all YOU do is WIN?!

And...the verdict is in! We have a winner for the giveaway. I decided to get creative and do a video blog to announce who the winner is! Congrats!

Yay! Thank you to everyone who participated! :)

shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo loverr...

Black Friday. Daddy and I went to the outlets at midnight. I got some skirts, tights, a cardigan, and a cute anthopology-esqe shirt. Oh- and a dressy dress that I don't have an occasion to wear anywhere yet...but at $14, it was too good of a deal to pass up. I think all in all I saved a ton of money. Banana Republic had a 50% off sale, Ann Taylor LOFT had a 40% off sale, and I got my $14 dress from White House/Black Market. So, I'm pretty happy! :)

A great victory was won on Friday when Auburn won the IRON BOWL. Yes, it was quite miserable at times (and SCARY!) and I think that Auburn did not play well the first half--but a win is a WIN! Now, we just have to beat South Carolina next Saturday in the SEC Championship. One week at a time. :)

I did some sewing today. Worked on the pillowcase dress I mentioned a few posts down (Question: Have any of you made these before? What did you cut your arm holes? Mine look so TINY!). I'll post a picture when I get a chance. I also made a quick skirt out of a shirt (that's more like a tunic...but is actually a nightgown from Walmart) and some elastic. I'm not sure how much I like it (it's kind of short and all) but, I think it'll work over some leggings or as the bottom section of a dress like this. I'm still deciding. I'll also post a picture of this when I get a chance. Mom took some cute pictures of me sewing. Haha...I passed Home Ec- even if the iron was removed from my hands so I wouldn't singe the fabric and I didn't know how to cook!

I had a great Thanksgiving spending time with family and eating lots of yummy food. Pictures are somewhere on someone's computer...but I don't have them. Haha. So, I'll have to post those later. But, I found this graphic today on a blog I read and it made me think of how blessed I am. :)

One last note, the giveaway to my shop ends TONIGHT. So, make sure you comment on this post (for one entry), follow on Facebook (another entry), and tweet about it (for ANOTHER entry). You can go to this post for all the details. Make sure you get those "entries" in! :)

(EDIT: Giveaway is now CLOSED. Tune in tomorrow to see who wins!)

Title from J.Bieber's "Eenie Meenie". Thank you small brother for getting this stuck in my head so that I had you go YouTube it. In other news...who heard the news that Bieber got a haircut??!!

thanksgiving.

So. It's Thanksgiving.

And right now....this is what I'm thankful for.

They don't sell this in Alabama. :)

And seeing these people yesterday for lunch yesterday. Hanging out with old friends is fun. And girl talk with the besties to catch up on major life events is fun, too. I don't have a picture from yesterday (even though I had my camera!). So, we'll just have to imagine it. Haha. :)

And spending Thanksgiving with family is fun. I'm so happy to spend time with these sweet girl cousins. :)

I'll be back with a more meaningful blog post at a later time. I just don't know what to write about and my thoughts are all mumble-jumbled right now. I'm still half asleep! And...I need some Thanksgiving food. I've been sick for the past 3 years with a stomach bug on Thanksgiving day, so the food is way overdue. Haha. 

It's Like I've Waited My Whole Life...

Yes. It is complete. It is done. It is time for the GRAND OPENING of my shop! I am so excited about this new adventure. Right now, there are 2 products in the shop- "Forget Me Knot" scarves (available in Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, and Patriotic) and painted canvases. If there is another team or set of colors you would be interested in, please let me know. I am also planning on adding a felt flower hair clippie collection if I can ever find some hair things to attach my felt flowers to! :)

So, in celebration of this GRAND occasion, I am doing my first ever giveaway. This is going to be for one "Forget Me Knot" scarf. There are 3 ways that you can win this Giveaway:

1. Comment on this blog post. Easy peasy.
2. Send out a tweet about this giveaway. (You're going to need to follow me on twitter @Leadam for me to see it)
3. "Like" LE Designs on Facebook. Go here to do that. :)

Giveaway ends next Monday. Good Luck!
And....that's it! Go! :)

preview day.

Since I'm really enjoying this crafty kick that I'm on right now, I decided to work on number seven of my 101 in 1001. (If you don't have it memorized- that would be my "start a business-etsylike thing")

You can head over to LEdesigns to check my store out. Or, well. The frame of the store. I don't have anything posted quite yet, but more on that later. I'm planning to tentatively open the doors on Sunday or Monday. Check the blog for the exact date- I'll be doing something for the Grand Opening on that day.

But, I thought I'd do a Preview Day of sorts. Something to stir up the attention and get everyone excited. Because really, I think this kind of stuff is fun.

One of the items I am going to be selling are "Forget Me Knot" scarves. Yes, I came up with the name and think it's cute. :)

This would be my Auburn scarf. Right now, I only have Auburn ones. But I know some people from where I live might like Alabama ones (even though it would kill me to make them!). But, here's where you come in. What colors would YOU buy a scarf in? For you or for Christmas presents. And I may be a bit biased, but I think they're really cute. :)

I am also going to be selling some canvases like the one below. They are NOT going to be custom made (it's way to hard for me to manage), but once again, are there any bible verses or quotes that you would like on a canvas? I'm totally open to ideas people. I have ideas...but I don't want to be the only one that likes them! :)

So. I hope to have the shop opened by Monday. On that day, I'll be posting the GRAND OPENING FESTIVITIES on the blog. So, you should come back and check it out! :)

Downside to blogging and my mom and dad being followers of aforementioned blog....

I can't post about the really cute Christmas presents I am making for the immediate family. I mean, the little brothers might read it too. Who really knows?

All I know if that I just placed an order for super secret supplies from Amazon (because they're cheap and I get free 2 day shipping for being an Amazon student member--which is FREE if you have a .edu email!) and will be getting to work on the presents as supplies arrive.

I'll have to take pictures and hide them on my computer so that I can post all about it on Christmas morning. Or. Well. Whenever I get to a computer that day. Because, you know...I'm a blogger like that! :)

And so...I was about to post pictures of the supplies...but I realized that would kind of give myself away. Real smart, Lauren. Real. Smart. 

I think you're funny when you tell the punchline wrong...

It's been awhile since I did a link love. So, I thought I should do one.

1. Boyce Avenue. This is my new favorite band. I was introduced to them by Christine over at Bun and Borough. She kept featuring them on her weekend playlists and...I AM IN LOVE. For real guys. I thought I was excited about Chris Tomlin's album releasing (which I still am)...but, for real. You need to check them out. To make it easy, I'm posting my faves from YouTube.

Teenage Dream. Please let it be known I hate strongly dislike Katy Perry. You really don't need to hear my inner thoughts about her. But, Boyce Avenue's cover of this song is better than the Glee version (which I really like). And it changes some of those icky parts I'm not terribly fond of. Gotta be able to sing it in front of the little people. Haha. :)

Dynamite. Showed this one to Max. He's come up with a parody of the original. It's about Bologna. I'm trying to convince him to let me video him so that he can be a YouTube superstar and make me millions. But, Boyce Avenue's cover is pretty good, too.

2. I was thinking I needed another craft project to work on. Like, I don't have enough on my plate with the pants, dress, and quilt. But I saw this scarf on KevinandAmanda and I thought it was cute. And you know, I need a cute scarf for Friday night football games. And the Iron Bowl. And- to look cute everyday for that matter. And- if you're looking for cute fonts, she has some of those, too! :)

3. This is cool. Not gonna lie. If I tweeted more, it would so be on my Christmas list. But, I don't think my life is that exciting.

4. Can I please have cute handwriting like this please? Thank you. :)

5. Another good CD. As if I haven't given you enough to purchase (thank you #1!), you should check out The Church at Brook Hill's praise team CD called "The God We Praise". My favorite song: The Body of Christ. This would be complements of Secret Church. Amazing guys. Amazing. If you're wanting to look into their theology on worship, they have a blog here with some insightful information. It hasn't been updated in awhile, but still useful.

crafty/creative stuff.

Ruffle Pants.

Thank you Google Images.

Funny story. The Walmart in my town is remodeling. I hate everything about it except for the clearance aisle. Since they got rid of the fabric section, they had some kits and stuff on sale. So, I got a sew-yourself-some-lounge-pants set for A DOLLAR. No, I can't really sew all that well. But, the fabric is cute and it's got the pattern and elastic and all. So, I think I'm going to make myself some lounge pants. And since ruffle pants are so-darn-cute, I think I'm going to add some ruffles. Who really cares if I look five in my pajamas? (Not me clearly. See last year's christmas post for more details on how I embarrass myself on a regular basis.)

Pillowcase Dress

Picture from tutorial here.

There's a little girl that I need to get a Christmas present for this year. Or rather- I'm supposed to make one. She's six or seven and she lives so far away from me, so I still picture her as a little girl (I think she was 3 last time I saw her.) And since pillowcase dresses are sew cute (haha, get it?) I decided I should branch out a little in my crafty/creative mind and make some. I found some really cute vintage pillowcases on Etsy that I'm thinking about. But, I'll probably visit the local flea market to check before ordering. :)

found on Etsy

I mean, we all like Flea Market Montgomery. It's just like...It's just like...a MINI MALL!

Sorry. Can't help myself.

Moving forward then...

I also found some cute felt flower hair clips I'm thinking about making to go along with the dress. I mean, every girl needs to dress up their hair!

via eighteen25

via Raechel Myers

And of course, I'm still working on that quilting...

um....this one's all mine.

I have eight squares done now. Only twelve more to go. The squares pictured aren't sewn together (obviously!) but I wanted a picture of all of them. In the final quilt, there will be a plain white block in between each of the "bowtie" blocks. I just haven't cut them out yet... I'm not sure exactly how it will all pan out since I'm actually 5 "bowtie" blocks short (since I only got 4 blocks from each material...I apparently can't multiply right to purchase fabric!). I'm going back and forth between buying more fabric and just making the quilt 7 squares by 6 squares (I can add probably one more "bowtie" by piecing). Not real sure yet, but I think I have awhile before I have to make the final decision. :)

Mom's probably about to murder me for posting pictures of our ancient tile floors.
So what. They aren't pretty and scream 1970s.
I needed a picture of my quilt!
And the lighting? It's horrible. Probably because it's 7:30 at night.

Um...I don't think my brain can handle more of this crafty/creative gumbo-jumbo.

I think we'll call it a night at this one.

Maybe sew some quilt squares. Hand sewing is more time consuming than first thought. But, it is very relaxing. Especially when you're watching the Channel of Disney (that's what I get for living at home).

And...that's all. :)

All Auburn. All In.

So what? I like the sappy football videos. 

And I stand by Cam.
I stand by Auburn.
I LOVE the creed.
And I'm keeping the FAITH.



By the way. That would be a flash-mob pep rally. I'm kind of jealous I wasn't there.
It seems very sappy football movie-ish. :)

And I thought I would end with another football video.
Since that seems to be a common theme.
It made me smile. And laugh really hard. :)

sneak peeks.

What's in YOUR box?

It's that time of year again.
Time to pack my Operation Christmas Child box! If you've never heard of OCC, I thought I'd share a little bit about what I'm doing and encourage you to pack one, too!

Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan's Purse. Their mission is: To demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. My family and I have packed many boxes over the last few years. One time, we even got a letter back from a family member of a child that had received one of our boxes. We always include our address- the box actually went all the way to Lebanon! You can go online here to find out the nitty-gritty details, so I'm just going to share the big picture of how to do it and what I put in mine.

1. Get a shoebox. Or a small rectangular plastic container (which can be reused by the child to carry things in, such as water!). Samaritan's Purse prefers that you use standard sized boxes and not the super-jumbo sized ones. It makes it a little more "even and fair" in the grand scheme of things. I mean, you wouldn't want one child to get a super-jumbo and another to get a teeny-tiny. Stick with the standard.

2. Decide whether you're going to make a box for a boy child or a girl child. Then decide the age of the child. There are three age ranges to choose from: 2-4, 5-9, and 10-14. Print the labels from the website and mark the information. Go ahead and tape it on the box so that you don't forget (unless you're going to wrap it. Wait until number 4 in that case).

3. Gather the gifts for the box. There are a list of items on the website that you are NOT allowed to include. It includes things like toy guns and things that would melt or break. Some things that you may want to include are small toys, school supplies, personal hygiene items, candy, etc. Make sure that you include things like a card/note, picture of you/your family, and name and address if you want your child to write you back. This obviously isn't a guarantee that you will get a response, but it's a fun thing to do. And- I've never had any foreign people try and stalk me from it. It's safe, I promise (Not that I really know...but it sounds reassuring). If you include bar soap, wrap it in aluminum foil and put it in a plastic bag. If you include candy, they ask that you double bag it so that the soap smell doesn't seep into the candy. That would be gross. :)

4. If you want to wrap the box (totally up to you, I don't usually do it since I use a plastic container) now would be the time to do that. Make sure you wrap the lid separate from the bottom since Samaritan's Purse has volunteers go through every box to check for items that are not allowed. Then, tape the label on the top of the box if you haven't done so already.

5. Include your donation to help ship the boxes overseas. They ask that you send in $7 or more to cover the costs associated with the shipping. You can give online before you turn your box in (and track your box to the country) or you can include a check. Check the website for more info on this one.

6. Drop it off! Place a rubber band around your box and you are ready to go. Many churches collect them, but Samaritan's Purse has a list of the official drop off centers if your church doesn't collect them. Collection week is November 15-22, so many churches have a deadline of this Sunday so that they can bring them in to the official drop off centers. They also have an address listed on the website if all else fails.

I thought I would end with a list of the things I put in my shoebox.

• Monkey hand puppet from Dollar Tree
• Dora hairbrush (also from the DT)
• Magic towel (they take up less space!)
• Bar Soap
• Puffs to Go (Tissues)
• 24 count Crayons
• Toothbrush and Toothpaste (Check the travel size isle at CVS, they have 99 cent Colgate full-sized toothbrushes!)
• Raid from the Target Dollar Aisle/Bins: Notebook, Coloring book, Stickers, Socks, Chapstick, and Bracelet (All Disney Princess and really cute). Also got a cute pink and purple hat from the dollar bins.
• Hair clips and ponytail holders. I got a pack from CVS that was Conair brand and also had some headbands (that didn't fit into the box) that was a $20 value for $2.99! I think it probably had enough for 2 boxes for little girls, but I just stuffed a bunch in. You should definitely go see if your CVS has any. Worth it. 

Have any of you done Operation Christmas Child boxes before or are you doing one (or two or three!) this year? What kind of things to you put in YOUR box?

christmas cards.

Shutterfly has an amazing promotion for bloggers this holiday (well, Christmas!) season. In exchange for a review blog, they are offering 50 free Chrismas cards. I think that is totally a good deal and it sounded like a great idea for my family. I love Christmas cards (sending and receiving), but Mom doesn't like the cost (I mean, starving kids in Africa!). So, I thought I'd share some of the Christmas Cards I would pick. We're planning to take pictures later this week, so my pictures aren't in the ones pictured below (um, duh), but I'll be posting the pictures and all later.

I love this "Top 10 Moments" card.

And this photo card.

They also have a great selection of religious photo cards that are actually cute. That's not something I can find very often! :)

So, I would encourage everyone to go over to Shutterfly and check out their selection of Christmas cards (and regular cards and invitations and such) because they're really cute. I've never gotten the cards from Shutterfly before, but I have made scrapbooks through them before and they were very high quality. Bloggers can get free cards by going here for more information.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 30

I can't believe it's over.
And I can't believe I (well, WE) really did it (aside from the one day I skipped and didn't make up).
I have made so many new blogging friends this past month and added so many more to my Google Reader.
Yay. Yay. Yay.

Day 30: A Picture

I decided to do another "Blast from the Past" post. Since I really like old pictures and how adorable cute I was as a small child. Oh- and the memories, too. Since I do use my blog as a journal-ish thing (as in I have a journal, but I write more frequently on my blog...) I decided it would be good to post some old pictures and memories and such. I mean, it's kind of like a scrapbook. And Pandora + blogging puts me into memory maker mode!

It all started when I was little. They always knew I was going to be one of those "crazy scrapbookers that carry their cameras everywhere." That was in the pre-blog era.

And those headbands. A girl's gotta love a big pink bow! (And purple WAS my favorite color).

I guess I'll stop there. I had a few more pictures, but Blogger wouldn't let me upload them. Stupid computer! Anyways, I guess it limits me because otherwise I could go on for awhile! 

30 Day Blog Challenge: Days 28 & 29

I have fallen behind. Something about this cold weather makes me want to just curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and my quilt and a nice movie and be unproductive. But, I figured that I should probably play catch up on these last few days of the 30 Day Blog Challenge. I do have plans to actually sit down and blog sometime (I have a scheduled post almost done, am planning on blogging on Secret Church, and maybe a giveaway in the next week or so if I can figure all that out).

Day 28: Something that Stresses You Out

Um, everything. 

Life

Figuring out school plans for next Spring

Not knowing what I really want to be when I grow up

Blogging and the whole wanting to preserve memories but not wanting to put forth the effort I feel I should

How uneven the edges are on my quilt squares

And the fact only 6 of 20 are done and I want to finish it by the start of Spring Term

Making a list of all the things I need to do

The messiness of my room

Making a list of the things that stress me out....

I think it's time to stop.

Day 29: Three Wishes

If I had three wishes (like from  genie, of course), I would wish for...

1. Hannah Montana to come back. The last episode EVER was last night and I was very sad. I mean, I know I'm twenty and all, and I really don't like Miley, but there's something I liked about Hannah. And the flashbacks of her early days as Hannah? Almost made me as sad as the last show of Jon and Kate (I really cried then. For real, my dreams were crushed).

2. To get married to Prince Charming and have beautiful children and live in a castle and live happily ever after. (That's all one wish. I said it in the same breath, so it counts as one, right?)

3. I feel like I'm kind of obligated to wish for world peace. I mean, it just sounds like something you're supposed to do. (Like if you're on a stranded deserted island and you only have three wishes, you should wish for a boat to get home, a diet coke, and world peace. Right?)

Tomorrow's the last day of this blog challenge. I don't know what I'm going to blog about when it's all said and done...but I feel like I've made some new blog friends and so that's fun! Yay! :)

Remember to go over to Katie's Journey and check up on everyone else's blogs that are participating! 

All I do is READ.

Cutest. Thing. Ever.

If you can't watch it all, skip to the 2:25 mark.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 27

Day 27: Pets

There is a fat cat that lives at my house.

His name is Stripey.

Max (the older of the younger brothers) got Stripey when he was two-ish (I say that because I can't really remember when Stripey joined our family, just the fact that it was a long time ago). I guess the silly name makes sense when you hear that it was thought up by a toddler! :)

We've also had three other cats. My first kitty's name was Kittybaby. That was when I was five.

Then, he ran away and we got Tiger and Cottonball. And then they died/ran away....and so now we just have Stripey. Sadly, this all occurred in the pre-digital camera era that I don't have scanned into my computer! 

Secret Church last night with Dad was really amazing. I'm planning on posting on it at a later date after I have time to:

A. Process everything.

B. Get some sleep (We got home at 3 am).

C. See if the stuff is posted online!

So, definitely look for that in the coming week or so. In other news, Desi's football team won their game today and move on the the Cricket Championship Game. It's very exciting! They went undefeated this past season and did very good. Now that the weather is cold, there are more fumbles and such, and we were scared at the end (We won 18-14...and they had the ball), but overall it was a good game (even with the lack of sleep on my part). 

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 26

Day 26: A Picture of Your Family

This is my family.

and we don't always take the best pictures in the sunshine

and sometimes we're a little crazy

But this is my family and I'm glad God gave them to me!

I'm very excited today. Because today is November 5th, so Daddy and I are going up to Birmingham to go to Secret Church! I'm very excited about hearing David Platt. Radical is kind of one of my favorite books, so I am very excited. Tonight he is teaching on the Body of Christ. :)

In other news, I am very upset about this whole Cam Newton thing. I think the news sources are way overdoing it. I mean, the investigation started in like July or something. Why is it just coming out? I think that people should treat him as innocent until he is proven guilty. If Chizik and the rest of the Auburn staff support him- I'm going to do that as well. I'm going to go with this article and support my team! War Eagle!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 25

Day 25: Ipod Shuffle

I've been looking forward to this day since I saw it on the list! While I'm a huge Pandora fan and actually probably listen to that more than my Ipod, I think this is so much fun. Like, you know those cool surveys that people used to do on Facebook/Myspace where the answer to the question was the song that came up on shuffle? Yeah. I like that kind of stuff. For real. And, I know that I really need to update my Ipod (hello- Taylor Swift's Speak Now isn't uploaded yet and it's my new fave!) and I have a really um...diverse set of music on there...but I like it like that. And it's my Ipod, so you know. I get what I want. :)

1. Church Music (Dance)- David Crowder Band

2. First Time For Everything- 5 Times August

3. MMMBop- Hanson

4. You Alone Can Rescue- Matt Redman

5. Our God is Love- Hillsong

6. Don't Walk Away- Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana)

7. I'll Make a Man Out of You- Mulan

8. Forever and Always- Taylor Swift

9. Take A Bow- Glee Version

10. From the Inside Out- Todd Fields

In other news, I have officially begun my Christmas List! I know, it's only the first week in November. But, WalMart has their Christmas stuff out now, so I believe it is time to begin. I'll try and wait a few weeks before putting up the tree. :)

Here's a few of the thing's that are on my list (Um, Mom. This is for you. Since you always ask and claim you never know what to get me.)

Firstly, I'm really liking Vera Bradley's headbands that just came out. They're called the "Knotty and Nice Headband".

I also like the regular pleated ones they've had for-ev-er. I have one in Java Blue that I got last Christmas and I love it. I wear it all the time, even when it doesn't really match. It's one of the few headbands I can wear all day and not get a headache.

For my BIG Christmas present this year, I'm really wanting a Kindle. I mean, I love to read and they would be so much easier to carry around than a big stack of books (I mean, it holds 3500 books. That should last me awhile). And Amazon has a lot of free books (mostly Classics), so I would have a great excuse to read those. 

And...that's all for now. I'm sure I'll find some more things to add to the list at a later point (I mean, hello- ETSY!), but it has to start somewhere. Now, I think it's time to log off the computer and get working on my quilt a little more. We're on Square Number Four. This could take awhile....

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 24

Day 24: Something You've Learned

1. Worrying doesn't make anything better.
2. My life isn't defined by my success- rather it IS defined by my relationship with God. 
3. Every 60 seconds you spend upset about something is a minute in your life you can't take back.
4. Even when everything else falls apart, my family is always there for me. :)
5. Making a "B" isn't as bad as I made it out to be in high school. Hey- it's better than a "C"!
6. I really didn't know where I was going to end up and what my major was going to be my Senior Year of high school even though I thought I had it figured out. And honestly, I'm not sure I have all the answers yet.
7. God has a plan for my life and it will all work out, even if it's slightly different than I had planned.
8. I can be independent. And someday- I will move out of my parent's house! (Though my brother's shouldn't lay claim and fight over my bedroom just yet.)
9. College football is really amazing. I can't imagine Saturdays in the Fall without it and I don't know how I ever did it!
10. It's not about how fast we get there. It's all about the climb. (Um, thank you Miley.)

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 23

Day 23: Favorite Vacation

I really feel like I've already done this one. Between "A Place You've Traveled To" and "Favorite City" and the fact I really don't like taking vacations because they get me all off schedule and such, I'm just going to check this one off as done.

Although our family trip to ATL this past Easter weekend was pretty fun and exciting. We went to the Passion Good Friday Service (put on by PCC) on Friday night, then we got up Saturday morning and did some easter dress shopping and ate some cupcakes. Oh- and I got to go to the American Girl Store for the very first time. It was super cool. Trust. Me. Read more about that trip here. 

In other news...TODAY IS ELECTION DAY! If you haven't voted yet, you better hurry up. I mean, the polls close soon. And really- how hard is it to draw a line across the arrow and put that paper through the scanner box? We are so privileged to be Americans that have this freedom and soldiers are dying/ have died for this right. Don't waste it. Even one little teeny tiny vote counts. I know that we may all differ politically, so I won't argue about the who's and the what's. I just think it's an important practice to get into.Yay Election Day! :)

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 22

Day 22: Favorite City

This one is hard. I haven't really traveled much, and the places I've traveled to really weren't that exciting! :)

We did take a trip to Washington D.C. in 2003 as a family. Actually, we only spent a few hours in the city (we went up there because Dad had a business trip to a nearby city), but that's kind of beside the point. I've always kind of liked that city and one of my many dreams would be to practice law up there. The big city thing is pretty neat and the history and government and culture and all are pretty cool, too. 

Smithsonian.

Capitol building.

The closest we could get to the White House.

I do have a list of my favorite cities that I haven't visited (but want to at some point).

• New York City
• Paris
• London
• Williamsburg, VA
• Anaheim, CA (Disneyland. Duh)

Short. And sweet. And possibly attainable. :)