oh, America...

you ridiculously beautiful country, you.

Yes, please!

MoMA just opened a new exhibit with over 300 of Henri Cartier-Bresson's photographs.

Clearly, this is worth a trip to NYC!

Happy Birthday, my love!

I talk a fair amount about Brad on here. It's because he is

the love of my life...

the center of my world...

the putter-upper with all my ridiculousness.

He has the sweetest soul of anyone I've ever met. He schleps my camera stuff around, gets up early in the morning for sunrise shots, makes funny faces, doesn't roll his eyes too much when I start planning another trip and is generally an all around great guy.

He feels most at home on a jet-ski...
(in Barbados)

on the putt-putt golf course...
(in Chicago)

or at Cedar Point.

He dresses up quite well...
(Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Pride)

but can be goofy on a moments notice.

He hugs trees...
(Bainbridge Island, Washington)

and lounges on them.
(Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos)

He loves his black coffee...
(in Starbucks first store in Seattle)

mostly because it helps him stay awake on all the flights I drag him on.
(flying to Seattle)

Happy Birthday, my love!

And we're off again!

I can't WAIT to take photos on this trip! As we found out in Seattle, photographing neon is just plain ol' addicting...

list 7 - junk food I hate to love

breakfast at Lowell's in Pike Place Market, Seattle

Since I've been trying to live healthier lately (you know eating better, going to the gym, that kind of stuff), I thought this week's list should be a homage to all those things that I really don't eat any more... but that doesn't diminish my love of them :)

- brownie sundaes with extra marcchino cherries

- Chick-fil-a chicken biscuit sandwiches

- Starbucks peppermint mocha's

- red wine

- bacon cheeseburger's

- anything from Friendly's, but especially the Reeses Pieces Sundae

- Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies

- Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies ice cream (noticing an ice cream theme?)

- moist, fluffy, chocolate cake

- french fries, especially those from Hard Times Cafe and McDonald's

- sweet potatos covered in cinnamon-sugar and butter

- honey mustard dipped chicken fingers from Wing Zone

- movie theater popcorn

- chocolate filled croissants

Anyone have anything yummy to add???

candy display in La Boqueria, Barcelona, Spain

Make-up Monday: Five for Friday

1. Sorry I didn't "Five for Friday" on Friday. See, it was just a crazy busy day.

First I worked out with my personal trainer.
Then I had to clean the house like a mad woman because my Dad was coming into town.
Then I had to take a short nap.
Then I had to pick him up at the airport.
Then I had to let him take me to lunch (mmmm... thai!).
Then I had to do a little shopping with him.
Then I had to pick Brad up at the Metro and drop him off at church for Good Friday Mass.
Then I had to drop Dad off at his hotel.
Then I had to take our car to get the oil change.
Then I had to twirl around outside because the weather was so nice.
Then I had to go to dinner with two of my bestest boys. But the first place we went hardly had any fish on the menu. So we had to go to another place. Where we ended up dining outside in the beautiful evening air and having awesome food.
Then I had to fall exhausted into bed.
*whew!*


2. I have decided that I have a special place in my heart for the tourists riding Metro this spring break season. You all have really outdone yourselves this year. Last week during my commute:

- a guy broke up with his girlfriend on the train on the way to the airport*

- a momma tourist decided that a crowded train at rush hour was the perfect time to teach her four year old tourist daughter to read. "The... cat... walked... down... the... ro-...oad.. to... the..." Momma tourists apparently forgot that four year olds learning to read only have one volume: loud.

- a tourist family with no less than six tourist children stood right by the doors on a crowded train at rush hour, refusing to let those of us who know how to follow the rules ("When boarding, please move to the center of the car.") through

- countless tourists families could not figure out that their mobile phones do not work in the tunnels and thought that if they spoke louder, perhaps a satellite would come into the tunnel and make their cell phone pick up a signal.

- my personal favorite: tourist woman sits down next to innocent commuter across the aisle and starts complaining loudly about, well, everything. Innocent commuter actually listens (psychiatrist perhaps?) and upon getting off at our stop, turns to me and says "I have no idea who that woman was, she just sat down and started complaining!"**

*they may have been locals. Still worth including on the list, if you ask me.
** this may be tied for first with the soldier who got off at my stop after being babbled at by a ten-ish year old the whole ride and said "that kid wouldn't shut up the whole way!"


3. On a more positive note, we had a lovely Easter. It was extremely low-key, which is about the best thing in the world.

4. We saw an amazing show at the Kennedy Center on Saturday afternoon. Tyne Daly playing the original opera diva, Maria Callas, in Terrance McNally's "Master Class." It was fantastic. Really, not enough adjectives to describe it. The acting was great, the writing was stupendous and the opera singing was tear-inducing. Makes me super excited to go see the real opera at the end of the month! And thanks to Dad for springing for tickets and having the idea. It's a production we almost certainly would have skipped. And that would have been a shame.

5. This Friday's Five for Friday will probably be postponed as well. We'll be traveling to celebrate Brad's birthday... the secret location has been revealed to him... but I'll keep it a secret a little longer :)

List 6 - Simple Pleasures

- cupcakes, especially peanut butter fudge from Georgetown Cupcake
- cute, cheap shoes
- long walks on beautiful spring days
- Italian subs from A. Litteri's
- traveling - obviously...
- the perfect photograph of a non-obvious detail
- leaving work at 4:30 on a warm weather Friday - doesn't happen too often!
- making photo books from all our trips - still working on our honeymoon though :)
- handwritten letters from old friends
- extra-crispy apples
- sweet text-messages
- learning something new
- opening a bottle of wine you've been saving for a special occasion for no occasion at all
- watching old movies - especially ones with a certain swoon-worthy gentleman... :)
- singing show tunes in the shower

throw open the shutters!

doesn't this make you ready for spring?

Villefranche - October 2007

Five for Friday

1. Great call yesterday by Brad and my Dad on missed When Harry Met Sally quotes.

Brad's contribution:
Harry Burns: "I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

Harry Burns: You realize of course that we could never be friends.
Sally Albright: Why not?
Harry Burns: What I'm saying is - and this is not a come-on in any way, shape or form - is that men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.
Sally Albright: That's not true. I have a number of men friends and there is no sex involved.
Harry Burns: No you don't.
Sally Albright: Yes I do.
Harry Burns: No you don't.
Sally Albright: Yes I do.
Harry Burns: You only think you do.
Sally Albright: You say I'm having sex with these men without my knowledge?
Harry Burns: No, what I'm saying is they all WANT to have sex with you.
Sally Albright: They do not.
Harry Burns: Do too.
Sally Albright: They do not.
Harry Burns: Do too.
Sally Albright: How do you know?
Harry Burns: Because no man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her.
Sally Albright: So, you're saying that a man can be friends with a woman he finds unattractive?
Harry Burns: No. You pretty much want to nail 'em too.
Sally Albright: What if THEY don't want to have sex with YOU?
Harry Burns: Doesn't matter because the sex thing is already out there so the friendship is ultimately doomed and that is the end of the story.
Sally Albright: Well, I guess we're not going to be friends then.
Harry Burns: I guess not.
Sally Albright: That's too bad. You were the only person I knew in New York.

Dad's contribution: "I'll have what she's having." Did you know that line is actually spoken by Rob Reiner's mother who plays the woman in the deli who is definitely envious of the turkey sandwich that Meg Ryan is eating since, just prior to this line, Meg Ryan was faking a, well, you know what.

Classic.

2. I've decided that I'm probably going to work a picture of Cary Grant into a post at least every two weeks. He really brightened my day yesterday. Thanks swooner (my new nickname for him).

3. The weather here is disgusting today. It's only fitting that it should be pouring rain, since it is one of my best friend's at work last day. This makes me terribly sad. In fact, I've decided she's not really leaving, she's actually just taking a REALLY extended vacation. She'll return one day. Hopefully.

4. My personal trainer kicked my butt this morning. It hurts to type. This is what I get for telling him I wanted to work harder. Might be a long day...

5. Brad's parents are in town this weekend. We never seem to know what fun activities to do with them. Yet we live in this city with loads of free and cheap and fun stuff to do. The only thing really out is movies or performing arts. They just need some more exciting touristy things to be built. Somehow we always end up just sitting around and walking around Pentagon City Mall (the bane of any locals existence at this time of year due to the massive school groups that take over the entire place). So DC peeps that read this blog, I need suggestions. I know there's stuff we're not thinking of. Oh, and don't you dare suggest Cherry Blossoms. Because we all know that every tourist in the city of D.C. will be there this weekend!

amendment to the previous post

You know how sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night and realize that you forgot to do something VERY important. And then you can't really sleep for the rest of the night because you feel so silly for forgetting that something VERY important? And you'd probably just be better off getting out of bed, firing up the computer and amend your list post from previously in the day because you left off your favorite and most quotable movie ever?!

Um, yeah. When Harry Met Sally. Hands down winner of most quotable movie ever (sorry Sleepless...). Tied for my favorite movie (need to watch it and An Affair to Remember back to back to determine winner. I'm afraid, though, that Cary Grant may make me swoon too much to make a fair judgement. (Sorry, had to include a picture. Doesn't it instantly brighten your Thursday?)

Some quotes for you... feel free to add your own, I know I'm missing some:

(they're standing in the Egyptian area of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I may or may not find it necessary to repeat this scene every time we're in NYC in the vicinity of the Met)
*insert funny accent*
Harry Burns: Repeat after me. Pepper.
Sally Albright: Pepper.
Harry Burns: Pepper.
Sally Albright: Pepper.
Harry Burns: Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash.
Sally Albright: Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash.
Harry Burns: But I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie.

Harry Burns: You were going to be a gymnast.
Sally Albright: A journalist.
Harry Burns: Right, that's what I said.

Harry Burns: Had my dream again where I'm making love, and the Olympic judges are watching. I'd nailed the compulsories, so this is it, the finals. I got a 9.8 from the Canadians, a perfect 10 from the Americans, and my mother, disguised as an East German judge, gave me a 5.6. Must have been the dismount.

Harry Burns: You know, I have a theory that hieroglyphics are just an ancient comic strip about a character named Sphinxy. (also said at the Met... also may or may not be an often repeated phrase by a certain blogger/photographer/wife/travel buff upon every visit to any sort of Egyptian themed art exhibit)

list 5 - Movie Quotes I Love

While we are not huge movie watchers, there are some quotes that are just too quotable not to love. I often repeat these quotes, over and over again. Lets play a little game this week. I will list the quote, you guess the movie. Answers at the bottom, but no cheating :)

1. "She looks like my third grade teacher, and I hated my third grade teacher... wait a minute, she IS my third grade teacher!"

2. "Hmm, death by mini-bar. How glamorous."

3. "It's always the guy in my job that ends up doing 18 months in Danbury minimum security prison."

4. "It's easier to be killed by a terrorist than it is to find a husband over the age of 40!"

5. "I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy."

6. "Are you mad at the keyboard?"
"I type with purpose."

7. "The Godfather is the I-ching. The Godfather is the sum of all wisdom. The Godfather is the answer to any question. What should I pack for my summer vacation? "Leave the gun, take the cannoli." What day of the week is it? "Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday." "

8. "Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories... And we've already missed the spring!"

9. "You in the suit! Yes, you! Take a bath, hippie!"

10. "See, that's the difference between us. You think we're fighting, and I think we're finally talking."


1. Sleepless in Seattle
2. My Best Friend's Wedding
3. The American President (but we already know how quottable that movie is)
4. Sleepless in Seattle (it's the most quotable movie ever!)
5. Finding Nemo (I am a sucker with a capital S for Pixar movies)
6. Up in the Air
7. You've Got Mail (also a sucker, apparently, for Tom Hanks movies)
8. An Affair to Remember... or Sleepless in Seattle :)
9. Up (see previous love of Pixar movies)
10. Jerry Maguire

le weekend

To say that Saturday was beautiful would be the understatement of the century.

Saturday was GORGEOUS!

In honor of the 75 degrees, we slipped on some shorts/capri's and tee-shirts and trekked down to Old Town to run some errands. In our trusty backpack, we also threw in a blanket and books. After our errand running, we had a leisurely lunch on the lovely back patio of Taverna Cretekou (awesome Greek restaurant) and then walked down to Founder's Park, where we spread out our blanket and read in the sun for a few hours.

Heavenly.

Kind of hard to believe that just a month ago, it looked like this out:

Five for Friday

1. Ahhhh... she returns. After a few week hiatus from five for Friday, I thought I'd take a shot at it this week. Not that I really have any more to say than I did in the previous Friday's that I skipped because I didn't have anything to say...

2. So, my birthday was Wednesday. I turned ripe ol' age of 28. And this year, I felt old. Now, I know, there are many of you out there (friends, co-workers, etc.) who are telling me that you would kill to be 28 again. I just feel like my life is going by so fast. There's so much I want to do. So many places I want to travel. So many things I want to experience. So many things I want to learn. Yet, I spend every day sitting in an office, cranking out press releases, followed by reluctantly going to the gym after work, followed by a so-so dinner, followed by going to bed way too early for someone my age. The next day, repeat.

I need to shake things up a bit, I'm just not sure how. What I really want to do is quit my job, empty my savings account and then go bum around Europe for a few months. Something tells me that Brad may not exactly be on board with that plan though. Other suggestions that are less drastic/expensive/non-marriage-wrecking are more than welcomed.

3. Despite the previous post, I did have a good birthday. I got some great presents, including some cookware from my Dad (boy, you know you're old when you're asking for pots and pans for gifts!) and a camera lens I've really been wanting (sorry Penn Camera, just lost you my rental business every time we go on a trip!). We went to our favorite French bistro in Alexandria, where our favorite waiter gave me way too many complimentary glasses of champagne and "upgraded" wine pairings. This was followed up by the cutest little cake from one of my favorite bakery's, Cakelove. I won't share any pictures from me opening my presents (b/c I was slouching on the couch (see too much champagne above), so they all make me look about 20 lbs heavier than I actually am), but here's one of my super cute cake:

4. The weather lately has been heavenly. 70 degrees and a bright blue sky. I even noticed on my walk home from the Metro last night that some of the dogwood trees are blooming. Which then had my reciting quotes from one of the most all time quotable movies, the "American President" (Michael Douglas? Annette Benning? Surely you've seen it. Fantastic movie from the late 90's. I especially enjoy it when they re-write the entire State of the Union merely hours before the speech.).

President Michael Douglas, on the phone ordering flowers, says to florist: "What's the state flower of Virginia?"

P.M.D.: "Hang on" (intercoms assistant) "What's the state flower of Virginia?"

Assistant Janie (hand over intercom, embarrassed she doesn't know what the state flower of Virginia is, asks the older, wiser assistant): "What's the state flower of Virginia?"

Older, wiser assistant: "It's the dogwood."

Janie, back on intercom to P.M.D.: "It's the dogwood."

P.M.D. to the florist on the phone: "It's the dogwood." ...."Really? Janie! The dogwood is a tree not a flower."

Janie looks at older, wiser assistant who says: "Actually its a tree and a flower."

Janie: "Sir, its a tree and a flower."

P.M.D. "The dogwood is a tree and a flower, I'd like a dozen please. Really? No dogwoods?"

Ohhh... I love that movie. I could go on quoting for hours.

5. Not much else to say. I need to hang curtains this weekend. We'll see how that goes :)

Happy weekend everyone!

list 4 - 28 goals, aspirations, dreams and wishes for the next year

Today is my 28th birthday. Thus, I thought it was only appropriate for today's list to be about what I aim to do, accomplish and dream in my 28th year of life.

1. keep going to the gym. on a regular schedule... that means more than one a week.
2. roll down a grassy hill.
3. participate in another art or photography show.
4. learn how to cook at least five things that I'm really good at and can make from memory.
5. visit somewhere new in the U.S.
6. visit somewhere new internationally.
7. not wear my hair pulled back in a ponytail or bun every day. just 6 days out of 7.
8. tell my family I love them more.
9. tell my friends how much they mean to me more.
10. get a handle on the 10,000+ emails in my personal email account (we won't even talk about how I'm 136% over the capacity limit on my work email...)
11. find a church that I love going to. and actually go.
12. find a book club. or maybe start my own.
13. make a new friend.
14. spread my wings and fly.
15. keep brownie sundaes down to once a month. or maybe once a week.
16. complain less.
17. smile more.
18. make strides toward fitting in my favorite winter white wool pants.
19. enjoy happy hour on a sunny patio more when the weather calls for it.
20. lay off the BlackBerry. especially at dinner. or in bed. or when in the company of others. but probably not in meetings. especially boring ones.
21. be less judgemental.
22. try something that really scares me.
23. read a lot more.
24. write handwritten letters.
25. keep up blogging.
26. not include a note about the weather in every Five for Friday entry.
27. make my family proud.
28. make myself proud.

oops, forgot something

So, clearly when I made my list last week of "all the necessities in life," I forgot something big. I think it's because I haven't made a new purchase in this arena in a while. But Friday and Saturday were flooded with new purchases and my heart is just soaring. From what you ask?

Shoes.*

Some recent purchases...

There's these (perhaps my favorites):

Which make me ready for summer (or another trip to Barbados) to be here NOW. Like literally now. I spent all Friday afternoon wearing them around the house with my jeans rolled up... and my sweater on. You can find them at Land's End for a bargain basement price. (the only bummer? The super cute green is sold out in my size)

They make my heart sing.

Then, there's these:
Which make me want it to stop raining so I can wear them SO badly. The best part? They're insanely comfortable. And, people look at the detailing on the toe:

Fantastic. Precious. Comfortable. Perfect. They're also from Land's End.

So those arrived from the nice UPS man on Friday (thank goodness I had the day off of work so I could be there to meet their arrival!)**. Then came Saturday night's I'm-bored-lets-go-to-Target-and-see-how-much-random-crap-we-can-waste-money-on shopping trip. The result? Two additional pairs of beauties.

There's these:
I about died/did a happy dance right in the store over how ridiculously cute they are. I'm hoping the weather gods play nice and I can wear them for my birthday on Wednesday. Heck, even if there is 2' of snow on the ground, I still might wear them. Because I can.

Additionally, they're comfortable.

Additionally, my toes actually "peep" out of them, vs the majority of peep-toe shoes that they normally do not.

Additionally, they're fantastic.

As I said, you can get them at Target.

Finally, the last, functional, good ol' black work flat:

(these may not be the actual shoes, I'm not sure, but the actual ones look pretty darn close).

Love you functional black work flats that don't have holes so my feet won't get wet or cold.

So there you have it. My additional life's necessities. Pretty, comfortable, beautiful, prefect, budget-minded, footwear.

* This may be the girliest post I have ever written. Ever. I can't help it. I just love shoes SO much!

**I did not take the day off of work just because I knew new shoes were being delivered. I actually had no idea, I'm horrible about tracking packages. Which made the surprise all that much sweeter.

List 3 - Absolute Necessities in my Life

(a list in photos)

List 2 - Things I Don't Understand

1. Why people who are not disabled use the handicapped turnstile on the Metro. While it is almost twice as wide as the normal turnstiles, it takes anywhere from 15-30 seconds longer to get through, especially if you're right behind another person or there's someone coming the other way. This is something I wonder every day when I see walking commuters, without any large luggage or bags or strollers or anything other than a small work bag, lining up at this turnstile. Perhaps this is one of life's grand unanswered questions.

2. Looting. Reports coming from Chile are that people are not only looting essentials, but also things like flat screen plasma televisions. Really? I can't imagine what kind of person would do that. How is that in anyway beneficial to you and your fellow countrymen when your home and city have been destroyed by an earthquake and you're stealing a TV. This may also be one of life's unanswerable questions.

3. Littering. Every day, I see people read the little freebie daily newspaper on the Metro and drop it on the floor or leave it on their seat. Why couldn't they carry it off the train and put it in one of the many trash or recycling bins in the station? Laziness I suppose, which may be the answer to number one as well (but probably not number two).

4. Complaining. Why do people complain? Are they looking for sympathy? Are they looking to just get something off their chest? Are they just a negative person, the glass half empty type? I especially don't understand people who complain about things that are totally within their control to change.

5. Perhaps the biggest mystery: why does coffee taste so much better when you buy it from Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts/McDonald's/7-11/a random vendor on the street than when you make it for yourself at home?

Wallpaper Wednesday

In ode to one of my favorite places on earth, I give you a panoramic view of beautiful

Florence, Italy as your March wallpaper

large - 1024x705
medium - 500x344
small - 240x165 (best size for your smart phone)

Barbados, IV

You may be wondering 'What the heck does someone do on their fourth trip to Barbados that they haven't done already?' My answer: lots of different things. Mostly involving the beach, a certain oceanfront beach bar, and Banks. Lots of Banks beer. Oh, and polo. That was a fun, non-beach activity.

feeling kind of sassy at the Carib Beach Bar (it's the jumbo sunglasses!)

view from said beach bar... where we had lunch every. day.

Sunday afternoon polo at Holder's Hill

lots of this on vacation....
tanned and happy (yet sad to be leaving!)

St. Lawrence Gap

peaceful view

the view from the balcony

beautiful sunsets

thanks to our wonderful host, my Dad :)