Seventh State

 

final destination... ?

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 i guess i should first say - welcome! i have decided to start a blog (the title will be explained in a moment) to document what i hope and believe is life at my "final destination." this being, of course, my recent move to Arlington, VA with a new career in DC. i have entitled my blog Seventh State as Virginia is, in fact, the seventh US state i have lived in my 25 years. i suppose i have been a bit nomadic for the past few, calling NJ, NYC, and Portsmouth, NH home. but, the seven add up entirely with my younger years in Indiana, Colorado, and Selinsgrove, PA. 

i know from living in these places, and meeting many incredible people along the way, it is definitely hard to keep up or in touch as much (and often!) as one would like. that being said, my mission with this blog is simply to reconnect and share my discoveries, life, and photos here in the DC area with you.  

so, with that i begin my journey...

xo Kyle

week 1 of life on the hill

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I can't believe how quickly a week has flown by! I have spent most of my days wandering and exploring Arlington and have made several trips to Georgetown, walking over the Key Bridge. Yesterday, my good friend Brittany from college, gave me a walking tour of the monuments (hence the photo here!). It was a beautiful day with a bit of a breeze - however, "suffering from seasonal allergies" has a whole new meaning to me down here!

Britt and I took the metro to L'Enfante to take Laura, another great friend from NJ and college, out to lunch for her 26th Birthday and will be celebrating this weekend as well.  I took some great photos of our awesome Thursday.

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I have to admit that after not seeing these incredible monuments in years, it made me quite proud and a little emotional at their awesome size. It is definitely a humbling experience and made me that much happier to be living in such a patriotic place.
Brittany and I ended our day at a fun, brick oven pizzaria before she had to scoot to class at Georgetown. Our feet were a bit sore from walking so, naturally, we decided a chilled glass of white wine would surely cure them. Worked like a charm.
After seeing her off to class, I booked it over to Dupont Circle for a night of pool and shuffleboard with Nate, a friend from Portsmouth(!), who moved down here late last year.
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After my new found Breakfast of Champions this morning - greek yogurt with walnuts, honey, and banana - I am off for another day of exploration. I'll let you know what I find! :)

 

Boom Boom Boom

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Disclaimer: The first paragraph of this post is true venting, but it needs to be done...

I am not quite sure why, but subwoofers seem to follow me wherever I go. I appreciate the need for a solid sound system, but really?! We are in an apartment complex, not Madison Square Garden! I had this issue with my neighbors in Portsmouth as well, however, they moved out before I could muster up the anger to go down there and give them my two sense. But, girl in #911 is going to get a rude awakening from a jersey girl that simply wants to enjoy her evenings drinking tea and reading her book...

I realize that I may be "behind the times" when it come to TV - my television has been compared to the size of a desktop computer - nevertheless, I don't think I should have to suffer from vibrating walls just because I don't frequent Best Buy ever weekend for insanely expensive sound effect equipment.

OK enough venting (I realize that was two paragraphs.).

The weekend was great fun! We spent Saturday celebrating Laura's 26th in the area of DC called Adam's Morgan at a fairly sketchy (but totally fun) dance club called Tom Tom's. Not to be confused with a navigation system.

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There was also an impromptu photo shoot at Laura's house with all of the Montgomery folk that live in the area! It was fun to see people I had gone to elementary, middle and high school with who are now all living in DC. Oh, how we've grown up... Or, haven't :)
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Like I said, it was a shoot! Laura is very good at directing friends/photographers. Apparently, if you hold the camera high up, you lose your double chin. WHO KNEW?!

Yesterday, was mellow and rainy. I spent the day inside, at the gym, and Barnes and Noble. Picked up The Reader (above) and it's a great novel so far.

Today, Britt and I had lunch at an organic, vegetarian restaurant near her apt. It was SO yummy! She is a newly practicing veggie, so we spent the luch chatting about the healthy ways to be a vegetarian, what to buy organic and the reality of sometimes eating whatever the heck ya feel like!

It was an overall delicious afternoon.

Going to the Chapel...

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..Meg got married! Last weekend, I rented a cute red car and ventured north to Hollidaysburg, PA for the wedding. Meg and I were in KD together in college and her roommate senior year was my good friend Kate, whom many of you know. It was a great weekend with outstanding weather! Though I wasn't in the wedding, Meg was nice enough to include me in all the of the bridesmaid's activities - including getting my hair done and drinking lots of champagne :)

The wedding was at a country club near the home her and her now husband (!) Matt live. It was fun being back in PA after having not really been back in that area since graduation 4 years ago. Wow, I'm old.

Here are some photos of the festivities:

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This is Kate with her date (Meg's cousin) Luke. He also went to Susquehanna and was 2 years younger than us. As you can see in the background, it was a beautiful, warm day in the hills of PA. Perfect for a wedding!
So, a week ago today, I packed up the little red car, booked it back to DC and prepped for my first day of work at HTB!!

Congrats Mr and Mrs Hall!!

Dear Mom,

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There aren't enough words, or really any, that can do you justice but here are some reasons I couldn't imagine having any other mother.

Thank you for: answering late night phone calls (that I know scared you half to death), supporting my spontaneity, unpacking moving boxes, teaching me how to clean a toilet, wiping my snotty nose, loving my delinquent dog, easing my fears, always having brownies or cookies "homemade" :) on the kitchen stove, jumping up and down and squeezing me when I walk in the door for a visit, remaining calm when I preface phone calls with tears, driving all over creation, being a "second mom" to my friends, always smiling, making me laugh, humbling me, dancing with me, grabbing my arm when we walk down the sidewalk, dealing with my credit card bills(!), giving me confidence, loving me unconditionally..

Happy Mother's Day, Mama. I am very proud to be your daughter, everyday xoxo