DC

I went to lunch in DC with my fabulous sister Lisa.

Isn't she gorgeous?

We had a tasty lunch at Matchbox in Chinatown..

My favorite pizza(thanks to nicole's influence): 4 cheese with arugula on top!

I dig these shots with the Metro signage....

I had about an hour to kill in DC so I trekked over to the Library of Congress (with all my heavy bags) and snapped dozens of photos.
Here's some of the best ones:

This building is immaculately decorated from head to toe.

There's all sorts of quotes around the windows...

You know it's officially touring season when you spot all the matching tshirts!
So glad I don't live in DC right now for this very reason.
Tourists are the worst, esp. when it comes to escalators--
Walk Left. Stand Right. It's not complicated people! :)

Last week I went to Baltimore/DC/Virginia/North Carolina.
I'm going to split it into a few pieces cuz I took way too many photos...

I met up with a refugee contact in Baltimore, we went to 'coffee' and walked around her beautiful neighborhood. She probably thought I was mad cuz I stopped her every few feet so I could take pictures of houses/doors/garages/churches.
I know, I know...it's BALTIMORE!
But really---this neighborhood was beautiful, here's a few shots:

And then I trained to Union Station and walked around Capitol Hill snapping photos:

Now here's a serious question for you.

I always take pictures of manholes and doors. But I'm ready to not to do that anymore.

Do you have any idea how many sewer manholes I have pics of? It's not appetizing.

So here are my ideas for new obsessions:

1. cool lights

2. door handles

3. fountains

or 4. cemeteries.
But cemeteries are tough, I'd have to go looking for them instead of just finding them.

Anyway, what do you think? Do you have any other ideas?
One day I'm going to do something fun with them, I'm just not sure what yet.

U2

Side note: these mangoes are AMAZING!
How had I never discovered them until now?

Last week, a work friend got me a ticket to the U2 concert!

This was the coolest set up!

I could've sworn this was a spaceship/spider.
I kept hoping it would crawl away at the end!

I'm not a huge U2 fan, but wow--they put on an incredible show!

One of the best concerts I've ever been to...and the weather was perfect!
A big thanks to Zions for always delivering rockin' free stuff!

NYC

I went to NYC last weekend and it delivered PERFECT weather!!
Here are some of my fave shots (they're all phone photos=poor quality)

I made a new friend and we had so much fun running around the city together.
I'll be honest, I had the biggest 72 hr crush on this guy.

Okay, so we're making fun of tourists in this photo....I think.
Here's the story: on our train ride into the city I started making a 'scavenger hunt' list...
...as I often do on any trip just to liven things up a bit.
I mentioned 'jump shots' 'getting nyc pizza' 'watching a broadway' and 'wearing I <3 NY shirts'.
Kev was aiming to please cuz we completed all that and much more.

As many of you know, I have a collection of 'manholes' from any trip I've taken.
This trip was no exception.
However, I'd like to pick up a new collection...any ideas?

We went shopping at Columbus Circle...

...and met up with my friend Alli for Falafel near Times Square.

Kev was the most accommodating travel partner.
Doesn't he look like Josh Lucas?

Here we are headed to our Broadway show, 'Wonderland', which is no longer showing.
It was a great show with family values and good jokes and charm.
I hope they bring it back to stages soon.

That was all Day 1.
Day 2-3 I drove all around Up(per)state NY.
This is going to sound ridiculous but I felt like I was cheating on my love for the state of Virginia.
Everywhere I drove was so green and had gigantic homes and quaint towns.
I was in awe...and would like to visit Kisco, White Plains, etc again soon. Here's some pics:
(I also have a thing for doors..this one belongs on a castle!!)

And the church it belongs to...

I had to pullover to take pictures of this cemetery..

...who even knows what happened here??

Another rad door...

....and the castle-esque church.

One of the many estates I drove by on my journey. A girl can only dream.....

A door to the secret garden!!? :)

Okay the reality of this trip:
Ragnar Relay flew me there, paid for my hotel, gave me spending money, the works.
I thought it was a great deal until I worked like an animal to help them pull off the race.
It seriously was madness...by the end I felt like I'd run a marathon/been hit by a big truck.
Here's Kevin in the middle of our shift.
I was so cranky and he was fed up....so he hopped up on his work van to help me snap out of it!


And then the last day I was there, I spent in the city.
We taxied to Chinatown (check out the sweet fog)...

got dumplings...and then I bought a new purse,

we visited wall street & had a nice sunday visit with the Rileys (looooove them)...

and we made a quick stop in Brooklyn on our way to JFK airport.

Overall it was an incredible trip.
I normally leave NYC feeling poor, angry, dirty (literally) and exhausted.
But this was a perfect trip where I got just enough city and lots of beautiful NY scenery.
Ragnar worked me hard....but given the chance, I'd do it all again! :)

SLC

I find it incredibly fascinating that locals are never tourists.

I think I've blogged about this before but for example:

I'm from Utah, so everyone asks me if I ski.

I don't (very well, anyway)...because it's too accessible, really.

Nor have I spent much time in Moab, Zions National Park, etc.

The point being, I go photo crazy anytime I'm in other cities.

And yet I never adore the beautiful city that I live in.

Upon returning from NYC, I took these photos in SLC on my lunch hour....

Downtown SLC is pretty fabulous, don't you agree?

I really do love it here...and summers here are the BEST!!

Yanni

My sisters and I grew up playing Yanni.
It's one of two artists that our entire family can agree on.
Can you name the second?

Anyway, Tawn & I took my mom to Yanni a few weeks back.
Funny story:
I called my dad to tell him we (his daughters) were buying tickets for him and my mom to go to Yanni for her birthday.
He immediately replied, "I'll pay for them if you'll take her."
Me (realizing I was getting the better end of the deal): "done."
I guess it is more of a 'girl concert' but we loved it.
Thanks for a great evening Tawn & Mom.
xoxo

Busy. Boring. Blur

The past month has been a blur--busy yet boring:

-We’ve had 3 events at work, logistics are always a nightmare but they all turned out great. Senator Simpson was the best--what a funny old man! Don't get me started on Jimmer--he's just a kid, I don't get what all the fuss is about. And Mitch Albom was phenomenal! Have you read 'Tuesdays with Morrie' or 'Have a Little Faith'? He's a best selling author and he told us the story of Have a little faith--how he met the guy and was touched; we should always believe in others, etc. My office is so small that it makes me spin in circles when we have lots of events going on. Can I add juggling to my resume? I know they joked about it on the Office last week, but really--that is what I do all day long. And let's face it, I thrive off of madness!

-We had the annual Perkins Family Easter, which is always fun. The highlight this year: going through Gussie's cookbooks and finding a 'love note', of sorts.... And the fact that my mom was handing out cash right and left. She's too cute--she even paid us to play chubby bunny. Whatever you gotta do to get adults to participate, i guess!! And for the record--I found the Golden Egg! I love when the weather warms up so the nieces and nephews can run around and play.

-I've been scrambling to get organized on some personal projects...more on that later.

-I swear it's snowed or rained nearly everyday since Christmas here in Utah. Spring is yet to arrive--It's been so cold! But I'm off to NYC for the weekend, so the east coast better bring on the sunshine!! I'm really hoping for a sunday stroll through central park...and tasty dumplings in chinatown...and some cheese pizza in brooklyn....and maybe even a broadway show!

If there's a will, there's a way! Hope you're all doing well:)

found this gem while surfing the web...