What the Blog?

F irst things first: finals are OVER! It's always a victory when I finish exams - this year, with 1 paper, 1 take-home (72-hour), and 2 full-on 3-hour exams, it was no different. I was exhausted for about three solid days after I finished but the beautiful thing is that I only have four more semesters left! And much fewer exams this summer and fall, so a lot of the hard part is over. It feels good. So good that I'm celebrating by baking, and basking in spring. Today, the temps are supposed to hit 70+ degrees. And sun, beautiful sun! We finally got out in the yard and cleaned up the weeds, planted tons of veggies (although I may greedily plant one or two more) and we are hoping for some tasty results soon. We've also been biking around - spent a whole day wandering among the cherry blossoms and masses of tourists on our bikes a few weekends ago. The blossoms had already started to drop but it was still really colorful and fun to explore. With my newfound free time, I'

When I lived in Austin, my roommate and I had lofty plans to write an inspiration-filled travel blog, full of anecdotes of where to go (and where not to go) on our various adventures, be they for one day, one week, or even longer. I loved the idea, but sort of let it drop (aside from my really long Argentina post - see January ), and it's time to revive the concept! As I venture out and about, I'll capture all the details in a post - for personal scrapbooking purposes and to hopefully inspire you! I found a great resource for day trips / weekend escapes on Washingtonian , and by combining ideas from that and other sites, have put together a couple of repeat-worthy day trips around the area. The first was a day spent wandering around lovely Old Town Alexandria. Just a short metro ride away (blue or yellow line to King Street, then either a free trolley or ~1 mile walk to the water), it was a great way to spend the first warm Saturday in spring. We walked from the metro down