Spring... I can see you glimmering in the distance!

Spring is so close I can almost taste it! If only it would hurry up! This weekend is just a tease I'm sure, but it's lovely. It was about 60 today, and sunny. So comfortable I opened the windows. I really wanted to go hiking, but I need a hiking buddy!

I saw buds on trees on our trip to Charlotte, and I couldn't resist pointing them out, because I'm so excited to see things beginning to grow and perk up. The snow has put a damper on so much growth up here, that I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever see flowers this year. I should've taken a picture, but I didn't think about it at the time. I was too busy photographing our venues.

Last Monday I made blueberry muffins to send some to Clay's family for the funeral, but then I found out how much it was going to cost to ship it overnight to his family and I could just imagine him saying, "Sarah, that's too much!," so I brought the whole batch in to work, instead of the few I planned to take in. It was a good thing that I brought the whole batch, half wouldn't have been enough! Apparently everyone loved them. One person who doesn't regularly give compliments emailed saying they were "Fantastic!" Maybe I'll try to bring in muffins once every couple weeks. :)

Ok, ok... the photo's not mine, but I know you guys say a blog post isn't complete without a photo, and these look almost identical to the ones I made. MMMM, mmm, good.....

Want the recipe? Check out Marcy Goldman's book at your local library (how I originally discovered the recipe), or email me.

All in a day's work!

Whew! What a long day! My boss, Jeremy, and I did a speedy site-visit to Charlotte to 1) check out a venue for another event we've been tasked with at Annual Meeting and 2) let me see the convention center and the ballroom where my events will be taking place.

Ok, get ready to laugh... it involved me, Sarah Young, waking up at 3:15 am, yes, 3:15. Clay laughed SO hard when he heard I had to get up that early and said he'd kill for a picture to document the moment. I took pics at 3:15, but my eyes were so puffy they looked awful, so y'all have to settle for the, almost completely ready time. So, don't say I can't wake up that early!!! I've got proof! This one's from the bberry, so forgive the quality.

The new venue we were scouting is the Back Court in Time Warner Cable Arena. It's really sports-bar-ry, which will make for a pretty cool reception. Jeremy and I will both just be glad when it's planned!

Charlotte was a cooler city than I remembered. I liked it a lot! However, it has this "Light Rail" thing that Jeremy and I spent the day making fun of. It goes all of 11 stops, and I swear it covers only about 2 miles. It makes the WMATA look like Godzilla compared to Jane. It's ridiculous, but you've got to commend Charlotte for trying. Check it out...

So we left at 5:45 am, and I arrived home at 6:40 pm, which is significantly earlier than what we were scheduled to (9:04 pm). We spent a whopping 1.25 hours in meetings. Yeah, crazy huh?

Highlights of the day:

• The longest line at security I've ever seen in an airport, ridiculous.
• I was butterfingers, and dropped at least 6 different things, fortunately nothing broke.
• I sported a hard hat, eyewear, and a bright orange mesh vest for our "hard hat tour" of the ballroom. It was picture worthy, but I was behind the camera in the professional sense today. I wanted the catering managers hard hat... it was bedazzled. AWESOME!

But folks, after this day, I'm ready to sleep.

Another exciting day in Old Town

Danielle was in town this weekend for the foreign service exam, and I was delighted she chose to stick around after the exam ended for a day filled with adventure and a night filled with fun!

Remember when I told you about the Old Town Theater? It's one of the longest operating theaters in the DC metro area, and patrons to the theater enjoy a new feature film in a theater that's a throwback to the past. It's quite an experience, and Dani and I were in the mood for an adventure. I tried to take pictures inside the theater, but I didn't have much time before the movie started and I had a hard time getting the colors to be a true depiction of the old-school theater. Not that I should've worried much about hurrying... we were the only two in the theater for the first 20 minutes or so. Well.... unless you consider the pigeons (or I'm sure some would say ghost sounds - not me) coming from the ceiling company. :)

We were wanting food after the movie, but couldn't find anything we were both dying to eat. In our meandering search for food, we stumbled upon this incredible vintage cocktail shop. Dani and I were both in love with the store from first glance.

  

The shop is the product of one woman's years of collecting. Obviously, they've added more than just her personal collection now, including some new stuff in addition to the wide variety of cocktail, jewelry, and silver from the 20s-now (mostly 20s and 70s). The prices were actually surprisingly reasonable, and I will be going back to check on my vintage bracelet until I can't resist it anymore.

  

  

Danielle's personal favorite was this cute little plate from the 60s(my guess). It was a medium size plate embellished with a quirky camel wearing converse sneakers. It was on the lower level, and I wasn't as bold about taking pictures in front of the store clerks.

  

What I left the store desiring, though, was the upstairs studio apartment. This kitchen would be so perfect, and the living area looks out on downtown. Uh..... I WANT it!!!!!!!!!

 

Even the vending machine in the parking garage was a throwback to the old days! Such a fun day!