My Third 21 Days as a D.C. Resident

1.     Enjoyed round two at the Army Ten Miler, but afterwards admitted that ten miles is really not my distance
2.     Got invited to join the National Press Club
3.     Asked the Assistant to the President to let me take a photo of his socks for #Socktober17, a fundraiser for the homeless
4.     Finally watched the Blair Witch Project in honor of Halloween at the Library of Congress
5.     Seriously considered buying cheap flights to Paris or Seattle on Skyscanner
6.     Hunted for the perfect pumpkin with Jordan at Eastern Market
7.     Savored a wonderful vegetarian Ethiopian spread at Ethiopic with Starr
8.     Officially acknowledged Capitol Hill as a hill
9.     Got 13 hours’ notice to run a 10k with theMarine Corps crew and re-embraced that distance
10. Attended a reception for the Bare Short Film
11. Enjoyed an incredible Kurdish four course meal cooked by my brave new friend Julia
12. Ran into a fifth familiar person out and about the D.C. metro area
13. Watched the last seven minutes of a Supreme Court case (after over two and a half hours in line)
14. Took a photo with Mariah and the alternative Fruit of the Loom bunch (from Wegman's)
15. Joined Capital BikeShare and traipsed about the city
16. Attended a “wine down” with stimulating conversation
17. Hit two twenty minute metro delays after mistakenly going on autopilot late at night
18. Walked a cat on a leash around Capitol Hill with Sofia
19. Made a fourth visit to the DMV
20. Continued to debate when the weather might reliably become autumnal
21. Reengaged my French skills at a French conversation group dinner after too much dormancy 
22. Discovered that I was sitting next to a Secret Service agent at Ebenezers
23. Fundraised to bar-goers at Penn Social
24. Finally made it to the White House Garden tour
25. Marveled incredulously at my GPS’s ability to show me getting further and further from a nearby target destination
26. Went to the Senate briefing on biodiversity and wildlife corridors
27. Did a HIIT workout downtown in Halloween costume (accompanied by a snowman, Iron Man and Ariel)
28. Spotted several people doing pro-circulation yoga relaxation with their legs up the wall of the base of the Washington Monument
29. Talked my way into puppy-sitting duties
30. Appreciated noon fireworks and shared a bench swing with a stranger at the grand opening of the Wharf
31. Considered Yoga District intensive teacher certification
32. Watched sunrise from the Lincoln Memorial and couldn’t stop myself from taking another photo of the “same” view
33. Admired the skills of the roller skate dancer at the Walk Out of Darkness finale
34. Made repeat visits to the Protein Bar and La Loma with Matt
35. Had a coffee date with Emily at the Senate fountain
36. Added some diversity while volunteering for Diwali at the Freer Gallery
37. Fought the rain to get to a Kennedy Center Millennium Stage concert

More Intentionals and Unintentionals: My Second 21 Days as a D.C. Resident

1. Spotted the AMTRAK Special Operations team 
2. Barely survived an Equinox Tabata class with Melissa 
3. Officially crowned Un Je Ne Sais Quoi as awesome (and converted Matt’s coworkers and Grace) 
4. Reminisced about recent years with two fellow Army brats from middle school and earlier
5. Waited hours for free ice cream and then got photobombed by Jeni
6. Rediscovered the National Zoo and its most excellent informational signage 
7. Got hit by a bike while jogging
8. Met two members of the Sweetgreen events team…however, I’m still trying to figure out the pattern behind the forward versus backwards e logos? 
9. Visited several trendy Alexandria shops with Emily
10. Ordered the “Melania” mocktail at Off the Record while Matt tricked me into dinner instead of appetizers 
11. Discovered the existence of the Mean Girls musical on Mean Girls Day 
12. Reveled in the nearby brand spanking new Trader Joe’s 
13. Failed twice at getting into the Bureau of Engraving and Printing tour 
14. Nerded out while touring NPR headquarters 
15. Made two visits to Shake Shack with Matt 
16. Took way too many photos at the United States Botanic Garden 
    
    
    
    
17. Participated in car-free day 
18. Got offered a free cappuccino at DC Coffee Fest  
19. Watched the This is Us premiere with Emily 
20. Was serenaded by the “Honk 4 Trump Unity Bridge”
21. Spent more than twenty minutes in line at Columbia Heights Target on a Tuesday at 6:35 pm 
22. Adventured through four galleries with Morgan for First Friday Dupont 
23. Marveled at every corner of Union Market
    
24. Passed crew teams on the Potomac and the George Washington cross country team on the nearby streets
25. Spotted a senator on a date night walk (complete with a blissful McDonald’s hot fudge sundae)
26. Debated which business-appropriate, laptop-fitting bag I should purchase to match the local uniform
27. Discussed the merits of Logan Circle with Robin 
28. Jogged through a cloud of pigeons on the National Mall 
29. Ate lunch with Janie behind the waterfall in the National Museum of the American Indian 

My First 21 Days (as a D.C. Resident)

Things I both intentionally and unintentionally did during my earliest days as a new DMV area resident…

1. Visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture 
2. Tried a week of CorePower Yoga classes 
3. Fell wholeheartedly in love with The Coffee Bar 
4. Missed my metro stop twice
5. Attended a panel discussion of the intersection of adolescent mental health and gender at the International Center for Research on Women 
6. Spotted someone I knew downtown
7. Paddleboated at the Jefferson Memorial 
8. Enjoyed D.C. Restaurant Week
9. Viewed the great American eclipse at the National Air and Space Museum 
10. Did homeless outreach with Capital Life Church 
11. Developed “the Garden Route” on a morning run: six gardens plus a swing past the National Museum of African Art in an hour’s run
12. Rode the Smithsonian Carousel
13. Read every events calendar that I saw or heard of and got overwhelmed by all of the options
14. Attended my first Nationals baseball game 
15. Visited a trendy downtown watering hole on Friday night with my boy
16. Discovered that Miss America 2018 lived in my building last year
17. Ran “stadiums” on the Lincoln Memorial steps 
18. Beat the morning reveal of the daily national front pages at the Newseum
19. Volunteered at the 202 Arts and Music Festival 
    
20. Attended my first navy football game
21. Was a minority at the grocery store
22. Got invited to dinner in the Trump International Hotel
23. Did two group workouts with the DC Road Runners 
24. Got honked at in rush hour traffic
25. Joined the PRSA-NCC pro-bono committee 
26. Crammed through a partially dysfunctional metro door into a crowd of humans at rush hour
27. Visited Eastern Market for lunch 
28. Heard a private sneak preview of a National Archives lecture
29. Ate a sushi burrito, Afghan food, a rapidly melting snow cone and most importantly, Sweetgreen   
30. Hit the last Sculpture Garden jazz concert of the summer 

It's an interesting and busy place and I'm thankful for the opportunity to move here and live downtown.

Greenville-Area Favorites

As an active, semifoodie, people-watching enthusiast that likes to get more for my money, here are my favorite things from my time in the Greenville area over the last eight years. Thanks for all of the sweet memories, #yeahTHATGreenville!

• The Indie Craft Parade

Buy your baby shower, birthday and Christmas presents and give a lovely gift that everyone else won't have

• Table Rock hikes

Bring along water, snacks, a camera and some motivated hiking buddies

• Lakeside summer concerts at Furman University

Enjoy with a picnic or while walking around the lake, thanks to the concert being projected over the belltower speakers

• Tiramisu at Coffee Underground

A cozy, popular nook—the most charming basement you’ll ever visit

• The Greenville Small Plate Crawl

A sweet opportunity to try out a variety of Greenville's excellent restaurants in March—coming back in 2018

• Cazbah front room dinners 

Tapas with eclectic flavors and the site of some of my favorite dinners

• Outdoor yoga at NOMA Square, Soul and at the Courtyard by Marriott Greenville (Yoga in the Courtyard) 

Free, relaxing and the best way to start your Saturday morning or spend a Wednesday or Thursday evening

• Honey lavender lattes at Tandem

One of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted

• Eating outdoors at Smoke on the Water with live music 

Great tables, free cornbread, delicious barbecue, and amazing happy hour specials

• Scoring a bench swing in Falls Park

Hard to snag, but entirely enjoyable

• Artisphere

Wander along the art exhibits and observe glass-blowing, metal-working, and ceramics

• Indian buffets at Handi and Saffrons

Always efficient, classy and delicious

• Sunrises at Pretty Place

Always worth it, even though you have to get up really early. Crucial tip: do not plug Pretty Place into your GPS—you won't get there (speaking from experience). Bonus: take some coffee and add a Caesars Head hike afterwards.

• Racing in the Spinx Run Fest

I can vouch for both the half-marathon and marathon being excellent challenges

• Browsing Dress Up, Lou Lou, O.P. Taylors, Anthropologie, and Mast General

Gathering wardrobe inspiration, channeling your inner child, and perusing a little bit of everything else

• Mice on Main scavenger hunt 

Repeat every few years

• Wild blackberry picking across the county 

So many berries, so little time

• NC Apple Festival

A beautiful chance to taste and rank different apples, people-watch, and enjoy live music in Hendersonville, NC

• Wednesday night line dancing at Blind Horse Saloon

Really fun lessons and wonderful people-watching: free for ladies and cheap for men

Enjoy making your own adventures!

Running Bits of the World (Originally for Outdoorosity.org)

I love nothing more than combining multiple good things. Perhaps it’s a product of being born into the millennial cohort or perhaps it’s the fact that I want too strongly to “do it all” within the confines of a “standard American adult schedule”, but when possible, combining things has become my default setting. A luncheon speaker from the national triathlon team recently referred to this as “maximizing” rather than the negatively associated “multitasking”: the main difference is that maximizing involves combining complementary activities while multitasking involves conflicting activities. This concept of maximization now defines my primary approach to life. Writing thank you notes while waiting in line, listening to podcasts while running, carpooling in order to hang out with others while in transit (plus diminish environmental impact) or cooking while watching my favorite shows are just some of the ways that I enjoy finding more time in a day.

My favorite maximization activity of all is running around the various places that I get to visit: combining exercising with the pleasure of observing different places. The intro sign in my cubicle reveals that I am “perpetually plotting my next adventure.” As an Army brat and third generation vagabond, I crave travel. After moving every few years for the first half of my life, I very much appreciate the ability to live in one place as long as I choose to while adding in travels to visit family/friends, work events, attend conferences or weddings, or just go somewhere to take a break from my routine.

As a sociologist, I love seeing different social environments and being a part of people doing what they do. As a health-minded individual, regular exercise is a big part of my life and I try to keep it as fun as possible. As a runner, I find a special joy in exploring new spots to break up the routine and help me lose myself in the excursion while logging the miles. This also makes my Type-A brain very happy—yes, I still feel the desire to be productive even during time off during a work trip or while on vacation.

Once I am dressed and have my shoes laced up, all I usually take is my phone (on airplane mode if I’m in a foreign country), a key (as needed) and a backup source of money. I let those that I’m with (if any) know a range of when I expect to be back: a planned time and a later “start-getting-concerned-if-you-haven’t-seen-or-heard-from-me-by-now-time”—things are always a little less predictable in a new place. I am sure to have the address where I am staying logged on my phone, and then I decide which way to run first. While friends, family, and other helpful locals can often recommend routes, if I have the time and energy, it is usually even more fun for me to embrace the break from routine and decide which way to turn as I jog along.

Because of taking this approach, I know downtown Washington, D.C. better than people who’ve lived nearby for the majority of their lives. I once encountered quite the assortment of cows on a rural road in Switzerland and then I relished the opportunity to run along the Eiffel Tower on an extremely wonderful layover on the way back to the U.S.. I have run quite the assortment of fatiguing inclines near my relatives’ Knoxville, Tennessee suburb home. I semiseriously feared encountering something dangerous running near Denali in Alaska on a graduation trip. I celebrated when a crew of friends and I found our way back to the correct complex outside Johannesburg, South Africa on study abroad. I admitted to myself that I hadn’t understood the geography of the Midwest while enjoying a chilly November run along the Chicago banks of Lake Michigan on a work trip.

I encourage you to try this simultaneously tiring and energizing endeavor on your next trip. I continue to treasure the memories, photos and the ability to fuel up after a workout with some delicious out-of-the-ordinary food. If running or travel are not for you, consider if integrating maximization into your life could be beneficial to help you do more. If you do choose to run, observe the people, homes, and businesses around you. Take the various alleyways and see where you end up. Stop at the farmer’s market along the way (full disclosure: this option led to me carrying two irresistible bags of sun-dried tomatoes for the last 45 minutes of my 2015 run around Venice). Jog up the big hill and see what you can see. Run along the water and perhaps take a photo of the starfish that you might find. Make the most of your trip and your workout.

Memorable New and Classic Wedding Ideas

Now that the annual engagement season is over, wedding planning is surely full steam ahead for many couples. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to attend, be in, and coordinate quite the variety of weddings over the past four years. While each wedding that I’ve been a part of has been wonderful in its own way, here are some sweet ideas that I have particularly enjoyed.

1. Throw lavender at the bride and groom as they exit the church: there’s no smell like it, plus it’s ecofriendly.
   
2. Do a yoga class the morning of the wedding with any interested wedding party members, friends or family members.
3. For a summer wedding, design a classy and useful combination program and fan.
4. Incorporate the phrase “Eat, drink and be married.”
5. Share different spice mixes as favors: love is the spice of life. The wedding I attended gave out a choice of barbecue mix, Italian herbs, or chai spice. I’m still enjoying mine!
   
6. Incorporate eucalyptus into your wedding flowers—it's hardy, beautiful and it smells great. As with lavender, you also get some nice aromatherapy.
7. Have the parents of the groom pray over the bride and the parents of the bride pray over the groom during the ceremony.
8. If you have musical skill or perhaps a hidden talent, surprise the class by sharing it on this once-in-a-lifetime day! I’m thinking of a particularly great evening where we got the groom to do an encore of Bennie and the Jets after serenading his new bride with a love song.
9. Play the couple's dance game to see which couple has been married the longest. I was truly impressed by the married-for-75-years grandparents at the most recent wedding.
10. Place infused water dispensers around the ceremony and reception to keep everybody hydrated and happy throughout the celebration. Try cucumber, lemon, mint, raspberry, grapefruit or almost any fruit combination.
11. Green tea cupcakes. I’m not going to offer any explanation.
12. As you’d like, incorporate groomswomen/a best woman and bridesmen/a man of honor: if the bride has a best friend that's a guy and the groom has a beloved sister, put them in the same clothes as the groomsmen and bridesmaids, but let them stand on the most appropriate side.
    
13. Start a train, ideally one led by a grandparent or an elementary-aged cousin—you won't regret it.

Happy 2017 wedding season to all!

Photo credits go to my wonderful former Furman University photography classmate, Hannah Woodard Lockaby of Hannah Woodard Photography. See more of this beautiful wedding day of my sweet friends here.