgeous with a capital G!
It was a wonderful birthday and a wonderful start to this new year. Thank you family and friends for all making it so amazing, I love you all so much.

It's That Time Again...

2011-10-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

I guess I'm not the only one counting down until my birthday (7 days)...thank you Anthropologie for the early birthday present!

Philadelphia

2011-09-30T00:23:00.001-04:00

Haley and I went to Philadelphia for a day just for fun and had a good time.
This was a lot smaller than I imagined. But still cute.
There are some parts of the city that were really pretty. And others that were really ghetto. I guess it goes with all cities, but it's seemed very apparent here especially. You were in either a really great or a really not so great area, not often in between.
There is so much history here. I know, what a genius statement.
Being the foodie I am, of course there were Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches involved in our trip. We went to a very famous place for them in order to get the best ones possible.
So it doesn't look incredibly appetizing, but it was pretty good. Although, not as flavorful as I would have hoped. Man, was I stuffed after eating this monstrous thing.

If this place is good enough for my homeboy Kobe it is good enough for me. Holla.
Haley and I had to laugh at how the condiments were locked down. Umm, really?
Us with our Colonial friends. They really got into character and were entertaining to visit with.
The famous Liberty Bell. I can remember coming to see this a long time ago, although it seemed bigger then.

Finished the day off with some delicious food we food at a little cafe run by a French man who's family is from Africa and who now is an American citizen. That's America for you.

It was a good day, although next time I go to Pennsylvania I'd like to spend more time in Amish Country or elsewhere. And I really need to stop writing blog posts so late at night because I start saying the weirdest things.

Terrain

2011-09-26T21:42:00.001-04:00

On a day trip to Pennsylvania a couple of weeks ago, Haley and I stopped HERE and it was awesome! So awesome that I am dedicating a whole blog post to it. If you're every on your way to Philadelphia definitely stop here. It's totally worth it because it's filled with so many cute and unique (not to mention expensive) things. I heard about the place from reading Rockstar Diaries and knew it had to be good if they were talking about it. A lot of their outdoor items would be really cute for a wedding.

The cute cafe! Tried their salted lavender butter and it was pretty good!

I want to try to paint all of these pretty calendar pictures myself.

Such a cute, eclectic place.

I won!

2011-09-21T20:09:00.000-04:00

It's not often that I win things. And that's probably because it's not often I enter contests. But on a break at work the other day I was perusing Lauren Conrad's website and saw a contest to win the same skin care products she uses. I've never had great skin so this contest especially interested me. I left a comment and then a couple of days later LC tweeted me that I was the grand prize winner! I was so excited I almost squealed with excitement at work - not only did I win but LC knows who I am now :) A few days later I got a package in the mail with all of this. Skin care products are expensive - I could practically pay rent with this. It'll be fun to try it all, I'll keep you updated with how I like the products.

Click HERE to see the post giving details about all the products and at the bottom she announces the winners :)

Smithsonian American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery

2011-09-12T21:43:00.002-04:00

These two museums, American Art and Portrait Gallery, are separate museums, but share a building. The building is pretty interesting itself - Walk Whitman called it the "noblest of Washington buildings" and President Lincoln's inaugural ball was held here in 1865.

According to my pamphlet: The Smithsonian American Art Museum tells the stories of America through the visual arts and its collection spans more than three centuries of artistic achievement that parallels the nation's cultural development. The National Portrait Gallery tells the history of America through the individuals who have shaped the culture of this country.
Really great section featuring US presidents.

I love this next picture so much. The lighting, scenery and detail is gorgeous. It's called "Great Picture" by Albert Bierstadt. His other works are incredibly gorgeous too. The little author info next to the painting was very interesting - he was known for really building up the anticipation prior to the revealing of new paintings which helped him to earn more money. His paintings focused a lot on the American West, but were often a bit exaggerated. I'd like a copy of this in my home one day.
Thomas Moran painted these beautiful Grand Canyon pictures.

You can even find Joseph Smith and Brigham Young in the museum.
There's just something about this picture that I really like.

They have a nice little place where you can sit and eat and relax inside of the museum which is always nice.
*This post was originally written back in April. However, when blogger went crazy for a few days it messed up this post. I have since gotten it back to mostly normal, but it's still missing parts from the original. Ah well.

French friends

2011-09-10T12:40:00.000-04:00

Remember my friends Anthony and Selim from France? (If not, click here, here, here, and here). I met them summer of 2009 and have seen them every summer since in a different country. Three years and going strong, wonder where we'll meet up next year? Anyway, they came to Washington DC a couple of weeks ago and I got to give them the grand tour of the Nation's Capitol. Selim and his other friend, Anthony B., are going to school in North Carolina for the next two years so they saw NY, PA and DC before making their way down to NC to begin school. Anthony N. came along for the ride and is now back in France. I actually met all 3 them of them that first night in Scotland and can't believe we still keep in touch. I remember Selim telling me that night that he would be coming to school in North Carolina and sure enough, here he is.

Here's a group picture of us - Anthony N, Selim, Anthony B. and Brandon who came out to join the fun.

The boys made us real French crepes. There is just nothing better.
The recipe in French. Not only do I need a translator, but also a metric converter!
While driving around my neighbor Anthony B said, "This looks just like the movies!" I'm glad it lived up to their expectations.

The French boys had never tried Slushies, so of course we had to get them some at 7-eleven. Also introduced them to Wal-mart, probably one of the most truly American stores there are.
Went to a good number of Smithsonians. Ate lunch on the steps at the National Portrait Gallery since it's just around the corner from my office.

Toured the Capitol.
Saw the White House.
Yes, McDonalds. I wonder...is there a more internationally recognized "restaurant" than McDonalds?

Metro fun.
At some point we decided it would be hilarious to have planking pictures. Not because we think planking is cool, but more to make fun of it. And boy did we have fun. At least Anthony and Brandon did...

I always learn a lot spending time in other countries, but I also learned a lot having foreigners here in America. For example, all of the boys seemed totally bothered by all of the air conditioning. Apparently in France they don't use the AC nearly as much so they felt that they AC was making them sick here in the US. Interesting. Such the total opposite of Americans - we can't get enough of the AC, especially in DC in the middle of summer! They'll convert one day.
The French boys say we (Americans) walk way too fast, but I think it's more like they walk too slow. Brandon and I walk briskly, but they're walking about as fast as a grandma with a broken hip. It is seriously impossible for me to walk as slow as they do, it's almost painful to take that much time to get from place to place. Must be a South of France thing.
Jumping picture in front of the Washington monument. This is about the thousandth time we tried to get this picture
Because the ones before it looked something like this, haha. I fail at jumping pictures epically.
Group picture in my house.
Ridiculous glasses picture because of an inside joke from a skyping conversation with Steph and Selim.

Definitely one of my favorite pictures. Way to represent France.
Botanical Gardens.

If you go to DC definitely make time to walk around and eat at the National Harbor. It's so pretty.

Here and I am with Anthony N and Selim at the National Harbor.

Dinner!

It was so fun having them all here to visit.

Freedom

2011-09-04T23:02:00.001-04:00

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
-Ronald Reagan

Little Bee

2011-09-01T18:02:00.000-04:00

I recently finished reading Little Bee. I liked it overall. But at the end I felt a little let down, as if it was missing something. It didn't live up to all of the hype. What I found most interesting about the book was learning about life for a refugee. Little Bee comes to England from Nigeria and the things she experienced were terrible. That was very eye-opening and sad to learn about. It's a topic I haven't studied much before and I'm glad to know a little more now. I think the author did a good job portraying Little Bee's emotions and outlooks on life in a very real and genuine way. The other main character, Sarah, was just too typical and hard to identify with. If I read one more book about a mid-thirties woman who is tired of her outwardly perfectly life who then goes on to have an affair or a divorce I'm going to scream. That's been done, people, time to move on and develop a new type of lead female character. Overall, the book was decent, but not a book I'd go back and read again nor necessarily recommend.

Summary:
This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there."

Quotes:

Page 9, "A scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived."

Page 13, "She was whispering into it in some language that sounded like butterflies drowning in honey." Haha, I love this quote only because it's like what the what?

Page 24, "It as disorientating, like having the entire contents of one's address book dressed in black and exported into pews in non alphabetical order." This quote is describing a funeral.

Page 45, "In your country, if you are not scared enough already, you can go to watch a horror film. Afterward you can go out of the cinema into the night and for a little while there is horror in everything. Perhaps there are murders in wait for you at home. You think this because there is a light on in your house that you are certain you did not leave on. And when you remove your makeup in the mirror last thing, you see a strange look in your own eyes. It is not you. For one hour you are haunted, and you do not trust anybody, and then the feeling fades away. Horror in your country is something you take dose of to remind yourself that you are not suffering from it." I've thought about this concept a lot and it really rings true with me.

Page 46, "So when I saw that I am a refugee, you must understand that there is no refuge. "

Page 55, "I understand fashion in your language, but this hair did not look fashion. I am telling you, it looked like punishment." Lady Gaga came to mind when I read this.

Page 96, "I understood that it isn't the dead we cry for. We cry or ourselves, and I didn't deserve my own pity." I'd never thought of this before, but it's really stuck with me. We do cry for ourselves when someone dies, don't we? Interesting perspective.

Page 211, "You live in a world of machines and you dream of things with beating hearts. We dream of machines, because we see where beating hearts have left us."

Page 233, "This is the forked tongue of grief again. It whispers in one ear: return to what you once loved best, and in the other ear it whispers, move on."

Delaware

2011-08-31T21:00:00.003-04:00

I am completely serious about my goal to visit every state in the US, so to get closer to that goal I spent my day off from work a couple of weeks ago visiting Delaware. The drive was gorgeous - such beautiful, classic American scenery and then a lovely beach.
On the way there I had to cross the huge bridge over the Chesapeake. There are two separate sections of the bridge - one for each direction of traffic. However, as they sometimes do out here, they changed one lane of traffic to go a different direction than all the others. It's quite unnerving to feel like you are driving on the wrong side of the road and seeing so many oncoming cards coming towards you.
The eastern side of Maryland and Delaware are full of farmland, woods and fruit stands.

I was on a road for a while that was actually 3 different roads for a period of time. Talk about confusing.
The first state.
The beach I chose to go for no particular reason other than google said it'd probably be a good idea.

Notice the girl who is completely buried in the sand with only her head sticking out. haha
I've never been to a beach so full of umbrellas - ever single group had their own.

The water was cold but I put my feet in. Definitely got a tan and enjoyed being by the ocean.

Rehoboth had a very family friendly, energetic feel to it. Tons of cheesy gift shops filled with ceramic dogs, t-shirts with messages and key chains that reminded me of when I was little and into all of those kinds of things.

Cute little home I passed on my way out of town.
Delaware is great and made for a perfect day trip.

The Holocaust Museum

2011-08-27T11:03:00.000-04:00

*This post was much longer, but blogger decided to delete a ton of my posts a while back and sadly I lost a lot of information from this post*

One museum that I knew I definitely wanted to go to was The Holocaust Museum here in DC. I've mentioned before that this is a historical event that I've always been very interested in. However, this museum is in extremely high demand and to get tickets you either need to call a few months in advance to reserve tickets or go stand in line about 8:30 in the morning and wait until they hand out the tickets at 10:00. The line gets very long, so to ensure that you are one of the people who gets a ticket I recommend going early. The first time I tried I only went about 9:30 and there were literally hundreds of people in line. The second time I made sure to get there much earlier and I had no problem getting a ticket and even met some really nice people in line.
According to a handout I picked up: The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jew by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in January 1933, believed that Germans were "racially superior" and that the Jew, deemed "inferior," were an alien threat tot he so-called German racial community. To learn more go to USHMM.org
As most museums in DC do, they had a metal detector they required you to walk through and they scan your bags, just like at the airport. However, for the first time, I was required to take a sip of my water in front of them to show that it was actually a drink and not a dangerous liquid. I realize that there is a lot of hate directed towards this museum and a lot of crazies, but at the same time, practically everything in the museum is replaceable - photographs, movies, quotes etc. are all easily replaced. But when you go into an art museum with 500 year old irreplaceable originals you are not asked to drink water. Anyway, it wasn't a big deal, but I just found it odd that this is the only museum that required me to do that.
You can choose which time you would like to go in later in the day and they will give you a ticket for that time. And this is completely random, but the museum hands out some extremely high quality pamphlets on very nice paper.
Each person is given an identification card before they begin walking around. This is my card.

Olga sounds like an incredibly brave person.
Yikes, you don't hear about people being beheaded very often during the Holocaust.
I wasn't sure how appropriate it was to take pictures while walking through the museum so I only took a few. There is a strong focus on the backgrounds of Jews and how absolutely hated they have been throughout history. People have always been cruel to them it seems. Even respected people such as Martin Luther said terrible things about him. According to the film I watched he used to have good things to say about the Jews, but when they wouldn't convert he then began speaking terribly about them. I pretty much feel that no hate towards another person is justified, but sometimes when someone has horribly wronged another person it's easier to understand why the animosity exists between the two. But, with the Jews I can't seem to find anything they've done in the past that would provoke such non-stop hatred from so many people. Regardless, the hate they've been shown is completely uncalled for, but it seems especially horrible since I can't even find any reasons for people's insane anger towards them. And just less than a 100 years ago Germany called for a "Final Solution of the Jewish Question" and killed two-thirds of the Jewish population in prewar Europe.
The museum begins with showing how the Nazis and Hitler came to power and the things that led up to the War and the Holocaust. Then as you work your way through the museum you learn more about the concentration camps and the people themselves. Despite all of the books I've read on the Holocaust I think I had blocked out of my mind some of the terrible things they had to go through. This museum reminded me of the book burnings, mandatory sterilization, medical experiments etc. And it wasn't just the Jews who were targeted, but homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, people with disabilities, Roma (Gypsies, but Romas are their preferred name) and poles all suffered horrible oppression and death under Nazi tyranny. The short films The Nazi Rise to Power and Antisemitism are really good to watch while you're there.
They have some History channel type films you can watch here at the museum and then also some short real footage videos. They're incredibly graphic so must of them are behind a wall that only adults can look over and view. It's pretty disturbing. Watching bulldozers carelessly pick up and dump people in graves and watching living humans dragging dead humans with such carelessness is almost unfathomable. We have all seen pictures of emaciated concentration camp victims, but have you ever seen a video of them walking from behind? It's literally like watching a skeleton walk, I couldn't get over it. How could someone be so skinny and yet still be alive?
After learning about all of the hate, discrimination, torture, death etc. it was very pleasant to come to a wall that featured examples of people who risked their lives to save the Jews. This was honestly my favorite part of the whole museum. It was so inspiring. Throughout most of the museum you're constantly in shock of how terrible humans can be to each other and what awful things those in the concentration camps went through and it's just emotionally exhausting and negative. Although, as hard as it is I think it's necessary to see what really happened and understand it as best we can so that we can learn from that terrible time and not let it happen again. But then to come to this part of the museum and see how courageous and kind and selfless humans can be is so encouraging and hopeful.

In one of the pamphlets I picked up the famous quote was printed in there: "First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - Because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - Because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me." - Martin Niemoller These people don't fall into the types of people mentioned in this quote because they definitely did speak out, even if not verbally.

I have actually written a post about Irena here.

I'm definitely glad I went. But it's very sad and eye-opening.

Taylor Swift

2011-08-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Taylor Swift came to DC recently and of course I had to go!! I have seen her in concert before, but because it was in London it was much smaller (see here). This time there was nothing small about it. Sold out shows two nights in a row at the Verizon center.

Nearby restaurants featured deals like this...
I felt like I got pretty good seats for the price I paid.
She was just as adorable as you'd expect. Very personable and professional and a great performer. (alliteration anyone?) Her voice seemed a little shaky during the first song, but she sounded fantastic the rest of the night. She really has a great voice, no doubt...maybe she got a voice coach or something, but she really does sound great.

There were a million young girls there ALL wearing flowy summer dresses, cowboy boots and waved hair. I missed the memo apparently that there was a Taylor look-alike dress code.

She came and sat by this tree at the back of the arena and played the ukulele and sang. That was a nice surprise for the people in the back.
She sang mostly songs from her new album, but of course some classics from past albums as well. She also did a couple of covers.
I really don't like the word "whimsical" but I think that's probably the best way to describe her concert. Very appropriate for both young and the not-so-young with lots cute sets and decorations.

Love her. Now I've seen Taylor, Britney and Celine. My concert life is complete.

She finished the show by playing Love Story and being carried over the audience in a little balcony and it was awesome.

The concert was awesome and I'm so happy I went. The only thing I wish is that it was like 3 hours longer to include ALL of her best songs.

Mount Vernon

2011-08-24T19:37:00.000-04:00

Mount Vernon is the most popular historic estate in America welcoming one million visitors a year. George Washington wrote, "no estate in United America is more pleasantly situation than this..." Went to go visit it recently and it was very nice and beautiful.
When you go inside I definitely recommend watching the 20 minute film they show. It's a great introduction and a good reminder of what an incredible president he was.

For some reason I feel like all of DC has decided to do remodeling right in the middle of summer when all the tourists are here. There was scaffolding all over the front of the house which is why I took this picture from so far away.
The back of the house. They had most of the original furniture inside. It was really neat to walk the same hallways President Washington would have walked.
Fantastic view.
It's a huge estate with lots of trails and places to wander around and explore.

A cardinal! I think it might be the first one I've ever seen.
Although I didn't take a picture you can also see George and Martha Washington's tomb on the grounds.
A day pass is $15, but a year pass is $25 so of course I bought the year pass. I'd like to go back during different seasons and walk around again. I hear they have a giant gingerbread house there during Christmas which I'd love to see.

DC Earthquake

2011-08-23T16:04:00.004-04:00

Survived the DC earthquake today. I was at work today taking a phone call when all of a sudden the building started shaking and swaying. It wasn't scary, just disorienting. We all evacuated outside and most people from the east coast have never experience an earthquake so they were a little more shaken up about it (no pun intended) than I was. I kept having elementary school flashbacks of "duck and cover!" But nobody else has heard of that so I guess it's just a California thing. Luckily nobody that I'm aware of has been hurt and we're all back to work as usual.

This link is pretty hilarious:

http://jmckinley.posterous.com/dc-earthquake-devastation

The comments are just as funny as the picture. One says our thoughts and prayers go out to you and your plastic chair! And another one says "we will rebuild!" And someone else said, looks like no bridge game tonight. And another that said, The GOP blames Obama for poor leadership leading up to the disaster.

Oil Wells

2011-08-12T08:20:00.001-04:00

When I think of Bakersfield I often think of oil wells. I grew up with them all around and in a strange way I think they're almost pretty. I'm not sure anyone else would agree with me on that, except for maybe Dad, but I like them. I've always wanted to take pictures of them so finally, the day before I left California I was able to get a few. These pictures were taken just a few minutes away from my house.

C.S. Lewis

2011-08-07T23:40:00.000-04:00

"No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means—the only complete realist."

-C.S. Lewis

Sunday Walk

2011-08-04T00:45:00.000-04:00

Sunday evening I drove down to DC and parked my car along the Potomac and then went for a walk at sunset. It was so lovely and relaxing and beautiful.
The sun setting over Arlington.

The Lincoln Memorial is beyond gorgeous at this time of night. Love love love it.

I think I'm going to make Sunday walks in DC a new tradition.

Instagram pics

2011-07-28T12:20:00.001-04:00

Ok, the last of the instagrams from California!! I took this picture at the airport in Bakersfield the day I was flying back to DC. Such a pretty sunrise.

Love this oil well pic!

Brie and crackers and jam.
It would not be summer without shaved ice.

So happy to have gotten a pedicure.
Mexican food!

The Kingdom and the Crown

2011-07-25T18:39:00.000-04:00

Grandma gave me a 3 book series called The Kingdom and the Crown probably about 4 years ago. I'm not sure why, but for some reason it took me until about 2 months ago to start reading them. The books are historical fiction and the story takes place around 30 AD, during the time of Christ. They are written by Gerald Lund, who wrote the series The Work and the Glory. I read and loved The Work and the Glory (all NINE volumes), but I loved these books even more.

Let me tell you something - I spent a year in seminary learning about the New Testament, I took a whole class on it at BYU (which I got an A in), and I've spent multiple years learning about it in Sunday School at church. I think it goes without saying that I'm very familiar with all of the stories and events that occurred during Christ's ministry on earth. Yet it wasn't until reading this series that everything finally fell into place and really made sense. Now I see how all of the pieces fit together, why certain events were so significant and the meanings behind some of the events that I didn't fully understand previously.

Summary:
Reports of Jesus of Nazareth have reached the ears of David ben Joseph, a merchant in Capernaum, who has waited and watched for the Messiah ever since a special, starlit night thirty years before. He and his family decide to see for the themselves whether or not the rumors are true. Though David is quick to accept Jesus as the Messiah, the rest of his family is more cautious. His wife, Deborah, and his son, Simeon, leaders in the Zealot movement, look for a Messiah that will crush the Romans with power and the sword, not one preaching a message of love and forgiveness. Meanwhile, reports of Jesus have reached into the very heart of Jerusalem, and both the powerful Sadducee Mordechai ben Uzziel and the Pharisee Azariah are growing uneasy with the news. Though they hold opposing political views, both agree that something must be done to stop this man from Nazareth before he gets out of hand.

I absolutely recommend this series to everyone, Christian or not, but especially if you're interested in understanding the New Testament better. The great part about the books is that you are learning without even trying while reading the story. The storyline about the family is really good and keeps you interested (there were some parts I couldn't set the book down) and at the same time you're learning so many things about the culture, the traditions and the beliefs of the people in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas that you probably never knew about before. At the end of each chapter the author will elaborate on some of the events and add in comments by scholars or point out interesting pieces of information that the reader might be interested in. For example at the end of one chapter he said, "Certain traditions have become so fixed in Christianity that they have taken on the stature of scripture. An example of this is the idea that three wise men came to Bethlehem to visit the Babe; in actuality, Matthew does not specify a number."

Now, I want to visit the Holy Land more than ever before.

Growing Backyard

2011-07-24T10:07:00.001-04:00

Love this growing garden!

Duck Beach

2011-07-20T14:30:00.000-04:00

I know I'm way behind on posting this, but I spent Memorial Day weekend this year in North Carolina at Duck Beach with some of my favorite people, Brooke and Brittany, and their friends Lauren and Julia, along with about 1000 other people! We had such a good time!! Here we are grabbing lunch before heading down on the roadtrip (Britt's taking the picture).The drive was gorgeous. It's only supposed to be about a 5 hour drive, but we hit lots of traffic and it ended up being 8. No worries though because we had lots of good music and pretty scenery to look at.So happy to have made it!
Duck Beach has been a place where LDS singles have been coming every Memorial Day since the 80's. Some call it Mormon Spring Break, but that makes it sounds crazier and more ridiculous than it really is. A really nice guy from DC set up housing arrangement for everyone from DC. We paid him a very reasonable flat rate and that included all of our food, housing and activities. There were about 5 DC homes rented, 2 New York ones and then other homes with people from all over.
Duck Beach is on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I'd never heard of it before, but it's a little strip of land that lays off the coast of the Northern part of North Carolina. It is unbelievably beautiful. You totally feel like you are in a Nicholas Sparks book the entire time. No wonder they film the movies based off of his books there. All the beach homes are HUGE and nice!
This is the inside of the main home, the black pearl, where all of the main dinners happened for the DC people.
They bought A LOT of food!
Volleyball anyone?
As if the regular pool isn't enough, there's an indoor pool, along with hot tubs as well at the main house.
Brittany and I climbed up to this little balcony and took a few pictures.

So happy to be here!!

Found the cookie dough stash!
Golf carts were a great idea.
This is a total stalkerish picture, but doesn't he look just like Robert Pattinson? We even told him so. He was cool about it.

Dance parties. Maybe I should start using sunscreen one day since I definitely got a little sunburned.
Being dared to jump in the water with your clothes on...
...for money? Of course! Diving for quarters is so last season, we're on to twenties now.
Someone how room assignments got mixed and I was put with a random girl I don't know. We fixed that in a jiffy, but found it kinda hilarious.
Love the names of the beach houses.
Silly games.
More beach time, this time we brought out the bocce ball.
See if you can spot the former NBA player...
So yes, this is a picture of the ocean, but I had a purpose in taking it - we saw dolphins swimming along in the water which was such an awesome surprise, but apparently I was too distracted watching them to actually get a picture of them. It was magical ha. But really, it kinda was.
The Laurens.

Brittany and I! One of my favorite friends ever. London, Utah, North Carolina, where are we going next Britt?
Brooke was adventurous and went kayaking.
Yes, there was a film crew. Who knows why they'd want to make a documentary of this.

I love whoever made an Angry Birds sand castle. Classic.
Had to grab some Duck Donuts! Totally worth it.
They make them right in front of you.
Life is good - sun, friends, food, vacation, what more could I ask for?
So sad to leave after such a fun weekend!

So glad I got to experience duck beach, definitely a super fun weekend!

Inspiration

2011-07-18T22:41:00.000-04:00

The Field

2011-07-17T21:24:00.003-04:00

Here is a very random assortment of pictures all taken while I was home in Bakersfield. Bakersfield was named what it is named because of a man named Baker who had a field. Obvious enough. But what I realized while I was home was that Bakersfield has seemed to cling to its name by having an abnormal amount of random, undeveloped fields all over town. They're everywhere. You can be driving along a totally developed area and be in the middle of the city and then bam, there's a plot of land that's totally undeveloped. Or you can drive towards the edges of town and come upon large oil fields or farm land rather suddenly. For instance, just behind my house there are tons of open fields that make it seem like we live in the middle of nowhere, but go 5 minutes the other direction and then you're at the Marketplace. Interesting.
Luckily it's not just fields, but there's also pretty water and trees like this driving down Truxtun.

Dixon and I both really like sushi so we got Mom and Grayson to come with us and try some delicious sushi. YUM.
I love this picture of the three of us. Surprisingly it was taken in a dressing room at Macy's!
A cute sister picture. This was taken at Bed Bath and Beyond - we were having a shopping day.
Grayson and I usually go out and do our own thing a time or two when I go home and it typically involves dinner at Applebees. Even before we went he had decided that we were each ordering the chocolate lava cake for dessert.
Good choice, it was pretty delicious.
Goodbye party for the Graffs. One of the best families I have ever met, I love them so much. It was fun to go get pizza with so many great people as shown here - Mom, Lucinda Smith, Amy Dent, Dana Tenney and Kim Graff.
Went out to Taft to watch Dixon in Court which was cool.
G and I heading off to IHOP for breakfast one morning. As if that wasn't enough we stopped by Jamba on the way home too haha.
I've only been dying my hair on top for the past couple years and the underneath has finally totally grown out. I'm surprised what an auburn color it is when the light is shining on it.
Coco and Nike playing together. They're so cute.
Another random empty plot of land in Bakersfield. I never paid much attention to them growing up, but now that I've been away from it I realized how strange that is. Out here in DC every available space is snatched up immediately but there's more than enough room out in Btown.
Aunt Heidi and Grandpa, what a cute picture of them together.
Mom appreciates Thai food like I do and so we went to the Blue Elephant and indulged in lots of deliciousness.
While cleaning through some of my stuff in my room I came across one of the souvenir cans you can buy in Hawaii that has an oyster with a pearl in it. Grayson, Mom and I went out back and had fun cracking that thing open to find our little pearl.
Isn't this such cute wrapping with a little spoon in it?

Went to see the Green Lantern which was average at best, but loved this picture of Grayson blending into the poster.
Grayson and I had way too much fun playing in the pool together.

This picture seems artistic to me, even though it was not intended that way.
All the young men came over and I taught them how to make lasagna and cheese bread for an activity. The best part was getting to eat it at the end.
Yumm.
Pool time afterwards. Logan jumped on the board with Grayson to give him more air.
Even though these flowers are dead I think they're actually kinda pretty in an antique-y way.

Me with my little baby, Sugar. He's waving hi to you. Words cannot describe how much I love this kitty. He's so loveable and every time I reach down to pet him he plops down at my feet. I'm very allergic to cats, but for him I'll suffer through it because I just can't walk by him without giving him a little love.
Girls birthday lunch for Mom.
I arrived home on Mom's birthday which was awesome because I got to celebrate with the family and enjoy eating Grandma's delicious shrimp salad!
I wish she would sell this recipe because it is one of the best meals I've ever had.
Me and G being silly.
Love this puppy. She's just so loveable. I love that about dogs - they don't hold grudges, they're not moody, they're not arrogant, they're just sweet and loving. And how many times can I use a version of love in one description, whew.

Grandma should be a model. She is the most beautiful Grandma I've ever seen and you'd never guess that she's 82 years old. Look how cute she dresses too - I would wear that! We have the same size feet and she's given me a couple pairs of her shoes and I get more compliments on them than I do on any of the other shoes I own.
Another cute outfit in her equally cute home.
And here's my awesome Grandpa who has also seemed to stop aging. I'm so glad I have their genes in me. Such wonderful people.
And here's gorgeous Aunt Heidi, who also inherited the model genes. What a beautiful family.
These are flowers from Grandma's windowsill. Of course they were picked fresh from the yard. I want to have that in my future home. A garden and windowsill to display the flowers from my yard.
Had a wonderful time home in Bakersfield and was able to fit so much in during my short time there. It's just never long enough at home.

The Help

2011-07-14T21:21:00.000-04:00

I love, love, love this book! It's definitely a favorite book of mine now.

Every character is so real and believable. They have such unique and endearing personalities that they completely pull you into the story and by the end they feel like friends. I know the story is fiction, but to me it's so real I find myself believing that I'm reading someone's actual account. I love being able to slip into their world and understand a different way of life. I'm learning more about what it was like to live in Mississippi during this time period than I ever have before. It blows my mind that I was born a mere 25 years later and grew up in a completely different world. I always seem to read books right before they are turned into movies and this is no exception. I've seen the previews for the movie but from what I can tell it won't be anywhere near as good as the book. In fact, I don't think I'll see the movie, I just want to remember the story as it was told in the book because I don't think anything can beat that.

Summary:
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone. Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken. Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own. Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

I recommend this book to everyone. You'll fall in love with the characters and feel as if you're a better person for having read it. I have thought about it so much since I finished reading it. I think of the words humanity and truth when I think of this story.

Quotes

There are many lines I underlined in this book, but most of them can really only be appreciated in the context of the story and so I'm leaving most of them out, but here are a few samples.

"You is kind. You is smart. You is important."

"Stuart needs 'space' and 'time,' as if this were physics and not a human relationship."

"...My sister Doreena who never lifted a royal finger growing up because she had the heart defect that we later found out was a fly on the X-ray machine. "

"Constantine sat down next to me, at the kitchen table. I heard the cracking of her swollen joints. She pressed her thumb hard in the palm of my hand, somthing we both knew meant Listen. Listen to me. 'Ever morning, until you dead in the ground, you gone have to make this decision.' Constantine was so close, I could see the blackness of her gums. 'You gone have to ask yourself, Am I gone believe what them fools say about me today?' She kept her thumb pressed hard in my hand. I nodded that I understood. I was just smart enough to realize she meant white people. And even though I still felt miserable, and knew that I was, most likely, ugly, it was the first time she ever talked to me like I was something besides my mother's white child. All my life I'd been told what to believe about politics, coloreds, being a girl. But with Constantine's thumb pressed in my hand, I realized I actually had a choice in what I could believe."

Santa Barbara

2011-07-12T21:00:00.001-04:00

I've already done an instagram post on Santa Barbara, but it's a great enough place that it gets a second post, this time in regular pictures.
I could walk up and down these streets every day and never tired of the scenery.

I love the style and font of the street signs there. So unique.

Most beautiful See's Candies store I've ever seen!

Lunch at Nordstrom - divine food and great view if you sit outside.

We stopped in Nordstrom for a few minutes and Grayson and I played dress up while Mom was in another part of the store. When she came back she couldn't find us because she didn't recognize us all dressed up!

I had to go to the beach at least one while I was home! What a gorgeous view. It's a little windy on the beach in SB but nobody seemed to mind. We saw lots of people enjoying dodgeball tournaments and playing volleyball.
Grayson taught himself to juggle and is really good at it! He's at that age now where's he starting to be able to do a lot of things better than me.
While we were playing the ocean we each caught a tiny fish in our hands! They're fast little guys so we were pretty proud of ourselves. We released them back of course after we took pics.
Grayson was so excited to get to the water! It felt really chilly at first so I didn't think I'd get in very far, but lo and behold, Grayson convinced me to get in all the way. And by convinced, I mean he splashed and jumped on me until I decided I might as well just totally wet since I was halfway there. The water was surprisingly clear and immediately felt warmer after I swam around a bit.

We were out there for a couple hours and had a great time playing all sorts of games. Swimming races, seeing who could throw rocks the farthest (he drew a target on the sand and had a point system and everything), catching fish, tickling, seeing how far out we could go, who could hold their breath the longest, tag etc.
This place is right across the street from the beach. I don't know what it is, but I think it's beautiful. And speaking of right across from the beach, Grandma and Grandpa stopped here on their honeymoon and stayed nearby. They ate at Sambo's which is still there today.
The Old Mission in Santa Barbara. Pretty.
We went to Anderson's Danish Restaurant and Bakery for a lovely dinner. The inside seating was very nice, but on such a nice night we opted to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air and scenery.
We did not skimp on the food. Their vegetable soup was fantastic.
Cute Mom and Grayson at dinner.
Our ornate Brie appetizer. It was good, but Brie doesn't need to be fancied up to be delicious.
Me happily enjoying my meal after a lovely day in Santa Barbara.
Mmm.
Santa Barbara is a beautiful and happy place, I hope everyone goes to visit at least once.

4th of July

2011-07-10T19:37:00.000-04:00

Love fourth of July and fireworks! Grayson is quite the fireworks master now and puts on a great show in front of our house. We could also see the 7 Oaks Country Club fireworks from our front yard. What a great country we live in, I couldn't be more grateful to live here.

Santa Barbara

2011-07-06T23:25:00.000-04:00

Spent a lovely day in gorgeous Santa Barbara with Mom and Grayson. I love this town so much, it's absolutely beautiful. The happiness here is almost tangible. We parked at Nordstrom at the Paseo Nuevo mall which I recommend because it's incredibly convenient and ridiculously cheap (I'm used to expensive DC parking). We walked along State Street, ate lunch at Nordstrom (which I can't recommend enough - it's heavenly), spent a few hours at the beach and finished the day with dinner at Anderson's Restaurant and Bakery. Oh Santa Barbara, how I love you.

Grandma's Birthday Dinner

2011-07-05T23:15:00.000-04:00

Grandma recently celebrated her 82 birthday! We had a party at our house with all of the family to celebrate and had a wonderful time. She is the best Grandma anyone could ever ask for.

Aunt Heidi made creme brulee for dessert, yummy!

Instagram

2011-06-28T09:21:00.000-04:00

Loving being home in California, especially during the summer.

Instagram pics

2011-06-28T09:16:00.000-04:00

California Dreamin

2011-06-26T23:59:00.002-04:00

More instagrams I've taken while here at home.

California through Instagrams

2011-06-25T08:33:00.001-04:00

I'm home in Bakersfield for a few days before I start my new job and it's great to be back. I'm going to document my trip home through Instagram pictures. Instragram really is an awesome app. I've seen people post their pictures using it a lot lately, but since I don't have an iphone I wasn't able to use it. Luckily Grayson has an itouch though and has been kind enough let me use it everywhere we go. I love the retro feel of the pictures - it gives them more personality and makes them so much more interesting.

White House

2011-06-23T22:29:00.000-04:00

The White House is possibly the most iconic building in DC. I haven't been on a tour of it yet, but it's on my list of things to do. (Well, I went when I was little, but I don't remember very much except for a few colorful walls.) I have been to the outside of it multiple times though and thought about how cool it is to see where so many of our presidents have lived.
If you want to take a tour make sure you schedule one months in advance. If a tour doesn't work out for you, just make sure you take a walk around it because it's worth seeing.

Cupcakes

2011-06-20T21:01:00.009-04:00

Lots and lots of delicious homemade cupcakes! Erin and I had a baking party before her farewell and made a ton of delicious cupcakes. Georgetown has nothing on us!Chocolate, coconut, strawberry, lemon and red velvet!

There is something so wonderful and therapeutic about creating something as cute and delicious as a cupcake.