Weekly Wisdom

In light of recent events (turkey day!) it seems fitting that this week's quote is an American proverb. Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday. It transcends race, religion, and anything else that gets in the way of us getting together to celebrate. Some American dude (or dudette) said this way back in the day and it is something I firmly believe in. My life certainly hasn't gone according to plan recently but so far, everything I've done, planned or unplanned, positive or negative, has resulted in something positive. That's something I can be thankful for!

This is Your Birthday Song, it isn't Very Long... (I'll give thanks to that)

Happy Birthday Little Bro!

Despite the fact that his b-day is really today (Turkey Day), we celebrated yesterday so that we could feast on delicious roast beef, roasted potatoes, and supper yummy (pirate) cake.

Today we're feasting again (Thanksgiving style) on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, creamed onions, peas, pumpkin pie, and of course leftover cake :)

Thanksgiving is a day for being thankful. These are three things about my dear old brother I'm thankful for...

1. This picture... Mitch gave us all a huge helping of "awkward sauce," as he so wonderfully put it, when he entertained the whole fam by modeling the union suit he got for Christmas.

2. Good times wayyyy back in the day... playing vet with milla, moo moo, and moo cow, building forts with all the loft furniture and every blanket we owned, and of course all those times he let me dress him up in my ballet costumes... I'm sure he loved that :)

3. Just being my brother ♥

Adventures in the Land of the Presidents

Over the weekend "my super cool roommate" (as she is listed in my phone) and I drove to DC to visit her boyfriend. By that I mean, we came to chill with each other, while also visiting her bf who conveniently lives 3 hours north of me and 3 hours south of her.

A high point of the trip (for me)

occurred on my drive up when I passed a car with a large gutted deer attached to the back of it. Being the creeper I am, I immediately slowed down and waited for the car to pass me so that I could immortalize it in film... notice the deer's tongue sticking out

Because Jenny's an uber health and medicine junkie (I mean that in the nicest way possible...) we went to the National Museum of Health and Medicine which is in a part of the Walter Reed Military Hospital complex. That in itself was pretty cool because we had to get our picture taken when we entered the museum and then give it back when we left or else the feds would have come after us! A highlight of the museum... seeing good ol' Abe's blood on some dude's sleeve and the envelope the sleeve was sent in. Also reading about how they basically removed his entire brain in an attempt to find the bullet was pretty cool.

Since there isn't much else to do in the WRMH area we took the metro into the city and headed down to the International Spy Museum. That place was pretty cool, although it kinda makes you paranoid after you've been through it to know about all the various inconspicuous objects that you can hide a gun, or a video camera, or a tape recorder.... A highlight of the museum... I always knew they used pigeons for letter and message carrying, but did you know that they also worked as super secret picture takers? Yup! They sure did. In WWII they strapped cameras onto the chests of pigeons and sent them off to do the work that stealth planes do today!

A dinner of Mongolian BBQ followed our acquisition of new identities a the spy museum (I was Maria Falcone?). It was something I'd never had before and I must say it was a pretty neat and delicious experience.

We finished off the evening by walking from the Smithsonian down to the Lincoln memorial via the Washington and WWII. It was beautiful!

Together again :)

Sooo amazing!

They just wouldn't stop being adorable...

Pretty arches in the WWII Memorial

Walking in the (empty) Reflecting Pool

We're cool...

Well hey there Abe! We saw your blood earlier!

Weekly Wisdom

-Winston Churchill

This one's for you Lisa! Not because you're going through hell or anything (although some people may think that given your current academic endeavors...) but because I know that you knew that I was going to use this one today!

This is a great quote to live by... I was constantly referring to this one in the form of my magnet while I was struggling through Advanced Cell and Physics... if those two classes weren't hell in an earthly form I don't know what is.

So thanks Winston! You're a savior to many just for uttering those seven words, in fact baring leading Great Britain through WWII, it may have just been the most important thing you ever did.

Best. Blog. Ever.

I recently discovered the blog Wonders Never Cease and it has quickly become one of my favorite ones ever. The blog belongs to a store called Proper Topper, which is in DC and I've never been to, however they do sell quote cards so they are real up there in my opinion. They also sell cool jewelry, hats, clothing, and fun gifts. Their blog is an eclectic collection of fashion advice and other neat things. Monday they profiled the Tweed Ride in DC, an event where people dress from head to toe in tweed and ride bikes. Last week they talked about Virgin Atlantic's VTravelled. However, my favorite feature of their blog is the weekly Wednesday play list.

Every Wednesday they create a "play list" with a theme. This week's theme was "fashion's a stranger." It was dedicated to artists who were known for their uniquely amazing fashion sense... and occasionally their music. They picked two songs from each decade from the 1930's to the 2000's. My favorite entries...

1. “Besame Mucho” – Josephine Baker (1930)

Born into poverty in St. Louis, Baker quickly rose to international fame for her incredible stage presence. She wasn’t known for her singing, but one can surely forgive musical flaws when the performer is dancing in a skirt made of bananas.

Iconic style: sequins, feathers, fruit, African-inspired costumes, a pet cheetah.

4. “Night and Day” – Frank Sinatra (1942)

Fred Astaire first performed this Cole Porter hit, but Sinatra’s velvet vocals and signature phrasing make his recording the better-known. And no one can resist Ol’ Blue Eyes.

Iconic style: fedoras, tailored suits, pocket squares, gin.

14. “Wannabe” – Spice Girls (1996)

These spunky Brits inspired their fans to be sporty, ginger-y, posh, scary, or baby-like, and their “girl-power”-inspired anthems are still guilty pleasures on many an iPod. And their fashion-dynamic informs the style of girl-groups to this day.

Iconic style: see the adjectives listed above, and add a good helping of pigtails and high-heels and hemlines.

And my all time favorite... (particularly the Iconic style part.)

16. “Fashion” – Lady Gaga (2009)

Whatever your opinion of Lady Gaga’s talent, you cannot deny recognizing her, um, creative fashion sense. (Grace Coddington used her in this month’s Vogue, after all.) What will she wear next? Bubbles? A falcon? Silly Putty? She might just have to be on the list for the ’10s, if she keeps this up.

Iconic style: We’re not quite sure, but it definitely does not involve pants.

Soft times :)

In Honor of Fall

This year's fall was basically one of the most brilliantly colored, beautiful falls in recent history... here are just a few pictures to remember it by.

Yesterday while I was at work I saw someone using a leaf blower to blow the pretty yellow leaves off the trees... what a shame.

Quotables

Most people who know me know that I have two major obsessions... scarves and greeting cards, or more specifically, fresh ink and quote cards. This obsession is pretty ridiculous but I can usually manage it by exerting superhuman amounts of will-power upon entering a Hallmark store. Unfortunately, it usually doesn't work. I'll often go into Hallmark expecting to purchase a single card and come out with three. Once I even walked into Hallmark (on autopilot), only to remember once I was inside that I didn't need any cards and had, in fact, intended to go to the store next door. I bought 4 Fresh Ink cards that day... In fact, one of the reasons that I hate the whole super early Christmas bonanza, is because Fresh Ink cards are often the first to go when Hallmark has to create shelf space for Christmas cards.

My little problem gets even worse if I'm in a store that carries Quotables cards. Since they're harder to find, I have been known to buy four or even five at a time, especially if I've never seen them before. Luckily for my bank account, that isn't too often. But hey, at least the greeting cards I compulsively buy cost under $3, as opposed to shoes or designer bags that cost hundreds!

Anyway, I've decided to share my large collection of quote cards with the world (or at least the 5 people who actually read this blog). It will be my gift to you each week.... or so.

This week's quote (seen above) is my all time favorite quote. Read it, remember it, live it.