watermelon park

we mountain women went camping last weekend, this was our kingdom.

after marking our territory by erecting a tent and throwing menacing looks at various campers coyotes as we drank pbr in the middle of the river, we feasted on hot dogs.

then we had a nap.

but when the flames of our camp fire made the stars flicker out, we knew it was growing dangerous at watermelon park...and also that it was s'more time.

if you crave more daring stories of our trip to almost West Virginia, well i'm sorry but the rest will have to stay in the park with the skins. only they know truly what happened that night.

i'm the birthday bear

well, i guess drew was the birthday bear.
this is essentially the only photo i took of my visit to orange for his birthday.
really this is a shame because it was a beautiful day and we went to a vineyard in the mountains and walked through ruins.
i think this moment will really stick with me though because in addition to locking myself out of his house while he was at work just so i could eat cereal on the porch swing, i spilled milk all over the porch.


i suppose i took one other photo of drew at dinner, but he's not making a good birthday boy face so i'm not going to post it.
we had dinner at a tapas place in charlottesville called mas. it was pretty amazing and i did my best not to think about the fact that i may have been surrounded by uva people. ew.

mario's

probably one of the best subs around. ask my dad, he's been driving out to arlington since 1971 to eat here. oh the bribes this man has offered his children to pick up a 12 inch sausage and cheese for him. i don't think i've ever seen him more disappointed in me as when i once brought back a 6 inch.

i got a full size philly steak and cheese that i'm guessing will last me 2-3 days considering it's 12 inches of steak, cheese and every topping imaginable. i'm only sorry i didn't get to see fudgie the whale cake.


the floor is probably one of my favorite things about the place.


i'd HIGHLY recommend it (especially late night as i truly believe the quality of the food and people that go there improves). i'm sure megan and alli would back me up as i can remember a few night-before recaps that have ended in a confession of ordering an entire hawaiian pizza.
aint nothing to be ashamed of.

camera: sandbridge

it's 12:41 on a friday night. my shirt smells like the best chicken nuggets you've ever had and here's a little bit of the summer with my family.

black and white section:

end of black and white section

if you can't tell i was really lazy about taking pictures and all these were taken on the same night, probably within 20 minutes of each other<-is that one word or two, i googled it and even google didn't know? please reference "about me" if you think that's a stupid question.

iphone: sandbridge

every day my uncle john would get down to the beach really early and set up an umbrella and a chair (this uncle also happens to make the best bloody marys)
i love getting to the beach before 9am when it's calm and the only other people out are walking their dogs.
the sun isn't blazing and you actually feel like you can concentrate on your book.
this is also one of the best times to see dolphins; my family has an obsession with dolphins. we are on 24/7 dolphin alert and whenever they are seen on the horizon you can bet someone is rushing to get the kyack into the ocean. my dad likes to mock this and send out false dolphin calls.
this summer was a little different because i couldn't take the whole week of vacation. luckily i was there long enough for pumpkin muffins, the annual delinquent oyster and beer lunch, a tan (suburn), a ping-pong whipping, and a visit to my grandparents house in virginia beach.

i'm going to put up the few pictures i took on my camera soon and i sincerely hope that this is the last of my posts that reflects the summer. (fallllll. where are you? i'm tired of turning the AC up and shutting myself in my room so i can wear sweaters and listen to iron & wine!)

made orzo stuffed zucchini and listened to the black keys all evening.

recipes here.

Pied Piper

today while i was wasting a good part of my morning researching the lives of feral children i came across a reference to the Pied Piper. i realized though i had heard the phrase "pay the piper" serveral times, i didn't actually know the story.

now i love children's stories. i took a children's literature course in college (that time i was in college) and when i was in a creative writing course lots of peer reviews would come back as "sounds like a fairytale". still not sure how that is a bad thing dearest participants of the most uncomfortable course i ever took. obviously creative writing is not for everyone.

this, well, it's not really a children's story but it involves children.


it's Germany, it's the 13th century and the town of Hamelin has a rat problem. a man came to the town and said he could, for a price, lure the rats into the river with his lute where they would drown. when the town refused to pay him for services rendered, the piper took revenge by luring all the children away/into the river/up a mountain/into a cave where he had his "wicked way" with them.

terrifying terrifying terrifying.
fascinating.

antiquated stories of murder and crime always seem more sisnister. maybe it's because they hint at an evil has always been around and always will be around even if you ban your kids from playing video games and watching the simpsons. but i do know for a fact that watching seinfeld can poison children and turn them into the worst kind of snarky when they are in college.

sometimes you get caught in a thunderstorm without an umbrella.

but at least you didn't put mascara on that morning and know that an education is waiting for you at home.

a beautiful rainy day movie with pretty carey mulligan and a great soundtrack.

went thrifting, bought my old clothes.

once upon a time, underneath a big white tent, there was a lonely fake leg. oh the stubs this leg had seen, the greatest stubs of it's day. but now, tarnished and alone, it sat propped in an overpriced bathtub unsure if it was in virginia or tennessee.

one hot sunday a gentleman and a young lady ventured into this tent and took a particular interest in this leg. the girl's mind raced with thoughts of a future united with this leg, this wooden appendage, this whimsical prosthetic.

alas, it was $200 and she had already bought this trunk earlier to put in her room:

though life will assuredly be less than without that peg leg (and really you never know when you might need one), i'm sure the little birdies etched on the clasp of her trunk will keep this entirely fictional young lady happy for today.

maybe more fun than harper's ferry or lake anna. maybe.

annapolis

lunch on the water, ice cream and colored rowhouses that fall down to the chesapeake. oh god and the kunta kinte memorial.

YOUR NAME IS TOBY

meridian hill park

dogs dogs dogs, fountains, the golden hour.



dupont circle

kramerbooks annnnnd the fountain.

saturday.

i fucking love produce

sorry mom dad kathryn and kitty, sorry plum and grandpa, sorry all little cousins and aunts and uncles that are probably not reading this, but my love of produce cannot be censored.

easily my favorite thing to do this summer has been going to various farmers markets. i can't tell you how excited i am to eat that watermelon. there's also heirloom tomatoes and purple and blue potatoes from abingdon.

and though i will miss you summer produce, i cannot WAIT for butternut squash, pumpkin, grapes (wine) and apples. lots and lots of apples.

who misses sweaters?

i'm done with this heat.
i'm done walking to the metro and sweating among all the cool capitol hill interns as i try and fan myself with the Express, really only smudging ink all over my fingers.

i'm starting to think in earth tones and i almost lost it the other day when a breeze blew a crunchy leaf into my path. i litearlly teared up a bit in anticiaption of maybe my favorite thing in the world (besides you know who) (koa):

AUTUMN

mother earth, it is time. if you don't believe me, look at the anthropologie catalog:


if you still don't believe me, listen to the new Arcade Fire album.

so listen, here's the deal. you start crisping this weather up, keep the drear going, start firming all your branches for the back to school #2s and i'll start watching The Crucible and looking for a burnt-red sweater. done.