happy new year!!

this year, we're headed southwest to sunny albuquerque, new mexico! i say sunny with fingers crossed because i know they've already had snow this year and it's been quite cold...but a girl can dream, right?

i'm looking forward to getting away for a while and hanging out with TH and his family.
we visited new mexico about 2 years ago after we'd only been dating for 3 months. we have some very good memories of this place - i can't wait for the spicy chocolate, the green chile, the wild oats, and...oh right his very fun brother and sister in law!

happy new year everyone! what are you doing to celebrate?

feel like this today.

i want to go back to bed, but instead i am getting my hair did and trying to write about renewable energy policy. shake it off, j, shake it off.

photo by annabel mehran

streaming thoughts.

so i've been really trying hard to figure out what it is exactly that our wedding reception should look like.
and here's what i just decided: parisian winter in a barn, with lots of sparkle.

GORGE!

uhm, problem is i am having a hell of a time translating that into something real. what colors? what textures? what is everyone doing? what does the food look like?
and how do i do parisian winter without everything being drab and washed out? i'm trolling design blogs, but i think i need to revisit our venue to really work out my ideas.

i'm glad TH is so patient. cause i really struggle with that virtue.

lovely lovely christmas.

wow, i blinked and christmas happened!

i had planned to do so much, but instead i got sick and laid around the house a bunch, and when he could TH pulled me off the couch to go do fun things.

christmas day: breakfast with dad and TH - biscuits and gravy made by dad and eggs and cinnamon rolls. lots of presents. early dinner with TH's family and extended family. lots more presents. visit with mi madre and more presents. and then? avatar in 3d. awesome.
the rest of the weekend was spent eating and trying to figure out wedding stuff (head ache!) it was so fun spending time with families all day. i feel lucky to have these people in my life!

but a few highlights of christmas...TH gave me hunter wellies that i've been wanting for like 2 years, his parents gave me a brand new kitchenaid (wow!!), papa mickey hooked it up $$, and i got to see lots of my cute little nieces, oh and play a killer game of jenga. we got it to 30 rows!i can't believe little abby is almost 5!

i have been really really bad at taking pictures lately. i will add "take more pictures" to my new years resolutions.
speaking of new years, TH and i are headed out of town for the holiday...details to come!

glee.

i love this show. we have all the episodes of glee ti-voed, and i watch them over and over. i know i'm a huge nerd and maybe you will lose respect for me, but this is like a million times better than admitting that i watch gossip girl. (right?)
i can't get over how amazing this first song is, and how well rachel performs it! it inspires me.

questions.

1. where's a good place to honeymoon?
2. do you want to see nine with me?
3. ready to start a book club?
4. where do i buy vermont smoked gouda?
5. what's a good side dish for christmas dinner?
6. can i buy reasonably priced boots that still are cute?
7. what should i wear for our engagement pictures?
8. why does my record player only work for like 1/6 of my record collection?

what's on your mind?

ooooo eeeee. what up with that?

since you are surely aware of all the snow that happened this weekend by now, i won't post my pictures of snow day 2009 on here. just know that i couldn't sleep in saturday morning because i had to get up and watch the snow pile up! we ended up with about 18 inches.

while it was still snowing on saturday, i went and threw snowballs at TH's window until he came outside to play. he happened to be showering when i went to his house so i stood outside his window and yelled at him till he opened the window...then...BAM! snowball in the face! perfect! a great way to start a saturday, really. we walked to the mall and to costco and the grocery store, both of which were closed. then we spent a cozy night with friends and a delicious dinner made by the very talented team: cristy and sierra!

anyway. then today i got off work since the feds called it off. i was pretty sick of being in the house all cooped up, so i put on my boots, went to the christmas market again, then came to visit TH at work, and here i sit, procrastinating my work and blogging. shocker.

but! i want to share this gem with you. this is pretty much the funniest skit on SNL right now. i like to imitate the red adidas sweatsuit guy. i just wish i had that gold chain to inspire the dancing. what! up! with! that!

winter wonderland.

i hope this blog has photos of mounds of winter snow tomorrow.

rumors of 10-20 inches of snow in the district starting tonight! i'm so excited. when we were kids, a big snowstorm in the forecast meant the night before we'd go to the store to stock up on essentials. crackers, cheeseballs, and cookies. you know - the things you can't survive without. so the things i can't live without now? bread, cheese, and something sweet. guess some things never change.

the last big snowstorm i remember in dc was the blizzard of 96. we had 2 feet of snow and school was out for a week, and delayed 1-2 hours for another week. it was the best. these are the reasons i really love winter so much.

have a happy weekend wherever you may be!!

running.

i have a new floor for my running times. i will not run under 2 miles anytime i go to the gym and i will not run at a pace less than an 8:45 mile. this is a really really big deal and i'm ready to make the commitment.

last night i ran two miles coming in at just around 17:30. for a girl who hates running and is really slow at it, i felt pretty good about that achievement. it feels great to get out and move my body and sweat and get my heart going! i need to get addicted to the working out, so i can be in the best shape of life for the wedding day. TH says let's build it up, so when we get married, we can really just let ourselves go. haha.

did i mention this is all going down march 6th? uhmm...shortest engagement ever?

jolly holiday.

last night i stopped by the dc holiday market.

it reminded me of the open air christmas markets in europe that i hear about. and then this morning, the express (fav morning paper) featured a story on german christmas markets! what luck! wish i could visit some of these markets - they look so cozy and delicious!



i picked up some lovely christmas gifts, listened to live jazz, and slapped my hand every time it tried to pay the donut man for some fresh donuts. i'm not allowed to have donuts every day, this is my rule. or at least one donut a day is my rule - that seems a little more realistic.

if you have some free time, stop by the holiday market - right next to chinatown. i think it's open through the 23rd. And be sure to check out mann's jewelry line - he uses recycled aluminum and fires his own glass to make beautiful jewelry!

peace out. i'm off to eat a donut. (what?!)

popcorn.

i love it. i need it. i want it.

somebody from vermont (who knows me too well, i think) sent a bag of Vermont Maple Kettle Corn to our office today. it was gone once i got my little paws on it. oh man, good STUFF. i actually sunk into a short depression once i realized i'd eaten it in like 10 minutes. but on the up side, i do have a little jug of maple syrup from vermont. hooray!

I've already ostracized myself from a few of my friends - TH hates popcorn because of how loud it is. My friend Annie won't go to a movie with me because i am one of those people that eats popcorn with their tongue (awesome!).

well, friends, i think we might have to have popcorn at the wedding reception. in little bags! how cute would that be?

christmas spirit.

i'm in it.

christmas cookies, christmas concerts, holiday lights, holiday parties, wishes of happy christmas!

ok...so its christmas time...so i should probably get started on that christmas shopping? such a procrastinator this year, ug.

and i'm unimpressed with my hair stylist. i'm giving him one more chance to wow me, then its quitsville. but i can't quit on him before christmas. its the season of giving!

snow.

last weekend we drove to pick up my ring from the jeweler. it had to be resized (down to a 4 3/4! i didn't know my finger was that small!) and i was without it for about a week.

it was snowing pretty heavily as we drove along the GW parkway, and across the river was georgetown. it was one of the prettiest sites i'd ever seen in dc, it looked just like a secret winter european city. TH and i pulled over to check it out and got snowed on a bit. i love winter. the cold is refreshing and clears the sky so stars are brilliant! and i'm also saying i love the winter as i'm sitting with my space heater in my warm office and its like 25 degrees and windy today.

this weekend: tonight staying out of the cold and going to bed early. i'm exhausted! then saturday its off to the nyc ballet and checking out a potential reception location. and a sunday night christmas concert with TH's family.

this just in.

TH's company has been purchased by a bigger fish, and as a result he will be moving to their offices, which are...located...TWO BLOCKS FROM MY OFFICE.

you know, it's a good thing we're getting married, because it would be pretty awkward running into him all the time on the street if we were all broken up. you know, since we live 3 blocks away from each other and will now be working two blocks from each other.

No wonder they say this is a small town.

Oh, and this means we'll be better equipped to move into the district - more convenience. so...if anyone hears of a cool apartment opening up feb/march with maybe a bay window for dining/reading nook on capitol hill or adams morgan, i'm all ears!

people get ready.

oh man, life won't slow down! something going on every night this week and already half of next week, then it's christmas, then leaving town for new years.

wait. christmas? that means i should start looking at presents for those i love. i have purchased one item for my love, and well pathetically that is all. online shopping may be my answer.

where do you go for good gifts online? etsy, yes. amazon, yes. blogs, yes. i'm loving all these gift guides everyone is doing, especially cup of joe.

have you finished your shopping? i have never been one of those last minute people when it comes to gifts, but geez, this year has snuck up on me!

tis the season

you guys!

i spent last week in grapevine, texas, aka christmas hell. i wish i had taken pictures because everything around me was decorated in high christmas fashion i.e. 50 foot tall white christmas tree, human sized gingerbread house, oil rig lined with christmas lights, and lots of The Grinch everywhere. to top it all off, the resort was actually a big climate-controlled dome, and you never even had to leave the building. so for 4 days i stayed in one building, never breathing real air. it was awesome - and now i can tell everyone i've lived in a christmas dome for a week before. face.

next topic: over the weekend, for the first time in life ever, i went to mt. vernon! they have candlelight christmas tours of the grounds and the house and holy moly it was increible. really got me in the christmas spirit, and plus TH and i did some old fashioned dancing, just like mr. darcy and elizabeth (not that i was imagining the one scene in pride and prejudice when we were dancing). you dance in groups of four, and my partner on the other side was a 16 year old boy who wouldn't look me in the eye or touch my hand when you were supposed to do the flat palm hand-touch dance move. it made me feel bad about myself at the time, but thinking back on it - maybe he was just trying to be a gentleman, or maybe he had swine flu. so thanks 16 year old boy. oh yeah and we went with TH's family and after the tour we went out for sunday desserts (i can get behind a family that goes out for sunday desserts!) and i picked the place, which happened to be a pub (read: bar), and that didn't go over so well with the parentals. you know, family sunday special night...in a bar? what was i thinking?! ahh well, you live and learn.

and closing story: TH is FAMOUS and you can find him on youtube talking about sciencey things (so cute so cute), and we were watching it the other day for the first time and here's how the story goes: we watch the video and afterwards TH turns to me and says "wow, is it me or do i look cooler on this video?" well, you be the judge. man, he is funny funny (and TH, you are just as cool in real life, especially when we do nothing but talk about energy policy for 2 hours at dinner.)

it's good to be back home!!

perfect weekend.

a few things that happened this weekend:

1. after a movie at tysons corner mall, we came out of the theatre at 12:30ish, and this is what we saw. they opened up the mall at midnight for black friday shopping and the lines and crowds were out of control.
2. we ate dinner and sipped cocoa at busboys and poets. TH made the spoon float on top of the cocoa, which i took as a sign that he is still a mad scientist at heart.

3. we renewed memberships at costco, and TH had the hiccups when they were taking his picture, AND his shirt was the exact color as the photo booth background. which i took as a sign that $50 is worth a membership this year. i haven't laughed so hard in a really long time.

so yes, a good weekend. also full of entirely too much food (which explains why i got sick one night. blerg.) what did you do?

goodbye november.

Christmas at Hogwarts
Originally uploaded by i.Anton

my favorite month, once again, has flown by too quickly.

but also, once again, it didn't fail me. brought many good things to my life. trip to chicago, a soon-to-be husband, and lots of celebrations.

december is still magical (the snow! the holidays! the twinkle lights!), so i can't say i'm TOO sad.

leaving for dallas tomorrow for work, then a nice long break from traveling. just in time for the holidays and starting to plan for a late winter wedding.

thankful.

I'm thankful for my family.
I'm thankful for my grandma's strong and loving personality that taught me so much, and for her life. She passed this morning and I'm thankful she is in a better place, no longer suffering in an old, frail body.
I'm thankful for my health.
I'm thankful for TH.
I'm thankful for my wonderful friends.
I'm thankful for my job - it's interesting (and crazy sometimes!) but very fulfilling.
I'm thankful for good food. Cheese especially.
I'm thankful for an education.
I'm thankful I'm back in DC. This is my home and I feel safe here.
I'm thankful for how I've grown over the past year. I've learned a lot about myself.
I'm thankful it's thanksgiving. We are all truly blessed with many things.

having fun with lizzie while she sleeps. never fall asleep with jenny next to you.

cranberry crunch custard at the dairy godmother. yum!

Enjoy your holiday weekend with those you love.

xoxo

oh man, in love.

still in disbelief. we are totally in that "ain't love grand" stage, which is pretty great. last night we met up with all our close friends at good stuff eatery, ate burgers and shakes, and laughed about all the stories and funny events leading up to the engagement. telling the story to the people who have been in your life throughout the relationship makes it feel that much more real. it meant so much to have everyone there with us, and we can't wait until the actual wedding day!

and i know all these photos are kind of blurry and dark, but they mean a lot to me since they're all from that night! my friend josh - a super talented nyc based photographer will be our official photographer for the engagements and wedding (he's known this since i met him!)

we're thinking about a late winter wedding. knowing there is a chance of snow on the wedding date makes it that much more special and magical, you know?

so much to decide and lots of plans to make, but for now we are just enjoying being engaged and giggling about being husband and wife (still! so crazy!). thanks for all your congratulations - they mean so much to us!

on the spanish steps.

we like taking walks.

we like looking at all the cozy houses and classic architecture of the old rowhomes, and walking along the tree-lined streets is so quaint and comforting.

and we've always liked walking on embassy row and sitting on the spanish steps near embassy row, but now i think they mean a little more to us.

see that? TH popped the question! and when i say popped, i mean totally surprised me to the point that i couldn't even say a word. so i nodded and finally the word "yes" escaped out of my mouth somehow.

and to celebrate we walked to adams morgan and shared the world's biggest banana split at The Diner. and stayed up way too late walking around the streets of dc and talking about all kinds of exciting things to come.

we're both so so excited and couldn't be happier to share the news!

chicago: back.

well, it was everything i thought it would be and more. except not really because i was pretty much forced to stay in the hotel all day long, conferencing, and never seeing the light of day and only breathing fresh air after 9:00pm.
but! i did:
1. go to the 95th floor of the hancock tower
2. go to a jazz supper club
3. see the blues brothers perform twice
4. dance with blues brothers and booty bump some of my work-mates
5. take the El to bucktown and buy a bunch of records
6. went to vintage store and scored some excellent vintage things
7. eat a lot of deep dish pizza (ug, i'm STILL full)

and it seemed like i was gone forever.
then i came back and had a really pretty great memorable weekend. stay tuned for details...

chicago.

here i come.

so much to do. so many side plans. i hope i find a friend who wants to tour around the city with me! if not, this is why ipods are so nice to have around. download some podcasts and good new music and i'm set.

but seriously, no chicago recommendations from anyone? which record store do i go to? where do i go to see a good band? what's a good coffee shop? vintage shop? clothes shop? SHOES SHOP? so many worries, you'd think i didn't even have a conference to go to.

this morning.

it was pouring this morning. and so cold and windy. pretty much miserable. TH and I were walking to the metro and my dinky little red umbrella kept threatening to break from the strong winds. TH was all "well, julie, it's too bad you didn't invest in an awesome umbrella like mine. that's what you get for wanting a cute umbrella."

then this happened.
life is seriously funny.

ok so i'm feeling sentimental.

did you know that on my first date with TH, he took me for a bike ride? he loves bikes and i love him and now he loves me. and we both love bikes. i should draw a venn diagram of this, it might be easier to understand.

photos via papertissue.

the district: best veggie burger in dc.

i'm on the quest, people.

so far, i have to give bgr the prize (beans and legumes joined together with cheese and perfectly seasoned!)
close second goes to good stuff eatery (cheese stuffed mushroom caps, dipped in panko bread crumbs and deep fried, oh dear.)
and third i guess goes to rays hell burger, but its not really a veggie burger, its just a grilled cheese, but man its a tiny piece of greasy heaven!

i'll continue this quest as long as TH is on his best burger quest. we really make a good team - hitting two birds with one stone.

accepting tip-offs and suggestions.

love,
gnomie

time out for monday.

oh, i'm sorry weekend, it's mondays turn to come in and unrelax me. awesome.

work is going to be crazy this week, and i'll be out next week for a conference, then the week after that i'll be prepping all week until the week after that, which i'll be out again for a conference.

i hope i don't fall off the face of the earth in the next month. i just need to make it through.

this weekend was so fun. taylors deli and rock and roll hotel on friday (to see nicole atkins and the sea). saturday was shopping with annie and then a late night falafel at amsterdam (the best!) and saturday night live - the funniest i've seen in sooo long. sunday was church, a drive on rock creek parkway, afternoon nap, then delicious dinner with friends.

if all weekends could be so relaxing and perfect.

so...does anyone have recommendations for things to do in chicago?

comfort.

This was really comforting to read tonight.

Life is crazy and stressful and odd. It helps to have a source of comfort to help you get through times that you want to crawl in a ball in your bed or under your desk. I hope you have your source of comfort, too. We all need to feel a giant hug from time to time.

au revoir simone.

have you heard this song? i luff. and the sparkly jumper? i want! topshop has the cutest sparkly tops right now, if only i had an extra $125 laying around for a sequined bolero jacket.

the new transition team

the new virginia governor, bob mcdonnell, isn't making any pretenses.

he just named his transition team, and its chock full of all the usual repub suspects.

5 co-chairs of the team are:
1. Kay Cole James, president of the Gloucester Institute, and board member of ultra conservative Heritage Foundation
2. Bill Bolling, Lt Gov of VA
3. Bill Mims, Attorney General of VA
4. Bobbie Kilberg, president and CEO of Northern Virginia Technology Council, and former Bush appointee
5. and the nail in the coffin: Tom Ferrell, CEO of Dominion Resources - the evil king of coal in Virginia and mid-atlantic states.

Apparently him and Tom were super good friends in high school. So...how's that climate and energy legislation looking, gov-elect McDonnell? What's going to happen in this and other southern states who are completely controlled by utilities who want nothing to do with forward looking technologies? They're already being left in the dust as many, many other states are building their economies to be leaders in clean energy. This is something that Virginia is hardly able to do with the way utilities are allowed to function. If the southern states don't move on this, federal action will likely take place, and all other states who already have energy efficiency, renewable, and climate plans in place are going to benefit. And Virginia ratepayers will see their bills rise.

I need to move.

still traveling. i still love ny.

east village veselka late night dinner, meeting up with my sweetie in one of my favorite cities, vintage and thrifting in brooklyn and billyburg, brunch with friends at community food and juice, walk through central park, the guggenheim (finally!), shopping in soho, rainy night in the algonquin watching dumb movies on a big comfy bed, bagels and bialys at kossers, donuts at the doughnut plant, pickles from the pickle guy (best sour pickle of my life), marathon spectatoring, church and catching up with old friends, dinner at westville (aghh my favorite the food is SO good but be prepared to wait, there are only like 10 tables inside), and back to the algonquin to finish up the weekend.

i'm exhausted. and sooo fat.

in the airport for my big kansas trip. afterwhich i will surely be saying to myself, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home" click click.

love.

it feels this way sometimes. comfort.

TH is in nyc for a few days. I'll be heading up tomorrow to join him. Then after a weekend, I have to do some business tripping. A lot of business tripping in the next 40 days. They will be great and interesting trips, but I'm always so happy to come back and see him.

laughing.

today at nienie:

I was downstairs and overheard Mr. Nielson upstairs
attending to two screaming girls in the shower.
Then he said:
"Oh girls, guess what? The devil called and said you guys were doing awesome."

I laughed and was glad the day was over.

i love their family!

friends.

i caught up with an old friend today.

we met nearly 10 years ago when we worked together at a golf course. he is my "one soul". he came to visit me at utah state my freshman year, and i took him on a tour of utah, including temple square. he wasn't lds, in fact he grew up jewish.

two years later he was baptized. two years after that he met his wife and was married in the lds temple. now he has a beautiful little girl and another baby on the way.

i am so happy for my friends who have been incredible blessings in my life. he has always pushed me to be better, knowing i can achieve more than i think capable. friends like that are hard to come by, so i feel doubly blessed that we are still friends after all these years.

what type of friend is indispensable for you? do you have a friend like that in your life?

decision.

it's been a long time coming, but this month i really have to make an important decision. i can keep putting it off, but almost every day i think about it, and try to plan out a way to make it happen.

well, it's time to go one way or the other. and november is the month to decide.

do i get an iphone or save money for winter clothes? would i use it enough to make it worth it? will it really change my life? if i have an iphone, will i not care about how freezing and ugly i am because i couldn't afford new clothes since i spent it all on technology?

decisions are the worst.

blerg.

i just realized that one of my favorite skirts doesn't really fit me, which is why i hardly ever wear it. its too big. why do i continue to buy my clothes too big and why is the size of american clothes shrinking?

the district: brunch and einstein.

we really really liked le pain quotidien. perfect place for a rainy saturday bruch. i had a yogurt parfait (the granola was amazing!) and TH had eggs and soldiers.

oh and belgian hot chocolate. you get to stir in the chocolate yourself. fun!

then we visited mr. einstein at constitution and 24th. we really like this statue and want to visit the national academy of science museum soon.

stressed. desserts spelled backwards.

you guys, don't worry. i'm cool. it's cool, no need to worry.

everything is fine. things are normal. life is good.

right?

(wishing i were still in bed right now. or far away in a nook where i can read and nap all day.)

how to avoid work OR my new hobby

here's my next big idea: reupholstering chairs.

i found a couple cheap chairs (with great frames) on craigslist and i think i'm going to try my best to reupholster what are currently very dingy chairs. has anyone ever done this? any advice? does anyone want to help or bring a chair and do your own?

i've been researching and it seems like you need a lot of tools. and sometimes the fabric can be expensive. ohhh...what am i getting myself into?

and i was out.

last night was tough.

TH and i met up to have a study date. i need to study for my job, to get smarter on all these topics, and TH needs to do some studying for his, too. well, we went to buzz cafe, open till midnight, awesome cupcakes, wi-fi and good study space...and it was totally packed! so we stood there for like 5 minutes, pouting, then went back to his studio apartment.

we got thai food, watched seinfeld, then started studying. and by studying i mean he started working and i laid down and went to sleep. so much for getting smart.

and also, i miss thai smile - the old thai place that used to be on 23rd street, which has now been replaced by a less desirable restaurant. now we go to urban thai which is fine, but you have to admit its much more fun to get take out from Thai SMILE!

i'm going to go home tonight, change into comfy clothes, make a pb&j (thanks naomi for the idea!), and watch my stories (the office, 30 rock, and project runway). sounds heavenly.

tears.

it was 10pm. dark and chilly. glowing lamps lit small cozy homes as i walked by. and this song brought me to tears - its rumored that mahler wrote it for his wife as a love letter. writing this symphony filled their first summer together as husband and wife, and his wife Alma was a continued inspiration for his music.

and well, walking home last night from the metro, i began to cry because this song really does feel like the person you love is making his declaration. i have been practicing the adagietto - a piano arrangement. its not nearly as beautiful as the symphony, but it fills some gaps.

basically, i am putty in mahler's hands.

things i need in my life. this week's edition.

1. lots of bubblegum.2. old cameras.
3. furniture with clawed feet.

4. stripes.5. grand piano.6. friends.probably some cinnamon rolls, too.

but not all at once. wait, on second thought - yes, all at once. i'll work on this - and will provide photographic evidence.

when history looks oh so bad.

sometimes i cringe at the boys i've dated in my previous life. You know, Julie B.TH. (before TH).

facebook always brings their pictures to my attention and it ruffles my feathers sometimes. maybe i should look at facebook less and look more at things that matter, like the growing pile of work in front of me.

but seriously, most people reading my blog probably know of at least one person who i should never have dated. *sigh. such is the life of a 27 year old girl. why didn't you guys tell me what i couldn't see for myself? glad that is history and now my boy TH surprises me with tulips on a wednesday night. and doesn't mind watching project runway with me. and has some really, really good jokes. and just makes me feel good about life in general (i always think of that depeche mode song when i hear "life in general". then i think of report rhyming with report and it sends me into a fit of giggles.)

(best hairstyle ever)

last night.

i made the upside down cranberry cake. it was delicious.

we watched 30 rock, the office, and project runway.

then after the shows, we were talking about crabshacks for some reason. and TH came up with best name for a crabshack: shadrach's crabshack.

at 11pm, it was really funny. my stomach still hurts from laughing for like 10 minutes. the silent laughter is the best, with the shoulder shaking? ya know?

we also laughed about the time i said shadrach, ratshack, and abendego. i never said i was up on my bible stories, did i?

cranberries. no...cranberries. alright both.

i'm talking gild the lily, folks.

as if cookies and dessert breads were not enough, i'm feeling the need for a little more...oh how the french say, "i don't know what".

i will be making these and this. i think i'll start with this, and i can always freeze these. just keep me away from the orange zester because last time i zested my thumb and forefinger. disgusting.

and yes, this was all inspired by this.

ug, autumn, what are you DOING to me? besides destroying my waistline, that is.

nerves.

my big haircut is right around the corner and i have no idea what to do with my hair!

i always do this. i schedule an appointment weeks in advance with plans to find "the perfect haircut" then i go in with nothing and say "ummm, what do YOU think?" i need an image consultant, i think.

in other news, i practiced scales for 30 minutes last night on the piano, and then determined that i still am a romantic. bach is hard to play and i make it sound choppy, and debussy is beautiful and flowing. how do i fight that kind of logic? welll, folks, i don't.

movie theaters.

growing up, i was never much of a trouble maker. i was kicked out class occasionally for talking too much, and once given a referral for flirting (this honestly did happen! how embarrassing!), and i think i said the A word for the first time in 11th grade.

when i moved out and went through my college years, things pretty much stayed the same. i was a good kid and didn't get into too much trouble. however, i did develop one habit that was less how shall we say, "moral" than my other habits. i was a movie sneak.

i snuck into more movie theaters than i care to mention, from dc to missouri to utah to alaska, etc. from sea to shining sea, really. sometimes i would just walk in and not pay. other times i would pay for one movie and catch a double feature and on the rare occasion - a triple feature. i didn't have much money at this point in my life, but i still thought i deserved entertainment just as much as the next guy. i did a lot of temp work, which meant sometimes 5 days a week of working, or sometimes only 1 or 2. it was boring. i was poor. i snuck into movies.

one time i pulled the "can i use your bathroom" trick, then sneaked off to a theatre. on the way, i saw the guy who let me in to use the bathroom. my heart sunk to my chest and i got the insta-sweats. i was sure i was busted! but the guy just looked right past me. lucky break.

yes, i have a shady past when it comes to movie watching. and you know what? i don't even feel that bad about it.

still the weekend.

3 day weekend! so much to do, and that extra day kind of gets us there.

friday we left work a couple hours early to meet on the mall and check out the peacock room and the solar decathalon. we movied, hung out in the portrait gallery, and tried out meat and veggie burgers at good stuff.saturday we bageled at brooklyn bagels in clarendon (a fav spot), then met with some new friends, hannah and rob. we started reading each others blog awhile back, then they just recently moved to dc from paris (!), so we decided it was high time we were real life friends. and i don't want to jinx anything, but i'm pretty sure we hit it off. we talked loudly in the corcoran for like an hour and hannah wasn't even that upset when i started touching all the art, which i can only assume means we are friends. we walked through dc for a while, then supped for 3 hours at tonic in mt. pleasant. TH and rob found out they work right across the street from each other and share a common love. (well, besides significant others who enjoy meeting blog friends)
sunday was dinner with family and baby lijah and laura are in town!

today? more solar decatholon (even though the weather is trying to thwart us...)

the district: national arboretum and the mall

it was cristy's birthday this week!to celebrate, she was gracious enough to invite me on her birthday day of exploration.

we went to the national arboretum.

we ran into nature, including a praying mantis the size of my head.

cristy prayed to the birthday gods and they smiled upon her.

this slug also impressed us with its size and mobility.

cristy near the castle.

ahhh dc is wonderful! i keep saying that new york ruined me and i can never love any other cities, but the more time i spend in dc, the more i love it. the arboretum was so beautiful. we went to the top of the washington monument and saw for miles around. we visited the peacock room which is one of my new favorite spots in dc. we walked through the solar decathlon that is on the mall for the next few weeks (with incredible scandinavian-esque designs and solar panels everywhere!!)

point is - i really like this city. in the same way it takes time to get to know a person, it takes time to get to know a city. but i feel like this is more than a crush and it may be something more akin to endless love once its fully developed.

<3