a random list of faves.

Some things I've been enjoying lately:

Yesterday's Google Doodle honoring movie title designer Saul Bass and featuring music by Dave Brubeck.  Perfect!

The Spock Vs. Spock Audi commercial.  "Technically we're not inside yet."

Playing weekly games of skee ball as a member of a skee ball league.  Yep, such things exist.  Who knew?! It takes me straight back to middle school and I'm loving it (even though we haven't yet won a game.) :) 

A little salad I whipped up for lunch (kale, mango, coconut, craisins, sunflower seeds, green apples, avocados, cucumbers) drizzled with dark chocolate balsamic vinegar.  Yes, it's as magical as it sounds.  It will change your world.  Try dipping strawberries in it or swirling it in your french vanilla bean ice cream.  Mmmm!

This book.  It's lovely and magical and surprising and I'm eating it up.

And trying to wade through this stack of books in my suddenly diminished reading time. *sigh* so many books, so little time!

The azaleas that are in full bloom everywhere you look right now. So vibrant and fabulous especially against a gray and rainy backdrop.

And planning for my upcoming trip to Germany. Life is definitely kicking my butt right now and I'm looking forward to riding the rails up and down the Moselle river valley, doing a little biking through Amsterdam and eating some chocolate in Belgium. The 20th can't come soon enough!

What's been on your plate?

a day wandering the town.

I don't know about the rest of you but I've got Spring fever. And the weather these days just isn't cooperating. In an effort to pretend that I'm not going stir crazy and channeling my inner Jack Nicholson I've forced myself to leave my cocoon of blankets, hot water bottles and peppermint tea and get out on the town.

Stop one was the Kennedy Center for their Nordic Cool festival highlighting various arts and performances from Scandinavia.

an art installation using hundreds of shirts to form the hull of a ship  

simulation of the Northern Lights 

 Then there was a trip to the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria for some information on the Masons, and some fabulous views from the top of the tower.

And this past weekend I spent the better part of an afternoon wandering through the Mansion on O Street.  Five row houses joined together through a series of cobbled together passages, stairways and hidden doors, it is a truly strange place. The owners are affiliated with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame somehow and use the Mansion as a sort of artist's retreat/school though it's also open for tours, treasure hunts, brunch, and more. There's live music (often a drag show) and various events throughout the year.  Everything that decorates the building has been donated and is for sale. It's a wild mish mosh of antiques and collectibles and junk, sort of like a ginormous yard sale. 

I read about it in this book and thought it sounded like such a fun and crazy place, I was sure it had been made up.  But no! If you've got a few hours to kill, I highly recommend a visit.

yes, that's John Lennon's face---projected on the bathroom floor!

1 of 20+ hidden doorways connecting the units, we sort of felt like Nancy Drew! Great fun! (plus, they don't tell you where they are so you have to discover them all for yourselves.  We found 6 or 7)

just a tiny sample of some of the stuff for sale/decor

 

 

 

And finally we stopped in for a quick tour of the headquarters of The Society of the Cincinnati a few blocks over. The oldest patriotic organization in the country, it's a hereditary society committed to promoting the education of and appreciation for the nation's struggle for independence. One of the original founding families bequeathed their home which is now used for events and contains vast collections of art and decor from around the world.  It was quite the contrast to the yard sale decor we saw on O Street!

What have you been doing to keep busy? Or should we send out the snowplows?!