Butterfly in the Sky

One of my adventures this week was going to the Butterfly Exhibit at the Natural History Museum – thanks Michele for knowing it’s free on Tuesdays and letting me tag along! It was soooo beautiful and I got to make friends with the butterflies. A couple of them used my head and shoulder as a perch. New goal in life: always have a butterfly on me as an awesome accessory.

For all of you who were tragically stuck at work or school or other places without lots of butterflies, here is a glimpse into what it looked like:

Also, note much bigger pictures. Yay!!

Because I have many, many more pictures of butterflies than makes sense to put in the body of this post, here’s an album.  Go ahead and immerse yourself in the butterfly garden if you want!

Smithsonian Butterflies VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

*song = The Reading Rainbow Theme Song.  And just because I love you, another RR Community clip.

Two Years Later, A Blog Makeover

After two years, I have finally given my blog a redesign. I have to admit, it wasn’t entirely willing – I logged onto my blog last week only to discover that the cityscape background I loved had disappeared. Not cool.

However, I have decided it was a sign that I should change everything. I’ve been pining for some extra width to publish larger photos forever. Plus, when I started this blog, blogger was worlds more restricted than it is now and I hadn’t even started my design classes. Now that I’ve relinquished the old layout I was so attached to, I’ll probably be messing around with the way this site looks a lot more. Look forward to more changes in the future!

Coincidentally, it is almost exactly two years since I started this blog. And three years ago last week I started my first blog as I embarked on London Study Abroad (I can’t believe it’s been that long!).  For those of you who think I deserve a grander celebration of my three years of blogging, like say a  trip to London where it all began, I will gladly accept all cash and checks.

So, old design, I bid you adieu.  You were very good to me.



(Side note: At the risk of jinxing things, I just want to express that I love my trusty old hp laptop so much because even after four years of my lugging it all over the world, it still constantly runs the 2000 programs I demand of it quickly and at the same time).

*song = Back Here by BBMAK (sometimes you have to indulge in a little boy band action. for my fellow Londonites, there’s some great London footage.  Just sayin’) 

Update: now I’m stuck in an endless loop of watching 90’s and early 2000’s music videos.  Ooops.  This best of the 90’s pop video is a Winner.

Thank You, Irene

I have to admit that this whole hurricane thing turned out quite well for me.  Because the power was out in Richmond, Va. until yesterday, Kaitlin didn’t have her internship and got to come visit me early! 

Kaitlin is one of my best friends from home, so it was awesome being able to play with her over here.  We went on a whirlwind tour of DC  Tuesday, when the weather decided it loved us and was absolutely perfect.  And then yesterday she helped keep me sane while I was moving into a new place (more on that later). So happy.

Wandering highlights included:

The Smithsonian Castle

The White House

The Jefferson Memorial

The week-old MLK Memorial

The Georgetown Serendipity

And the Kennedy Center Rooftop Terrace.

We’re going to have to do it again ASAP!

P.S. The cityscape blog background I’ve used for the past two years is no longer in existence, so playing around with my blog layout is going to be my next life project.  Changes are coming!

*song = Hey Mama by Matt Kearney

I Think I Need Employment

Here’s the really epic latest update on my life: I think I may have reached the point where I’m having too much free time.  Granted, yesterday there was a hurricane so I couldn’t leave the apartment.  But between today and yesterday I have watched:

8 Episodes of Doctor Who  (the second half of the season started yesterday, so clearly I needed to rewatch the entire first half of the current season first)

5 Episodes of Community

(Troy is the best.  Watch the episode with the Reading Rainbow.)

2 Episodes of Modern Family

1 Episode of Suits (but I watched five other episodes on Thurs)

1 Episode of Covert Affairs

The new Jane Eyre

And Inception.

TV is wonderful, but I am now a pile of mush.  I think I shall run 20 miles first thing tomorrow.

*song = Fall Into Place by Apartment

Scenes from a (Pre-Hurricane) Walk in Alexandria

One of my favorite things this summer has been walking from my apartment down to Old Town Alexandria.  It’s just so cute down there, and there’s even an awesome waterfront that’s perfect for reading a good book. 

Since I have nothing else to occupy my time right now, I’ve been spending a lot of time down there.  So I thought you might enjoy seeing snapshots from my walk to and from the waterfront!  It’s all the little everyday things that caught my attention, so you can get a feel for the whole journey.  There are probably more pictures than you actually care to see, but I’m feeling reckless so I’m posting them all. Also, I literally have nothing else to do.

I know this picture isn’t very exciting, but I’ve decided that if I were going to buy a building in Old Town I would buy this one, no question.  It’s bright blue!  A gelato shop just opened in it.

Fun fact: George Washington brought produce from Mount Vernon to this square.  There’s still a farmers market there today.  It has delicious peaches.

There are a lot of hibiscus here, which seems kind of weird to me in Virginia.  But I still like it, so I won’t complain.

One of my goals in life is to see a movie in this theater.  It was built in 1914, with a theater and a dance floor.

The best bookstore here.  It’s really hard to not give them all of my money every time I walk by.

I walk by the Masonic temple 70 times a day.

And a bonus section!  Answers to questions you might have right now:

1. Hurricane status = It just looks  like a normal rainy day for Oregon right now.  The wind is barely starting to pick up.  Kaitlin just texted me and said her power went out in Richmond already though!  I have a box of Lucky Charms, a chocolate doom cupcake from Baked & Wired and a stack of library books, so I’m ready for anything.
2. Tuesday’s earthquake = I was on the way to the library in Old Town when it hit.  It was entertaining.  Except then they closed everything, which was annoying.
3. What I’m doing with my life = I don’t know.  Still in DC, doing a lot of sleeping, reading and Netflixing.  And wandering Old Town.

*song = Mumford and Sons’ The Cave.  Excellent storm music.