Behind the Scenes Capitol Tour: Part One

One of the best parts of living in this area are all of the historical buildings and artifacts that are housed here.  Of course, there are lots of things that are not accessible to the public.  Unless you're like us and you have a hookup.

One of our good friends works in the Capitol and offered to give us a tour.  I've taken the public tour, but this allowed us to see (almost) everything within the building.  As a history and political geek, this was basically a dream come true.  Needless to say I took a lot of pictures (hence the need for multiple posts).  

We started on the Senate side of the building, which I'll focus on today (I think, sometimes it's hard to remember where we were).  The photo below is the view from the balcony where the president is sworn into office at the inauguration.  In other words, awesome.

We're blurry, but excited.

There's a lot of pictures ahead.  You've been warned.

The Most Anticlimactic Purchase of Our Lives

Sorry for the radio silence recently, but I have a really good reason.  A really big (expensive) reason:

We bought a house!  (I'm also trying to finish reading Game of Thrones, which is way longer and more boring than I expected given the hype of the television show, but the house is the main thing.)

This is normally the part where I would show you pictures and lament all the projects, painting, and shopping we will have to endure to make the house how I envision it, but sadly there will be no pictures for a while because we don't actually live or have access to our house yet.  Until we do, however, I hope to share a few lofty ideas we have and possibly our home buying experience, as I know there are tons of people looking to buy while the rates are still amazingly low.

Anyone else not get to move into their new home right away?  Any tips on slogging through Game of Thrones?

Friday Favorites

This has been a weird week.  It's been cloudy, rainy, and all around gloomy all week.  The few times the sun has decided to come out, it is just too hot and humid to actually enjoy the sunshine.  Or, the pool is closed all day and you don't realize it until after your friend comes all the way over and pays for parking.  So, lets focus on some fun things today instead!


Quote Coasters

Nordstrom

Because I love quotes, I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate them into my daily life without becoming one of those ladies with cheesy pillows embroidered with cliches.  I think these coasters are the perfect.  Unfortunately, these are not in my price range (of free to almost free), but I feel as though they could be replicated in DIY fashion and I could personalize them with my favorite quotes.

American Ninja Warrior

Via

I you haven't heard of American Ninja Warrior (ANW), I feel sorry for you, you're missing out my friend.  Brian and I discovered this show last summer and basically became obsessed with it.

ANW is a contest series featuring competitors from around the US as they try to complete the extremely difficult obstacle courses.  The course changes for every city, but many of the obstacles test the same skills, such as strength, balance, and timing.  Those that make it through to the finals in Las Vegas will face Mt. Midoriyama, named after the Japanese course the show is modeled after.

Only three people have ever conquered Mount Midoriyama, but everyone thinks they could totally demolish the course (including my husband).  It's crazy, exciting, and never disappoints.

Candy Crush

Via

I resisted downloading this game for a very long time, mostly due to several annoying posts and requests on social media.  For some reason (probably boredom) last weekend, I decided to give it a try and I the only time I stop playing is when I run out of lives.  I refuse to pay for more lives; that's when you know you have a problem in my book.

Happy weekend!

National Party Anthem

Put your hands up, they're playing America's song.  Well, they could be if a We The People petition asking the White House to change our national anthem to "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus is successful.

In a very eloquent language, the petition states, "Obama please make Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" our national anthem.  It is what's best for our country."  The argument has sound logic.   I mean, replacing the poetry of Francis Scott Key with   lyrics such as "Movin' my hips like yeah" is far more important than tackling the economical, environmental, and other endless issues threatening our country today.

Youtube

Luckily, the petition needs 100,000 signatures by August 1 before it will even be  reviewed by White House officials and there are currently only about 760.

What do you think of Party in the USA being the new national anthem?  Are you going to sign the petition now?