O-bama. O-bama.

Dark museums are probably the hardest places (sans tripod) to take decent photos. I tried, but clearly I didn't post many that I took. This is the only one, actually. It was really great to see the Constitution & The Declaration of Independence, but really?! Does the room have to be THAT DARK? Apparently it does. It doesn't make for pretty photos.

Shepard Fairey's Hope portrait is now home at the National Portrait Gallery. I wish that I could have captured all of the textures. It's pretty amazing, really. 

Sorry for the gluttony of photos. My posterity will (maybe?) appreciate it some day. 

I'm all done with D.C. 

At night (or, All I Want for Christmas is a Tripod).

(from the car)

Library of Congress, National Cathedral, (The Really Windy) Old Post Office Tower + Lunch. Etc.

My jacket + Mike's jacket for extra protection.

For gusts of wind like this.

Gusts.

Tidal Basin. Lots of blossoms. They made me sneeze. 

Standing at the Jefferson Memorial. Tidal Basin & Washington Memorial in the background. A ponytail didn't really help matters. 

It was pouring rain when we woke up Friday morning. Pouring. Luckily, it stopped by mid-morning, & the residual clouds were pretty spectacular. The next two days gave us really nice temperatures in the mid-60's, but with lots of wind. Lots & lots of wind, of the 30-50mph variety. 

I'm not one to post a zillion photos of myself, but really - it made for some lovely photos (I'm clearly not being vain). Mike gets an A+ for effort as photographer. I only gave him so much to work with. 

Maybe it's time to grow out the bangs. 

Neurosis.

My button jar. 

Peep-toed.

Why hello, Mr. Sunshine. So nice to see you today.

Journey #2 to the LES + some midtown meanderings.

Doughnuts. A perfect snack (ahem, meal) for a Tuesday afternoon.

Options.

Erin & I went for the Tres Leches, Creme Brulee & Meyer Lemon (we shared). The only disappointment was that our timing wasn't quite aggressive enough & the famous Peanut Butter & Jelly donut sold out earlier in the day. I guess that means that we'll have to make another trip down to the Lower East Side. Go ahead. Twist my arm.

(I'd like to go there  again soon. Very soon. Who's in?)

Fox loved them.

But was not the happiest child when they (rather quickly) disappeared.

I may have finished off the day with some productive browsing (I'm going-to-a-wedding dress shopping) in midtown. Being a lady of leisure has it's perks, at times. Today one of those perks was manifested by happily spending 2 hours in Anthropologie.

*PS: I promise that I do things other than eat & shop. It's just not interesting to write about my job search, & photos of me doing laundry really wouldn't be pretty.

Redemption.

Total sadness + disappointment = trekking all the way down to the Lower East Side only to discover that Dougnut Plant is closed on Mondays (insert massive amount of disappointment, & immediately add "2nd attempt @ Donut Plant" to Tuesday's agenda).

Redemption = remembering that New York City's very best pancakes are only a few blocks away at Clinton Street Baking Company. 

Perfectly thick, moist & berry-filled. Topped with syrup that could melt the coldest of hearts. 

Little Wyatt was happy to be out with the girls. 

I guess that rainy days aren't so bad. 

Mike's at work late.

Which leads me to do drastic things. 

Like standing on counter tops to take photos of not much of anything.  

Entertaining ourselves with the obligatory self-portraits via Photo Booth.

Optimism.

Fridays are for Shake Shack-ing, cookie-eating, park-walking & flower-smelling (husbands should be directed to the corner at Lexington & 90th Street for a wonderfully massive selection).

.

All with friends who are so lovely & fun.

Windy.

Our apartment is on the 29th floor & is very exposed. I woke up early this morning thinking that our windows were going to be blown in by the 50+ mph wind gusts that were causing the windows to shake. Mike sent me these photos from his iPhone on his commute to work. Notice the garbage in the trees & the street sign/garbage can carnage. If it were a rainy day, broken umbrellas strewn everywhere would complete the scene.

I'm an idiot.

I carry my camera with me just about everywhere I go - just in case.

Blur, blur, blur.

.

I was so frustrated mid-afternoon yesterday to discover that my lens was broken. It wouldn't focus, not even making the noise which was clearly a terrible sign. This meant that taking a photo of the mannequin in the Bergdorf window who, if a real person, would weigh 64 pounds, was quite a bit short of successful (but are you as appalled as I was? When Mike & I saw it together the other day when going by on the bus, he said Is that supposed to be a REAL person?? Her thighs had the same circumference as her ankles. Don't even get me started on the unrealistic expectations & pressures dumped on women by the media & stores like Bergdorf's who cater to triple-zero sized women with pre-pubescent & malnourished bodies).

Blur, blur, blur.

Everywhere I went I tried to figure out what was going on - even in the dressing room at H&M. Still blurry. Still very, very frustrated & having visions of spending more money to fix my camera than I actually paid for it.

Voila!

Which is exactly where I remembered that nice little switch on the side of my lens - you know, the one that says AF & MF (auto focus & manual focus). It had been inadvertently switched to manual. An entire day of frustration because of something so, so stupid. I promise I (sort of) know how to use my camera.
.
Oops.

Today.

The secret of health for both mind & body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely & earnestly.

(Buddha)

Present.

He returned home from an all-week west coast trip & gave me a gift of smoothie-flavored jelly beans. He secretly reads the blog (our blog). I not-so-secretly love him.

2008.

Union Square flowers. Oh, how I miss flowers right now (currently 10 degrees, "feels like -8").

I got together with some friends last night & had a great discussion on what we learned in 2008. I came up with my for-public-distribution personal (but not too personal) top 10.

1. Assume good will. You will be a much happier person & have better relationships
2. If you want friends, work to get them. Sitting around & waiting for people to talk to you or invite you to do things will not have great results. Friends are worth the time, effort & potential initial discomfort in obtaining them.
3. Getting offended is a total waste of time.
4. Humans are always loved – at the very least, by Him who loved us most. That alone makes all the difference.
5. Allowing oneself to take cabs more often greatly improves overall quality of life (some things are just worth the splurge).
6. Small & simple things have the potential to produce massive amounts of change - mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again. (Howard W. Hunter)
7. Norma’s really is the best brunch in Manhattan.
8. Worry is not productive. Be prepared, & move forward with faith & confidence.
9. 
   
   People universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck or something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather. That's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it. (Elizabeth Gilbert)
10. 
    
    Rainy days in New York City are far more enjoyable with a great pair of rain boots.