As a long-time apartment-dweller, I truly appreciate small living spaces. I really think I could get comfortable in this pool house in Litchfield County, Connecticut, designed by architect James Crisp. Who needs a main house when the pool house looks like this?
I could build my entire wardrobe out of pieces from Zara. I love these clothes. The first time I went into a Zara store, in Chicago, I had to leave after 10 minutes for fear that additional browsing would forever damage my credit score.
Zara is having a huge sale right now so I pulled together some virtual outfits using pieces from their online catalog. I used to be bummed that Zara doesn't have an online shopping option in the US, but really, I think it's for the best.
A posting on the Marine Corps Marathon's Facebook page today says, "For many, today begins training for the 36th MCM." My training program started on May 8. Since then, I have completed 25 runs. I have spent over 27 hours running more than 160 miles. And it's still just the beginning.
A few of my mid-June runs really knocked me on my keister. (Did you know that keister is an exception to the "i before e except after c" rule?) The long runs are only going to get longer and total weekly mileage is still increasing. Dialing back on my weekday runs last week gave me more energy going into Sunday's long run. I had enough energy to run strong the entire 12 miles and still enjoy the rest of the day. This compared to last week when I could barely get off the couch to get a glass of water.
This week I am going to give myself the flexibility to to run less if my body is fatigued. This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:
Another fun-filled weekend spent laughing with friends, eating good food and exploring everything this area has to offer.
On Friday night, I was supposed to go climbing with a friend, but after she got stuck at work, her husband suggested a night of champagne and Popeyes chicken. Um, yes, please! I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy stuffing my face with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and coleslaw, and washing it down with some bubbly. Hilariously delicious. I ended the night with a Pimm's cup before catching the Metro home.
Saturday, hubs and I drove out to the Eastern Shore, to St. Michaels and Tilghman Island. In our dreams we bought this old brick house, a handmade wooden boat and hung a Labrador X-ing sign at the end of our driveway. In reality we walked around town, enjoyed the breeze off the bay, and had our first slice of key lime pie this year.
After my 12-mile run on Sunday, we met our friends at the National Zoo, saw the zebras, sloth bear, orangutans, panda (briefly), Andean bear (briefly-er). We worked up an appetite walking around the zoo, and found ourselves at Dave & Buster's later that afternoon. Our friends' kids are on a mission to get enough D&B tickets for an XBox - 66,000 tickets, in case you were wondering - so we all spent some time playing games after dinner. Actually, we spent a ton of time playing games. The coin drop games are pointless, not nearly as much fun as pop-a-shot and skee-ball, and totally addicting. They are also major ticket-producers. We looked like a bunch of old birds at a casino, sitting in front of these shiny machines, hooting and hollering and hoping to hit the big one.
I plan on spending a lot of time outside this weekend and this is very similar to an outfit I will likely be wearing. I bought this hat from Target last week and it is perfect for shielding your face from the sun. I also just scooped up a pair of these Old Navy shorts and will be wearing them all summer long, often with a striped shirt like this. I say "like this" because I would never ever ever spend $85 on a knit top. Luckily, stripes are everywhere nowadays.
I liked the idea of keeping this outfit fairly neutral except the pop of the yellow shorts and bright red nail polish. These shoes and necklace are both neutral in color, but also bold and interesting. Anthropologie is my favorite place to look for bold, fun jewelry. Most of the pieces are way out of my price range, but it is always nice to internet-window shop, ponder a DIY here and there, and hope that some favorites get marked down. And the marked down again.
Speaking of favorites - Sally Hansen Insta-Dri nail polish in Racey Rouge. This polish dries in two minutes and has a fantastic fat brush that makes painting your own nails, even with your non-dominant hand, incredibly easy. It comes in a ton of colors, but this red is by far my favorite. I actually need to buy a new bottle because the one I have now is empty. Nail polish usually dries up before it gets used up in this house. Not this one.
Summer, summer, dear summer. I love you. I have always loved you. Although I don’t think I ever loved you more than I did when I lived in Chicago.
Seasons are fickle in Chicago. Actually, not all seasons. Winter is consistently cold, windy, snowy, and…did I mention cold? Really, really cold. Fall can be sweltering hot, freezing cold, or any temperature in between. Usually, if it is above 45 degrees after mid-November, restaurants put tables outside for al fresco dining. Spring? It snowed the first day of spring every year I lived in Chicago. But there is progress. Usually. Slowly. And then – boom – suddenly it is spring. For two weeks. Then summer. Summer. Summer! Summer in Chicago has the unbelievable, magical, supernatural ability to make Chicagoans forget that that it is impossible to leave the house without an ankle-length, down-filled, Stay Puft Marshmallow Man-looking coat for five months of the year. It is glorious.
Honestly, after finishing college, then grad school, summer began meaning less and less to me. The excitement of summer break waned. I worked all summer - and in places without “summer hours” (the nerve). But summer in Chicago was such a blissful time that it made me feel like a kid again. I had to spend every possible hour outside, go for a walk at lunch, a run after work, meet friends for an outdoor happy hour, take a walk to the local ice cream parlor.
This year, even though I no longer live in Chicago, even though our first 70+ degree day was in mid-February, I intend to treat this summer like it deserves. Like a special, fleeting time. This is how I plan to do just that:
1. Read some of my favorite summer stories. My most-read and all-time favorite is Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine (above).
DC abounds with outdoor movie screenings. Screen on the Green on the Mall (must see: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on August 8). NoMa Summer Screen just north on Union Station (must see: Planes, Trains and Automobiles on June 29). Front Row Films at the Capitol Riverfront (must see: West Side Story on July 28). Stars on the Avenue in Bethesda (must see: The Social Network on July 30).
Freeze pops, Fudge pops. Ice cream cones. It's summer and it's time to run down the ice cream truck. Summer also means eating salads with fresh, local produce and snacking on berries berries and more berries. I also intend to take in a few baseball games and it is not a day at the ballpark without a beer and a hot dog. And soft pretzel. And nachos. And cotton candy....
4. Turn up the summer jams.
I. Love. Pop. Music. There, I said it. And I feel like I can get away with listening to it - loud, and with my windows down - in the summertime. This year my summer jam is the Scissor Sisters' Take Your Mama Out. I also can't get enough of this particular performance. Some of my other summer jams from the past few years? Rihanna's Disturbia (2008). Michael Franti & Spearhead's Say Hey (I Love You) (2009). Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros' Home (2010).
I want to live this summer fully and not get caught up in being tired or lazy. I want to look back and know that this summer I did things that adventurous, fun and fearless, but mostly that I did things. It may mean taking a spontaneous road trip, trying a new restaurant, going for a hike, to the climbing gym or for a last-minute bike ride into the District. And, sure, it may mean jumping off a cliff into cold, refreshing water. I think this series of images by photographer Max Wanger really captures the essence of summer. Summer is for jumping off a cliff, literally or metaphorically.
The first 7 miles were on the Capital Crescent Trial, a paved path through beautifully lush forest. With the first signsof boredom, though, we were in DC, running past the Watergate and Kennedy Center. We watched people practice for the dragon boat races, launching into the Potomac from Thompson Boathouse in Georgetown.
We took a pace group picture in front of the Lincoln Memorial:
Photo by Ken Trombatore
We ran along the reflecting pool, on to the Washington Monument, along the Mall, up Capital Hill and then headed north to Union Station -- our stopping point. What was to be an 11-mile run turned into a 12, and I felt all of that last mile when we finished.
As wiped out as I was after my Sunday long run, and considering we ran a mile more than we were scheduled to, I decided to cut back a bit on today's run. Running around my hometown brings back so many memories. Around every corner is a house where a friend used to live, the community pool where I spent entire summers, trees I used to climb and soccer fields I could navigate with my eyes closed. This was a nice little tour.
I feel a little stuffy in a matching black suit when I'm on an interview. This is my ideal interview suit -- a colorful blouse, crisp white jacket, bold necklace and perfect i-can-use-it-everyday, cognac-colored handbag. The problem is, it is difficult to buy a $128 necklace, $178 shoes and $328 handbag when you're unemployed. A bit of a chicken-egg problem, eh?
The first time I saw a vintage transit scroll used to decorate a home, I was smitten. I love public transit. I love bold, graphic text. It was a match made in heaven.
Then, as these things go, transit scrolls started popping up in every interior design blog home tour, prompting Apartment Therapy to ask, "Are vintage transit scrolls the new Keep Calm?" No matter. I was still in love.
Though I have been on the lookout for a vintage transit scroll since I first fell, I have never seen anything in person that made me want to plunk down my hard-earned cash. Scrolls I found being sold online were outrageously expensive. And, though I grew up near New York City and have traveled to England and Boston and Richmond, I prefer to display more personal items in my home. Nothing I saw seemed to fit.
As I was writing the post about decorating with vintage maps of meaningful locations, I realized I should create a print based on a vintage transit scroll. Using a bold font (Bebas) in black and white, I made a print that chronicles all the cities in which I have lived. I also made one showing my husband's migration.
When I looked at the images side-by-side, it made me smile to see where our paths had converged.
So then I made this:
As you can see, we are back in the town where we met. And there is no place I would rather be.
Especially maps of locations that have special meaning.
Since I left home for college, I have lived in quite a few places. Maps of Chicago, Indiana, New Jersey, Atlanta and DC make my heart go pitter-patter.
I love the perspective of this map of Chicago.
(via)
I fell in love with a vintage Indiana map similar
to this at Eastern Market last weekend.
(via)
I have seen beautiful vintage maps at flea markets and antique stores. Etsy seller bananastrudel has an impressive selection of maps, prints and etchings. My mother-in-law bought us this map of Washington, DC, from the shop after we decided to move back to the area.
Looking at these maps made me reflect back on the many states and cities where I have lived. I am amazed at how many times I have moved since I first left home at 17 and how each of these moves brought me into touch with some of the most important people in my life. I will post later on a design project sparked by this reflection and inspired by vintage bus roll posters.
