CHICAGO: Anja's Engaged!!

The biggest news from my trip to Chicago is that Anja and Chris are engaged!! They had gotten engaged like two days before I landed in Chicago, so I got to hear the news in person and be there to celebrate with them. They have such a beautiful love story and I'm so happy for the both of them. It would have been a happy weekend anyway, but that announcement made it a joyous weekend!


First snap from Chicago

The ring! 

Calling a friend to tell them the news

Brunch

Me and the Bean!



Millenium Park!



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It's Always Sunny in DC: Food Edition

This was the first place we ate in DC, and it was the cutest place I've ever seen. I wanted to Instagram every corner of it. Every detail was beautifully styled, from the boards listing the menu items, to the bar, to the tables, to the menu that was designed to look like a newspaper. If you're in DC, stop whatever you're going and to go Ted's Bulletin right now.

Chicken Caesar wrap from Ted's Bulletin

Key Lime Ted's Tart. That's right, Ted's Tart. Definitely not any other kind of tart you might be thinking of so don't get it twisted.


Another day we had lunch at Teasim, where I had this salmon bento box. I'm not a fan of brown rice at all but this was delish, especially with the beet puree.



And I finally got to try Dunkin' Donuts for the first time! (Sidebar: How can America run on Dunkin' when we don't have it in California? Just sayin'.)


My last dinner in DC was at Plan B Burger, which was excellent. I got the Cuban burger and I highly recommend it.





Not pictured is the ramen we had my first night in DC which was almost as good as Daikokuya, and the sweet tea I had at Ted's (because as I was technically south of the Mason/Dixon, I was in the South). Also not pictured were the strawberry filled chocolate almond milk popsicles Sunny made! I'm so sad I'm going to miss out this summer because Sunny's popsicle game is on point.

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It's Always Sunny in DC: The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

The one touristy thing I felt like I had to do before I left DC was see the monuments at night. Sunny brought it up when we were planning out the trip and I latched onto the idea, so my last night in DC Sunny, her boyfriend Evan, and I had dinner and then walked through all the monuments after the sun had set. The little walking tour Evan gave us was great, we went from the lavish World War II memorial to walking along the pond towards the Lincoln Memorial, and then through the much more somber Korean and Vietnam War Memorials. I didn't go by the monuments in the day, so my opinion doesn't mean much, but I feel like this was the best way to experience them.








It was a lovely night walking through the city with friends.

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It's Always Sunny in DC

Back in March I was still riding the wave of good energy I wrote about here, and I was feeling like a warrior, like I could do anything. So when Sunny texted me asking when I could come visit, I just seized the moment, started looking up flights and realized that I could actually get out to DC to visit her for super cheap. Then I thought, "Since I have to fly past Chicago anyway, why not stop and see Anja?!" I'm telling you, I was in a great "I'm every woman/it's all in me" place, and thankfully the universe was in my favor and all 3 of our schedules worked out so I managed to plan an itinerary taking me to DC and Chicago.

It was so wonderful! Sunny and I hadn't seen each other in TWO YEARS, and even though I saw Anja in December, when she moved away in Dec '13 I had no idea when or if I'd ever see her again and now I've seen her twice in one year! It's hard having friends that live across the country, the time we do get to spend together is too limited and so precious.

I would have flown anywhere to see Sunny, and probably would never have made it out to DC of my own accord if she wasn't living there, but I actually really enjoyed the District. I got a bigger kick out of the Capital than I thought I would, especially seeing where Notorious RBG works and where Obama lives.

Selfies on metro

Outside the Library of Congress

Inside the Library of Congress

The Supreme Court

Courtroom!

On Capitol Hill

Hi Obama!



Please pause here to appreciate that Sunny is the cutest

My one regret was that we didn't get reading cards at the Library of Congress, but that just means I have to go back.

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Portlandia

Something I've been trying to focus on lately just in terms of personal growth, is not just talking about doing things, but actually doing them. It's a lot more difficult than it seems (like blogging regularly). It's so much easier to talk than it is to actually set a plan in motion, but I'm really proud of all the things I've done this past year. One of the biggest things I'm proud of though is the trip Estrella and I took to Portland in August.

For the first time in my life I had vacation time at work and a little extra money, and I got this idea in my head that I should go on vacation. As soon as that idea sprouted I knew that it was totally possible and I really wanted prove to myself that I could make this happen. So I did! I called Estrella and asked her if she'd want to go somewhere with me, and after she said yes we kicked some ideas around and ultimately we decided on Portland.

It may seem like a little thing, but just the fact that we actually went still makes me so happy. This could have easily been something we talked about forever without ever doing, but we actually got up and went. And I fell completely in love with Portland.

We stayed at an AirBnb in the Hawthorne District, so it felt like we got a pretty good sense of what it would be like if we lived there. We were only there four days but we stuffed them to the brim; we went to Powell's and got lost in the sea of books, saw the Portland Art Museum, ate at food trucks, ate Voodoo Doughnuts, went to a movie theater that was also a restaurant, saw Rx Bandits, and walked around parks enjoying the Pacific Northwest. Portland reminded me of the Bay Area in all the best ways: strangers making conversation on public transportation, compost bins, heavy emphasis on local & handmade things. I was (and still am) smitten.


Lemonade at LAX before take-off



Door of our AirBnB

The city composts! Insert heart-eye emoji here.

When I move to Portland I'm buying this creepy house and painting it blue. 

Lending library on the sidewalk!

The best food truck title ever.

Vacations call for mimosas and cold brew.

Yolko Ono, the best egg sandwich I've ever had.

POWELL'S! 

A book store so big it requires a map. Basically heaven.

Estrella playing Petrichor for me on the piano outside Portland Art Museum. 

Line for Voodoo Doughnuts.

The doughnut pay-off. Not pictured: the doughuts covered in Captain Crunch and Fruit Loops that I ate later.

Salt & Straw composts.

Sylvia Plath street art.

Rx Bandits at the Hawthorne Theater

I got the set list!

Still dreaming about this breakfast skillet.

Estrella and I decided that if we lived in Portland, this place would be our Sunday brunch spot.



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