national relaxation day

today is national relaxation day, aka: be-as-comfortable-as-possible-all-day-long day. i am celebrating said holiday in many ways. for one, i wore my cardigan to church. cardigans are one of the most comfortable things in the world (next to that amazing blanket that kristen and i found in our apartment two years ago. it was magical: you'd wrap yourself up in it, go to sleep on the couch, and have the happiest, most peaceful dreams of your life!)

a second way i am celebrating is by cooking. jackie and i got home from church and started cooking. she made cookies (i say, is there anything more comforting than a warm chocolate chip cookie? especially when it's rainy and dark outside? nothing!) and i cooked beans. before i go on, i need to explain these beans. i was at an asian grocery store this week. (a very odd string of events including a thrift store, a nauseous girl, and Five Guys, and i end up in an asian market). it smelled like fish and flavorings that my nose didn't really like. somehow i ended up buying this huge bag of fresh green beans. and when i say huge, i'm talking basketball-size bag of green beans. so today was the day to cook them. we found a recipe with pecans and onions and so on and cooked up the bag--the whole of it--into this warm, buttery pan of goodness.

and that was dinner kids! no main dish, no bread on the side. just the beans.

one hour later, we're still sitting at the table, eating beans, until we get here:

a-mazing. so gross, and oh, oh so good! now we're taking naps on suede couches and lovesacs and we couldn't be more content, comfortable, or relaxed.

rainstorm day

woke up to rain.

torrential rain.

the kind that screams: SHHHH! on your window and walls.

i nestled back into my blankets,

a tightly packaged bundle right up against the window,

and fell back asleep.

woke up next to the criss-cross of sunshine across my room,

and a bird unweaving the angry mess of a storm

with her sweet song.

a little late night letter

dear boy,

i am six years old when it comes to you. i giggle nonstop, i say things trying to sound smart but just end up sounding like i'm trying to sound smart, i flirt in the most bashful, obvious, six-year old ways. it really is a sight.

i'll try to think up something clever to say to you tomorrow, but judging by my track record, i'll stumble all over my words, stumble all over the sidewalk, and otherwise look like a complete fool trying to catch your attention.

silly me,

carolyn

a summer of daytrips

last night, my roommate said, "i think it's great that you have literally had a summer of daytrips!" that is exactly what it has been--seeing as much of this beautiful city as i can, everyday a new adventure. here are pictures from yesterday:

the national arboretum (fields and fields and hills and hills of trees, ferns, and flowers)

and the iwo jima memorial:

the monument is shockingly large. i was expecting something lifesize. it is, instead, monumentsize. there was a man with an american flag bandana wrapped around his head, carrying a very large bag walking through the park. i imagined stories for his life--walking across the country, a veteran, a hippie, a forest gump, who knows.

eat, pray, love, READ

i'm reading eat pray love right now by elizabeth gilbert. it is just the book i need--lovely little proses, a journey story, thick with imagery. the other night i came across chapter 18. i could hardly believe what i read, in lieu of my experience at the mall a few weeks ago. i decided to include it here, as her words are exactly as i felt. she calls it a "strange interior gesture of friendship":

In New York City..., I walked into an office building one afternoon in a hurry, dashed into the waiting elevator. As I rushed in, I caught an unexpected glimpse of myself in a security mirror's reflection. In that moment my brain did an odd thing--it fires off this split-second message: "Hey! You know her! That's a friend of yours!" And I actually ran forward toward my own reflection with a smile, ready to welcome that girl whose name I had lost but whose face was so familiar. In a flash instant, of course, I realized my mistake and laughed in embarrassment at my almost doglike confusion over how a mirror works. But for some reason that incident comes to mind again tonight: Never forget that once upon a time, in an unguarded moment, you recognized yourself as a friend.

charmed life:

the evening air was perfect for a summer evening out.

he and i rode bicycles to hear jazz in the sculpture garden. the lawn was a jungle of picnickers, all about our age, all in little circles on blankets, chatting, drinking, unwinding. eating grapes. the conversations buzzed over the jazz, so the park became a mishmash of stories and faces. we rode up the sidewalks to 501 7th street for dessert and people-watching. after frozen yogurt with berries and m&ms, we were escorted past the monuments by the last of the season's fireflies, a reminder that we too would be leaving this summer-warmth and -possibility all too soon.

d.c. is the most beautiful place. someday i want to fall in love here. to me, humidity in the evening is one of the most romantic places to be. we would sit by the waterfall in the falling light, the one in front of the museum of american history. we would ride bicycles every night through neighborhoods with giant magnolias heavy with leaves thick like hands. we would sit on the steps of the lincoln and tell secrets.

there would be lots of music and lots of adventures and lots of time spent walking

and getting to know each other

and riding bicycles through the evening air.

the big apple: foodie style

when in new york....

eat blackberry gelato!

then, after walking yourself all around soho, little italy, and chinatown, get lunch at la esquina--tacos and mm-mmmm.

have breakfast at tiffany's:

buy a rotisserie chicken and eat it. no fruit, no veggies, no rolls. just the chicken. with forks. on tinfoil because there are no plates. under one lamp in a dark-dungeon of an apartment. we are high class. obviously.

we also shopped a lot...

...and i present you with the find of the century: an old-school f/2.8 lens and lens case: $9, vintage thrift, shop on 23rd. so in love with shopping vintage and having magic fall into my hands.

it was a happy weekend, being with tiffany. but i will say this: new york is dirty and everywhere you go you're assaulted by some weird smell. the weekend made me miss the district. i am happy to be "home."

(oh what, did i just call dc home? yes, there will be tears when i leave.)

lyric of the day:

i swear when i grow up i won't just buy you a rose, i will buy the flower shop and you will never be lonely.

five reasons why i am part of the happiest group of sisters in the world

1. we laugh a lot:

2. sometimes we play dress up with glasses and popped-out lenses and big black hats.

3. we have a creek in our backyard.

4. rosie always makes gross faces in the backgrounds of pictures. (sorry for calling your faces gross, rosie, but there really is no other word for it.)

5. sometimes, on really special nights, melissa will dress up in a zorro costume and chase grace through the house. her eyes often flash red on such occasions.

awesome story:

so i'm at the outlet mall. i'm doing my thing, buying stuff, you know, and i'm walking across the hall to another store. out of the corner of my eye, i see this girl that i know from somewhere--

(sloowwww dowwwwn for mental dialogue)

you know how sometimes when someone is familiar to you, you have some emotion tied to them, that kind of helps you place where you met them before? for example, i re-met this guy since i've been out here in d.c. and we have NO IDEA how we know each other, but i have really negative latent feelings towards him. (i haven't told him this yet.) the odd thing is, he is the nicest guy...so i can't figure out why my subconscious has tied such things to his face. maybe he stole my parking place or something once. anyways, this girl at the mall--i have totally positive feelings towards her. like long-lost-friend feelings. subconsciously i feel really excited to see her again! not that i can quite place where i know her from, but whatever my history with her, it was a good one.

(speed up to real time)

so being the friendly person that i am, i smile and wave at her. i'm about to say hi when i realize i am looking in a mirror. the girl is ME.

A-MAZING.

and that's all i have to say about that.

the grand old seat of precious freedom and democracy

adventures lately:

antique & boutique shopping in old town alexandria

breakfast at eastern market with kim and chris, my shakespeare friends

(as i was walking around eastern market, guess who i spotted! "husband", walking kingsley! i did one of those, "oh hi!" as if you're running into an old friend, and then realized where i knew him from and that he would have no idea who i was....awkward. p.s. taza and husband, i think you two are darling.)

library of congress

(sidenote: when i first walked into this building i started giggling i was so happy! the world's largest library! the building is breathtaking.)

the capitol building

(heather gave us a behind-the-scenes VIP tour: these pictures were taken behind the "no admittance" lines--you are getting priveleged looks at the inner workings of the capitol building!)

(the washington monument from the capitol building)

girls' night at ted's montana grill.

(after shopping the outlet malls, this lovely table of lovely ladies ordered plates and plates of chili cheese fries and downed them all. and then went to the parking lot to jump around.)

the fourth of lovely july

it is hard to take time to write when i'm having so much fun gallavanting around our nation's capitol! thus, two+ weeks late, i write about the fourth of july:

on the third, we went to the rehearsal of the capitol's fourth of july concert. there were so many people! and free water bottles everywhere. reba mcentire sang, and my favorite: lang lang played rachmaninoff's 18th variation from rhapsody on a theme of paganini. that is my song. i may or may not have squealed with delight.

with my good friend susie!

on the fourth, i met up with some friends on the national mall to watch the fireworks. there were thousands of people. we camped at the stairs of the lincoln early in the afternoon and did some crosswords to help pass the time.

the washington monument (if you look carefully, you can see the capitol building to the left!)

the steps of the lincoln

and we're off!

as for what it's like being here on the fourth of july, i'll just say this: add it to your bucket lists. there is an excitement and a patriotism as thick in the air as the humidity. to see fireworks over the capitol building and the monument to our first president, a man of true excellence, as you're sitting on the steps of the lincoln memorial--there is nothing like it.