Weekly Washington Post (7/5)

First, and foremost, Happy 4th of July!! I'm so very blessed to live in this country. And what better place to be during this time of the year than our nation's capitol, Washington, DC. If you want to know how I feel about the US of A, go here. I survived the last week of work, which is huge considering I could've been shot, burned, or infested with bed bugs. It was an eye-opening experience working in "the projects", but I'm grateful for the work and stories. My sister, Heather, came into town. It's been fun having her around; we've done a lot.

Monday
-The Department of Housing and Urban Development, better known as HUD, was in the office and complex for yearly inspections. There were so many long hours put in by my coworkers for this, and HUD only came for half of a day. But, hey, at least we passed AND I got lunch.
-Played kickball for FHE

Tuesday
-Heather came flew in. We went to Georgetown for the evening. We ate at Le Madeleine, which turned out to be a wonderful recommendation. Afterwards, we walked around M Street and popped in and out of stores as it rained.

Wednesday
-SYTYCD redeemed itself.

Thursday
-Last day of work!!

Friday
-Heather and I embarked on an adventure. The Mt. Vernon trail runs from Arlington, through Alexandria, and all the way to Mt. Vernon. We thought it'd be fun to bike ride the 10 miles down to Mt. Vernon. It was a little more challenging than we anticipated, but we made it. Washington's home and grounds are absolutely beautiful. The views, architecture, landscaping, namely everything was lovely and charming. On our ride back, it started raining--of course.
-That evening we met up with friends for dinner. On a recommendation, we went to Matchbox pizza in Eastern Market; this was another food hit. Afterwards, we met up with other people to watch the dress rehearsal of the program on PBS A Capitol Fourth. If you're ever in town of the 4th of July, I would go to this because it was done just as if it were the 4th. Aretha Franklin, Natasha Bedingfield, and Jersey Boys--to name a few--performed.





For 408 and J Crew--


Jersey Boys {Four Seasons}--this is my favorite song by them

Saturday
-It was a classic 4th of July: bbq, swimming, fireworks, and ice cream. We got a great place on the Mall to watch fireworks. Another tip for if here for the 4th, don't try and go straight home. The lines to just get into the Metro stations are atrocious. So, stop and have ice cream.

{No, I didn't edit the color of the sky--so cool}

Since Katie {due to work} and Rebekah and my dad {due to being anti-American, ;)} didn't see fireworks {you can see the Lincoln Memorial in the bottom right corner}--

The finale

Sunday
-I didn't have to stand up and introduce myself in RS--hurrah!

Make it a fantastic week!!