Daily dose of inspiration: Ballerinas

I recently stumbled upon this beautiful and inspirational project called The Ballerina Project. The Ballerina Project is a series of photographs created by photographer: Dane Shitagi that is intended to portray the heart and emotions of ballerinas over some of the world's biggest cities. The great part is the photographer uses traditional photographic film rather than modern digital cameras, giving a very organic feel to each photo. A majority of ballerinas who have posed for the project are professional dancers and the minority are advanced ballet students in renown dance schools. 

Growing up, I always dreamed of becoming a ballerina because always felt drawn to their elegance and grace. By the time I realized this desire, I was a little to old to begin training so pursued Cheerleading instead. There has always been a bit of an aching in my heart due to the fact that I never got to achieve this dream; however, in college I got to try ballet for two semesters and immediately fell in love! 

I love the contrast between the beauty and grace of the ballerina against the the concrete, harsh backgrounds. These photos are available to purchase and I am thinking they will be the perfect addition to my bedroom that currently lacks personality. 

What did you always dream of becoming?

Design: Chic

Below are a few images from one of my favorite restaurants where our bridal party went today after dress fittings. Due to its girly-chic style and warmth, I thought it would be a perfect lunch date for a group of young women. Pizza by Elizabeths is located in Greenville, DE,  and is just minutes away from Longwood Gardens. This restaurant illustrates the glamour of Elizabeth's from the past and present, stemming from vintage, to European nobility to old Hollywood, it showcases bright colors and girly patterns that would charm any hopeless romantic. They mainly serve specialty pizza, but also have a lot of other great options. Today we tried the hummus platter and spinach and artichoke dip...so yummy. I love that their portions are on the smaller more delicate side, because I hate feeling like I overate after going out to eat. 

Say yes to the dress

Today is going to be an action-packed day! This weekend I came back to my small hometown Downingtown, PA. I love coming home every October because our town is full of autumn leaves, farm houses and beautiful winding roads (a perfect combo to jam out to T-Swift songs, which I have done too much since being home). I also love going to our local farm, Highland Orchard, where my family always gets apple cider donuts and fudge apples! 

This afternoon I am going shopping for bridesmaid dresses with my best friend Christie who is getting married June 22, 2013 (so soon cant wait! Her sister and I will be Maid of Honors) Christie has been my very best friend since I met her in 7th grade English class when she fell off her chair and we all had a good laugh...it was then that I knew we would get a long very well! She has always been by my side through breakups, family issues, an eating disorder and many other rough times in my life. Needless to say I cannot wait to stand by her side on the most memorable day of her life! Here's one of my favorite photos of she and I from a few years back when she visited me at UMD!

After spending the afternoon with my best friend, my family and I have dinner reservations to celebrate my parent's wedding anniversary. Don't quote me but I am pretty sure they have been married for 34 years! Here's a picture of Bernie and Cheryl a few years when we celebrated their anniversary at Chart House (one of my favorite seafood restaurants that we go to for nearly every special occasion!) Aren't they the cutest?!

I hope you all have fun weekend plans as well! I am planning that this hurricane holds off until I can make it back to DC!

Want Need Love

Have you heard? There's a new online social store called Wanelo (Wanelo=Want, Need, Love) that is quite possibly the most addicting social platform of its kind. It's like Pinterest but users have the opportunity to buy directly from the site as well as make wish lists...very dangerous. Unfortunately I think I know what I will be doing the next few weeks over my lunch break! You should check it out!

Back to the old stomping grounds

Wow what a weekend! Homecoming was everything I imagined and more this year. I got to see so many old friends and relive some of my greatest college memories. We kicked off homecoming weekend by going out in Arlington and Georgetown with a big group of friends. What better way to relive college memories than by going to college bars?! I must say Georgetown's bars are a lot more swanky than UMD's, although nothing will ever compare to the swampy floors at Bentleys or the big ass drafts on Sunday night's at Cornerstone. 

My beautiful roommates! From left: Me, Kathleen, Allison and Chelsea

I was up bright and early Saturday morning to prepare for the hungry troops. A group of friends came over for bagels and mimosas before heading over to College Park. In attempts to make this weekend as authentic to college as possible we popped bottles of Andre ($6 bottle of champagne..brings back memories of our poor college years) and ate bagels and pumpkin scones made from my best friend Chelsea made. We then took the metro to College Park and stopped by many tailgates! Hope you had a fun weekend as well!

From left: Greg, Amy, Kathleen, Chelsea, me and Marie

Have a wonderful weekend!

What are your plans for this weekend? Today has been dragging me for me because this weekend is University of Maryland homecoming weekend! I can hardly wait to see old friends and relive some of my favorite college memories! 

The University of Maryland campus

Tomorrow I am having friends over for brunch and mimosas before the tailgates start. My best friend Chelsea is bringing pumpkin cream cheese frosted scones which I have been dreaming about for the past 24 hrs. I promise to take many pictures to share! Enjoy your weekends everyone!

Favorite fall things

Fall is by far my favorite time of the year for many reasons: riding boots, pumpkin carving, pumpkin spice lattes, fudge-covered apples, apple cider donuts, big sweaters and much more. 

What is your favorite thing about fall?

Wellness Wednesday: Green tea

Over the past five years I have been clinging to coffee and espresso for my daily caffeine kick. However; recent studies show that in fact green tea is much better for you! After reading this Atlantic article about how green tea can promote weight loss, heart health and improve bone and muscle strength, I have been successful in making the switch from coffee to green tea. Below are a few reasons why you should make the switch as well!

Source: My Tea Break

The Grouper experience

Last week my two roommates and I went on our first Grouper- a a social club that sets up drinks between 2 groups of friends: 3 guys & 3 girls. Leading up to the date we were super nervous, expecting the worst. In fact, we had an escape plan in place in case the date was a total bust! 

Grouper sent our group and the guys to BlackJack, a lounge/bar that felt as if you were in an old-time speakeasy. My fears were eased when we met the guys (who were super cute and witty), as they had similar personalities and hobbies. We spent four hours drinking, socializing and even playing bocche ball! Getting to go on a date with my best friends was such a great experience. It took away the pressure of having to continually start and further the conversation (which I typically have to do on dates). With all participants at ease, I found myself laughing a lot more as well as diving into more personal subjects than your standard first date.  I am sure we will be hanging out with our new Grouper friends soon!

Photo from BlackJack

Big bro comes to DC

This weekend my brother Brian, age 27 (almost 28 yikes!), who is a doctor at Temple Hospital in Philadelphia, PA (thirty minutes outside of our hometown Downingtown, PA) visited Heather and I down in DC. While he was here I made sure to introduce him to my favorite eateries and sites in the city.

Saturday we went to the National Gallery of Art to show off our cultural side. Although I traditionally have not enjoyed art museums in the past (in fact Brian used to call me a cultural vacuum), this time I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Maybe it’s because I am growing up or maybe it’s just because I rarely get quality time with my big brother! My favorite collection was the impressionism art because if the bright colors and feminine images. Pictured below was my favorite piece, by Edgar Degas titled, The Dance Lesson, c. 1879. 

We then headed over to the National Botanical Gardens to enjoy the beautiful fall weather!

On Sunday, Brian and I ate at vinotecha which was a cute restaurant located in the heart of U Street that serves bottomless mimosas and delicious brunch options. Although the atmosphere was a bit loud for he and I inside, (due to all the brunch drinkers) the outside looked quite relaxing. They even had an area for bocce ball!

Photo from vinotecha