I have a good excuse...

That's her "What?! I'm not the baby anymore?!!!" face.

SURPRISE.

I know it was a big one for us.

5 of my favorite things: DC Style

1. Georgetown. Cupcake.

When I interned in DC the summer of 2009 everyone kept talking about this little cupcake shop in Georgetown. We tried to get there all the time but the line was constantly out the door. We finally got there one day after work. The run from the metro to the shop was SO worth it. I bought myself 4 cupcakes. I ate all of them that night. No shame and I was in love. About 6 months later I started seeing that little cupcake shop on TLC. They are worth the wait and all of the attention they get. Who doesn't love a good cream cheese buttercream frosting?! 

2. Jefferson Memorial

The Jefferson has always been my favorite memorial. I think that's because it's usually the more peaceful of all of the major memorials. It's way off the beaten path and it's just easier to take a car there. 

3. Remembrance. 

Pentagon 9/11 Memorial

One of my all time favorite things about DC is the ability to go to a place and reflect on something from our nation's past. It's not always the best moments in history, but I firmly believe you should always remember the bad so you can help prevent it from happening again.

Marines Memorial

4. A Framer. FINALLY.

We finally got some pictures of us that are decent enough to be framed. 

5. The US Capitol

The Capitol will always hold a special place in my heart. I spent one of the best summers of my life running through the halls of that building and I learned so much about our country. I'm almost 100% positive that I can still recite the video they play before the Capitol tours word for word. 

Happy Friday everyone!! I hope your weekend is a great one and very restful. I know I will be doing A LOT of resting.

Confession

I am almost 26 years old and I just ordered in Chinese food for the first time ever last night.

And it was darn good.

Side note: I don't think I have ever seen my husband move that fast. I agreed to ordering Chinese in and the stuff was ordered in under 2 minutes. Also, I now have an upper hand. "If you sweep the floors we can order Chinese food again next week..." *floors are pristine in 5 minutes tops*

The end. 

Fireworks on the National Mall- Check!

It's no secret that I love America and any reason to celebrate her. So when the opportunity came to spend the 4th in DC (thank you tax return!!), we jumped all over it. I was pretty gungho about doing two things. 1-seeing my grandfather's grave site in Alrington and 2- watching the fireworks on the mall. Thankfully we were blessed enough to do both. Today I'm going to focus on fireworks on the mall and try and convince all of you that this event should be added to your Bucket List. 

Here's all you need to know-

Get there early and pick out your spot. We made sure to bring two blankets with us and we spread those suckers out. No need to have people sitting super close to you. I mean I love America and American's but I love my personal bubble too.

Make sure to be all decked out in 'Merica gear.

Pose for a million pictures in front of the monuments. Bring lots of dips to snack on and have a cooler full of drinks. This was something I learned the hard way. 4 years ago we went all excited to watch the fireworks and all of us walked away starving. Hello late night McDonald's run out of desperation!

Enjoy the sunset with hundreds of thousands of other Americans.

Be in awe. Seriously, there is nothing else like it. It's worth the two hour wait and such a fun relaxing way to enjoy the evening. 

Biggest tip of all- Walk around for an hour or so after the fireworks. That way you avoid the massive crowds at the metro stations :)

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Pat and I had been planning our trip to DC since February and we were SO  excited to get away for a few days. This was my first time back since interning and Pat's first time back since he was a moody 14 year old who hated everything in sight. This was going to be so good for the both of us!

Enter last Monday when I started to hear more and more about this little tropical depression they had so lovingly named, Arthur. I thought nothing of it. I was done with hurricanes now that I didn't live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast anymore. WRONG. 

Now last Thursday we got to the airport super early because I stress out when I travel. Getting to the airport meant we had to take the train in and fight our way through the ATL airport crowds. The ATL airport is basically my second home, but I can't ever get over how busy the place always seems to be. 

While we were sitting at our gate I started noticing all of the flights up and down the East Coast getting cancelled. Enter: slightly stressed B. I just knew what was coming next. Our flight : Cancelled. But you  know what? I was eerily calm when I found out the flight had been cancelled. 

We called Delta, got a refund on our flight, got a rental car and then started the mad dash to DC.

Our trusted stallion w/ some artwork from my hubs

We actually had a blast during the 10 hour drive. We were both so calm and just jammed out to music the whole time. Even my iPhone got in on the all nighter excitement.

What up, NTB?!

There came a point in time where I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer- I put in my headphones, turned up my sound machine app, and laid back my seat. Pat was such a trooper. He turned the radio up to his favorite XM station and just powered through until we arrived at 4:30AM.

4:30AM has never looked so beautiful in my life. Annnnd probably never will again. But...

WE MADE IT!!!

DC, I still love you

We're back!!! 

And exhausted.

DC was a blast as usual. I miss it now, but I think I've decided that I couldn't live there now. I forgot just how busy it is and I'm old now. My 21 year old self relished in the busyness of the The Hill. My almost 26 year old self is more of a home body and enjoys the calmness of Atlanta (chalk that up as something I never thought I'd say about Atlanta).

The weekend itself was quite the adventure. Let's just go ahead and say that tomorrows post will be all about planes, trains and automobiles. Hurricane Arthur, we are not friends. Nope. Not in the slightest.

Currently...

Packing... For our getaway DAYS in advance. I don't think I ever packed for Europe this far in advance. SO ready to get away.

Hoping... little Tropical Storm Arthur decides to veer off course. Boo 4th of July hurricanes!!

Wishing... my little bout with vertigo would go away. I'm tired of feel queasy 24/7

Watching... The World Cup. All day, every day. SO proud of team USA. It seems like everyone has started to jump on the soccer wagon. Hope on, it's a blast!

Listening...to NEEDTOBREATHE. Their songs always speak right to my soul. You should check them out. Like right now. Watch the video.

Lille, France. June 2010

Missing... European summers. The World Cup has me missing my French family and friends more than ever.

Craving... Georgetown Cupcakes. They blow Sprinkles out of the water. I'm so ready for our store to open here in ATL. My wallet and waistline think differently.

Cooking... Everything. No, really. I have been a cooking machine recently. Get ready for a lot of recipes to come your way.

Linking up with Jenna and Anne!!

Life Lately

I think it's safe to say that life lately has been hectic. A lot of changes have come our way. Some big, some not so big. The biggest in our lives is Pat finally graduating college. 

Graduation Celebration

Pat graduating was a huge accomplishment. If you are new around here you might think that he is kind of old to have just now finished his undergrad. Well, that husband of mine is a freak of an athlete. He took a few years off college to play soccer professionally in Europe. This blog would be a totally different place if that darn economy hadn't crashed so hard in Europe. Let's just say Pat is not a big fan of economics.

All that to say we have been stressed. So incredibly stressed. Pat is not only a freak of nature athlete but he was that person you hated in high school. So freakishly smart. He graduated Suma Cum Laude for goodness sake!! He should be able to find a job easy-peasy right?! NO. 

I know the Lord is using this time for us to trust in Him and know that he will always provide for us. He always has before. Why would He stop now? 

I ask that you please say a prayer for Pat and for our sanity. He really is a gifted man. A renaissance man if you will. I know that he will be an amazing employee for whoever hires him and will always work his butt off. I see him do it daily with all of the kiddos that he coaches. He is the number one goal keeper trainer in Georgia. You don't get to that level if you aren't a hard worker.

So just please if it happens to cross your mind, please say a prayer for peace. We are stressed. We are nervous. We are scared.

Thank you.

PS- If you live in ATL and you know of anyone who needs a bilingual (almost trilingual), mathematically efficient, engineering skilled, biologist please let me know. He's a catch. Trust me, I know ;)