Recent Favorites and some Anne Lamott

• Two weekends ago, I played my first role of bridesmaid in the wedding of my little sister from my college sorority. It was an all-around great weekend and we got to stay with Brian and Kay at their place which was mere blocks away from the hotel and church!

The gorgeous cathedral I snuck a picture of.

DGs at the rehearsal dinner

All DGs at the reception! (minus the bride!)

Mike and I at the reception!

                                 

• I've also had some pretty scenic running adventures lately. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things post-move and weekends out of town!

New running path at our new place! It's right near a nature trail and river and is a pretty scenic substitution for the monuments I miss running by.

Saturday, I walked past the Capitol to meet Mike at the law school for a study break lunch and had to play tourist for just a second!

Today, I treated myself to a morning run past the monuments (after dropping MJ off int he city to leave for Baltimore) and this is the closest I've ever been to the Washington monument! So close I couldn't get it all until I had run a little further away!

There it is:) At this point, I had to turn around or I was going to be late for work. Not my fastest day;)

• This guy in his overalls.........the MOST adorable....

• Mike sent me a Bar Eve text of the dragonboats in Inner Harbor because he knows I love them. At first I thought it was a picture of the trash cans and I had just had a trash can gifted to me by a neighbor (ours was accidentally stolen because we didn't put our house number on it...which apparently happens a lot). It was such a kind and welcoming gesture and now I don't have to go through the hassle of contacting the city.

• Mike will be done with the bar by Wednesday evening! I realize I've taken many of his projects for granted, just because after so many exam periods and interviews and mock trials and shows....it feels routine for things to be intense every so often, but I've seen and heard that bar study is the kind of intensity that is meant to unhinge you. I don't know if I believe in the necessity of the mind games, but I DO know what a blessing it will be to get past it! GO MIKE GO<3

• This post from Anne Lamott. The news has had me feeling kind of down lately and she always finds a way to put words to it and to also help me focus on the hopeful and positive beauty of life. I posted a shortened version below.

"Many mornings I check out the news as soon as I wake up, because if it turns out that the world is coming to an end that day, I am going to eat the frosting off an entire carrot cake; just for a start. Then I will move onto vats of clam dip, pots of crime brûlée, nachos, M & M's etc. Then I will max out both my credit cards...

The last two weeks have been about as grim and hopeless as any of us can remember, and yet, I have not gotten out the lobster bib and fork...

Hasn't your mind just been blown lately, even if you try not to watch the news? Does it surprise you that a pretty girl's mind turns to thoughts of entire carrot cakes, and credit cards?...

It's not that I don't trust God or grace or good orderly direction anymore. I do, more than ever. I trust in divine intelligence, in love energy, more than ever, no matter what things look like, or how long they take. It's just that right now cute little platitudes are not helpful.

I'm not depressed. I'm overwhelmed by It All. I don't think I'm a drag. I kind of know what to do. I know that if I want to have loving feelings, I need to do loving things. It begins by putting your own oxygen mask on first: I try to keep the patient comfortable. I do the next right thing: left foot, right foot, left foot, breathe. I think Jesus had a handle on times like these: get thirsty people water. Feed the hungry. Try not to kill anyone today. Pick up some litter in your neighborhood. Lie with your old dog under the bed and tell her what a good job she is doing with the ruptured ear drum.

I try to quiet the drunken Russian separatists of my own mind, with their good ideas. I pray. I meditate. I rest, as a spiritual act. I spring for organic cherries. I return phone calls.

I remember the poor. I remember an image of Koko the sign-language gorilla, with the caption, "Law of the American Jungle: remain calm. Share your bananas." I remember Hushpuppy at the end of Beasts of the Southern Wild, just trying to take some food home to her daddy Wink, finally turning to face the hideous beast on the bridge, facing it down and saying, "I take care care of my own."

I take care of my own. You are my own, and I am yours--I think this is what God is saying, or trying to, over the din. We are each other's. Thee are many forms of thirst, many kinds of water."

-Anne Lamott

Fourth, Wimbledon, Happy Hours, & Baby Showers

Fourth

Mike and I spent our Fourth of July at our friend Josh's (and Steph and Ross and Dan) much-anticipated 4th of July Roof Party. We watched the downtown fireworks not-to-be-overshadowed by the fireworks just from the block party on a street two blocks from the roof. Unfortunately, my allergies (or cold? because I can't tell the difference) went crazy right before the fireworks and so we left shortly after. However, I tried to snag a few pictures in between sneezes.

Bad picture, but it helps give you the idea.

Sick Independence Day selfie!

I like this one:) See the tiny monument on the left!

Wimbledon

On Sunday after the Fourth, we had our annual Wimbledon Breakfast. Absi, Carlos, and Alicia helped us eat some of our spread which included the usual cucumber sandwiches with herbed goat cheese spread (delicious!), pitcher of Pimm's Cup cocktail, hot tea, muffins, meat and cheese platter, and strawberries with angel food cake and fresh whipped-cream! Mike did a great job making the whipped cream:) Unfortunately (GAH), Roger lost in 5 sets, BUT you can never really complain when you get to watch 5 sets of tennis awesomeness. Looking forward to the US Open already!

Roger and our foodsss.

Refuse to Lose! & Goodbye Happy Hour

Because we are very much in a tennis mood now, Kelly and I went to see the Kastles Wednesday night. There were no real current big names, but some past big names definitely, including Martina Hingis! It was so nice to see live tennis in a different style. They really try to make this tennis league spicier than the Grand Slams, including getting the crowd to cheer on the local team. One chant was "Refuse to Lose" and I brought Mike back a free sign they gave out with that slogan on it. I told him it was to hang up for when he studies the rest of this month.

The next night Mike and I went to a happy hour to say goodbye to Matt and Cori who are moving to California while Cori starts her MBA:( So excited for them, but sad to say goodbye. We snapped a picture with Kellex while being goofy...

I missed the open mouth memo.

Tiff's Baby Shower

My stepsister, Tiffany, is expecting a baby girl at the end of August and she had her baby shower today at my mom and stepdad's house in Virginia. Because my sister was busy that morning and my mom had to help set up for the shower, I arrived early to take care of my favorite little man. Of course, I took a good number of pictures.

This face.

THIS face.

Chilling in the pool<3

I was basically a personal lazy river for him.

#hardcoreauntiemode

Tomorrow, I might get to hang out with Ashton on his first trip to the zoo! And this upcoming weekend I'll be in Philadelphia at my Little's wedding (my first as a bridesmaid!). Next week's post will be a doozy, for sure.

The Rest of June in Review

I know Mike and I have not posted in a while. How could we have predicted that the summer would have been this crazy? Law school is over and my students are out of school, but somehow (with the help of bar studying and summer programming at my job) our stress level has increased significantly in June. Besides work and studying, we've had lots of other things to take up the rest of our time:

June 14th: GoRuck Light!

• Sometime in May, Mike signed up for a challenge event with his friend from Woodberry, Taylor. I has just asked Mike to sign up for a race with me this summer and he said he was too busy! But I later found out that the draw of this challenge was that it was military-style and would help prepare him for ODS in the Fall. I normally only like familiar, but I impulsively decided to sign up with Mike and Taylor out of solidarity. We ended up doing the race the weekend after we got engaged and it was such a good shared experience to have in that moment. Mike carried me....on his back...at many points throughout the challenge. I carried a 125 pound girl for a little ways up a hill. Our entire team was working/lifting/running for about 5 hours total. And then, at the very end, our cadre called "the future bride and groom" up in front of the group. Who...me? Taylor had told our cadre about us getting engaged and our team ended up carrying us on their shoulders together while humming "Here comes the Bride...". It was an incredible event. I was sore for about a week after, but I already can't wait to find another one to do.
• A story Mike's friend, Taylor, wrote about the organization that does these challenges: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/dont-quit-why-a-post-writer-signed-up-for-12-hours-of-hell-twice/2013/08/22/4194305c-eeed-11e2-bed3-b9b6fe264871_story.html



Pre-race....when we still had the energy to smile:)

• This is a video of the team carrying Mike and I on their shoulders: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152618403725769. It says it is a public video, but if you can't see it, I don't know how to fix that:)
• The  website for more information about the event: https://www.goruck.com/light

Our whole group for the GoRuck Light! If you can't spot me, I'm the only one who is doing the 'sorority squat'.

June 15th: Cafe Berlin Brunch

• I need to write about Cafe Berlin because it's one of my first experience with authentic German food. Mike and I met up with Patrick and Justine and Justine lovingly offered to help us move some furniture later (that we were acquiring from Steph W.'s home in Maryland)...don't we have amazing friends? Anyway, while re-discovering my love of authentic sauerkraut and strong mustards, I also re-discovered how glorious french press coffee is.

June 16th: Private Lives

• We saw the last production of our Shakespeare Theater Company subscription for this year. This particular play asked deep questions about love, relationships, hate, and divorce, but did so in an often hilarious way. STC really did a great job with their subscriptions for young professionals and I hope we can take advantage of a similar opportunity in whatever cities we end up in.

June 21st: HOME

An adorable Ashton picture!

• I went home to see the family and Baby Ashton. I also wanted to hunt around for some supplies for the new apartment. (Our new place is basically just full of free stuff we've accumulated over the past couple of months. Thanks to all who donated to us!) Baby Ashton has gotten SO BIG. He is almost 8 months old now (I can't believe it) and has gotten way more active. He is such a happy baby, smiling all the time and laughing easily. I cannot wait until Courtney comes to the city and I get to babysit him for a whole evening!

June 28th-29th: Independence Run 5-miler and Moving

• At 7:15am the Saturday morning of our first day of REAL moving, I has a 5-mile race to run in Leesburg, VA. I must have signed up for it when I was feeling particularly motivated and impulsive, because Past Kels was not looking out for Future Kels. I also did not realize that Leesburg, VA was an hour away from DC and that I would have to wake up at 5am. Nonetheless, I had comittted to running it with Kelly and Alex and, by the time 8am rolled around, I'd completed 5 miles at about an 8:30 pace....not bad for the amount of training I had done which was nothing different my usual workouts. The race was actually super nice! The course was hilly, but in the countryside, and it felt nice to be that productive that early in the morning. At my best, I actually am a morning person....just not on moving weekends.
• Mike and I ended up moving everything in 4 trips with my car....and we did it all ourselves. I'm actually really impressed with us. I would describe the experience of moving with your partner as.....an exercise in character-building and trust-building. Because we both value efficiency, I did a lot of organizing/packing/sorting (my strengths) and Mike did a lot of heavy lifting and logistics (his strengths). Yesterday, we found a bug in our apartment and I told Mike that I'd identified bug-killing as one of his strengths so I'd let him handle that one;) I don't think he bought that compliment.

Rupert is settling in nicely! He is happier than we've ever seen him:)

June 30th: "Top Gun"

• Seeing a movie outdoors was one of the items on my DC summer bucket list. I decided on Top Gun in Crystal City because Kelly said it was the best venue and because I though Top Gun had something to do with the Navy. (I had never seen it before.) Kelly, Alex, Mike, and I ate We the Pizza and ice cream on blankets and then were treated to an epic movie (awesome soundtrack!) featuring Tom Cruise at his best. It was really hard to tear ourselves away from all of the organizing and nesting in our new place, but it was totally worth it!

Pizza and Screen on the Green in Crystal City! Blurry is arts

I can't believe that today is the first day of July and that, in the first 6 months of the year, the following happened:

• I started a new job
• We went to Disney!
• Mike finalized his acceptance into the Navy and commissioned!
• Mike graduated from law school!
• We got engaged:)
• We moved into a new place together:)

Things to look forward to during the rest of 2014!

• our Breakfast at Wimbledon brunch this Sunday!
• Jenny's wedding in less than 2 weeks! (We'll be staying with Brian and Kay in Philly)
• Mike finishing the Bar and us celebrating with a trip to Cumberland!
• 10K in August that hopefully Mike and I will actually have time to train for!
• Sending Mike off to ODS! Then welcoming him back!
• Getting married!

How We Got Engaged

Of course, you probably know by now that it was a big weekend. I really wish I could devote some of this post to telling you about.....

• how cool and calm (really!) I was on my first flight by myself, flying down to the beach to join Mike and friends
• how funny it was that, during my first time in the ocean with Mike (I generally avoid the ocean part of the beach), we were evacuated from the water due to the sighting of sharks (yes, plural!) in shallow water!
• how I cried when we got to visit The Fish House, a restaurant the we always visit as tradition, because the restaurant owner told Mike I was a keeper (this was before he proposed) and proceeded to give us all free pirate hats (we always get something free when we go there and he is adorable)
• how watching The Room with Mike is one of the most enjoyable experiences ever 

.....but I shall leave those as bullet points and skip to the best part of the weekend!

I had an idea that Mike might propose this weekend. It was only because, after I got to the beach, there was this moment where he was extremely helpful with me locating something in his suitcase and my intuition went off. Anyway, by the time it reached Saturday afternoon, I had figured it might not happen because 1) maybe he sensed that I knew or 2) because it was difficult to find alone time and we were running out of time. We played some tennis and Mike beat me twice. After walking back to drop off the rackets at the house before heading back to the beach, Mike decided to stop by a pool we were going to visit later. I thought nothing of it because it was a really sweet pool that I wanted to check out. We walked to the edge of the pool overlooking the lake and Mike starts saying really sweet things that I momentarily disregarded because I 'think' that he is trying to make me 'think' that he is proposing. Mike would say I thought this was a "red herring." Anyway, by the time I realized that he was not joking, I was crying (of course) and he was on one knee with a ring out. I recall him saying stuff about wanting to make memories and about us dating for over 2 years, but my favorite part was when he said something about marriage being hard work, but knowing that we can do it together. Of course I said yes and we hugged and kissed and then swam for a while in the pool trying to figure out how to best tell our friends that were also at the beach with us. 

It seemed like the only fair option was to head to the beach and see who noticed the ring first:). Of course the first to notice was Beau (ever observant- "Kelsey, do you have something that you would like to share with the group?") and we had drinks and hugged everyone. Later on, some strangers actually came up to us and congratulated us on our engagement. We went back to the beach house after the tide came in and Ben had concocted special cocktails for us. **Side story: Way long ago, I told Mike that I thought it'd be hilarious if, during some hypothetical significant relationship celebration in our future, I had a custom cocktail named after me and he had one named after him. However, when these cocktails were to be combined, they'd make a better cocktail! Well, Mike had told Ben and Ben had pulled that challenge off and made custom cocktails for us! (Recipe below) After drinks, we went to the pool one more time and called all of our immediate family members to tell them the news. Then we celebrated the rest of the night with kebabs, daiquiris, and watching Frozen! (I know, perfect evening.)

My drink in the champagne flute and Mike's in the martini glass.

The combined creation!

The "Look": (Mike's Drink)

2oz Ouzo

1oz Lillet Rouge

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir with ice and serve up.

I Know People: (My Drink)

1oz Gin

1oz Elderflower Liqueur (St. Elder or St. Germain)

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir with ice, serve in a champagne flute, and top with champagne.

Kelsicle: (Our combined drink)

1oz Ouzo

1oz Gin

1/2oz Lillet Rouge

1/2oz Elderflower Liqueur

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake with ice. Serve in a coupe and top with champagne.

I honestly could not have asked for anything more. 

I've been overwhelmed with a number of feelings since the engagement and I think it's because, no matter how much you try not to hold anything back in relationships, some subconscious part of us is still afraid of being vulnerable. The first major feeling is that I just really cannot wait to marry Michael. It feels like I'm looking forward to Christmas, but I just really want one present, and I found out I get it! I get to keep him. I knew I wanted to keep him very early on in our relationship. He has a very distinct Michael James-ness that is a rare find in the world. Many friends and family reflect on how we balance each other out in the best way and it's easy to see how we lie on the opposite sides of many spectrums while still agreeing on the most important things.

The second major feeling is in reaction to the overwhelming love I've received from family and friends since the engagement. I adore Mike's family and friends and now I officially feel 'adopted' into this side of his life. I know my family adores Mike and could not be more excited about the news. Mike is now officially "Uncle Mike" to Ashton and I am "Auntie Kels". :) But really, I think one of my favorite parts of the engagement was hearing responses from friends and family.

Since I was out of the poker game pretty early, I snagged this picture of Mike in action. I think he is trying to bluff Josh and Carson. I don't know. I can't read his poker face in the mirror. Also, everyone is wearing their pirate hats because this is the night we got them.

The aftermath of watching The Room the night before.  Plastic spoons were an interactive feature this year.

When we went back to the pool after we had gotten engaged to snap a picture of the location.

The ring! The story is the diamonds belonged the Mike's great grandmother and were made into a ring by his grandmother.

Kay offered to take pictures for us! This is one that we tried to get with the sunset in the background....

.....but apparently that is bad for lighting....

....so we turned the other way and this one is my favorite!!!

Okay, fine, this one too.

Bridal/Birthday/Brunch Weekend

Quite the big weekend!

Work Retreat

First of all, in the middle of the week, I had a work retreat on the eastern shore of Maryland. We stayed for the work day in a vacation house out in the country where it was unbelievably and amazingly quiet. I got to ride on a speedboat with my coworkers and look at all of the beautiful, expensive houses that exist out there (including the one from Wedding Crashers) and before we left we ate freshly cooked Maryland blue crabs that one of our board members brought to us! We couldn't eat half of the bushel because there were SO many so I decided to bring some leftover to Mike. Picture me riding on the metro with a paper bag full of crabs (that distinctively smell like crabs) and one of the crab claws has punched through the paper bag. I was not being sneaky at all. Oh well! Can't let delicious crab go to waste!

Maxi, one of the dogs who joined us on retreat, enjoying the boat ride!

Little's Bridal Shower

My little's bridal shower was this weekend in Manassas and I have never been to a shower that was more put together. Her mom did an amazing job and I kept telling her I wanted to take pictures of everything. So I did:) I got to meet the other bridesmaids and reunite with some of my sorority sisters and I'm getting so excited for the wedding next month! I picked up my dress and have to get it altered and have to find silver shoes too! 

Katie (Jenny's sister) and Jenny. Superstar sisters.

Bridesmaids table set up with how she knew each of us. Actually the dress Abbey is wearing on the right is our dress, except it's in coral.

Bridesmaids and bride picture. Brita, Katie, Jenny, Nicole, Sarah, Me, Abbey.

Opening presents!

Megan's Birthday

Saturday evening, I got together with some high school friends in Northern Virginia to celebrate Megan's birthday. We went to a Japanese restaurant and I got a bento box that came with so much sushi that I couldn't eat it all! Mike's mom has seen what I can do to a bento box before so this really was quite a lot of sushi. I actually ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning. The price was really good too compared to what sushi costs in the city. We went to see a cover band and danced to nineties and country songs and have vowed to get together again soon!

Ambar Brunch and Farmer's Market

I made plans on Sunday to get together with one of my coworkers, Alicia (she took Mike's commencement pictures!), on Sunday, and Mike/Kay/&Absi were getting brunch nearby 30 minutes before I had to meet Alicia. If it wasn't one of my new favorite places in Eastern Market, Ambar, I might not have attempted to eat in 30 minutes, but the cheese pie and poached pear waffle were totally worth it. Ambar also has a bottomless brunch deal that I don't think can be beat in the city so I'm determined to go back when I have longer to enjoy it:)

Found 3 anchor/chevron coasters for $10.00 at the farmer's market and had to get them!

 This Weekend

I'll be joining Mike and people at the beach this Friday and flying by myself down there (eep!). I've never flown by myself before, but beach weekend is something worth facing fears for because it's probably my 2nd favorite annual weekend. (1st being NYE reunion weekend which wins because I've been doing it longer.) Thus, I have lots of time to clean, work out (I just signed up for 2 races this month, 2 of which I'm currently not trained for), read, and NOT watch Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones is a show Mike and I watch together and he has made me promise not to watch it without him, though I've tried convincing him of all the ways we could distance watch it together (like have a Game of Thrones webinar or something....). Anyway, he's not budging and, thus, I'll just have to avoid social media the entire week because I know something insane happened! No spoilers, people!

Hope you all have a great week!

Being Known + More Apartment Photos

Is there anything better than being known and understood, and still being loved in spite of all that understanding? I don't think there is.

I'm a perfectly imperfect person, but there have been a few experiences lately that I want to remember because they made me feel so understood and so loved.

• This past weekend, one of Mike's grandmas quietly said to him: "I think Kelsey is a person who needs to eat regularly. Make sure she gets some food." I had started to feel sick after graduation and being in the heat all day and, after she said this, I realized I'd not eaten since breakfast. I always feel like I know how I'm feeling, but his grandma was able to recognize why I was feeling sick before I was and that stood out to me as a wonderful feeling.
• Mike and I went to a Children of Eden concert at the Kennedy Center this past Monday evening and, although I know I had very limited exposure to musical theatre when I first met him, I felt like our experience was very much a joint one. We are moved in similar ways in the music, if that makes sense and we have a shared appreciation for the experience. He can tell when a particular song makes me want to cry and I can tell when a note makes him grimace inside, even though nothing shows physically. (Btw, Children of Eden was awesome and we are now HUGE fans of Jeremy Jordan and Ashley Brown.)
• My coworkers and I often have de-briefing meetings where we often coach each other through specific experiences in our lives. During yesterday's meeting, I chose to share an experience that made me feel very vulnerable and was instantly met with my coworkers sharing she'd had the same experience before. My vulnerability and honesty was instantly met with assurance and acceptance and I knew there was a reason I felt led to share with them.
• Anytime I text Kelly anything starting with "This is going to sound crazy, but....." and she automatically responds with listening, understanding, and a Grey's or The Hills (shows that we 'grew up' to during our college days) reference that could not express better exactly how I feel.
• I work in education and my sorority Little (who is getting married this summer) is a special education teacher. We talked recently and were both trying to describe how we feel working in schools towards the end of the semester, but we didn't need to use any real words besides..."yeah...it's THAT feeling". 
• My sister Kim can nail down what I'm trying to explain to her before I've even found the words to express it (and I go through a LOT of words in the meantime). I hope she goes into counseling work one day.
• In general, whenever I'm around Mike's family, I feel as understood and uninhibited as I do around my own. There is lots of love and a lot of laughs and a lot of 'warmth'. I think I feel this more strongly because my extended family is very small. I only have one grandma left who I am close to. I'm so thankful for my time with his family from this past weekend.

Now, more future apartment photos...

Living area. The small kitchenette in the corner, There will also be a mini-fridge. There is also an upstairs kitchen that can be used.

Just a long hallway in between the two rooms and a bathroom on the left that is still in the works. But....two rooms!

Bedroom that now houses a small desk and mirror(!!!), but will also house a bed!

Big Weekend

I knew it was going to be a big weekend, but was not aware how big it had been until Monday morning rolled around and I realized I needed another weekend. It was all for good reasons, though. How many milestones did Mike reach in his life this weekend? Too many. Well....at least have pictures of everything. 

Mike getting commissioned by his grandfather.

Closer....

My lovely coworker, Alicia, who graciously offered her photography services for the day!

Things getting official.

Any excuse to buy something themed, right?

I made Mike let me write on the chalkboard at a restaurant we were at:):) 

And then kids made it better haha:)

<3

It was a beautiful day for a graduation!

After the ceremony!

A sneak peek of one of the rooms in the new apartment!:)

One of the most adorable photos of Ashton from the past week:)

For once, Mike was more descriptive than me (and he used the better pictures that Alicia took) so here is the link to his blog if you want more details:) http://walkingintoabuzzsaw.blogspot.com/