NYC

After my parents helped move me out of my apartment we flew to New York City for a few days to see all of the Christmas festivities. I must say there is nothing quite like New York at Christmas time.  The lights, the windows, the decorations, the shopping, the shows- Christmas time is definitely the best time to visit.

Mom and I at Rockefeller Plaza. Dad was taking the picture. 

One of our favorite things to see every year is the decorated windows at stores like Macy's and Lord and Taylor. Even in years when we can't go to NYC we enjoy watching the HGTV special on how they design and put together the windows. 

Macy's Window 

Macy's Window

Macy's Window

Macy's Window

Although the weather wasn't great, not to mention I was a little under the weather, we still had a great time. We usually stay at a nice little Hampton Inn that is about two blocks from Times Square. It is nothing fancy but it is really convenient, affordable, and you always know what you are getting with a Hampton Inn.

The first day we were there I was trying to recuperate in the room and get my feet back under me while the rest of the family went shopping. That night we were able to get tickets to Radio City's Christmas Spectacular and see the Rockettes. Every year Radio City does a great job with it and it is a lot of fun.

The next day we did a little more shopping. We visited the shops at Central Park and dad and I got one of our favorite treats, a real Belgian Waffle. This is probably what my dad I look forward to the most when we go to NYC. They are delicious. 

Belgian Waffle

After that we went to FAO Schwartz. I am just a big kid when it comes to toy stores and I love FAO. Although I was a little disappointed that they didn't have their giant key board performers any more but I did love the giant lego people. 

StarWars LEGOs

FAO Guard made out of LEGOs

After some more shopping we went to see Annie on broadway. Annie has been one of my favorite musicals for my entire life and our Annie VHS tape was well used back in the day. It was excellent... duh it's Broadway!

Time's Square

All in all it was a great trip. The next day mom, dad, and I took the train from NYC to DC, picked our car up and made the 8ish hour drive home. And boy was it good to be home!

For those of you have never taken the Amtrak before, I would recommend considering it on your next trip. It is not always quicker or cheaper but sometimes it is and, unlike a plane, it has outlets to plug in your computer or phone and free wifi! Not to mention you can get up and walk around some if you feel like it. It was a fun little adventure for us!

Christmas in DC

US Capitol Christmas Tree

Christmas is almost here! As I am writing this, Christmas is about two weeks away. One thing I love about big cities is that there are always lots of Christmas festivities. So far I have had two great Christmas weekends here in DC and plan on having another in NYC next week. 

Two weekends ago I was lucky enough to have my mom (you can see her blog here) in town and we had a great weekend together. 

Saturday we went to Middleburg, Virginia for their "Hunt" and Christmas parade. Middleburg is a nice little town about an hour outside of DC. We met my friend Samantha there and together we decided that Middleburg is very much a real life Stars Hollow (from Gilmore Girls). It is a small town of great people, shops, food, and traditions. 

The Middleburg Hunt

The Hunt is one of their great traditions.  It takes place in the morning and pays tribute to the rich fox hunting history in the area.  First the lead horses and the hounds come through followed by others on their horses in their full fox hunting regalia. 

We also got a special Christmas treat, we got to tour the White House and see all of the Christmas decorations!! 

This was really unexpected. Typically you have to schedule a tour of the White House through your senator or congressman's office at least a month in advance and even then there is no guarantee that you will get it because of the White House's rigorous schedule. But lucky for us, my office received an email about last minute tour openings the week before my mom came! We applied and were accepted!

 My mom was especially excited about this because she watches the White House Christmas Special on HGTV every year and this year she got to see it all for herself! The White House Gingerbread House is always one of our favorite parts of the show. 

White House Gingerbread House

This is the best photo of us but our confirmation email said that we could not bring cameras or bags on the tour. Being the rule followers we are, we didn't bring a camera other than the ones on our phones. As it turns out it was some type of special tour day and you could bring cameras. Luckily we were able to get some photos on our phones. They may not be the best quality but at least we have them!

This past weekend was my second Christmas weekend. Timing has definitely been on my side lately (knock on wood) and one of my best friends since middle school was in Maryland with her work and came to visit me for the weekend. We had a great time catching up and got to do some DC Christmas activities along with my friend Samantha. 

It was quite a marathon of a day but it was totally worth it. After visiting a museum and doing some exploring we went ice skating at the National Gallery of Art on the National Mall. I don't know how many times in life I will get to go ice skating in front of the National Archives which holds some of the greatest documents of our country so I had to take advantage while the weather was warm. 

 We also went to see Zoolights at the National Zoo! Although I think we were the only ones there over the age of 20 without kids we still had a great time! 

 Finally we wrapped up the evening with a trip to the White House to see the National Christmas tree! 

Although both weekends were packed full and a little tiring, they were both a great way to wind down my time here in DC. 

But no worries, I leave Saturday but still have several DC blog posts that I have not been able to post yet that I will post after I return to SC. 

Oh and one more thing...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

I gave my mom a very special gift this year that you can give too! My mom is a former teacher (still one at heart) and education is very close to her heart so this year, in her honor, I gave the gift of education to girls in Pakistan and you can too by clicking here! Every dollar counts and every dollar helps! To learn more, visit my friend Caroline's blog here. She is working in Pakistan and doing some pretty incredible things there. Now, go do something awesome!!