Planes, trains, busses and bikes

Had we gone on a boat, we would have traveled by every current means possible on this trip. Next time, next time...

Uncounted months ago, my friend Jess and I decided to go on a trip together. We started small, "Let's go to DC!" which progressed quickly to, "Well, why not take the train to NYC, too?"

Sure, let's visit two of the busiest and most tourist driven cities in these United States. And we can totally do it in 5 days. We got this.

Off I go with my sister from another mister!

Well, yeah, we did got that. Surprisingly well, in fact. We did museums, we saw the monuments, we ate locally and made new friends late at the dive bar (hilarious scenario) and then we got food poisoning got on a bus to NYC (go Mega or go home) and hit Broadway, Times Square, Central Park and a grocery store for crackers. How we both survived 11+ hours of biking and untold miles, neither of us know, but we did! And it was fun!

Our home for the DC leg of our trip.

Visiting the Capitol building.

I think the best and easiest way to sum up what turned out to be one of the most fun trips I've ever been on is in a "Best of" listing:

Best fall down the subway steps: Jess

Best bike bruise: Becca (NYC)/Jess (DC)

Please note, no bruises occurred in the taking of this photo. This was in DC and I already told you who won THAT contest.

Best epic display in a Metro station: Becca

Best use of iPhone: Jess (to be fair, I don't have one, but hers was awesome)

Best map reading: Tie. Outside of one slip-up, we kept each other going in the right direction the rest of the time despite some issues with arrows and Up vs Downtown...the list goes on. But we succeeded!

Best sketch deal: Jess (hey Canal St.)

Best food: Founding Farmers in DC (but I'm pretty sure this is the place that gave me food poisoning, ftw)

Best weather: Tie. NYC/DC! It was epic!

Perfect evening to bike!

Incredible sunset at the Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin.

Central Park!

 Best biking: DC (far friendlier than NYC and who doesn't love the beauty of the "mile")

In all, I am so grateful for my friend, Jess, and I knew from the beginning of planning this trip that it would be a smooth, fun, carefree and stress-free trip. Lo and behold, I was spot-on. We navigated Metro and the Subway, we biked around DC and Central Park, we visited monuments and famous sites in both cities and all while asking, "Where do you want to go?" and responding. "I don't care" in unison. For a trip begun on a whim without timed planning or specific stops, outside of a few, we managed to shove two beautiful cities into 6 days of travel.

And despite being sick for two days of this trip, I still managed to have an incredible time on this trip and I cannot WAIT to do it again. Where to next, my friend?

Catch-up! Ketchup?

I have done an abysmal job of maintaining a steady posting stream and I'm only doing myself a disservice (considering there are very few others who read this besides myself...and maybe my mom). I've striven to post on a regular basis to keep my writing skills sharp, my vocabulary broad. Boom, #fail.

So here we go! Let me catch you up on March and part of April real quicklike.

At the beginning of March, the UST/PwC crew made our way to the rodeo for a nice afternoon in the very brisk, chill wind to consume fried delicacies (Oreos are special) and ride carnival rides (Berserkmoes is my ride buddy!) and check out the really smelly animals (yes, I stepped in manure).

Bbot and Tbot

Apparently using this as a landmark was idiotic considering there were four of them throughout the fairgrounds.

Ride buddy!

A quick side note to my awesomeness: I managed to wrangle a dead possum out of my backyard. Yeah, an actually dead one, not just "playing". I did my dad's bee/ocean dance and grimaced and made funny noises and finally said, "No one else is going to do this. No one else is here," so I got serious and made it happen. Never again, please!

Mischief managed.

To describe me as "squeamish" would be an understatement.

For two separate weeks in April I got to dogsit! And my phone promptly blew up with pictures of Bear. Bear and Kyle. Oh babies of all makes and models, why must you be so cute?

A very contented houseguest.

Soooomebody escaped their kitchen jail. And then left all their white fur on my dark brown couch. Sigh.

Get that camera out of my FACE. Ooooh no, sir, I will do no such thing. I suffer...you suffer.

Eat him up!

Over the next few weeks, G and S's wedding became top priority with several weekends of fun showers and then capping it all off with a fabulous wedding (and one really gorgeous bride!). It was such a treat to see this group of girls from UST days so many weekends in a row. With several of them bearing babies and one who moved umpteen thousand miles away (Ok, Ft. Worth, but who's counting?) it can be really challenging to gather the group together to catch up. Boy, did we get spoiled! I won't see these ladies again until JUNE. But, at least scheduling three months in advance gives you something to look forward to!

Franya!

We clean up pretty nicely!

If you don't go "He's sooooo cute" you need to get your eyes checked. I love my little Landosaurus. His parents are pretty boss, too.

Look at that gorgeous bride! Radiant is the best way to describe her. Love these ladies!

I mentioned scheduling events months in advance has it's advantages. Who knows how long ago, my brother, sister-in-law and I decided to schedule a bowling date for Annabelle's first time. It was HILARIOUS. The boo just walks in like she owns the place and proceeds to take it all in stride. She figures out what to do and when and has a great gallop/walk on her way up to the lane. This girl is too funny!

Mid-gallup.

Eat her up!

I didn't get a good picture of it, but everytime she rolled the ball down the lane she threw her hands up in victory.

Another such situation was with my friend, Stacey. We planned a tour of Blue Bell and an afternoon of shopping in January...for April. The weather was more perfect than we could have asked for and the tour of Blue Bell was great! If you haven't been before, I highly recommend taking a day trip to see it. Not only are the facilities really cool and the tour interesting, the little town of Brenham is ADORABLE. There's a great little main street with shops (not just antiques) and a great cafe with probably the most delicious Dutch Apple pie I have ever had the pleasure of consuming. What are you waiting for??

"Moo mooooooo, moo moooooooo"

I have really pretty friends. And ones with good taste...we both loved this old truck!

This picture practically captions itself: us at the cafe!

And to cap off these wonderful two months (prior to my big awesome vacation) was a celebration of the union of my cousin and his new wife who eloped in Paris in January. It was a great family event and the weather was perfect for breezing in and out of the house as appetizers floated past.

"Bread so that this house may never know hunger. Salt that life may always have flavor. And wine that joy and prosperity may reign forever." It's a quote from It's a Wonderful Life and I couldn't resist gifting their new household with this!

The last update for April is coming soon! Can you stand to wait? Because I'll probably end up posting it right after this so your wait time is considerably short. Or WILL I? Dun dun duuuuun!

Been DYEing to try this

Having started my career as a cog in the wheel of Corporate America, my wardrobe has forever since maintained a large number of black clothes.

It's what you do. Be sharp, be crisp, be slick. All that adds up to WEAR BLACK and a LOT OF IT.

Fast forward 5 years (has it really been that long already?) and my blacks are no longer sharp, they are dull. They aren't crisp, they're a little humdrum and sad.

Thanks to a good friend, I learned that you can revitalize your blacks in a very inexpensive way: DYE.

$2 and you get your nearly brand new shirt back. It looks alive and vibrant and when you wear it to work, people think you just went shopping. Talk about money savings! Plus, if you just looooove that one pair of pants that's been with you since day one and maybe it's time to get rid of them but you just can't make yourself...DYE them. :-D Gives them a bit more life.

The process is a bit time consuming (45 minutes in the water) and it can't be left alone (because I did it in a plastic tub, I was the agitator) but ultimately completely worth it, especially on a gorgeous day outside with a great book.

Be sure to measure correctly! It took 12 of these or 48 cups = 24 pints = 3 gallons

All that water for half this bottle based on approximately 1lb of dry clothes

Dry clothes no more! Put them into the hot water sopping wet, then stirstirstir!

And wait...and stir...and wait...and stir for 45 minutes.

Voila! Finite. In all, I considered this worth my time. For the little bit of hassle, I gave some of my favorites clothes new life and look forward to many more washes and wears before having to do this once again.

Next up, pants and a dress!