Men With Beards

I've found a museum/tourist hobby! Find all the artwork that features men with beards, photograph it, and then make a collage of the photos and post them on Instagram—and subsequently everywhere else. 

So far I've found bearded men at the Smythsonian National Portrait Gallery: 

At the United States Capital Building:

And the National Postal Museum:

My perfect day...

Yesterday was perfect! Exactly what I needed—exactly what I wanted all summer! A day in DC.

This escalator was so dizzying! #metrostation

Trying to figure out the metro stops.

Photo courtesy Andrea.

Riding the metro. 

Photo courtesy Andrea.

Trying to figure out where we got off and how far it is to where we want to go. Photo courtesy Andrea. 

International Spy Museum with Carissa and Andrea.

Homegirl Dolley and me turnin' up in DC! #Favorite1stLady 

#licenseplatelove

In honor of paying taxes for the first time!

In honor of my great-grandfather! 

Raising my cup of tea to Tennessee! 

Washington monument in all it's scaffolding glory! 

#VietnamWarMemorial

We were here! 

And here's the proof! 

Can't be a tourist without a jumping photo! One of the things on my DC check list for the day was to get a picture wearing my spectrum socks in front of one of the monuments. ;)

Photo by Carissa.

On the metro headed back. 

Reflections. 

Finishing the day off right with a burrito from Chipotle! 

Sketches

I haven't drawn this much since the semester ended and I wasn't required to for class...I hated that art class. But now, 3.5 months later, I'm finally drawing again—and enjoying it. 

Reveal Your Dignity

So I guess I'm on a bit of a Sara Bareilles kick right now, but I was going through some of her videos on YouTube tonight when I found this one about picking out her clothes.

Being a bit of a fashionista, I loved that this was about her own personal style and what she likes to wear. Also being someone who is unashamed to believe in and practice modesty, I thought it was cool that Sara looks for clothes that aren't too revealing.

I will warn you, however . . . the video does contain some four letter words. Watch at your own discretion.

Keeping Quiet . . . for what?

Today I found a new Sara Bareilles song that I've fallen in love with—so much so that I actually bought it on iTunes (this rarely happens!). The song is Brave from her album The Blessed Unrest. In the song she sings about not letting people abuse you with their words and what would happen if you stood up for yourself and said what you need to say.

In my short life and in my even shorter life in the working world and in my EVEN shorter life of watching TV shows like Suits, I've realized that people keep quiet about a lot of things they shouldn't because they don't want to lose their jobs, opportunities at their jobs, or their status in life. It's quite sad really, that people would live life controlled by other people and by their silence encourage the kind of behavior and practices that need to be investigated.

In the third verse of her song Sara sings,

"And since your history of silence

Won't do you any good,

Did you think it would?

Let your words be anything but empty

Why don't you tell them the truth?"

The last line of the song's chorus simply says, "Honestly I wanna see you be brave."

Honestly, I want to see people be brave. 

I love soccer . . . I really do

The conversation was serious. She was mid sentence. I was listening intently. But then out of the car window I saw him. Actually who it was doesn't really matter. It was what he was doing. He was about to kick a soccer ball. My eyes fixated on the fluid movement of the kick. As we passed in the car I turned to watch where the ball went.

"Soccer," I said quietly.

I'm no soccer player and I don't even know the sport that well. I'm a total noob when it comes to knowing what's happening with teams and leagues. But that doesn't deny that some of my happiest moments as a child and then again in college involve a soccer ball, good friends, and wide open space.

When I came to Maryland this summer, I brought my cleats with me hoping I'd use them. So far I sadly haven't. But seeing that guy tonight made me realize just how much I miss soccer. I really love that sport!

Two suggestions to live by:

It's true . . . I'm a fan girl . . . haha!

Doubt this will ever happen but it should . . . haha!

The man who introduced me to my favorite sport—my old man!

The girl who was brave enough to try this sport out with me in college.

This was my best play right here—which really doesn't mean much but to me . . . eh . . . I'm pretty proud of it. ;)

The guys who got me back into soccer by asking me to photograph their team. I am forever indebted!