a week of surprises

^^ guess the frizz days of summer are here to stay, as well as wrinkled linen clothes ^^

^^ boys. it seems to be understood that they would both lean against this wall {right before the docent told them to step away from it haha} ^^ 

^^ goosebumps always when I see this wall. No, I'll never forget ^^

^^ kinda made us miss Dudy Noble even more when saw how small it was. That & the wooden benches? Thanks, but no thanks

^^ beautiful tulips from sweet friends ^^

Last week was one of those spontaneous types. Due to a change in schedule, a friend had to bump up his trip to DC to midweek, & thanks to the fighting spirit of our alma mater Monday night, our weekend plans were immediately spoken for once the Bulldogs clinched their regional win {& did I mention the rained out Nats game Thursday night & all-day air conditioner replacement Friday?}. So in the space of 24 hours our week outlook went from low-key to full of activity.

On Tuesday afternoon the Drew Napier our friend Drew rolled into town, & we spent a great night catching up while eating husmate's yummy homemade pizza & Trader Joe's cookies {I wasn't lying when I said those are all we eat now}. The next day we all took off to see the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial, whose footprint is simplistic & beautiful. One hundred and eighty-four people were killed that day at the Pentagon, & each has a bench dedicated in his memory. If they were inside the Pentagon that day, their name inscribed on the bench faces the building, & if they were onboard the plane, it faces the sky along the path that the plane was flying that day. Sometimes it's hard to imagine that a building whose very design is reinforcement & strength could be the site of something so tragic. Just another reminder that nothing in this life is ever certain.

Then we were off to the Newseum! This was after we were approached by someone on the metro who automatically assumed we were lost just because of our accents {Richard, wherever you are, thanks for looking out for others}. So for all of you who wonder if we have turned into yankees yet, no we haven't. Sigh of relief, right? Or is it just a matter of time...?

Anyways, the Newseum, a personal favorite of mine & a requirement if you're ever in DC, if you ask me. The downside: it costs money, compared to all the Smithsonians; the upside: six floors of the history of news. The highlights include the front pages of newspapers throughout history, the gallery of Pulitzer Prize photographs, & the tribute to 9/11. Of course, I'm a nerd so I suppose this was to be expected. Also, the food at the Newseum: delicious. Seriously one of the best salads I've had in awhile. Who knew that museums could serve yummy food?

After a great dinner at Founding Farmers {we had to... I mean Drew had never had it before} and a brief night's sleep on our couch, Drew was headed home. And next on the crazy train was supposed to be a Nats game for us, except it got rained out so that turned into a guiltless dinner of Papa John's pizza with our friends, Emily & Josh, who were our dates to the game ;). 

But no worries, fast forward to Saturday & we got in our needed dose of baseball at the UVA-MSU Super Regional in Charlottesville. Now I'm not going to lie, I thought that we would play hard but come up short. I know, I know... terrible fan. But hey! we pulled out a win that day {actually in many ways: MSU won the series, we dragged the devout Ole Miss fans known as Emily & Josh to watch a State game, & we grabbed Sonic on the way home} & everyone lived happily ever after. The end.

And as an epilogue, we enjoyed a lovely dinner Sunday night with our future lawyers/protectors/defenders of all things requiring legal needs, also known as the witty Forrest & lovely Julie, over {now that I think about it} homemade pizza. Call us Americans. Now I'm off to inhale any & all fruit in our refrigerator to offset the pizza thrice in one week.

P.S. Anyone else notice I used the word "thrice" twice in one week? I'm on its comeback campaign.

uva crush

Last weekend, we roadtripped with our friends Emily & Josh to Charlottesville. Needless to say, 3/4 of us are nerds at heart & wouldn't mind getting a graduate degree from there... Maybe one day ;)

I learned a few things about UVA that make it all the more intriguing to me:

1. Jefferson was one cunning dude. He knew how to get money out of legislators by building his Academical Village {his term, not mine} in multiple locations all at once. That way when the guys with the power came by to see its progress, they would see that more money would be needed to finish the whole project (instead of cutting funding after one part was done). Due to his reasoning, the cornerstone of the Academical Village is found in Pavillion 7 {totally haphazard}. 

{Today his Academical Village, along with UVA & his home Monticello, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site}

2. Their graduate school of business alone could house my entire prep school at home. & this is their parking deck.

3. Secret Societies rule. And they have lots of them (supposedly second only to Princeton). Or maybe I just have always been captivated by their intrigue {and now I want to figure out who all the Sevens are... or just maybe see a tomb with the wreath}... 

{Walking around campus, all the chalk/graffiti on buildings & sidewalks that say IMP, Z, & 7 are the marks of the three known societies at UVA. For any who are hesitant about graffiti-loving cult groups, these three all have philanthropy at their roots. So they're cool and good at heart. Oh, & my favorite: if anyone has a message they want to pass along to the Seven Society, they leave a note at the carving of TJ in the Rotunda & it'll get picked up every night & delivered to them.}

4. I love that Jefferson made his Rotunda a library & the center of everything in his plans. & that the top floor hid its bookcases behind its columns so that when dances were held there, the center of attention was on the dance & not on learning {because learning can be so distracting}.

5. I would have wanted to live on the Lawn my senior year, even though the rooms have no bathrooms, no central air {they're heated by fireplaces}, & are tinier than the shoebox of the rooms in the Chi O house that I lived in for three years. I'm that gooby {& Sarah you totally would have wanted to as well}. 

{the Lawn rooms are reserved for high GPA/very involved UVA undergrad students & the Range rooms are for grad students. Both have been in use since the start of the University. Originally the faculty also lived there in the ten Pavilions- living above their classrooms. Today some of the deans live there. Neat, huh?}

so in short, I have a crush on UVA.