Love the Place You Live - Georgetown, Washington DC

Gabrielle Blair of Design Mom has challenged her readers to love the place where they live. She wrote:

 I think it’s so important to embrace the place where you are living. Even if you’ll only be there for a short time! Learn to love it. Discover its treasures! 

She will be doing a roundup of posts about loving the place you life today, so make sure to go visit her!

We moved to DC an year and a half ago and like many people who move to DC, I just didn't like it. I thought the people were pretentious and kept thinking to myself that DC wasn't a real city.

Then, last fall we moved to Georgetown and my opinion has completely changed. I think it has as much to do with the move to a more livable neighborhood as it does with our effort to get out and experience the city. I've talked about some of the things I love about DC here, here and here.

This past weekend, I didn't want to go out of my way to find something I loved about the place I live. Instead, I wanted to live a typical weekend and then reflect on how it demonstrated what a great place DC is.  Incredibly, everything I write about below happened within half a mile of our house and all in Georgetown.

I woke up Saturday morning and prepared for what I've heard referred to as a DC institution- brunch. I love brunch and I can't help love a city that embraces it so openly. I was having an old colleague and friend from Istanbul who recently had a baby over. I woke up and realized that the present I had bought her baby would be too small by now but luckily we live so close to the Georgetown shops that I was able to walk out and find a bunch of options for baby gifts just a few minutes away. I also realized that we didn't have anything to prepare brunch with but that was ok because Dean and Deluca is just a skip away from our house as well. Even though I find it too overpriced for regular grocery shopping, it is great to pick up some potatoes, fruit and a loaf of freshly baked bread. I love that DC loves brunch and we live in such an accessible place.

Red Anjou pears, clementines and crepes topped with powdered sugar and honey.

I also made some Pakistani style scrambled eggs and country style potatoes.

My friend came over and we spent over four hours catching up and having cup after cup of tea. I think brunch is a time when people just kick back and don't bother to look at the clock. It was wonderful. As soon as my friend left, I started to prepare for some more friends who would be coming over. I had promised to make them pakoras and realized I didn't have all the ingredients. Another run to Dean and Deluca. 

We ended up eating and playing games close to midnight. Our friends even cancelled their Saint Patty day plans to stay and play Carcassone. We enjoyed some of the great French pastries my friend brought over earlier and had a fun time teaching our friends our favorite game. I love that DC has people that are so open and will change their plans.

Bringing more people into our obsession with Carcassone.

Sunday morning, I had plans to meet my friend David who was down for the weekend from Princeton. We headed to Cafe Divan, a great little Turkish place, for breakfast. I love that my friends from all over visit DC and I love that DC can teleport me back to my life in Istanbul without me even having to leave Georgetown.

David with his cay after speaking to our waiter exclusively in Turkish and after we
had the best kunefe I have tasted since being back in the states. 

After a leisurely three hour breakfast, I had to head to my painting class at Brush and Blush. This was the painting we were supposed to make.

When the teacher went around, she would exclaim what great colors everyone was using or how amazing their painting looked. When she passed me she would say, "That's coming along," and later, "We have a touch up class you can come to." To my credit this wasn't a painting class as I expected but more of a people sit in a room and paint at the same time class. There was definitely a wide range of results in the paintings and nobody painted a tree like  the one above. I think my tree looks a bit like Sideshow Bob.

The main problem (ha) with the painting is that we ran out of time. I will repost once I finish.

I love that DC has so many options for creative outlets so if, hypothetically speaking, you weren't the best painter, you wouldn't feel so bad because you know there are lots of other things you can still try. 

Even with such a packed weekend, I had a great time. I love that there is never a dull moment in DC and that even on the days we aren't in museums or at shows, we still have so much to gain from this great little city. 

are you ready for spring boys?

I used to know a guy who wasn't the best dresser. He didn't necessarily look bad but you never would have remembered what he wore. Then, one year, I began to notice that every time I saw him, he looked so sharp. I started to pay more attention to what he was wearing and I noticed that all his outfits followed a pretty simple formula. Crisp bottoms, contrasting shirts, coordinated belt/shoes and maybe a cool accessory here or there. Since then, I've noticed that every time I'm paging through a men's magazine, the same basic formula is used. 

And if there is only one thing you take away from this post, remember that the number one rule of style is that your clothes should fit well. In fact, they should fit you perfectly. Even if you want to buy cheap clothes, get them tailored. From your mom if you have to. Pants should not bunch up at the bottoms. Shirts should not puff around your waist. 

Also, under no circumstances should you ever wear pleated pants. Ever. 

Once you have your template down, you have created the perfect base on which to go as crazy or as conservative as you want with your look.

via Dapper Lou

1. Buy three slim fit dress shirts.



Get this shirt or a similar slim fit shirt in three colors.

 

Don't be afraid to add in some bright color this season.

  2. Get three pairs of versatile bottoms.



You'll need at least one pair of light or grey pants.



Get shorts that fit. Roll down for modesty.

Instead of jeans, go for a navy trouser

3. Get five t-shirts in different colors:

For basic t-shirts, stick with v-necks and bold colors.

Prepare your guns to wear lots of t-shirts.

4. Get shoes that can multi-task.



These loafers can take you from running errands
to the beach to a get together.



These sandals or anything else not made of plastic are a great
substitute for flip flops.



Get a pair of sneakers that do a little fashion work for you.

5. Accessorize. Your personal style statement should come through the accessories you choose. Whether you go bold with suspenders or a bright scarf or choose understated elegance with a smart bag and sharp belt, this is where everything comes together.



Buy a pair of sunglasses that make you feel cool. 



If you are afraid of too much color, your belt is
a great place to sneak it in.

The right scarf screams confidence.

Get a vintage or vintage inspired watch like this one.

 

Get a bag you can throw all your stuff for the day.
Bulging pocketes can ruin your outfit.



A nicely tailored jacket will bring
your whole look together.  

paint huffer mugshot over 14 years

I saw this video on YouTube a few weeks ago and it has really stuck with me. The video made me think about the criminal justice system, the effects of drug use, the passage of time and how many stories a picture of a face can tell.

the psychology of food presentation

Do you ever wonder why Gordon Ramsay loses his shi* when food is presented poorly? (Is Gordon Ramsay relevant anymore? I tend to be a little behind on these things.) I had never thought of the concept of plating until I watched shows like Kitchen Nightmares and MasterChef. There are actually psychology courses that focus on food presentation and consider how our brain responds to food. When food is presented in an appealing way, we are likely to want to eat it more. In an effort to get us to eat fruit instead of dessert, I've been trying to keep lots of fruit in the house and I've been attempting to make it easy to eat. I feel like half the time, when I'm hungry, I go for junk food because it is just easier to shove in my mouth. 

This is the true story... of two married people...who stopped baking every day...who started to grocery shop together...to find out what happens... when they stop eating processed dessert...and start eating fruit... 

Since you had to see horrible camera photos yesterday, I am going to start with some beautiful shots of fruit from Pinterest and around the web before I show you some of the tricks we use in our house.

via Pinterest

Do you ever go on Pinterest and start looking at desserts for an hour? It starts with a simple hunt for a recipe and then I see something unrelated and before I know it, I have been looking at food porn for an hour and feel like if I don't have a brownie cheesecake in the next five minutes, I might seriously lose it.

via Kitchen Daily

I figured if looking at endless pictures of baked goods can make me crave them so bad, maybe the same would happen for fruit. I spent fifteen minutes last night looking at beautiful pictures of fruit.

via F*yeahmyhealth

I can't see myself ever having the patience to do this but it
does look pretty! via Bakers Royale

I could eat this all night long. via Pinterest

After seeing all those, do you want to jump off the computer and rub fruit all over your face? Well, thats foolish. You should eat it, not rub it all over your face. On to my less glamorous pictures below. And a story that will raise your spirits and give you hope. (Actually just a story about how I ate fruit last night).

If we have fruit like papaya or kiwi, I just cut it up while I'm making
myself a cup of tea and in minutes dessert is ready for that night.

Feraz and I went for a nice long walk over the Key Bridge last night. The weather was just too good to pass up. I skipped dessert at home because I wanted to get an ice cream while we were out. 

When we get grapes, I take them off the stem and give them a
quick wash so I can grab a handful whenever I want.

But as we were walking I felt so good that I didn't want to put anything unhealthy in my body. I decided that if I still wanted ice cream I would have it at home at the end of the walk.

I can eat a whole bowl of carrots in a sitting so I put some in a bowl
so I don't wake up looking like an oompa loompa the next day.

And by the time I got back, I really, really wanted ice cream! I came in the house and walked right towards the kitchen but before I got there I saw the basket of clementines above. Without even thinking, I just grabbed three and found myself back on the sofa before I could say Breyers. 

I've noticed that taking a few clementines to work had really reduced my
sugar cravings and keeps me from having to do an emergency run
to the vending machines. (Most days).

Miracles happen every day folks.

large art DIY

When we lived at our old place, there was a huge blank wall above the dining table. It looked so unbalanced with the bookshelves facing it and I spent quite some time thinking about what I would like to put there. I considered putting up mirrors to reflect the books or framing a large tapestry but neither of those things seemed personal enough. Then, I saw this great project on YoungHouseLove, one of my favorite DIY blogs.

To solve a similar large blank space problem, YHL created
a cohesive frame gallery.

I thought the Ikea ribba frames were such great statement pieces and at $20 a pop they were a steal. (It looks like they don't have the colors that YHL or we used anymore but on the bright side, the price has gone down!)

You can see the empty wall over the dining table here.

We brainstormed a lot of ideas of what to put in the frames. We considered doing record album covers and even printed out a bunch but just didn't feel it when we looked at them placed. We then thought about doing photographs from the places we had been but it seemed a little cheesy and quite frankly, neither of us has very good photography skills. We finally decided on something that was sentimental to us and also gave us a great project to work on.

Even more apparent here.

We decided to do "maps" of all the places we lived. We went to Paper Source and picked out a "background" and chose different patterned papers for our "maps." (I might be abusing quotes here. I don't "know.") We cut out the shapes of different places we had lived in and pasted them on the green background paper. Although this was a bit time intensive, we loved the result. 

We went with the newspaper method first but realized it wasn't lining
up properly.

Anyone who has put up a frame grid knows it can be a little tricky to line everything up just right. Luckily YHL had some great tips here and here on how to get the nails in right on your first try. Basically, just take the papers that comes in the frames and tape them on the wall where you want your frames to go. You can play around with the papers until you get them just right and then just hammer the nail right into the paper, pull off the paper and hang the frame. 

Using the paper that came in the frames was
much more accurate.

What a man what a man...
We didn't use the nail method here because we were
using the wire hanging kits that came with the frame.

Here is Feraz with the finished project. In his Sunday morning best.

What nights used to look like for me.
You can see how the frames don't lie flat here.

Another shot of the dining room. This time with frames.

The first time we hung them up at our old apartment, we didn't like how the frames didn't lie flat. The Ikea frames come with the wire hanging kit which causes the frames to poke out a little bit. Little Green Notebook had a great solution for the problem. Jenny suggested using keyhole fasteners on the top corners to get the frames to lie flat. You can find them at any ACE or Home Depot and I recommend getting the extra large ones for frames this size.

The gallery at our new apartment. Sorry for the terrible
quality of the pictures.

A little closer. 

You would be shocked by how many people don't guess this one.
See how nicely the frames hit the wall here?

how do you wake up?

"Every morning when I wake up, I feel an exquisite sense of joy- the joy of being Salvador Dali. And I ask myself, in rapture, what wonderful thing will he create today, this Salvador Dali." - Dali

Don't be too hard on yourself if you can't muster his
enthusiasm for life.

How do you wake up in the mornings? Do you jump out of bed with a smile? Do you have to hit snooze four times before you can finally drag yourself out of bed? Do you have to set three alarms so you don't sleep through them all?

I found it so hard to wake up this morning and even though I want to blame daylight savings time, I have to admit that I just don't wake up like I used to. I used to be an Olympian status waker-upper. I would usually beat my alarm clock by one minute and shoot straight up. I would have a big smile on my face and I would get ready for my day with enthusiasm even if I didn't particularly have anything going on in my life. It was a special gift. It is gone and I want it back so badly.

Do you feel like this guy in the morning?

I once read that a Himalayan monk told someone that getting up right away instead of hitting snooze helps you feel more refreshed and alert. (I just can't imagine a monk saying snooze, can you?) In that same made up sounding article, the author also tells us that the Buddha said to consider you were going to die each night and that way in the morning, you would feel incredibly grateful for having woken up at all. Considering you wake up at all, of course. This tip may also backfire for depressed people.

For a less dramatic approach, try changing the alarm you wake up to. My old phone had the most horrifying alarm. It sounded like a jack hammer breaking cement. It scared the crap out of me and every morning I would start my day working against that initial anger. A few weeks ago, I set my blackberry alarm because I'd forgotten my regular phone in the living room. The alarm... it is like a chorus of sweet angels who want  only good things to happen to me as they gently nudge me awake. It begins with some soft chirps and picks up a beautiful melody. It is a game changer.

I am still nowhere near waking up as well as I used to but this simple adjustment in my routine has helped waking up be a much more pleasant experience. Try making this little change if you are having trouble waking up and see if it helps you too. Maybe with a little effort, we can all start waking up like Dali. And if thats not your style, you can always learn how to wake up feeling like P-diddy. 

are you really too busy? a reality check.

I remember one of the first exchanges I had with a friend when I moved to DC. I told her that we should definitely hang out soon now that I was in town. She responded that would be great and hopefully we could get together in a few weeks. A few weeks?! She must be really busy and important, I thought.

via Pinterest.

The longer I lived here, the more I realized that people in this city, and maybe even in this country, assess their value on how busy they are. I hear it every day in almost every conversation. People are always talking about how demanding their jobs are, how overcommitted they are and how there is never enough time to get everything they want to do done.

Today, I read this amazing article. The author talks about how people are in a "time fog" about how busy they are. They say they work 60 hour weeks when they actually work 45 hours. They say they sleep six or seven hours a night but they actually sleep more than eight.

Frustrated Businessman Statue, LA. Source.

I think there are people in the U.S. who are legitimately busy. Like people who are making minimum wage  and they are just trying to pay their rent and put food on the table or are taking care of a bunch of kids without help. I don't think those are the people reading this blog entry. If you are reading this blog, chances are very high that you are not too busy for anything.

And even if you are legitimately busy, your life is largely a reflection of the choices you make. If your life is really so demanding that you don't feel you have time to breathe, you should step back and do an honest assessment. What is your priority? Is it happiness? Be honest to yourself and once you do that, I am convinced that a door to a less stressful and more fulfilling life will open for you.

what the world eats

TIME tends to do such an amazing job with their photo essays. I can easily pass an afternoon going through their archives. In this old series, the essay explores what families in different parts of the world eat and how much it costs for the week. The images of the families with their food are striking, particularly when you compare the different pictures.

Kodaira City

North Carolina

Cairo

Ujain

Istanbul

Cllingbourne Ducis

Breidjing Camp

Cuernavaca

Tingo

WhaYou can see Part I of the series here and Part II here. You can buy the book, Hungry Planet- What the World Eats, that these pictures are from here.