Ohio Pride

The other day my Facebook feed was being plastered with this infographic that claims 55% of Ohioans have liked the Buckeye state on Facebook and have the most state pride. Having just moved nearly three months ago, from my beloved Ohio, I can tell you that I talk about it...a lot. I kind of bring it up whenever I can. 

Now, had you asked me four month ago if I would miss Ohio like I do now, I would have said absolutely not! Oh how naive I was. What do I miss? I miss this...

I miss the seas of green everywhere you go.

I miss having 10 miles to go and getting there in 10 minutes. You might as well just triple the time to miles here...it's really irritating.

I miss having the sun out later. Did you know Ohio has four more minutes of daylight over Virginia? Also, the sun sets here a full 30 minutes before it sets in Ohio.

Most of all I miss my family and my friends and my mom's food. I miss that a LOT.

Thankfully I'm only 34 days away from a nice four-day weekend home, but when I'm really missing home I like to pull out something that screams OH-IO to anyone who sees me (because that's what all good Ohioans do when seeing each other). 

The Home T/Sseko Sandals/Sevenly Ohio Henna T/Ohio Wire Necklace/Beautiful Ohio Print

Is it safe to say that Ohioans have a lot of home spirit? I think it's safe to say that the answer is yes. 

O-H-I-O

*all images taken by me with my trusty iPhone

doing DC: the library of congress

Arthur the lovable aardvark once said, "Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card."

With that in mind, I can only assume that Arthur must have visited the Library of Congress. The only other time I've been so wowed by a building was my second day in Rome when I walked into the Vatican and just said "WOW" because there was nothing else to say.

I got a late start to the day because I sat at home for way too long trying to decide what to do. I toyed with the idea of hopping over to Union Station and visiting the United Postal Museum because I've actually heard it's pretty good when I realized I hadn't been to the Library of Congress yet. What happened next was way beyond what I thought my afternoon would be.

First, you walk up the steps to this view and the etched bronze doors. And just as you're saying "WOW" to that, you walk inside and get this view:

I obviously need to look up more adjectives in dictionaries inside this building to describe this place.

Around the ceiling are windows with various quotes. and I wrote down a few of my favorites:

"Only the actions of the just smell sweet and blossom in the dust."
"The history of the world is the biography of great men."
"Art is long and time is fleeting."
"Words are also actions, and actions are a kind of words."

Opened in 1897 after Thomas Jefferson lent his 6,487 books to the original 740, this was also the first building in Washington, D.C., to be constructed with electricity installed. It was named after Jefferson in 1980 and is the main library with two more next door, Madison and Adams. Learn something new every day, right?

After gawking at the ceiling for at least twenty minutes I headed to the Main Reading Room Overlook and realized - I want to be in there!

In order to actually read the books, you have to get a Reader Card that you register for in the Madison building across the street. I almost ran over to get my card and then traveled back over through the tunnels that connect the buildings. I basically felt like a secret agent at this point.

Once you're back in the library, you can drop your bags off at a cloak room and then go to whichever reading room you need. There are 22 different rooms ranging from American Folklife to Manuscripts and Recorded Sounds.

Oh, and just to add the disclaimer - you should probably have something to look up because they don't like it when you just go to gawk. I plan to visit the genealogy department to look up family records next time I'm there...which may be tomorrow. You never know. When I'm impressed with something I like to explore it!

Make sure to follow along on Instagram using the hashtag #SarahGoesToWashington to see where I am before I have a chance to sit in front of my computer!

*all images taken by me with my trusty iPhone

Gardening In The City

On my days off, I like to go into the city to explore. Even thought I've only been here a few months, I sometimes feel like I've seen all of the noted places to go. Still, I head in to explore and soak up the sun.

While Monday wasn't so sunny, it also wasn't so humid that I turned into a puddle five minutes into my day out. As I usually do, I headed to the Smithsonian stop to check out a few of the remaining free museums I haven't been to yet. Sooner or later I'll have to fork over the cash to go to the other museums...but that day is not today! As I had originally planned to visit the Hishhorn Museum first, I wanted to get something to eat. (Point of protest - why is it there's no where to eat on the Mall other than inside Smithsonians?) Somehow I ended up on the other side of the Smithsonian Castle and came across this view

The biggest thing I miss from home is flowers and corn. The amount of times I've talked about corn, it would make you think I'm a child of the corn. Nope. I just miss the seas of green driving around. The lack of deer possibly jumping out at you however, not so much. But that's besides the point.

Who knew this was behind the Castle? Okay, the answer is a lot of people obviously. Roughly two million a year to be more exact. Somehow in the two months I've roamed around, I totally missed this garden oasis hiding on Independence Avenue. I may have momentarily missed the memo, but this has definitely jumped to the top of my "Must See" list for visitors. 

The Enid A. Haupt garden changes annually. This year, it features "The Lost Bird Project" by Todd McGrain with five bronze sculptures of extinct North American birds. This now competes as my favorite place in the city. It's hard to believe, but being there felt like I was transported to the countryside of England, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It's hard to imagine that on the other side of this is the trademark symbols of D.C.

Now all I need is a tea shop nearby and I'll be all set to live out my Downton fantasies. 

*all images taken by me with my trusty iPhone

Keep Your Skin Happy This Summer

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When I left Ohio, I thought I was leaving the humidity behind. Little did I know that all my cheers were really just taunts to Virginia to step up it's humidity game. It may be the end of July, but we all know August steps up its game every year making sure you're ready for fall already.

It's been gross here with a capital G. When it's not raining, it feels like it should be raining. And when it is raining, it's worse. One night last week around 7 p.m. my phone read 95% humidity.... Ninety. Five. Percent. So you can see that using lotion isn't really an option...as is never doing my hair - but that's a different story.

Anyway, a month after I moved here, my skin was about to sprout dinosaur scales from being so dry. I was outside, in the pool, walking around the city, all of which kept me from putting lotion on because then I just felt even worse. Then I came across the miracle solution from Mary Kay. I've been telling everyone about it, and it's not too late for you to stock up and feel the relief of hydrated skin that doesn't get sticky outside!

The Mary Kay After Sun Gel isn't like anything else you've seen out there on the shelves. It's not lotion, it's not like Aloe Vera gel that leaves you sticky and smelling for miles around, and there's no coconut smell to it. It's just a blue gel that leaves your skin feeling like you haven't done anything to it. My skin loves me for it, and yours will too.

Just say no to scales.

One Year Ago

Sometimes I really do think I must have been an elephant in a past life, because I can remember things that go back all the way to the time I was almost two years old and got tubes put in my ears. Or maybe I just got my grandmother's memory...that's also a possibility. Or there's the fact that my mother taught me to study in a way that left me with a partial photographic memory. It really came in handy during school.

Anyway, the point is, my memory is pretty much spot on all the time. Granted, it seems lately I'm constantly saying things like, "Was that just yesterday? It feels like it's been about a week since that happened." Where my short term memory may take a few minutes to jog, my long term memory is going strong and the whole lead up to this (very first) post is that one year ago tomorrow, I heard about Nanny School and began this crazy journey that is called my life. 

Welcome! 

Seriously, I even Instagramed the wall watching

So, last year, July 22nd, 2013 I sat in front of my laptop live streaming a wall all day waiting on the news of the future, future, future King of England. After literally sitting and watching the wall outside of the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's hospital from the comfort of my own living room all day, the announcement came that Kate had given birth to a healthy baby boy, and I popped the bottles with the rest of England. And then I promptly changed my clothes, got in my car and picked up my friend so we could go celebrate the only way we knew how to in America - at a British pub where it seems not another soul was interested. But I digress.

That embarrassing time I ended up on news saying everyone would ship their daughters off to England...

The night turned into Pimms and lemonades, trivia night with half-priced fish and chips and a surprise appearance by the local news who went around asking what people thought of the new baby. When it came to my turn, I told them that I thought it was great! I had woken up at 3 a.m. just two years before for the wedding, and today I got to watch another moment in history. Furthermore, just as parents did with their daughters around William, I had a feeling that a lot of American moms would be throwing their American daughters into England society as soon as possible to try and become the new Kate Middleton. Everybody loves the idea of royalty whether they admit it or not. 

The next day, I once again found myself in front of my computer screen awaiting the first sighting of the baby, and came across a post from a high school friend about the Nanny School she was attending. Now, technically I had seen something about it earlier that summer but thought nothing of it. But now, now there was a royal baby! I immediately began checking out this Nanny School which turned into an hour long search into the entire site, front to back. And It. Sounded. Awesome. 

The fact was, my life wasn't going anywhere in particular, and I didn't see any way out of the rut I was stuck in. Become a nanny and travel the world with the family? Live with them? Get paid to watch kids? Sign me up! It may have taken a few weeks to really get used to the idea, but another "real job" rejection pushed me over the edge, head first into this new life. 

Funnily enough, I was at first guarded about telling others, afraid I'd be laughed at for choosing something outside of my MBA qualifications. The thought now makes me laugh. While others are stuck inside all day, I'm free to go wherever I want. I can even take a nap if I want (but that's also because I got a great family)!

So really, at this point of this super long introduction blog post, I just have a few thank yous to say because I actually wouldn't be where I am right now without these people... 

In the famous words of Jimmy Fallon - "Can I get some thank you note writing music?" 

Thank you - Kate and William for getting married and subsequently having a baby - you make what I do sound even cooler than it is.

Thank you - Prince George for being born - without you, I actually wouldn't have found out about this career path. 

Thank you - high school friend, for Facebooking the news clip about Nanny School after Prince George was born - without that, I wouldn't have looked into the school and ended up there. 

And lastly, Thank you - to my friends and family for going along with this crazy sounding idea and for continually listening to me complain about traffic here, and how much I miss real food - I couldn't do any of this without you.

*all images taken by me with my trusty iPhone