Happy Weekend: One Day On Earth.

On October 10, 2010, people around the world filmed scenes that mattered to them. On the One Day on Earth website, Project Founder, Kyle Ruddick, explains the project's origin:

"The idea for the project was conceived while watching musicians from very different regions of the world collaborate on stage at the opening night of the 2008 World festival of Sacred Music. Their initial attempts to create music together were awkward, and it was clear that they had never collaborated prior to this moment. Eventually though, over the period of a couple minutes, what was disharmony became harmony, and a beautiful fusion of music came together for the first time. The moment inspired a similar vision for another universal form of communication—cinema."

Have a meaningful weekend. (Even if this means meaningfully lounging on the couch.)

Wearing: Interview!

Remember back here when I said I don't like wearing a stuffy black suit to an interview? Well, to that, tomorrow's interview says, "Too bad!" That was a hypothetical interview. This is a real interview. And the actual interview wins. The organization is somewhat conservative and I have it on good authority that it would be wise to start my ensemble with a black suit. Done. With my black bag (Target, last year) and black pumps, I wanted something to jazz it up a little, so I used the interview as an opportunity to go shopping. I found this beautiful cobalt blue blouse at Zara. On their website, it calls the color navy, but it is really a brighter blue. Very pretty. And I'll, of course, wear my trusty pyramid earrings.

The outfit still felt a little boring, so I wanted to find a statement necklace. I originally picked out this J.Crew necklace but hubs said it was too much. So today I will probably return it for the J.Crew necklace pictured above, which, objectively, I liked better anyway.

It is always nice to justify a shopping trip like this. If I (When I. Universe, you hear me? This is my dream job!) get the position, maybe I won't have to return all the items I purchased (the ones I didn't wear, of course).

Living In: The Great Outdoor...Shower.

Ahead of our trip to the beach in a couple weeks, I have been pining for outdoor showers. My family rented a beach house in North Carolina when I was younger, and I always loved rinsing off in the outdoor shower below the deck. It wasn't anything fancy, just a pipe with a cheap showerhead. Cold water only. A spigot to rinse the sand off your feet.

Here are some outdoor showers that make me extra anxious to get to the beach again.

Source: remodelista.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Source: None via Lauren on Pinterest

Source: re-nest.com via Haley on Pinterest

Source: aquavitaedesign.com via Brandy on Pinterest

Training Tuesdays: 07.26.11.

Last week was a toughie. With temperatures hovering around 100 degrees for the last half of the week and weekend and heat indexes reaching 115, running outside was trying. Our Wednesday workout was the much-anticipated Mormon Hill run and it was as much of a killer as I expected, partly because of the long, steep hill and partly because the heat and humidity made it feel like 105 degrees at 6pm. Here's a virtual hill run I put together for you.

Then we ran the hill two more times. I felt like my Wednesday running lesson was brought to me by the letter H: the heat, humidity and hill schooled me. On Friday, I ran on the treadmill for the first time in two years.

Our long run on Sunday was no cake walk either. When I woke up at 5:00am, it was 80 degrees with 80% humidity and a 73 degree dew point. Help me, Rhonda. The run went along as planned, albeit with more and longer water breaks. The 16-mile route took us from Bethesda to Union Station in DC via Hains Point, the island between the Potomac River and Washington Channel. Hains Point was both longer and more exposed than I expected, but the National Park Service must have felt bad for us because they lined the entire road around the park with sprinklers. I didn't mind that the water was being pumped out of the Potomac or that some of the sprinklers weren't so much misting us as pelting us right at eye and ear level. It made miles 10 through 13 bearable. Heck, it made the rest of the run more bearable. After running 16 miles in those weather conditions, I feel like I am truly (at least mentally) ready for the marathon.

This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Weekend Recap: Hot. Humid. Art.

A filling, fun, sticky, exhausting weekend. A few friends were in town this weekend, which made for some exploration of local restaurants and watering holes and great conversation. It also got us out of the house on a couple wildly hot, humid days.

On Saturday we explored the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. To be completely honest, I never knew the American Art Museum existed. And it is wonderful! We went there specifically to see a photography exhibit that closed this weekend titled Close to Home: Photographers and Their Families. It showcased nine photographers' shots of their family. I particularly loved the two crisp, saturated photographs by Larry Sultan.

Mom In The Garage

Dad On Bed

Virginia Beahan's series of photographs taken after her aging mother came to live with her are beautiful and haunting.

Christina and Gram on Thanksgiving

First Day of Spring

All images via La Lettre de la Photographie.com.

I also enjoyed the museum's modern and contemporary wing, especially Nam June Paik's enormous multimedia installation Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii.

We later saw Abe Frajndlich's photograph of Paik in the Portrait Gallery along with paintings, photographs, drawings and sculptures of other famous artists, politicians, athletes and performers.

Happy Weekend: From Me To You.

Have you seen From Me To You, the amazing blog of photographer Jamie Beck? Her still photographs are incredible, but what has been garnering more attention are her cinemagraphs.

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Have an unexpectedly beautiful weekend.

Living In: An Outbuilding.

Building on my last two Living In posts showcasing a beautiful pool house I would move right into and my yearning for a small backyard, today's post is all about outbuildings. Not outhouses. Outbuildings. Having spent about 14 hours a day working on a project in our office/den/guestroom this week, I was really drawn to these little, separate studios. I am never going to need a potting shed in my back yard (brown thumb), maybe just a place for hubs to stash a lawnmower. It may be the little girl that always wanted a playhouse speaking, but a separate space for an office or studio would be divine.

modern landscape design by sllasf.com

traditional landscape design by other metros general contractor Jo-Anne Peck

traditional patio design by seattle landscape architect Lisa Port, APLD

eclectic exterior design by san francisco general contractor BMF CONSTRUCTION

I want to go to there.

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This looks absolutely lovely. (It's even more amazing when you click on it to view it full size.) And I on a day that DC is experiencing a 100 degree heat index, it is quite nice to sit and stare at this picture of Gundvangen, Norway.

Training Tuesdays: 07.19.11.

I've discovered the secret to doing long runs alone.

PODCASTS!

Why didn't anybody tell me this? Why didn't I think of this sooner? 

I'm not a big fan of listening to music while I run. It distracts me. Sometimes in a good way - in the way where I get so absorbed in a song that I forget I'm running. But usually in a way where I forget to breathe, I amp up my pace and generally forget my surroundings. Not good.

Thinking that my 14-mile solo run was going to be a challenge, I grabbed my iPod Shuffle as I was packing for the weekend. But knowing that there would be no way of keeping my ridiculously slow training pace while listening to Beyonce, Bad Religion and Outkast (eclectic, I know), I had a light bulb moment - why not put podcasts of some of my favorite radio programs on my Shuffle? I know "radio programs" makes me seem like an old lady. Hubs makes fun of me weekly. But, keeping busy on weekends recently, I haven't been catching Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! and This American Life every Saturday. What seems like a million years ago, I had subscribed to the Freakonomics podcast on iTunes, but had only listened to the first episode. So I loaded up my Shuffle with two of each program.

The programs had variation, were interesting, funny, thought-provoking, but mild enough that I kept a consistent (slow) pace. I was entertained, but not hurried.

I can't say that this is the reason for the success of my run (Lord help me if I even think of chalking it up to my pre-run McDonald's non-carb loading), but I can definitively say that this was my best run. Of the entire training program. Including short mid-week runs. Not only did the run feel good, but I felt great the rest of the day. I double checked my route to make sure I actually ran 14 miles. And I had!

I ran along the beautiful Columbia Trail, which stretches between High Bridge and Long Valley, New Jersey. The entire trail is 11 miles long. A few weeks back when I was in Jersey for a visit I did a 6-miler on the trail, starting in Long Valley and ending in Califon. It was a nice run, if maybe a little boring. So for this run, I started on the other end of the trail, in High Bridge, and ran just over 7 miles out and back. I got through one This American Life, one Wait Wait, and one Freakonomics. For the last couple miles, though, I did get a little push from Cee-Lo, Nicki Minaj, Spoon and the Scissor Sisters. And, yes, I did run those miles too fast.

This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Weekend Recap: Driving, Eating, Scanning.

For me, this is the true sign of a road trip:

I was a little wary of eating McDonald's the night before a 14 mile run along a trail with absolutely no bathrooms, but it didn't prevent me from getting my usual - 6-piece chicken nuggets, hamburger with extra pickles and fries. I know, gross, right? Well, it all worked out for the best. The run went splendidly - more on that tomorrow - and I got my quintessential road trip food.

The main reason I went home was to work on a project I'm putting together for my grandmother's 90th birthday. I spent all afternoon Saturday and most of the day Sunday looking through old family photographs, like this one: 

I only took breaks from my sorting and scanning to eat. My mom made a fantastic early dinner of spare ribs, potato salad and fresh Jersey tomatoes. Later, my aunt stopped by and we all drove up to my favorite Jersey restaurant Hot Dog Johnny's. It's an establishment. 

We took the long way home. Crossing the Delaware River on a small (toll-less) bridge into Pennsylvania, we drove along the river to the Portland, PA, pedestrian bridge, where we were blessed with this view of the Delaware Water Gap:

Looking south from the bridge gave us an almost equally beautiful view. The juxtaposition of the smoke stacks and the natural landscape is interesting. Sadly, this GenOn Energy coal-burning power plant is the main source of sulfur dioxide in North Jersey, negatively impacting air quality and, likely, the respiratory health of New Jersey and Pennsylvania residents.

And considering this is the New Jersey I grew up in, with trees, rivers, vast farmlands with the best tomatoes and corn you will ever eat, this is particularly upsetting. I know most people think New Jersey is Camden, the Turnpike, or the oil refineries they see when flying into Newark Airport, but this is is my New Jersey:

Ok, I'm climbing down off my Jersey soapbox now. I'll just say that it was a wonderful weekend, filled with my favorite things - long drives in the country, farmer's markets, food and family.

Happy Weekend: On the Road.

In honor of hitting the road this evening, here are a few of my favorite road trip songs. Hope your weekend is full of music, adventure, fun and family.

Wearing: Road Trip, Weekend Away.

This weekend, hubs and I are hitting the road for New Jersey to visit my family and get away from the city for a couple days. One of the reasons I love living where we do is because it is closer to my family - only about a four hour drive. Whether traveling by car, plane or train, this is my go-to in-transit outfit:

The perfect grey t-shirt I wore on July 4th is great for traveling. Same with these pants. They are chambray, so they are super light, ideal for summer when you may experience an over-air conditioned airplane, movie theater or grocery store, but don't want to bake when you're outside in the heat. The pair shown here is Joe's Jeans, but I got mine from Target. My no-brainer travel shoes are these DKNY flats I bought a few summers ago at Macy's. They keep my feet cool, but have a substantial sole, so I can walk for miles in them.

I wear the same jewelry every time I leave town. The pyramid earrings work for dressy and casual outfits, and so are the perfect pair to wear all trip long. These necklaces, aside from being beautiful, are kind of my good luck charms. I have this Max & Chloe initial necklace (with a G) and this Jess LC Franklin necklace with the phrase "Be Brave" in braille and I wear them every time I travel. Another accessory I always bring with me when I travel is a scarf. I love this one from Aldo. No matter the temperature where I am or where I'm going, chances are, at some point, I am going to be cold.

For a weekend away, I'm usually able to get all the items I need in this Hollywood Intuition bag I bought at Target last year. For a longer trip, I use it as my carry on because it fits my DSLR camera, a change of clothes, toiletries, travel documents, wallet, phone and iPad like a champ. For this weekend we are just going on a low-key trip, so I'm not planning on bringing much. Aside from my running stuff and PJs, this is all I'll pack:

My striped longsleeve t-shirt is a staple in my wardrobe. The one I own is from Gap, purchased last summer for about $20. The one shown here is from J.Crew and costs more than I would spend on almost any piece of clothing. I have a shirt similar to this gingham check button down from Old Navy and love it. Mine is flannel, so not ideal for summer, but still light enough to wear when temps are mild, as they should be this weekend. If it warms up, I'll probably change into a tank, like this one from Old Navy. These shorts are perfect because they go with every other piece I'll have with me for the weekend. I have a similar pair in linen that I bought at Target a few years ago.

Because I am staying at my parents' house, I can keep my toiletries to a minimum. So I'll make sure to bring my face cleanser and tinted moisturizer from Kiehl's and a pretty coral-colored lip gloss (Revlon Color Stay Mineral Lip Glaze in Continuous Coral). C'est tout.

Making it Home: Hanging Art.

I will admit that I have not felt the urgency to settle in to this apartment. It may be that I am road-weary from having lived in three apartments in one year. I feel that the next move is always right around the corner - why get comfortable? But chances are we will be in this apartment for a year or two, so it was time to make the place feel more like home.

The easiest way to warm up our cookie-cutter, beige walls-on-beige carpet apartment was to hang the artwork and photographs we have collected over the years. How to fit it all in? Our walls were large, but our art was plentiful. Luckily, I'm a sucker for a good gallery wall.

Source: baltares.blogspot.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Source: youaremyfave.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Source: madebygirl.blogspot.com via Lauren on Pinterest

My friend recently put together a gallery wall in her new Denver apartment. On her blog, she wisely calls it the family memory wall. It includes photographs, meaningful song lyrics, a letter her husband wrote to her when they were 14 years old (oh my gosh, awwww, right?), her Chicago Marathon finisher medal and other items that hold personal value to them as a family.

In our Chicago apartment we had a wall of black and white photographs, mostly from our then-recent wedding. Because we are now living in a very blank space, I thought black and white photos would be too stark. Besides, we have so many great pieces that we have collected, been gifted, made, or inherited. Each of these pieces hold such meaning to us for different reasons. So this is our memory wall:

1. This photograph was given to me by my aunt and is of my grandfather's family. He is just a little boy, and you can barely see him sitting at the far end of the table.
2. A reproduction of a painting hubs fell in love with when we lived in Chicago. The artist, Bruce Holwerda, frequently showed his work at a gallery up the street from our apartment, and we would see this painting as we'd walk home from dinner or the grocery store. My sister and her boyfriend gave us a reproduction for Christmas the year before we moved out of Chicago.
3. Two paintings by Chicago artist Nancy Rosen. Nancy is a good friend of a good friend. She is a great artist and fabulous person.
4. One of my most beloved items - the thing that I would grab if my house were on fire - a painting by my grandmother. This painting sat on the top of a bookcase in my parents' room for my entire childhood. I would look at it when my mom would brush and blowdry my hair at night, when we'd open stockings in their room on Christmas morning, or after borrowing a necklace off of my mom's jewelry stand. Three years ago, my mom had the painting framed and gave it to me for Christmas. I forget if I got anything else that morning. It doesn't matter.
5. A painting I did in high school. I love it and it picks up the color of the quilt we have on our bed.
6. I made this painting/collage for hubs just a couple weeks after we started dating. It incorporates pictures of items that were already meaningful to us in that short time: a coffee advertisement, a science textbook, a picture of an airplane. It also includes part of Pablo Neruda's Sonnet XVII ("I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where..."), which three years later would be read at our wedding.
7. I gave this print to hubs on our first anniversary. It is by artist Brian Andreas and is titled One of Us.

Training Tuesdays: 07.12.11.

On Sunday, we only did a 10-mile run. Lord help me that I am already at the point in my training schedule that I can use the word "only" and the phrase "10-mile run" in the same sentence (unless the sentence is: "I can't believe I only ate three pints of Ben & Jerry's after my 10-mile run." In that case, Lord help me for other reasons. My abdominal girth and cholesterol, for example.).

Aside from actually taking down a pint of Phish Food, two other exiting things happened this past week. 

1. I logged my 200th training mile. Can you believe it? Since May 7th, I have run more than 216 miles.

2. Since I still have so many miles left to run, I invested in my second pair of running shoes of the season. The new model of my shoe, the Brooks Defyance, is quite different from the previous model that I had been running in. They seem more cushioned and have a more noticeable arch support. I have put 23 miles on the new pair over my last three runs, and so far I like them just fine. Here are the things that are currently (and hopefully continually) keeping my feet happy during all this pounding:

The current model of the shoe I wear is the Brooks Defyance 4, and the only socks I even consider wearing for runs of any distance, no matter the season, the temperature, or the terrain, are Smartwool PhD Ultra Light Micro Socks. I lurve them. And to make extra sure I keep the blisters away, I have started putting BodyGlide on my toes. I also use it on other places that are bound to chafe, like along the seams of my sports bra and shirt, but that's a talk for another time. 

Anyway, this is a cut-back week. And 10 miles felt great - easy, even. I know my long runs are not always going to be easy, especially as we ramp up in the next few weeks - 14, 16, and 17-milers before our next recovery run the first week in August.

For this week, I am looking forward to taking it a little easier than usual. This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Weekend Recap: Relaxing, Reverting.

This weekend, we all did a lot of this:

While I was out running errands on Friday afternoon, I stopped in at AC Moore and picked up some embroidery floss to make friendship bracelets (like I mentioned here). By the time I left the store we were getting some wicked thunderstorms and downpours, so it was the perfect time to cozy up on the couch and try to remember how my young fingers used to turn this string into jewelry. I got the hang of it after just a little while, and enjoyed the mindless monotony of tying a knot, tying a knot, tying a knot... 

After my run on Sunday morning - only 10 miles (more on this tomorrow) - hubs and I took these beauties out for a spin. We rode 5 miles down Beach Drive to our favorite farm stand to pick up some local produce. Tomatoes. Peaches. Blackberries. Green beans. Yum. Then it was 5 miles back home. Ouch.

When we got home, we turned on the USA v. Brazil Women's World Cup game, which ended up being a 120 minute plus nail-biter of epic proportions. My nerves were rattled watching the end of the game...actually, the last half of the game, extra time and penalty kicks. I cannot handle penalty kicks. I think I conjure memories of taking PKs in a few high school state tournament games and the anxiety makes my head want to explode. After the American ladies won the game, I needed a nap. Like this guy: