Starry Night: DC Monuments & Memorials by Moonlight

Honestly, what would a trip to DC be without some monumental sightseeing, y'all? We spiced things up on our recent visit by exploring the famous memorials at night and there is no doubt in my mind that it was the right decision! We tried to spend most of the day indoors at exhibits, museums, and galleries, (and maybe even a pub for beers!) partly because that's when they are open but also because it was so hot while we were there. And I mean, how cool is frolicking about your country's capital with your best friends at night?! (Uhhh, the answer is very cool!)

MLK Jr. Memorial / / / Lincoln Memorial

Although I'm always complaining that Shannon lives so far away, it was really awesome to have my own knowledgable (+ adorable!) tour guide the entire time! She and Greg seriously made sure we got to see everything we wanted and even showed us stuff I didn't know about— like the WWII Memorial— which ended up being my favorite. Except for maybe the new MLK memorial. . . Ahhhh, it's so hard to decide!

Roosevelt Memorial 

Another reason it was a great idea to go at night is because there were wayyy less people out and about. Don't get me wrong, there were still a good amount of tourists everywhere, but for an introvert like me it was really nice to walk around without bumping into people on their phones and screaming children.

 Eleanor Roosevelt / / / WWII Memorial

I have only been to DC once before and since it was on a road trip, I don't think we spent more than 12 hours there total. I was with my friends' band and we seriously got into town, biked around to the memorials, played a show, and then ate chili fries and left. It was a lot of fun to spend some more time sightseeing and actually choosing what we wanted to do instead of feeling like we had to cram a lot into a few hours.

I'm glad we got to walk around and hangout more this time, buttttt if you ever go I highly recommend seeing the city by bike, if possible. It's a lot faster and leaves your feet less sore at the end of the day. Also, biking is ten jillion times better than walking so just trust me ;-)

WWII Memorial 

I generally try to only post my "best of the best" photos here on the blog but to prove that I'm a real person, here's a picture of what the Jefferson Memorial looks like when you have your camera on the totally wrong settings:

Jefferson Memorial (kindaaaa)

Wowie, zowie— look at that swirl! I've also included a touristy photo of me + Nick at the Lincoln Memorial, a shot of my three favorite people's shoes because feelings, and an extra photo of Nick being a tourist because beard.



I think that's everything I wanted to cover in this post. . . Have you ever been to DC? What's your favorite sight? I just really love how many free things there are to do + see! I feel like I could spend a month there and not even experience it all! I hope everyone is having + continues to have a fun October. Anyone have any fun trips planned this month?! Let me know because I'm nosey and I want to live vicariously through you! -Jenna

♥ bloglovin // instagram // facebook // twitter // tumblr // rss // email ♥

Amazing Craft: Scale Model of DC Made From Paper

Since my love for all things paper runs deep, one of the best treasures I saw while visiting DC was this scale model of the city— made entirely from paper and cardboard! I love making 3D books and pop up cards and I even took a paper engineering workshop awhile back so seeing something like this in person was just so incredible to me.


You can find this 3D map in the Smithsonian Institution Building, but I think it's better known as The Castle— I'm sure you can guess why it's called that?! The beautiful architecture drew us in (along with the hope of air conditioning on that scorching day!) and Shannon and I stared in amazement at this beauty for quite sometime. They even had a separate tactile map of DC with Braille labels— so cool!


Maybe I'm the only person this obsessive about paper, or maybe I'm easily amused, or maybe I'm just really bad at Googling researching because I couldn't find any other pictures or info about this model anywhere! Well, besides this tiny blurb from the information website that simply states it exists.


I really wish I had known about the lack of information at the time. There was so much we were trying to see and do that day so I quickly snapped a few pictures and assumed I could just go home and read more about it later on the Internet. But lo and behold— that was not the case. In fact, I had such a hard time even finding any info on it that I was starting to think I had dreamed it all up! I had a total Dorothy moment— did I really fly to DC and ride a giant carousal with my best friend and see a tiny paper city?


But I had pictures to prove its magnificence! So then I thought maybe I had misremembered and it wasn't really made out of paper. Then what was it made of?! What if I told everyone the wrong story? So I did the most nerdy only thing I could think of— I email the Smithsonian to ask them for more details (I TOLD YOU— I LOVE PAPER!). They indeed confirmed that it is paper and cardboard on wood (thus proving my sanity, for now). But that, my friends, is literally all I know about this lovely map.

Maybe I missed a brochure? Maybe I missed a plaque? Maybe I should've gotten a tour guide? Maybe there is more info and I'm just an incompetent jerk? I don't even know who made this thing?! I definitely should've taken more pictures. But I'm still amazed by it and I couldn't not share it! Soooooo basically 1. Never assume you can just go home and read about things on the internet and 2. If you have any info about this cool thing then pass it along my way ;-)


Have you been to DC? Have you seen this tiny paper wonderland?! If you ever get the chance you should definitely see it— it's just so neat!

♥ bloglovin // instagram // facebook // twitter // tumblr // rss // email ♥

Head in the Clouds

Would you believe that I never flew in a plane until I was 22 years old? I mean, I guess if you grew up poor like me then it's totally relatable— flying is a pretty huge luxury/privilege. You just jet set off and in a few hours you're squeezing your best friend tight! I recently flew for the second time in my life to DC (and boy were my arms tired! ughghgh, you can unfollow me for that one) for no reason other than I had a week off work and an extreme case of the I-MISS-YOUS (cause that's totally a real thing).

Flying is always a surreal experience for me. I don't get nervous or scared or worried, I just act like a six year old who's lived under a rock their entire life. It kind of just feels fake to me— like it's a movie set or a theme park ride. Nick has flown a lot (and hates it) so obviously he offered me the window seat (which I was too giddy about) and laughed at me for being so excited about the sunset flight we got to experience. Seriously though— a sunset from above on the way to visit my favorite person on the planet?! SIGN ME UP.

This cotton candy wonderland was just way too dreamy! We even watched Bob's Burgers in flight on Nick's tablet so that was kind of the cherry on top. Oh, except for when we landed and Shannon just handed us slices of the best vegan pizza I've had to date. We had a great time frolicking about for days and visiting all the monuments, museums, and restaurants that DC has to offer. I have lots of great pictures I can't wait to share with you! So much food and inspiration in that city. I mean, don't get me wrong— I am a country gal through and through. But it was nice to have so much culture readily available.


Since I've been back it seems like there is never enough time in the day! Between work, computer issues, friends visiting, blogger meet ups, and generally just trying to feed myself on a daily basis I got a little ~overwhelmed with life, you could say. I was brimming with ideas for this here blog of mine but I took some time off from both blog reading and writing to kind of collect my thoughts. I have so many ideas going around and I really wanted to step back and make sure I know where I want to go with this site. I also wanted to insure that the things I write + share here aren't being affected by the things everyone else is doing with their blogs.

So I've pretty much literally just had my head in the clouds for the last month. I've been dreaming, talking to friends, thinking about what I want out of life, what makes me happiest, and formulating a plan to get there. Part of what started it all was the recent custom book that a friend commissioned me to make. Creating the exact item that someone wanted (+being paid for it) has made me a little stir crazy with the desire to really start my own business. And that's when I kind of dropped off the face of planet while trying to figure what moves I should make next.

But I think I know now. And I can't wait to share it all with you so I hope you'll stay tuned!

♥ bloglovin // instagram // facebook // twitter // tumblr // rss // email ♥

Meet Shannon: The Coolest Person on Earth

In two weeks I will be flying to DC to visit my favorite person in the entire world— Shannon, who blogs over at Leaves & Flours. I'm so excited for this trip that I can barely even type this post up!

illustration by Ramsey Everydaypants

Our amazing friend Danny introduced us at a party in college and we were automatic friends. Smart, bubbly, hilarious, and endlessly talented— hanging out with Shannon was like finally being able to be best friends with myself. . I kid, I kid (but only kind of).

(matching haircuts and smirks)

It seems like I barely even knew her name when we were already planted on a quilt in my front yard munching on homemade chocolate chip cookies, talking feminism, and reading zines together. We put on endless bake sales, biked all over the city together, and even hopped onto a school bus with a dozen of our closest friends to explore the country.

(Shannon in ~the lab)

Shannon graduated before I did (can we say college victory lap for me? woo-hoo!) and moved 10 hours away to study marine environmental science (I told you she's a genius!). I missed having a baking-partner-in-crime but that's about the time that Shannon started her blog, so I at least got to keep up with all the beautiful desserts she was making.



I was only sightly surprised when she came home for winter break one year and announced she was leaving graduate school to become the head baker at a local shop. Seeing her pursue her passion gave me the courage to do the same. I landed a job at a local bakery soon after that. We'd always daydreamed about having a bakeshop together and even though we were still hundreds of miles apart I felt closer to her than ever.



I've been planning to visit Shannon in DC for over a year but it seems that job switching, moving cities, and general life just kept getting in the way. We both have pretty key roles at our jobs so it's hard to take time off. But I've finally got my plane ticket and a list of food to eat SO LOOK OUT WASHINGTON, HERE I COME!



I initially intended for this post to simply say "Hey y'all what should I see when I'm in DC?!" but then I got a little carried away and wrote this love letter. . . Sorry/not sorry! The only thing I can think about lately is eating pho for the first time, exploring a new city, exchanging pastry secrets, and giggling about our lives together— so that's what I'm blogging about.

(Us six months ago— just noticed we grew our hair out together, ha!)

Basically Shannon made me who I am and is my ~total BFF~ *for real* and I'm excited to spend my vacation with her! So now that you know everything you ever wanted to about me and my girl crush do you have any "must-see" recommendations for me? Any awesome friends with blogs I should check out? TELL ME ALL YOUR FEELINGS!

Photo credit: All the lovely dessert pictures are from Shannon's blog! 

Just a reminder: Google Reader is closing soon but you can  another way to stay updated:

♥ bloglovin // facebook // twitter // tumblr // rss // email ♥