Category: DC

the star spangled banner

Posted on by jplatt27

This weekend we checked three things off my DC bucket list: hike on Roosevelt Island, drinks with friends on the waterfront in Georgetown, and visiting the Smithsonian to see the first lady dresses!

It was a great weekend all around but the piece that really struck me, really impacted me, was something I didn’t even expect to see: the original star-spangled banner.

The small exhibit dedicated to the flag that inspired the National Anthem really touched me. I didn’t know that the Star-Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key, who has a bridge named after him going between Georgetown and Virginia.  Something about making that connection hit home for me. I guess it was like “oh, that’s who Francis Scott Key is. Yes, I guess he should have a bridge named after him.” Then thinking about the emotion that inspired the song, wow. And just as I was wrapping my head around that, around the relief, the hope, the pride he must’ve felt when he saw the flag flying at Fort McHenry, I turned the corner and saw it.

The original Star Spangled Banner.  Oh my god.  It took my breath away.

In her gown dedication speech, Michelle Obama spoke of the importance of the Smithsonian Museum and how the items throughout the museum remind us that America was built, our history written by real live people.

That’s exactly how I felt when I saw the flag. Just like wow. Someone made this. Someone wrote that song. My sense of appreciation for the National Anthem and for the American flag grew significantly. And I was proud.

8 things I want to do in DC this summer

Posted on by jplatt27

Wow! This is our 5th summer in DC.  Though we’ve been here for 4 summers already, there are still some summer activities that we haven’t done yet. I’m hoping for a mild summer this year so we can get most of these activities in this summer. Come on 80 degrees and low humidity!

 

1. Go for a hike in Great Falls  first anniversary

2. Get crabs on the water in Annapolis

3. Jazz in the Garden

4. Go for a picnic

 Lafayette Park, Saturday June 2 (what we ate)

5. Kayak on the Potomac

6. Rent bikes and ride along the Potomac

7. Have dinner or drinks on the waterfront in Georgetown

8. Get ice cream at Dairy Godmother

 

Am I missing anything?? 

What’s on your list of things to do this summer?

Where I've been

Posted on by jplatt27

I’ve been away from the blog for the past few weeks.

Though nothing major has really happened, I feel like a lot is going on and I’m on the cusp of something big.

Here’s what I’ve been up to…

I’ve been soaking up as much information as I can about life coaching and starting a business. Literally all I want to do is read more. Though I’m technically “working” or “studying” when I do these things, it feels like I’m just reading for fun on a Sunday afternoon. This is how I’ve been spending most of my free time. I’m hooked and I just want more.

My best friends from college came to visit DC last weekend with significant others in tow. This is how I feel when I see these girls.

We had a full day Saturday–breakfast at The Diner in Adam’s Morgan; a walk through the Zoo; a picnic in Rock Creek Park with pizza, frisbee, and a round of stickball; delicious dinner and dessert at Kramerbooks and Afterwards; drinks at James Hoban’s. I loved playing stickball.  I was so impressed with myself during my time at bat and I think Mike was too. Sunday we had brunch at Founding Farmers (highly recommend) and some headed back to NYC while the rest of us went down for a walk on the National Mall. It was so fun for all of us to spend time together.

I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about ABC’s new show Scandal. I’m absolutely obsessed.

source

Kerry Washington is a rockstar as Olivia Pope, a crisis manager for high profile/high scandal situations in Washington, DC. Created by the same woman behind Grey’s Anatomy and inspired by the life of a real Washingtonian, this show is a combination of drama and mystery that leaves me wanting more every. single. week. This is our new go-to show. Check it out.  It’s free On Demand on Comcast.

We’re home for the weekend for early Mother’s Day. We’ll have dinner with Mike’s family tonight and I’ll spend the day with my mom tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to seeing my mom.  I just want to give her a big hug.  And drag her to the mall.  Hope you have a great weekend!

I’d love to know:

What have you been up to?

Have you seen Scandal? I literally talk about this show all the time. I actually had a dream that I was telling someone about it last night.

Our proposal story

Posted on by jplatt27

Two years ago tomorrow, Mike proposed to me on a beautiful spring day in DC. It was a day I had hoped for, dreamed for, prayed for, for years. He got it exactly right.  Here’s my proposal story.

__________________________

In summer/fall 2009, Mike and I had been having regular date nights every other Wednesday.  We’d alternate who would plan and pay and try to do things we wouldn’t normally do.  We’d text each other on the day of saying where and when to meet.

So when during our last training run for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler, I didn’t think anything of it when Mike said “I think we should pick date night up again.  I have an idea for a place that I thought of last summer but never used.  How about next Wednesday?” I’m pretty sure I was thinking “oh that’s sweet. just keep running…one foot in front of the other…only 7 3/4 miles left to go…damn this hill is tough.”

I will admit that I had quite a few butterflies in my stomach when Wednesday rolled around.  At 10 til 5pm I got a text from Mike that said “At 5 o’clock, head down.  A car will pick you up, the driver will know where to go.” I figured he didn’t get a car service to take me to Ben’s Chili Bowl and thought, this must be it.

At 5:00 I left my office giddy and filled with butterflies.  I had been waiting for this day for a long time.  As I rode through the city in the sleek black car, I looked out the window with tears streaming down my face, trying to take in every detail of the world outside, the flowers, the sunshine, the tourists happily walking through the city.

The driver dropped me off behind the Jefferson Memorial, one of our favorite places in the city.  It was a beautiful sunny spring day as I walked around to the front of the monument crying behind my sunglasses but smiling all at the same time. I’m sure I was shaking.

I turned the corner and saw Mike sitting about half-way up the steps of the Memorial wearing a navy blue suit and carrying a single red rose. He smiled wide when he saw me. I will never forget that sight.

I met him halfway up the steps, he kissed me and said simply “I think you’ve waited long enough.” Then he got down on one knee and said “Will you marry me?”

I said “yes,” he stood up, we kissed, and the tourists starting clapping and cheering around us.

Our date night didn’t end there.  Mike had arranged for the car to wait for us and we got back in the car and went over to POV Terrace at the W Hotel for a bottle of champagne and celebrating.

Game Change

Posted on by jplatt27

Just dropped Mike off at the airport and I’m happy to report that I held it together last night and this morning! Dropping him off and driving home I was a little sad and wanted to cry but the tears didn’t come. And when I remembered I had this cupcake to comfort me at home, that didn’t hurt either. Writing this post also helped me move past my sadness so thanks for reading!

We had a really nice night last night.  Our plan to lay low was a good one.  I ended up getting out of work an hour early yesterday so I met Mike at the gym (he always gets out early on Fridays, lucky). Then we used a Groupon and picked up a pizza from Potomac Pizza. If you live in the NW DC area or Montgomery County, I highly recommend Potomac Pizza.  It’s the closest pizza to the Philly/SE PA pizza we’re used to that we’ve found in the 3 years we’ve been here. We came home, showered, and settled in on the couch with a few slices.

After flipping through the channels a little bit and watching a few segments of both Khloe & Lamar and SVU that’d we seen already, I decided we’d watch Game Change, the new HBO movie about the 2008 McCain/Palin campaign. Mike had already seen it completely through once in addition to bits and pieces randomly throughout the week.  He said he likes it more every time he sees it.  Since I have a hard time making it through a whole movie in one sitting and I didn’t have much interest in it and I didn’t want my separation anxiety to flare up during a long, boring movie, I was skeptical about watching this last night.  But I figured we’d at least start it.  At this point Mike knows we’ll have to view a film in multiple sittings anyway so no trouble if I got bored.

Well let me tell you, I couldn’t stop watching.  It was really good.  It’s all about how the McCain campaign chose Sarah Palin as McCain’s running mate and how they prepared her for the campaign trail. It was fascinating! And Julianne Moore played a great Sarah Palin. I kept asking Mike “did this really happen?” and “is this true?” or “do you think she actually did that?” I don’t want to get into a political discussion here because to be honest I’m not super interested in political debate, and that is not what my blog is about. What I am interested in and what the movie focuses on is the behind the scenes of politics: what goes into a political campaign, the many layers of decisions made, and the relationships (or sometimes lack thereof) between the people involved. These things are fascinating to me.  I’d highly recommend Game Change if you haven’t seen it yet. It’s been playing pretty regularly on HBO since it aired on the 10th so I’m sure you can catch it again in the next week or so.

We didn’t make it through the entire movie without taking a break.  We had planned to take a walk and get some ice cream so we did that about an hour and a half in. We popped over to Something Sweet, a small bakery/ice cream shop in our neighborhood that we visit a little too frequently, and took our ice cream on a little stroll and sat on a bench in front of the National Cathedral.

We had a really nice night and I’m glad it was tarnished by my anxiety.  Mike hasn’t mentioned anything, but I’m sure he’s glad too.

I’d love to know:

What’d you do last night?

Have you seen Game Change? What did you think?