A Social Five

I spend a lot of time on social media - I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.  The problem these days with social media is that with everything happening in the world, it's become a bit of a downer.  I get it, people need to vent.  However, what was once a place for silly cat videos and fun jokes, has become a place for hard core news.  Good for civilization, bad for a happy few minutes of wasted time.  However, there are a few accounts sill out there that never fail to make me smile.  And these are it.  So if you need a smile, I'd suggest checking these lovely, creative, fun people out.

1. Daniela Ruah (@danielaruah) on Instagram - By day she's kick-butt NCIS agent Kensi Bly on NCIS: Los Angeles, and by night she's a mom who does fun things like yoga with her kids or create dalmatian costumes for her little ones.  She seems fun, and seems like someone I'd love to have lunch with.

2. David Lebovitz (@davidlebovitz) on Instagram - David is an American pastry chef who moved to Paris to work in food journalism and writing.  He has a blog and his books on sweets and Paris are fabulous.  His Instagram account is pretty much chock full of pictures of mouth watering food, and funny things that could only happen in Paris.

3. Lin Manuel Miranda on every form of social media - Honestly, he has got to be the most positive and lovely person in the entire world.  He's creative, and funny.  He's also a humanitarian who is constantly helping.  The entire world loves Lin right now, and I pretty much agree with them.  He's definitely a light in dark times, and his musings never fail to make me smile.

4. Any Supernatural based account on Twitter - including everyone who's been on the show, specific bloggers that write about the show, and charities that the show supports.  - For such a dark and scary show, everyone in this show is positive and kind and lovely.  Lots has been written about the fandom, so it's very public that these people are amazing.  I'm just reiterating this fact.  All you need to do is search for videos on YouTube of any of the Supernatural Conventions to see exactly how much these people care about each other and their fans.  They take so much of their own time to give back, and that love is felt throughout the fandom.  They are just a group of truly amazing people - that's pretty much all there is to say.

5. Travel sites on Instagram on places that I've been (Cornwall, Edinburgh, London, Austin, New York, Savannah) or places I want to go (New Mexico, Canada, Italy) - These sites are like a virtual vacation.  They make me remember my fabulous vacations there, or add lovely sites and restaurants to the list of places I want to go.  What's a better way to get away than dreaming of warming climates and trips to far off lands? 

Scappy Lessons

The last time I went to England, it took me about 4 months to finish my scrapbook of the photos.  I was lazy, and uninspired and by the time I finished it, I wasn't its biggest fan, and I had already shown everyone my photos on my phone, so no one really cared about looking at the album.  After this trip I decided I would be better about scrapping the photos, and I would get it done as quickly as possible.  It's been a little over 2 weeks, and I just finished printing all of the photos, and a great deal of the journaling.  All that's left is some fun embellishing and filling a few holes.  I'm feeling so much better this time around!  But I did learn a few lessons along the way.

~ When you have a goal in mind, every Best Buy in the metropolitan area will stop selling Canon Selphy printer ink, so you'll be forced to wait on an order from Amazon.  The same will go for 6 x 8 album inserts.  Thank goodness for Scrapbook.com!  Speaking of 6 x 8 albums..

~ The rings in this size binder are either too small or I feel the need to print way too many photos.  That album is bursting at the seems...here's hoping the rings, while too tiny, are strong.

~ A SAG/AFTRA Backstage Broadway interview with Andrew Rannells is the perfect accompaniment for the "watching paint dry" activity level of printing photos.  I almost didn't realize I wasted hours of my life watching a printer spit out photos...

~ Not all photos look great printed.  I'm convinced iPhones trick your eye somehow by making you think you have an award-winning photo on your phone, but when it's printed, it looks like you took it underwater.

~ You will always lose the scissors, stickers, tape roll, or glue amongst your work area, and will then find it 20 minutes later, after you've opened a new one or grabbed another pair.

~ And lastly, getting the scrapbook done early, helps you remember all the lovely stories that happened on vacation which totally helps with the journaling.  Not everyone will read it, but at least it will make you happy!

The Story Behind a Photo

This is one of my most favorite photos I took on my trip. First off, it's Ice Cream which is always a good thing. Secondly, I think we can agree that it's pretty Instagram-worthy.  It's one of those photos that's just begging for a clever hashtag on Instagram. However, what I find even more interesting - and stressful since it happened to me - is the story behind the photo.

In this case, we were wandering around Padstow trying to decide on which Ice Cream shop would get our business.  There were so many, and we couldn't really decide.  We wandered just a bit further, and found an Ice Cream Parlor with homemade ice creams in all sorts of specialty flavors.  It was the perfect find!  After some indecision, I decided on 2 flavors.  Chocolate and the one I always get in England, Banoffee, in a waffle cone.  Both flavors were to die for!  So while I was waiting on my friend to choose hers, I went outside and snapped this photo so I could remember to scrapbook this yumminess when I got home.

As we both ate our ice creams, we mosied down to the coach stop to catch a ride back to our car.  That's when it happened.  One scary-a&$ seagull dive bombed my head a bit.  He got so close he brushed his feet against the top of my head.  I recovered and continued to walk. Then it happened again.  Though this time, I was a little too close to the edge of the sidewalk, and it took me a bit too off guard, and the stupid bird knocked me down, and made me drop my perfect ice cream cone - which he then pounced on and ate like he hadn't been fed in days! Of course, since it scared my friend too - who is more afraid of birds than I am - she just chucked her cone at him which is what he wanted in the first place.

So the moral of this story is, not all ice cream photos are perfect.  And sometimes they are - and if they are, a possibly homicidal bird may want it for himself...  Also, as a life lesson (I learned after this incident) when eating outside near birds, stay close to the wall.  They have to dive to get to you, and they won't do that if you're too close to the wall because they may dive into the wall (which I wouldn't mind really - since I now blame all birds for the loss of my perfect ice cream! - but I don't think they would like it...)

Travel Things you Learn

I'm leaving for a lovely vacation tomorrow and in the planning of this vacation, I've learned a few things that I never learned planning other vacations.  I'm going to share them with you so that you don't have to stress like I have.

~ Bad things happen all over the world, every day. There's death, and war and awfulness.  But, you will notice an overabundance of bad things happening where you're headed in the weeks leading up to your trip.  It probably has something to do with you noticing it more because you're headed there.  Or the gods having it out for you.  Either way, try not to freak out.  The bad things, while awful, mean that security will be heightened and you just may be safer.

~ Packing is indeed the worst activity ever.  It's up there in front of watching paint dry and watching grass grow.  You spend weeks figuring out what to take, and then pulling out all of those things, because you don't think they're quite right.  And then you stare at the remnants of your closet in hopes of some inspiration.  Then finally, you've had enough so you just throw a bunch of things in the bag and hope for the best.  Also, you hope that it will in fact zip when the time comes.

~ The weather will become the exact opposite of what it has been the second you can see the 5 day forecast.  For the past few weeks it's been 80 degrees and sunny, the 5 day forecast for next week says 62 and rainy.  And you were curious as to why packing was so difficult this time around.

~ Eventually after all the stress of getting ready, and possible bad things happening, you will be super excited to travel, and you may not be able to sleep because of it.  But that's ok, that's what the airplane is for - sleeping away so it goes quickly.  Because the faster you fall asleep, the faster the flight goes, which means the faster you'll be there! 

No Thril Seeking Here

Someone at work just got back from the Bahamas today.  He was telling me how he willingly strapped on a parachute and jumped off a cliff into the water.  He said that even his mom had done it with him.  Why, god why would anyone willingly jump off a cliff?  Isn't the cliff nice and secure and steady?  Isn't it holding your weight nicely?  If it was doing all of these things, why would anyone choose to jump off of it?  

I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm crazy.  But you know what, I'd rather be crazy than jump off a cliff.  I'm not sure you could call this guy a thrill-seeker, but thrill-seekers are a conundrum to me.  I don't understand possibly killing yourself just to get a rush.  A roller coaster is about as far as I go in the rush department - though based on the number of roller-coaster malfunctions in the last few months, that may also be out of the question. 

A few years ago my mom and a few of her friends and mine went parasailing.  At the time I thought she was crazy.  There are sharks in the water.  Why would you dangle your toes 100 feet up from sharks?  Also, the harness your wearing is nothing more than canvas and Velcro.  Does that seem like "safety" gear?  Not to me at all!

She worries about me traveling alone, yet she's hanging by a thread off the back of a boat 100 feet in the air.  I think the next time she freaks about my solo trips, I'm going to remind her of this.  I'll tell her that she can worry about me, just like I worried about her on the boat. Though, since she thinks that's totally safe, it probably won't do a bit of good.

The Not So Friendly Skies

Each day I read the news and think that it can't get any stranger, and then of course, it does. Usually it has everything to do with the current president and his administration, however today's weird news story has absolutely nothing to do with him. Although, he'll probably find himself in the middle of this mess eventually - he usually does. 

Last evening, for some inexplicable reason, the people at United Airlines thought it was a great PR move to forceably drag a doctor off one of their airplanes.  A doctor that had the misfortune of being chosen to "volunteer" to get moved to a later flight.  A doctor whose excuse for not being able to take a later flight was that he needed to be at the hospital in the morning to see patients. As a good friend states - I have questions.

For instance, how in the world did this situation escalate so violently and so quickly?  The doctor was minding his own business and by all accounts was rationally explaining why he couldn't change flights.  At that point, why didn't the United flight crew move on and choose another passenger to volunteer?  The whole thing would have been over, and the economy of the entire company may not be in danger right now. 

Or, why in fact was the plane booked over capacity anyway?  These issues are usually handled at the gate not once passengers are on the plane.  Why was a number that was greater than the number of seats they had allowed on the plane in the first place?  And more to the point, why in the world was the plane sold over capacity in the first place? Is this common place and if it is, how is this good for business?

And lastly, can you imagine being on that plane with a child or even just with friends and witnessing this awful scene first hand?  How does one fly after that?  Or how does one decide to stay on that particular plane after something like that?

The entire situation is just scary and most definitely odd.  Never have I worried about something like this happening on any airplane that I was on - crashes, engine issues, even just being next to a screaming baby - but never being forceably taken from a plane.  But you can guarantee I will be thinking of it the next time I'm on a plane, and I'm sure loads of others will too.  Way to go United - you really made the friendly skies a lot less friendlier...

Hamilton > Spamilton

In all of my excitement over BroadwayCon, I forgot to talk about what we saw in New York when we weren't geeking out at the convention.  Instead of seeing a big show - though we saw one of those too, and it was awful! - we chose to go a little off-Broadway and see Spamilton.  That's right, not Hamilton, but Spamilton.  Hamilton is such a huge hit that it's spawned a rip-off musical - complete with original songs and special guest stars - that people pay real money for (not Hamilton level money but big nonetheless.)

The show itself was hilarious!  The creatives behind it were super smart and took the music that already existed and just changed all the words.  They included songs about the show, about other shows and even about Lin Manuel Miranda himself.  Knowing Lin actually saw this show, I'm shocked that he wasn't more angry about some of the things he said about him.  But aside from that, everything else was laugh out loud funny.

Of course, everything surrounding the show was less than funny.  What we learned when we arrived was that the show is actually above a restaurant.  This teeny tiny room that already contained a full stage, maybe held 100 people. All of these people were crowded around tables, like a dinner theater. Of course, since we bought the cheap seats, we were thrown together with a couple in a banquette.  We were a bit smooshed but I could handle it. However, I'm sure the couple was super excited to have us crowding them on their date night.

Then there was the drink minimum.  Everyone had to order at least 2 drinks.  Now, other venues I've been to have said this, but never enforced it.  In this case, it was strictly enforced, so much so that we had to order both of our drinks at the same time. There were no margaritas on the tiny menu so my 2 drinks were bottles of water - at $7 each.  My 2 friends ordered some sort of Cosmos that were quite strong based on their giggling afterwards.  For 3 of us our bill was $95.  Seriously?!  It would have been cheaper and more comfortable to see a Broadway show!

But if you're a Hamilton fan that can't seem to get tickets, and you don't mind drinking 2 drinks quite quickly, I'd highly recommend it!

Life Lately

I snapped this photo in New York back in November, and I think it tells you everything about life right now in the United States.  It's just weird, man.  That's all I can say.  Nothing is making a darn bit of sense, and there's a chance that we've elected a president that's literally insane.  So yeah, that's pretty much life lately...

As for my little corner of the world, things are fabulous.  I've spent the last hour trying to hash out just how much I loved BroadwayCon in blog form for BroadwayWorld.  I don't think I'll be spoiling anything when I say, I LOVED it.  But it seems that I only have one blog post in me per day, so that's why I'm taking the easy way out and going with a Life Lately post here.

Watching: I've been watching a lot of Girls on HBO.  I never really thought a show that's basically a hipster version of Sex & the City would be for me, but it's hilarious.  Of course, now that I like it, it's ending in a month.  So I'm super sad about that.

Reading: Since I told you all about the books I read last night, you know what I've been reading.  Currently at this particular hour of the day, I'm reading "The FairyTale Girl." Another by Susan Branch and the prequel to "A Fine Romance" that I read last week.

Creating: Still plugging away at Project Life and that's it.  I haven't made a card in weeks.  I really should get on that.

Dreading: Don't judge me, but I still haven't taken my Christmas stuff down, and I really need to be doing that this weekend.  Ugh.

Planning: England for next summer - I know Brexit is awful and I really do feel for the Brits, but it's actually affordable for us Americans to escape to Britain for a bit now.  Finally!

Tveiter Tots

So apparently, fans of Aaron Tveit call themselves Tveiter Tots.  Clever, right?  Well, before this evening's concert, I don't think I would have called myself that.  However, after seeing him at the Barns at Wolf Trap (VA) tonight, I'd definitely, proudly call myself a Tot.  He was fabulous in concert!  He has a beautiful voice, which I knew about already.  But he's also very funny and very personable.  He told a few cute stories and chatted with people in the audience.  At one point, we were all singing "Do you hear the people sing?" from Les Mis together.  Thank goodness it was the one song from that show I actually know!

He even sang "The Streets of Dublin" which is one of my all time faves.  The only thing I was sad about was the fact that he didn't sing a single song from Next To Normal - the show that made him famous.  Also, a show I adore!  Seriously?!  But I'll forgive him for that, because the rest of his set list was awesome!  

Discovering in the City

When I was in NYC last weekend, I wandered around the city.  It may not have been the best idea seeing as it was 23 degrees outside, but when I'm by myself, I take advantage of the opportunity to wander.  Because when I'm with other people, my wandering annoys them.  In my wandering, I made 2 fabulous discoveries.  Ok, maybe these discoveries weren't technically happened upon - I knew where they were, and they were both on the list, but they weren't in the plans for that particular day, so I'm calling them products of my wandering, so there.

First up was Penelope; a fabulous Brunch place on Lexington Ave.  I sort of assumed, based on the website that it would be a lovely and large place full of tables.  I also assumed that because there was snow on the ground and New Yorkers tend to sleep in, I'd be one of only a handful of people there.  Not the case at all.  When I arrived at 10:00 the line was about 10 people deep in the teeny tiny place of about 20 tables.

Luckily, being a party of one comes with advantages - snagging the one lonely seat in the corner at the bar, immediately upon walking in.  Slightly cramped, but fabulous nonetheless. From there I enjoyed a pot of NY Breakfast tea that was out of this world, and a Penny Egg Sandwich - scrambled eggs, bacon, mozzarella and pesto on a croissant.  So delicious! Everyone around me were ordering giant plates of crazy french toast and pancakes, but this sandwich was so much better!  I definitely planning on going back again with friends and family, but maybe when it's a bit warmer outside.  If it's more than just me, I assume we'll be waiting for a table for a long time.

After brunch, the goal was to go down to the Library to see a theatre exhibit I've been dying to see.  Of course, I missed the fact that it was Sunday, and the library opens at 1:00 on Sundays.  At this point, it was about 10:30 - great.  So that's when plans changed to The Strand aka Heaven on Earth.  The Strand in Union Square is a GIANT bookstore that houses "18 blocks" of books.  That's their claim to fame.  And they certainly live up to that slogan.

The place is enormous and stuffed to the gills with every book you can imagine - used and new.  On top of all the books, there are bookish prints, and bags, and toys.  They even have a craft supply section.  See what I mean? The place is a National Treasure.  It was by far the best hour I've spent in a very long time!

So the next time you're in NYC, I strongly recommend wandering and changing up your plans every now and then.  You never know what you might find!

How to Travel: Going with the Flow

My friend and I were discussing travel the other day and how we both do it.  And as it turns out, we both do it very, very differently - as is pretty much the case with us in every situation. We approached every situation - money, planning, booking, budgeting, etc. - differently. So I thought it might be fun to share what I do when I travel.  This particular post is about going with the flow - obviously based on the title : )

I'm fairly methodical when it comes to planning travel.  I do loads of research beforehand, and map out where and when I want to go.  There are spreadsheets and handy-dandy reference sheets involved.There are usually lists of things I want to see, and longer lists of restaurants I want to try.  Let's just say I like to be prepared.

The worst thing I can think of is wasting my time wandering a city blindly, because I have NO idea where anything is or what I even want to see there. However, that doesn't mean I'm one of those crazy travelers that books everything down to the nearest second either.  Those people are evil and should really loosen up a bit.

My plans are guidelines just to keep me on track.  But if I forego the plans in exchange for something even cooler, then that's great too.  If, for instance, I make a wrong turn and find a gorgeous street full of shop or maybe if I've read about a Stevie Ray Vaughn statue existing somewhere in the city, and I just happen upon it whilst checking out the lake.  All of these instances are allowed in the Kristen Travel Plan.  

The absolute best part of travel is discovering new and marvelous things.  When you plan down to the minute, you focus too much on things you've already seen in your research and forget about the hidden gems.  Those are my favorite things to find.  And because I have some serious travel directionality (the ability to not get lost while in another state or even country, while still being able to get lost 1 mile from my home), I've been very lucky to discover some awesome gems, which just makes me crave trips and travel that much more!

Taking Art to the Streets

I've recently become slightly obsessed with the concept of "street art." Technically, I believe it's title used to be Graffiti.  However, nowadays we've evolved and realized this art form is very much art.  Illegal art I suppose, but art nonetheless.  I just love the idea of it.  There are so many plain concrete buildings and walls out there that could definitely use a bit of color and pizzazz.  And so many artists out there in search of a medium.  Why not kill 2 birds with one stone and start programs for murals and installations?

No one does this better than Austin.  Their street art is gorgeous and legendary.  There are tours just to see the many murals around town.  They even have a gallery called the HOPE Outdoor Gallery that's literally a bunch of concrete walls at the top of a hill, where artists can sign up to paint whatever they want.  Because of this, it's always changing.  You can go 100 times in a year, and every time there'll be a different experience because the art is just painted over and over by different artists. What an amazing idea for sustainable beauty!

There's also the mechanics of it all that's intriguing.  How in the world do these artists get to overpasses or bridges or the tops of buildings to paint? I mean, there has to be some sense of danger to it all right?  I definitely imagine people hanging upside down painting the perfect flower or tag on some overpass while cars drive down below.  Are there harnesses that they where?  Or are these artists dare devils as well?  It's all very confusing and just a wee bit magical.

Baltimore hasn't joined the street art revolution yet, but I'm hoping they will soon.  For now, Austin and NYC are my go to cities for a fix.  The bestie thinks I'm crazy, (that could have something to do with my tourettes-like outbursts of "street art!" every time I saw something from the high line...) but I'm hooked.  And quite honestly, can you think of anything better to get hooked on than something that makes gorgeous cities even prettier? And really, with all the colors and designs, is there anything that's more fun to photograph?

Frederick Fun Day

A wee bit north of Baltimore, lies the town of Frederick Maryland.  It's a small little town that has a cute little Main street with shops, restaurants and as I learned today, a really pretty little river walk.  For you foodies out there, Frederick is where Bryan Voltaggio has his restaurant, VOLT (a restaurant that I've eaten in and loved, but a restaurant that wasn't eaten in today)  As it turns out, Mondays are pretty quiet for small town America - in that, most cute shops are closed, which is unfortunate.

However, the town itself has some really great sites if you're a fan of the picture taking and wandering. And as it turns out, a chilly October morning, can quickly turn warm and beautiful and become the perfect day to wander and breathe fresh air with some lovely company.  Also, Frederick is home to the Curious Iguana - a proper bookshop that reminded me of England.  Score!

I feel I'd be a much happier person if every Monday could be spent exploring rather than working.  Where's that cause to vote for in this year's election?  Let's get on that, people! : )

A Note on the pictures: If you are of the iPhone picture taking persuasion, I can't recommend Pic Tap Go enough.  This super cheap app makes every photo looks about 150% more fabulous.  All of these photos were edited using that app.  Also, it would seem that I've gotten so used to scrapbooking that I now take every photo I shoot vertically.  Not a single gorgeous landscape picture to be had #PhotoFail...

The Time I Got Bitten by a Bug

In 2005 I was given the chance to travel to the UK.  It was a random happenstance that will probably never happen again - though I'm constantly hoping it will.  I was teaching at the time, and one of the families I was close with traveled a great deal.  They were headed off to London right after Christmas, and wanted someone to go with them to watch the kids a night or 2 so they could have some alone time in the city.  Since the kids were lovely and the family was lovely, I was totally cool with that arrangement.

Seeing as the family would pay for my plane ticket, as well as my hotel, the trip was virtually a no brainer.  That is why I found myself flying to London - completely on my own (they had left before Christmas and I was due to meet them there a few days later.) I've never felt so brave or bold.  There's not much I remember about the flight - 8 hours in a plane next to a snorer so I probably blocked most of it out.  I do remember I read "700 Sundays" by Billy Crystal and proceeded to cry silently over that for at least an hour.  Fun times.

As I'm writing this I'm just realizing I don't even remember anything about Customs or baggage claim (even then I hadn't mastered the ability to only pack using a carry on.)  As someone who's landed at Heathrow twice since, I can't believe I ever found my way out of there onto the Tube and then into a cab.  I get lost in my hometown all the time, and this was a foreign country in a HUGE city.  How am I not still wandering around Heathrow? Blocking all of that out, the very first thing I do remember is the ride in the cab to the flat in Notting Hill.  I managed to call a cab and find the flat all by my lonesome - yet another feat of bravery on my part, even if I do say so myself.

I was amazed at the row of houses on Edgware Road.  This was like no apartment I've ever seen.  When Americans think of apartments, they picture tall buildings not beautiful brownstones.  And yet here I was, on the second floor of a walk-up entering a cute flat where I'd be staying for the next 4 days.  It was Christmas-time.  It was snowing. I was in London. And it was GORGEOUS!

The family never did ask me to watch the kids, even though I offered many times.  We all went out together to see Tower Bridge, the London Eye and do some other sight-seeing. They even gave me time to myself one day.  That's when I discovered wandering around.  I hadn't a clue where I was and I could most definitely not read a map.  So I wandered.  I walked around Carnaby Street and through Picadilly.  I found Fortnum & Mason and bought massive amounts of tea. I walked the Portobello Road market - imagining bumping into Hugh Grant a la Notting Hill the entire time.  I even went into a pub - The Blue Post - and had Bangers and Mash.  It was quite perfect and utterly wonderful.

After 4 days, I left and flew home, alone again as they were headed to see family in another state.  I don't remember anything at all about that flight either.  Though, I'm assuming I slept since that's what I do in any moving vehicle that I'm not driving. It was a quick trip, but it sealed the deal for me.  I would have the travel bug for good now.  And I was bitten by the specific European travel bug - the one that says, why stay in the states when you could visit somewhere more exotic? (I suppose exotic isn't the first word you think of when you think of the UK, but you get the picture.)  

That one small adventure taught me how to travel and how I like to travel - food, shopping, wandering, no set in stone plans, as often as I can- and I'll always be eternally grateful.  

Sunsets and Sunflowers

I'm friends with many photog-moms on Facebook.  And for the last few years, at this time I start to see photos of beautiful sunflowers and yummy ice cream appearing on my timeline. Well this year I decided I wasn't going to be left out.  I was going to get to see the same gorgeous sunflowers and enjoy the same delish ice cream, so to Broom's Bloom Dairy I headed.

Broom's Bloom Dairy is a huge dairy farm in Harford County MD where they have fields of corn and big, bright and beautiful sunflowers.  And of course they make all sorts of yummy ice cream too.  They also sell meats, and milk and fresh cheeses, but I'm all about the ice cream really.

Since I've been waiting for so long, you could say I was pretty excited. I adore sunflowers. They are my most favorite flower.  They're just so big and happy looking.  And we all know how I feel about ice cream. All of that being said, Broom's Bloom did not disappoint.  Unfortunately we got there a little late in the day so the sun was starting to go down.  That means I didn't get the perfect photos I was hoping for, but some turned out really well.  My friends may now think I'm a little nuts due to how excited I got to "commune with the sunflowers", but who cares?  They were everywhere!

Then we headed to the barn to stand in a very long line to wait for some totally perfect ice cream!  I had brownie in a waffle cone.  And it was so darn delicious!  There's also something about sitting outside in the country on a warm summer night that makes everything taste that much better.  

Such a fun night!

Lovely Little Havre de Grace

For some reason it's taken me this long to get to Havre de Grace in Harford County, MD. And this time we weren't even going to see the cute little town.  We were actually going to a craft festival.  However, the craft festival was tiny which left us time to explore.  It didn't take long as Havre de Grace is the very definition of Small Town America.  But it's also a beautiful little town on the water.

We had the chance to see the Concord Point Lighthouse, the Lafayette Trail, Rochambeau Plaza and the statue of Marquis de Lafayette (aka "America's Favorite Fightn' Frenchman.") And the answer is yes, I've been silently singing Hamilton all the darn day.  Love having the chance to explore these great little parts of Maryland that I haven't made time to see before. 

What a gorgeous summer day and a beautiful town!

Unexpected

The aforementioned ceiling at Hudson Yards

When I was in NYC last weekend, trucking through the city in 95 degree heat attempting to get to the MegaBus stop on time - even though the bus was ultimately 30 minutes late - the Bestie said something that surprised me.  At the time, I was attempting to take a photo with my phone of the ceiling of Hudson Yards subway stop on the escalator while also trying to juggle my luggage.  She said "I'm always surprised by your ability to find pretty stuff everywhere we go."  She was being fairly sarcastic when she said this, mostly because I looked just a wee bit ridiculous and my only excuse was that the ceiling was pretty.  But I've since taken it to heart, and decided that that's something I really like about myself.  

I like that I can find beauty and fun in the unexpected.  After all the best part of travel is the surprises you find along the way.  So in that vain, these are my favorite shots of the unexpected from this past NYC trip. After all, New York in the summer is always unexpected and surprising.

Wouldn't you just love to walk out this door everyday?

Street art right on the street

Look at the cool workmanship on these overhangs - so pretty!

For some reason this doorway was tiled over

It must be said, I have a thing for cool doors

I also have a thing for street art

A super cute garden in Chelsea - I should have taken a better picture of the sign too.  It said something about buzzing off and refraining from picking - the flowers for looking not for taking.