Young House Love

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Adventures In DC

Ok, so this random Friday post is 25% about a quick little project, 25% about some house crashing-ish shots, 25% about general Clara cuteness, and 25% about Jewel. Yes, the singer. Who’s ready?

It all began with a weekend trip to DC to visit my BFF Cat (who John and I set up with John’s cousin Travis and then they got married and had two kiddos- so yes I’m now related to my BFF). She, Travis, and their cute kiddos Elsa and Edison live in Arlington, Virginia and took us into the city to check out the National Aquarium in DC (John’s sister Katie along with her two sons John and Ben and her hubby Martin came too). The aquarium was definitely a hit with the kiddos. The baby alligators might have been the highlight…

DC 1 Aquarium Alligator

No wait, it was the exhibit with a Nemo and a Dory fish (they looked just like them). Clara and Elsa were especially enamored.

DC 2 Aquarium Elsa Clara

Bam! Then we saw Jewel. She was doing this book signing thing a block or two away from the aquarium, so we were just walking by and we’re all “wait, isn’t that Jewel?” and then I had to use everything in me not to start singing “Whooooo willll saaaayyyaaayyaayyyyve your soul?” – but I successfully resisted. Whew. I just snapped this picture and we kept moving. But it was pretty funny and random. She looked sweet, btw.

DC 3 Jewel

Then we went to Gravely Point, which is this awesome spot where giant planes fly right. over. you (they land within eyeshot at the airport, so they’re really low and loud). Yes, the kids went wild for it.

DC 6 Airport Instagram

As in – all out crazy every time. It was adorable. There was fist pumping.

DC 4 Airport Kids Going Wild

Elsa and Clara are BFFs. Which completely melts my heart. I mean, my kid is going to marry my other BFF’s son (yes, we’re talking about Will Bower here) and she has a for-life bestie in Elsa. Life is good. And completely unpredictable. Who woulda thought we’d successfully set up John’s cousin with my best friend and then I’d meet another real-deal-holyfield friend through blogging. Random, I tell ya. In the best possible way.

DC 5 Airport Elsa Clara Fence

And then there’s the fact that Clara is here on this earth (miracle!) and that John and I randomly met in NYC at a job I loved and John loathed (he had actually applied to go back to school – so I’m forever grateful that he didn’t leave NYC forever before I got my mitts on him).

DC 7 Airport Family Portrait

Sorry, this post is especially meandering today. Like a long dirt road in the country. And I might have some dirt in my eye. Sniffle. Anyway, back to the house related stuff. Tangent over.

Check out this awesome chalkboard wall that Cat has in their playroom. She added magnetic paint before the chalkboard paint, so magnets also work on the wall. Clara was in animal-magnet heaven.

DC 9 Crash Chalkboard Wall

And this was a cute Craigslist find that Cat picked up for Edison’s room. One of those expensive Pottery Barn book racks, except it was cheap-o thanks to being scored secondhand through sir Craig and his list. All hail craig and his list.

DC 8 Crash Nursery Book Shelf

Is this post getting weirder? Wait, don’t answer that.

Look at this pretty original chandelier that they inherited in their dining room. The best part? Cat’s not that into it. So once they buy a new chandelier I get it. Picture me rubbing my hands together maniacally. So excited about that…

DC 10 Crash Chandelier

You can see more sneak peeks of her house here from this older BFF-visiting post. We really need to properly House Crash her, but there are always a million kids running around (oops they’re ours). Haha. Someday!

And in organizing news… look at Cat’s photo albums. Doesn’t that make you green with envy slash “want-to-go-to-there”-ness? I want my family albums to be that organized. Cat said all it took was grabbing a bunch of the same type of album and pulling out all of her pics from mismatched piles, boxes, and old tattered albums and loading them in with some idea of chronology (but not being too anal, which is key so this doesn’t take five million years). Update: due to a bunch of folks asking, Cat clued me in on where she gets her albums: Target!

DC 11 Crash Albums

Ok, now here’s the mini-project portion of this post. See this fireplace in Cat’s living room? Cat called me up a few weeks ago and said “Darn you Petersik!” Seriously, I answered the phone and that was her first sentence. Turns out she was staring up at the wall, realized she wanted some candle sconces to beef up the mirror over the mantel and to fill that blank space on either side of it, and then did some googling and found the exact sconces she wanted. Only problem? They were on our site and were now sold out. Haha. Seriously, her google search took her to this image in this old post of ours.

DC 12 Mantle Before

So she was calling to lament the sconces that got away. But then I revealed that we never found a spot for them in our new house and they were just sitting in our piles-o-stuff playroom and I insisted that we bring them up to her house and hang them for her during the aquarium-trip weekend. Of course she refused my birthday sconces a few times, but $herdog is a stubborn girl. She always wins…

DC 13 Mantle John Hanging

We even packed anchors and screws and our drill with the sconces in the car. Haha. No excuses for not getting those on the wall while we were there. Only thing I didn’t pack? Two matching candles. Oops. Pretend there’s not a shorter one on the left and a taller one on the right.

DC 14 Mantle After

Oh and isn’t that little leaf wreath cute? Cat’s a crafty gal. She DIYed that baby. She told me where she got the kit but I forget. Maybe she’ll stop in with the info. I did a homemade leaf thing for our cousin’s bridal shower last fall though, so this post might help anyone who wants to make a whole mess o’ paper leaves. And speaking of DIY, Cat had some pretty leftover wrapping paper and decided to use it to cover those stacks of books on the mantel. I was in love. The paper was so soft and glow-ey. Just imagine that candle sconce all lit and flickering. Pretty, right?

DC 15 Mantle Detail

Then after a marathon fun-fest weekend full of fish-watching and Jewel-watching and plane-watching and sconce-hanging we loaded ourselves into the car and drove back to Richmond. The kiddos were sufficiently exhausted.

DC 16 Sleeping

So there you have one of those random Friday posts full of smorgasbord and stream of consciousness. Hope it was as good for you as it was for me. Do you guys have any road trips planned? Have you ever seen a famous singer while out on a walk and said “wait a minute isn’t that ____?” and then wanted to sing their song to them? Have you ever packed things like screws and a drill into the car in the hopes of hanging something in someone else’s house? Isn’t it weird to drill into someone else’s wall? It’s kind of like driving someone else’s car or wearing someone else’s clothes. It’s thrilling but a little scary since you don’t want to ruin anything. Haha.

Comments

  1. Melissa says

    You may have thought this post was rando, but I LOVED it :) Something nice about just brain dumping a bunch of fun little items. :)

    Reply

  2. Jessica says

    Last time I went to NYC, I was on the celebrity hunt…I just really wanted to see just ONE!!! So I randomly ended up catching a glimpse of Paul Shaffer (sp?) the guy from David Letterman’s band (I know…not the most exciting, but it would have to do!) and I literally chased him down the street yelling “Paul, Paul!!!” til he stopped and posed for a picture with the crazy girl. haha! I also once met a Minnesota Viking (whose name I can’t recall at the moment) in Miami and did a shot with him, which was awesome! He paid…haha! And I was much cooler about the whole thing than I was when I met Paul in NYC. :)

    Reply

  3. Kristin says

    I saw Lindsey Lohan at a bowling alley in Utah while she was here for rehab a few years ago. Who knew she liked to bowl?

    Reply

  4. Whitney Dupuis says

    LOVE her photo albums. Exactly what I want to do. Tell her thanks for the push of inspiration!

    You guys are so cute! Love the post.

    Reply

  5. Catherine @ DCCL says

    Fun times! Jealous that you were at Gravelly Point when the planes were landing. I’ve only been there a couple of times (great spot to start a run!), but I’m always there on take-off days, and I’ve heard that landing-days are way cooler. Something about the turbulence that follows the plane…

    Reply

  6. kb says

    last year i was driving to BWI with two friends to go visit our other friend in boston. it was like 4 AM and a michelle branch song came on the radio and my friend emily was like “oh my god i love michelle branch, soundtrack to my high school years yada yada” and we kind of laughed at her because… what?

    well we’re walking along the river in boston THE NEXT DAY and michelle branch was giving a free concert for some radio station there! it was actually so bizarre and felt like we’d conjured it with our chat.

    also (sorry longest comment ever) i live in dc/grew up in arlington and recently took an alaska airlines flight to portland from reagan, so maybe i was in that plane! eee i’m famous!

    Reply

  7. Kim says

    Fun post! am intrigued by the photo albums, since we have a lot from when the kids were little, and they are mismatched and worn. I don’t like to keep them around because of it. It would be so much nicer to enjoy them instead of shoving them in the attic. Half of them are pre-digital. Not sure if I should convert them to digital and make photo books, which would be more consolidated, or do what your friend did. Any recommendations? How are hers organized? Thanks!
    Kim

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      She just pulled the actual photos out and ordered them and put them into albums (I think she numbered them on the inside cover). So nothing is digital or anything, just reorganized in prettier books in that basket so everyone can grab one and peruse them while hanging out. It’s so nice to have them out in the living room like that.

      xo
      s

  8. Kim says

    I’ve met a few celebrities but my absolute favorite “whoa, random much?” sighting was in Rome! I was being a tourist at the Vatican and just hanging out in the gift shop. Who was in there? David Boreanaz and his family! I was like, “Dude there is a VAMPIRE in the VATICAN.” It was an awesome moment. I didn’t bug them though, because they were obviously having a family trip. No one else noticed/cared, but I thought it was a fun moment!

    Reply

  9. ErinY says

    Love the randomness of the post :)

    And I’m totally jealous about the chandelier! I need to find friends like that haha I’ve always loved the idea of those in a little girl’s room. Or a ginormous walk in closet. Yeah, I’ll keep dreaming about that last one. lol

    On the topic of celebrity sightings: I came to San Antonio (where I now live) with my parents 6 years ago and while taking a boat ride on the Riverwalk we saw Ryan Seacrest interviewing Eva Longoria on another boat passing by. Bonus-it aired on E! and you can see us in the background floating past!

    Reply

  12. Mrs Patty says

    I met Vanilla Ice after my friend’s wedding. I screamed Mr. Ice, Mr. Ice- he stopped and got a picture with the groom and bride. Best wedding gift I could have gotten the happy couple ha!

    Reply

  13. Adrienne says

    Once I was walking around the Vatican Museum (on a high school trip to Italy) and I was like oh hey, isn’t that Tony Bennet? It was. My latin teacher took a picture with him. Probably my favorite celebrity sighting. Oh and Denis Franz at the Tate Modern in London. Nothing major on US soil, apparently.

    Reply

  15. Karyn says

    I am in love with the chalkboard wall! I have heard you have to do a million coats of magnetic paint first though to get a tiny magnet to stick, so it’s scared me off. Any advice?

    Reply

  16. Stacey says

    Have to say I loooooooooved this post! So random and all over the place, but that was the best part…I didn’t know where it was going next with all the twists and turns! :)

    I randomly saw Tyra Banks at a film festival in Denver a few years back. I think I did a triple take because it wasn’t a place I expected to see her. And boy, she is really tall! Although, that could be due to my 5’3″ height…everyone seems tall from down here!

    Reply

  18. Stephanie B says

    1) I am glad that my best friend and I aren’t the only ones who talk about our (non existent) children getting married to each other some day.
    2) I did the same thing when searching for sconces and found the same picture and fell in LOVE and didn’t realize they were yours, and now that I know I am sad they’re sold out.

    Enjoyed the randomness of this post on a Friday :)

    Reply

  19. Megan says

    Can I just say best post ever? I love the randomness, stream of consciousness, fun-ness, and silliness. So much in one post!

    Reply

  20. James "Home" Malone says

    I love Gravelly Point! I’ve taken my neice and nephew there since they were babies, the coolest tine to go is when it snows, then when the planes pass overhead you can see horizontal “tornadoes”. As for celebrity sightings, I once saw Madeline Albright get out of a red Mustang convertible and go into the Carnegie Institute in Dupont, and I saw Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver shopping in Georgetown once years ago. I volunteer at air and space and I’m hoping Brad Pitt decides to come back when I’m there.

    Reply

  21. Alexa says

    For REAL? I actually work in that massive government building across the street from the aquarium. AND I ride past Gravely Point all the time on bike. How fun to have you folks in the ‘hood!

    Reply

  22. Britta says

    I love that you’re incorporating more LIFE style posts into the main blog.

    And… in college, my friend fell in love on a study abroad. We were bridesmaids a year later and another bridesmaid fell in love with the brother (and got married). So BFF’s became SIL. Love those connections. Glad you have one, too!

    Reply

  23. Kelly says

    A few years ago, while in Disney World (the Florida one), I saw Bear Grylls, in the same, hey, isn’t that _____ way. The only difference was that he was legitimately on vacation and not doing some promo thing. And he was on his cell phone with his finger a knuckle deep up his nose.

    Reply

  24. melissa says

    I love this blog. I have been reading since you moved into your new home (In fact, the first post of yours I read was the UHaul truck mishap!) but you remind me so much of my husband & I. And you have inspired me to start learning about DIY myself. We just finished a complete kitchen gut & remodel & even though this is going to sound creepy & weirdish, you guys were totally my inspiration. :)

    Reply

  25. Allisen says

    I saw Stephen Collins (the dad from 7th Heaven) as I was walking out of the bathroom in the Sistine Chapel of all places! Life is random :)

    Reply

  26. melissa says

    We were just in Virgina Beach last weekend for a wedding..14 hour road trip from Michigan with my 4 year old daughter. When we drove through Richmond, I blurted out “we’re in young house love territory!” My husband thought I was crazy.

    Love DC btw! My mother in law lives 10 mins from the end of the metro in Virginia, so we try to visit and be all touristy whenever we can.

    Reply

  27. Mary says

    Your were in Arlington!! I live in Arlington you can house crash anytime. Can’t wait to see you all in DC next month on the book tour and get the book.

    Reply

  29. Constance says

    This post cute-ed me out. And SCORE with the chandelier!

    I think I’m about to answer my own question b/c I am 100% sure you two haven’t actually bethrothed Clara & Will and would of course be supportive of her marrying or not marrying whoever she chooses – so here is honestly non-judgemental / just curious question: do you plan to keep up the marrying those two off banter as they get older? Totally none of my own business, and I’m carrying my own baggage here as any talk of little kids who were “my boyfriend” when I under actual dating age made me insanely embarassed and was met with a defensive, “THEY ARE MY FRIEND!” response – or I just ran from the room – you can imagine my scars. My sister on the other hand, was firmly supportive of this type of pretend, to each their own :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Nah- I think it has a shelf life of three years or so (before they get old enough to understand it- I mean Clara wants to marry her daddy right now, haha). I think it mostly entertains Katie and I privately (so it’s not like I’m telling Clara to marry Will, haha).

      xo
      s

  30. LeeAnn says

    I love DC. It’s my favorite US city. :) That chandelier is beautiful! I’d put that puppy in my bathroom. And, on the Jewel front, I once heard her in an interview where she said she would never sing the “Save Your Soul” song again live because she feels like she sounds like Kermit the Frog while singing it. There is your trivia fact for the day. Enjoy your weekend!

    PS. I hope to join you for you book signing in Richmond. I’ll make the trek down from PA to visit with my awesome SIL and drag her along too.

    Reply

  32. Jill says

    We live really close to Gravelly Point and I still haven’t been there yet – this post makes we want to go tomorrow!

    One time, during my stint as a tour guide in college, I got to meet Adam West. All day (we knew he was coming) I was singing the Batman song under my breath. Haha. So glad I didn’t accidentally do it in front of him.

    Reply

  33. Rosanne says

    We actually saw Matthew Perry at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills. We popped in the see the hotel where Pretty Women was shot and Matthew Perry walks in and goes to the hotel lobby restroom. My son follows him in there. We laugh …he took a leak with Chandler Bing!

    Reply

  34. Lisa says

    We have a road trip to NC (from north of Richmond) this weekend.

    We saw Biz Markie at BWI once and had to refrain from breaking out in Just a Friend or some beatboxing…which would have had TSA all over us for sure.

    Oh, and my husband travels a LOT for work and on his last flight he saw Shock G from Digital Underground…he looked him right in the eyes to confirm that it was really him and Shock G nodded at him as if to say, Yep Dude, I am who you think I am, and then gave him a fist bump (dap). Too funny!

    Reply

  35. Liz A. says

    Thanks for the post on Jewel…it reminded me of a time when MY BFF Sarah and I saw Corey Hart roaming the streets of Boston, we swooned and had to lean on each other so we did not fall over. Of course, it was not all that random, since we were on our way to the Corey hart concert, and he was filming a video while he was walking, so there were cameras all around him.We were all “OMG” before OMG was a thing, and then it was over. We tried to impress the folks that we were in line with to get into the concert, but the screeching and “Ohmygodwejustsawcoreyhart” probably got old quickly…

    Reply

  36. Wordshipper says

    The book signing thing was the National Book Festival on the Mall, it’s a big deal! Jewel was a featured author – she’s written a children’s book. There are always a lot of great authors attending, this year included Richmond’s own Patricia Cornwall.

    Reply

  39. Katie says

    That picture of Burger sleeping is just the cutest ever!
    I have a Chihuahua too (Cooper) right about Burger’s size and he always curls up just like that using anything he can for a pillow. They just melt my heart! <3

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Ah yes, years ago I did and then it got away from me and I have nice organized albums and then stacks of un-albumbed photos for the last few years. Boo on me!

      xo
      s

  42. jessica says

    My friend and I sat kitty-corner across the aisle from Billy Ray Cyrus on a Southwest flight to LA once (he was flying out to negotiate the deal for Hannah Montana). My friend kept singing Achey-Breaky Heart under her breath. I actually talked to him and he shared his magazines with me–nice guy :-)

    Reply

  43. Lynn @ Our Useful Hands says

    I love randomness…maybe because I am a walking daily contradiction. Like a Starburst. Last night I started laying the ground work for “Operation Get There – YHL Edition” and so now my accountant husband is getting his math on as to how we will maneuver a Miami trip. Haaay-ooohhhh!!! I was once walking through Manhattan after going for a pregnancy ad audition in what must have been the Ad Central District because I was walking down the street and walked past this guy…https://www.facebook.com/pages/Billy-Warlock/184735614880828
    Member him from Baywatch? And did I do an immediate and super awkward pregnantly waddled U-turn on the sidewalk and follow him for 20 seconds just to make sure it was him? Yes I did. And it was. I kinda miss Jewels crooked tooth, is that weird?

    My best, Lynn

    Reply

  46. Monika says

    Before I read the Jewel bit of the story, I honestly thought you were going to write that Jewel asked you guys for an autograph. :) You are famous in my eyes. Haha…

    Reply

  47. Paige says

    Man…life is just great sometimes.

    But on the random celebrity note. At the beach for an unheard of bizarrely random, did it really happen, weekend at the beach with my hubby and no boys, thanks to my dad who needed some quality grandson time, (what a run-on sentence) and Ray Liota walks in and sits next to us for breakfast. It was all I could do and not totally geek out and quote the entire Goodfella’s movie to him. And I’m not even a huge fan, but anytime Goodfella’s is on TV I seem to be watching it. I think I mumbled a random “morning” and “enjoy your day” as we left.

    Reply

  50. Erica says

    One of my best friends from college lives in Northern VA, and she took us to Gravely Point. I have never seen planes fly so low in my life. It was really cool…sometimes a little scary:) My son was in awe. The view of the Potomac from the park is so beautiful and serene.

    Reply

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