Graduation Day

I finished my master's degree & graduated this past weekend. It was a lovely weekend & I was very blessed to have a few members of my family in town to celebrate.  I am so grateful for their support during the past two years.  

Here are a few snapshots from the weekend.  We were lucky to have incredible seats for the large ceremony on the National Mall.

Our commencement speaker was Brian Williams from NBC.  He charged us to "take us [the country] somewhere."

My family gifted my with this beautiful bracelet. It has amethyst stones. I absolutely love it and know that I will enjoy wearing it each day.

I have lots of things i'd like to do now that I have "free time" again.  More goals & info on that is coming soon... but in the meantime, I am excited about a long-overdue vacation and a chance to catch up on my sleep!

White House Holiday Open House

Now that it is officially the end of January, I suppose it's time to post the pictures I have from visiting the White House over the Christmas holidays (!!!).  Yes, these are LONG overdue.  It's shameful, actually... but I wanted to record & share them anyway.  There's not too much to say about these pictures, but I hope you enjoy the beautiful decor of the People's House.

I love the whimisical colors of this tree, decorated with felt ornaments.

How incredible is this version of Bo, my all-time favorite first family pet?!

The centerpiece of the Christmas decor was the White House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room, which featured framed service and honor medals from the U.S. Military in tribute and thanks to our troops.

Special thanks to my dear friend Catherine for accompanying me on this open house tour and taking these photographs.

Happy DC-iversary to Me!

Technically, I guess, my DC-iversary was yesterday, but I don't think it matters that much. Last year, June 1, 2010, was my first full day as a resident of the District of Columbia.  

Source

It has been an entire year. A lot has happened. A lot has changed.  A lot has stayed the same. And a lot has been spent on moving costs and rent.

I didn't really know what topic to write about that is best suited to my DC-iversary. My favorite things to do here? My best memories here? My least favorite things about the city?  

In the end, I decided to write about the biggest realizations I've had about DC since moving here. 

Living here is no piece of cake. I miss my car immensely, but there are some upsides to not having a car.  However, going to the grocery store is still a huge bitch.

 It is FREAKING HOT here. And humid. OH, SO HUMID. I thought, after living in Louisiana for 4 years, I would be prepared. I was wrong. I am already melting.

In light of the statement above, try to discourage friends and family from visiting you in the summer, when the city is overrun with tourists (read: school groups and... ahem... smelly Boy Scouts) and hotter than, well... you know. Encourage visits in the early fall and spring! 

Have you heard the expression "Washington is like Hollywood for ugly people." ? Its sort of true in my opinion. Except you should replace the word "ugly" with "normal-looking but typically smarter."  Make sense? 

The food here sucks. Unless you are willing to shell out $25 per semi-nice restaurant meal, there is very little good food here. But I think Louisiana may have completely ruined me in this aspect of life. (Oh, and FYI- the drinks here are expensive. Happy hours are ever-so-much-more important.) 

If you move here, you will meet people who understand you and your love for policy and politics better than anyone else you've ever known. In fact, you might realize that these things are not as important to you as they are to other people.  You know you live in Washington when you are not the only person working out while watching Meet the Press on Sunday morning. 

The metro is really cheap and clean, comparatively speaking. It sucks, however, in getting you close to where you want to go 80% of the time.  You walk a lot here, and if you don't like walking, get used to shelling out money for a cab or figuring out the bus system. If you don't have that kind of money, invest in comfortable shoes.

Rooftop anythings are cool: pools, decks, grills.  My building apparently recently planted an herb garden for everyone's use on the roof. Next to the pool. And the deck. And the grills. Score.

But you know what my biggest realization about the last year is? I actually have friends here now!! I moved to this city knowing maybe one other person. But now, I have friends. Actual friends that I can depend on in an hour of need. And I love them. And I am thankful for them every single day. A few of them have blogs (see: DC blogs list to the left + Cassie + Emily) but most of them do not blog. But I love them all so much! 

Thank you to all my friends in every city who have supported my move to D.C., asked me questions, made me feel special, made me feel not so alone, and helped me make a life here! 

Things I'm Loving Right Now

I finally figured out how to get to the Jefferson Memorial on foot. Go me! I even took pictures to prove it. But I'm not going to post them right now. But maybe I will someday...

P.S. Why isn't there a metro or bus stop closer to the memorial? D.C. definitely fails in making it easy on you to get to many of the monuments. I guess most tourists use those tour bus things, but dang. Can't a regular person get to the monuments without shelling out $30?

Speaking of the Jefferson Memorial, I am really enjoying all the Cherry Blossoms in D.C.  I did not, however, enjoy fighting all the tourists when I tried to go to the tidal basin the other day. I guess people are just trying to enjoy the scenery but my gosh, I felt like there was a competition to see who could walk the slowest while maintaing forward motion. Sheesh.

Okay... off my soapbox now.

I'm absolutely loving everything in this etsy shop, especially these earrings. Which reminds me, I have some stuff to do for work...

Love, love, love.

Have you ever heard of eShakti? My friend Emily introduced me to it about a week ago. It is a site that has dresses from size 0 to 26. The dresses are also customizable, if you want to change them. You can change the sleeve style and the length of the dress.  Pretty cool, huh? 

Flutter Sleeve Dress, $59.95

I'm also loving this skirt from Talbots, but given budget constraints, I definitely won't be buying it anytime soon (or much else for that matter...), but somehow that doesn't keep me from online browsing.

Check out this picture of my aunt's dog. Is he not the greatest?  He is seriously the friendliest dog I've ever met.

Lastly, I made some banana bread this weekend that turned out to be epic. I'll be posting the recipe soon. Get excited, folks!

It's Restaurant Week in D.C.

Here's a great heads-up for all who live in the D.C. area and enjoy dining out:

Its Restaurant Week in D.C.!  

It runs through the 23, although some restaurants are extending the specials until the next week as well.

You can get all the details here, but here's a quick recap:

Over 200 restaurants in the DC area are participating in Restaurant week.

You can purchase tickets for lunch or dinner.

Lunch is $20.11 for a three course prix-fixe menu.

Dinner is $35.11 for a three course prix-fixe menu.

This is such a great way to get a fancy meal without the fancy bill.

I'm planning to try a new restaurant with a friend, but if you are looking for recommendations, the following restaurants are fantastic:

Oyamel 

(Sorry, you knew I would say it! This is my favorite DC eatery by far.)

Filomena 

(They have this amazing eggplant appetizer thing.)

Georgia Brown's 

(Pretty decent "soul food.") 

Potenza

(Not my absolute favorite, but still good.)

Art & Soul

(Oh my gosh- get the hocakes, if they have them!)

Happy Eating! 

Eliza's First D.C. Snow

When I got out of class last night, it had snowed about half an inch. 

While this was not the first snow Eliza has ever seen, it was the first time it has really accumulated since she moved to D.C. with me.  Surprisingly (to me, at least) she has liked the cold weather so far and enjoys going on long-ish walks. 

But, not since it snowed.  The three times we have gone out since it snowed, she has just not been into it at all. 

These were the only pictures I could get of her last night.

And, as you can see, this was me making her stop before going back into the building.  

Poor thing.  I hope she adjusts soon. This morning, she was really upset about the icy sidewalk.  Ice is just not acceptable to a dog like Eliza!  Haha.  I am sad to report that she will have to get over that asap.

Lauren's Visit to DC

My friend Lauren came up to DC for a quick 2 and 1/2 day visit.  It was so much fun! 

We started off on Thursday by going to the US Capitol.

We took one of the standard tours of the Capitol.  I've done this twice now with different people who've come in town and I really enjoyed it.

Then, we headed to my favorite museum: the Museum of American History.

My favorite exhibit in the museum, by far, is the First Ladies' Exhibit.  

They have gowns and artifacts from many of the First Ladies, including this dress which once belonged to Martha Washington!  How cool is that?!

I definitely recommend checking out the exhibit for yourself the next time you visit DC.

That night, we went to Oyamel for dinner.  Oyamel has become one of my favorites!  I didn't take any pictures, but you can rest assured that we definitely enjoyed the guacamole and more!

On Friday, we headed to the National Zoo.

We started out by visiting the pandas.

I've visited the ones in Memphis many times before, but Lauren had never seen a panda in person.  They are always so chill.

Recently, two lions at the zoo welcomed seven, yes, SEVEN cubs!  I am so glad people do not have babies in "litters."  (Well, usually...)  We were there at the right time to see the cubs.

Aren't they so cute!  

They made the cutest little noises.

I also took some pictures of this HUGE hole they are digging at the zoo:

Apparently, they are building a new home for sea lions and seals.

They are also building a new elephant habitat.  Apparently, the National Zoo will be rocking by 2013!  

We had a great time, but sadly we didn't get to see that many animals.  Many were indoors and moved off exhibit because of the weather.  Hopefully, there will be more animals the next time I visit.

Later on Friday, we did some shopping at Tyson's Corner in Virginia and then made a MASSIVE trip to the grocery store.  Since my car was still here, I took advantage! 

We then headed home to watch the LSU Tigers BEAT Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl!

Image source here. 

It was a great football season for LSU and I am as proud as ever to be an LSU Tiger!

On Saturday morning, we ate brunch at Founding Farmers before Lauren headed to the airport.  

Thanks, Lauren, for visiting!  I hope you will come to Washington again soon! 

Top Ten Moments of 2010

1.  I graduated from LSU in May.

I graduated with College Honors after writing a thesis in my senior year and completing the other requirements over my four years at LSU.  The thesis was really hard, but I'm really glad I did it. 

To celebrate, we had a fancy party at Galatoire's in Baton Rouge with my extended family. 

My cake was awesome and my mom (especially) would have loved it.  I really missed her at my graduation and it was so hard to not have her there with me, but I know she was there in spirit. 

Geaux Tigers!

2.  I went to Napa for the first time.

My dad took me and my friend Elise to Napa and San Francisco for Spring Break in April.  It was one of the best trips I have ever been on and I am so thankful that Elise was able to go with us.  We had a fantastic time and I am glad we have that memory together as friends since we now live far apart.

It really will.

3.  I became an alumna of my sorority in May as well.  

My three and a half years as an active in college taught me so much about myself and about the world.

Seniors of 2010.

4. I moved to Washington, D.C. less than two weeks after graduation.

I moved to D.C. for an internship and to attend graduate school.  I started out living in the summer-leased dorms at George Washington University in Foggy Bottom.  

My aunt came to visit more times than I could count for work and she really helped me with moving to D.C. and getting settled (without a car).

Two of my good friends lived in D.C. over the summer for internships too and I'm so glad they were there with me.

My best friend came to visit me over the summer as well.  I hope she will come visit a lot more! 

Welcome to Washington.

5.  I had an incredible internship in D.C.

I got to see and to things I never even dreamed of seeing or doing.  I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities presented to me through my internship and for the friends I got to make while I was there.

Fourth of July on the South Lawn.

6.  I started graduate school at George Washington University.

And I completed my first semester with a great GPA.  It wasn't perfect, but I am still very proud of it.  Hopefully, I can improve even more in the future.

View of the Capitol from the Supreme Court.

7.  I moved into my first solo apartment.

And then I spent a lot of time and effort decorating it (on a budget).  And I really enjoyed that process.  My apartment isn't perfect, but I really love it. 

Chez moi.

8. One of my best friends got married and another had her first child.

I served as a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding in May in Houma, Louisiana and serve as an honorary "auntie" to my friend's baby, Micah.  And so, it begins...

Sleeping Micah.

9. I started this blog.

And that's a top ten moment of 2010 as far as I'm concerned! 

This is where I blog... sometimes.

10. The Saints won the Super Bowl.

And I was in New Orleans when it happened.  I was with a group of diehard Saints fans and I will never forget their joy when the Saints won.

Victory... and my friend Rachel her fun mom in the foreground.
This picture embodies all the reasons that I love NOLA.

Bring it on 2011- I'm expecting great things! 

Rally, Newseum, Restaurants and a Dresser

My dad came to visit me in D.C. this weekend.  It was such a great time!  This was the first weekend in a while that I didn't even crack open a school book or binder and I do not regret it ONE bit. 

On Saturday, we started out the day with brunch at Founding Farmers.  I wasn't the best picture taker this weekend because I was trying to save my camera battery, but I highly recommend Founding Farmers even though I don't have a picture to show you.  I also highly recommend reservations if you plan to go there on your next trip to D.C.  That is one popular place!

Next, we walked down to the national mall to the Rally to Restore Sanity.  I'm sure you've heard something about the Rally by now, unless you live under a rock (which is totally respectable, by the way).  We didn't stay very long at the rally because we really couldn't see or hear anything. 

See what I mean?  I'm glad we went to the rally, even if it was crazy.  It was a very "D.C." thing to do and I enjoyed seeing the people.

This was one of my favorite signs at the rally, and my dad's too.  It says "Obama Promised NCAAF Playoffs.  End BCS."  Haha!  Only a true college football fan would love this sign!

This is a group of people walking to the rally.  There were so many people!  We were so lucky and had fantastic weather all weekend.  D.C. is so much more enjoyable when you aren't melting into the concrete from the humidity.

Saturday night we went to see Idina Menzel perform with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.  I didn't take any great pictures to post here, but the show was FANTASTIC!  We had such a good time.  Idina Menzel was the original Maureen in RENT and the original Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway.  She was such a riot in person.  Marvin Hamlisch (who wrote the scores to The Way We Were and A Chorus Line) directed the orchestra.  They were a great duo!

 Sunday we went to brunch (again) and then headed off to the Newseum.  The Newseum is one of the only museums in D.C. that charges admission and at $20 ($18 for students) it is a pretty steep price in my opinion.  We had a great time at the Newseum and even got to see the studio where they film ABC's "This Week."  

The views from the Newseum are incredible!  It is right on Pennsylvania Avenue and it has great views of the Hill and lots of other museums around it.  We got to see a special exhibit on Hurricane Katrina, which I found really interesting.  We also saw the September 11 exhibit at the museum and it was a very emotional exhibit to view.  It is hard to believe so much time has passed since 2001.

Sunday night we had dinner at Oyamel.  Again, no pictures- sorry!  Oyamel is a mexican-style restaurant in the Chinatown area.  It. Was. So. Good!  I really enjoyed it.  I'm a lover of mexican food anyway, but this was amazing! We got a tableside guacamole and it was incredible.  It was like $13.00 but it was a huge bowl of guacamole.  Oyamel serves everything small-plate style, so the individual dishes are only $3 or $4, but you order a few dishes (about 3 or 4 dishes per person).  It was so fun to try all the different flavors.  The entire meal was probably my favorite since I've moved to D.C.  HIGHLY recommend Oyamel for those of you who will be visiting D.C. soon. 

Lastly, I recently found this pretty dresser on the Primitive & Proper website.  I'm really thinking a lot about it.

What do yall think of it?