LIFE'S LITTLE DETAILS

"THE DETAILS ARE NOT THE DETAILS. THEY MAKE THE DESIGN." — CHARLES EAMES

Max and I got back yesterday after spending this past week with my parents. Flyboy's work schedule has been slightly irregular and since my mom's Summer break is quickly coming to a close, we figured it would be the perfect opportunity to visit DC. While the photos in today's post are brimming with puppy snuggles and Snarkitecture ball pits at the National Building Museum (How fabulous is my mom sporting those heels?), I would also like to note that the past few days have been filled with a lot of tough stuff as well. I'll spare you the details for now, but the lows definitely make me grateful for marble runs with MiMi, a much-needed day date with FB at Le Diplomate, and muffin baking with my favorite menace. I keep thinking about those Leonard Cohen lyrics, the ones in which he reminds us, "There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." This will all make perfect sense someday. It always does.

FEATURED DETAILS: POM-POM TOTE // STORAGE BASKET // STAY WILD TEE // BOW HEELS 

THE BLIND WHINO

Built in 1886 and home to the Friendship Baptist Congregation for almost a century, this colorful explosion called The Blind Whino in Southwest Washington D.C. now acts as an arts collective and community hotspot. Sweet readers, if you're ever in the area and you consider yourself a fellow color lover, I can assure you it's worth the stop! Interest piqued? Here's a little background info courtesy of Elliot Carter of Atlas Obscura:

During the 1950s, urban planners saw the neighborhood as “blighted” and bulldozed nearly the entire thing to make way for freeways and public housing projects. 

According to a 1960 Washington Post article, the District Redevelopment Land Agency bought up 98.5 percent of the area in the mid 1950s, evicted residents and tore down nearly everything, including more than 20 African-American churches. According to the Historic American Building Survey, Friendship Baptist was spared the wrecking ball because “the church’s pastor, Reverend Benjamin H. Whiting, argued that the church was a bedrock neighborhood institution,” and they had just completed an educational center addition. 

Historic walls notwithstanding, the Friendship Baptist congregation ended up relocating to more spacious facilities nearby within a decade, and the aging religious house passed through a number of owners before finally closing in 2001. A real estate developer purchased the storied building with the intention of building condominiums and office space, but a 2004 Historic Preservation Board designation blocked the project. 

Legally prevented from tearing down the century-old walls, the developer went back to the drawing board and commissioned Atlanta-based painter HENSE to enliven the facade with an artistic intervention. A colorful mural now wraps around the building like a Basquiat meets Jackson Pollock billboard. The psychedelic-looking graffiti continues throughout the interior and has transformed the former nave into a ravey performance space. Downstairs there is space for a gallery of rotating art exhibits, and a portion of the grounds are now used as a community garden. Going strong 130 years in, the newly renamed Blind Whino serves the neighborhood once again, though it now attracts a younger, more bohemian flock.

Not sure when you'll be able to visit this hue-riffic gem in our nation's capital, but you're hungry for more? 

Feast your eyes on more of Alex Brewer's work here!! It's the mental escape you deserve on Friday Jr.

DC RECAP PART 2

"THE DETAILS ARE NOT THE DETAILS. THEY MAKE THE DESIGN." — CHARLES EAMES

Let's jump straight to the delightful deetz, shall we?!

• Flying to DC with Max was an absolute delight. Flying back to Texas? Well, that's another story I'll share another day. Today's post is meant to be all sequin embellished cardigans and carousel rides. And from the looks of the photos, that's exactly what life felt like for TEN whole days. Since I can't hit rewind, I have to live vicariously through the blog.

• My parents, Max, and I had four days together before my grandparents arrived from Arizona. We kept the first part of our trip low-key with visits to a toy store, blue ice cream, the zoo, and frequent scooter rides around the neighborhood. And yes, my mom bought my dad a scooter of his own so he could putt around alongside Max. It was a riot and definitely ranks up there as one of my favorite memories from our trip. Isn't synchronized scooters a thing?? It should be.

• As promised, my mom and I left the boys behind for an afternoon or two of shopping and manicures. Can you spell BLISS?! We typically like to make an appearance at every J.Crew in the Beltway to ensure we don't miss a thing. Ha! It's evident that we like to keep our goals attainable. Who doesn't?? While we didn't have much luck in the dressing room at Madewell, I'd give the two of us an A+ in the accessory department and for also finding the perfect orangey-red polish.

• A month before our trip, my mom and I made hair appointments at the Ian McCabe Salon, which specializes in corrective color services. With clientele like Mandy Moore and Tracy Anderson, I had Pinterest-like dreams about what my hair might look like when it was done. Squee! After SIX hours of work (consultation, hair color, etc.), my guru was able to return my hair to a more natural color in an attempt to correct the dark bands and patches I acquired via the unfortunate talent pool in Swell Rio. Yikes! My hair might not look that different to most, but it's certainly healthier and should allow me the opportunity to change it up in the not-so-distant future. Hooray! Oh, I should also note that explaining life in this tiny West Texas town to a bunch of hipster stylists was super embarrassing. I'm pretty sure they thought I was just being dramatic, but then they kept asking follow-up questions and were puzzled by my answers and our lack of options down here. Concerned about the upkeep of my hair color, I told them what I was working with and they looked so confused. Sigh. On the bright side, I overheard a conversation between the stylist next to me and her customer, and it turns out the colorist is like BFFs with THE Donald Robertson. Say what?! She owns several pieces of his work and texts him regularly.

• It was my grandparents first time in Washington D.C. so we did ALL the touristy things, which I couldn't help but adore. And since Max is transportation OBSESSED (welcome to the world of BOYS!), it was really sweet to watch him devour everything from a bus to a boat and the occasional train. Traveling with him at this age is so much easier (in most ways) because we don't necessarily need to pack all of the gear like we used to. One day we left the jogging stroller behind, and you could tell he felt so special sitting in a seat on the Metro by himself. He just takes it all in and I love it so much.

• My grandma and grandpa are pretty easy going, so we spent a lot of time relaxing at the house, watching Max fire up my dad's leaf blower, throwing balls, listening to tales about garbage trucks, playing cards, imbibing, and eating way too many snacks. In the mornings, my mom and I would take our time getting ready—something I ALWAYS look forward to whenever we're together. At times it felt surreal listening to Max giggle with my grandpa as my dad talked to my grandma. Something about going "home" makes you feel like a kid again, and I had to pinch myself that we got this opportunity to bring three generations together. I still think one of life's greatest joys is getting to share your very own child with the people that mean the most to you. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago when I was a kid hunting for Easter eggs with my grandparents and now I'm the one filling eggs and hiding them for Max. Where's the pause button?!

• Because my grandpa loves to walk and is game for just about anything, my mom and I took him downtown on Saturday morning so we could do some sightseeing. While my dad, Max, and grandma stayed home to play and prep our Easter meal, the three of us logged in over ten miles. We made sure my grandpa saw all the monuments and we even dragged him to his first art museum. I can't decide if I was more tickled by the look on his face when he first saw a Motherwell or his earnest gratitude as he thanked a handful of veterans at the WWII memorial. It was definitely a day for the books!

• I know I discuss my parents and what they mean to me Ad nauseam, but every time we get to be together I find I treasure the mundane stuff the most. Those are the moments that I hold on to until we reunite next. They're the little details that remind me why I not only love and respect them, but they make me proud to call them my own. My mom and dad talk a lot about how they'd like to move back to the Midwest and a slower pace of life, but I'm beyond grateful for the opportunities we've had to visit them while they've made Washington D.C. their home. I know it may not be ideal for retirement or their forever plans, but my heart bursts every time I meet a parent or student my mom has helped, or I see an employee from Trader Joe's or Starbucks ask where my dad is at because they love him so much. These two people I get to call my parents are so much of who I am and who I want to be, and seeing them in their element is a gift and a reminder that you get in life what you give. I pray that Max sees those traits in his parents one day as well.  

Alright, enough with the sappy ending already. 

(But you totally knew it was coming, didn't you?!)

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DC RECAP PART 1

"THE DETAILS ARE NOT THE DETAILS. THEY MAKE THE DESIGN." — CHARLES EAMES

Happy Tuesday, m' dears! We're back in Swell Rio after spending ten fabulous days with my parents and grandparents. As expected, I tried to capture as many memories with my phone and camera as possible while simultaneously trying to remain present. Rather than dump ALLLLLL the images on you in one post, I thought I'd split it up and share some of my favorite details in two separate posts. I hope that's okay! It's still a little hard to write about everything we did without getting weepy, so I'll save the specifics for tomorrow. When getting back in the blogging groove, it's best to ease on into things after a two-week hiatus. Stay tuned!

Enough about me. How the heck are you? I'm dying to know.