Ornament Swap

There are a lot of themed parties this time of year that involve gift giving and merriment. Activities like Secret Santa, white elephant and scarf exchanges all bring friends together to celebrate the holidays. My friends and I did an ornament exchange on Tuesday for the first time. The reason it was the first time is because it's the first time we've all lived in the same town since freshman year of high school. I hosted lunch on Tuesday, and to make it easy, everyone brought their own food. Though I didn't cook, I did buy some christmas cookies from United (my favorite) and made our dining room table table as fun and festive as I could in about 10 minutes.

Since two of us had to go back to work, we began the ornament exchange pretty quickly after eating. My friend Katie had done this before, so she was the one who drew names for everyone a few weeks ago. It was actually perfect. Everyone's gifts were so personalized, and we all had incredible luck finding unique ornaments that fit the personalities of our respective person. Mine is so wonderful and cute and I wish I had a tree this year to hang it on. After we all opened our presents, we spent a few more minutes chatting about Christmas plans and when we were going to get together after the holidays. In a very "life comes full circle" sort of way, it's weird to think that the four of us have been friends since elementary school. And here we are, almost two decades later, living in Abilene and exchanging ornaments as good friends. I'm so grateful to have them here, and for the Christmas season that seems to bring out the magic in every little thing.

Am I right? So cute!

A Weekend in Washington

Still pretty, even with all his scaffolding. My photog skills though...

I got off the plane feeling like I was coming home. It's not a usual feeling in a place you haven't lived in over two years, but DC is like that for me. I did a lot of growing up there. It's where I met lifelong friends, had my first fight with a coworker, learned when to keep my mouth shut (something my brother has been trying to teach me for years...), and also when to speak up. 

This weekend was the baby shower for my friend Emily, who is graceful and lovely at all times, and is so even at 7 months pregnant. The baby shower was on Sunday afternoon, and as "Junior Hostess," I got to show up early, help set up, and drink mimosas before anyone else got there. It's pretty awesome. We spent the afternoon in complete love for new baby D, and I can't wait to meet her in the spring!

But before Sunday, I visited all my favorite restaurants and shops, including Capitol Hill Books, which is kind of, like, the best place in DC. Books are ripping the seems off the place, shoved into crevices that may only be there by accident. It's like a disorganized version of Shakespeare & Co. in Paris, and I love every inch of it.

I also had my first mussels experience on Friday night at Granville Moore's, and they were delicious. The sandwich at Mr. Henry's was as satisfying as I remember, and Cap Lounge is...the same, and amazing.

The best part, though, was seeing everyone. It feels good to walk over to H Street in a pack of four again, chatting about the day or work or family, or drive down Penn and see the places I once saw every day. A friend once described DC to me as an Island of Misfit Toys, a compilation of people from all over the country who somehow band together as lifelong friends, coworkers and companions. I don't think she's wrong. Every time I go back, I'm reminded how much I'll always love my Island, and the Toys that live there.

Shower!

Hostesses (and jr. hostess in the middle)

It was quite a spread.

Good friends.

PS. Thanks, Olivia, for the pics!

Moral of the Story: What I learned from Medical Dramas

I can't watch Grey's Anatomy or House with my dad anymore. I love him, but he insists on pointing out everything wrong with what's going on in the show. "No hospital is filled with doctors that good-looking." "He's holding that X-ray upside down." "The problem is with the patient's heart" (that one is usually about 10-minutes into an episode of House, where it takes House and his team 42 minutes to figure it out). Dangit, dad, it's television and I don't care.

Well, only part of me cares that it's not completely accurate, because the rest of me is busy being entertained and pulled into the drama. Not only do I love the medical parts, but let's be real, Meredith and Derek, Dr. House and Cuddy, no more drama has ever been seen in a hospital probably.  If you don't watch either of these....eh, it's probably too late now to catch up, but you can catch House reruns on Tuesday nights, so that's something. Here are five things I've learned in my almost-decade of watching Grey's Anatomy and House. Also, has it really been that long??

1. Friends are the actual best -- especially having that one "person."

Wilson is the rock in this relationship, but House wears the pants.

Eh, Meredith and Cristina are both kinda screwed up, but it works.

2. Office romances are awful until they're great until they're awful again. -- There are a lot of ups and downs in office/hospital relationships, like most regular relationships. But if you date someone that you work with, there are 1,000 more opportunities for awkward encounters, emotion-laden glances from a distance, and opportunities to make a statement and then walk away without waiting for a response.

Sure, everyone looks happy now, but just wait an episode or two... 

3. A group of coworkers needs a place to hang out and discuss the day's events/current dramas -- For Meredith and the gang, it's Joe's, for House's team, it's their locker room. Everyone needs a place to be able to talk about what's going on for their benefit and ours. Also, who doesn't want to go to a place like Joe's every Friday night?

4. A white board is the best way to DDX a problem (I also learned that DDX means "diagnose") -- House uses one, and he's a genius. He also uses his team as human white boards, so generally having something or someone to bounce ideas off of will help with many problems.

5. Take time to celebrate victories with a 30-second Dance Party.

Though House is over, Grey's is still going strong and starts back in a few weeks. It'll be interesting to see where this season goes, and what I'll learn from my favorite fake doctors.

Do/did you watch Grey's or House? Do you love them as much as I do? 

A San Antonio Wedding and a Visit to the Country

The bride walked down the aisle with her father, and I had forgotten a kleenex. Weddings are always emotional for me and, well, for a lot of people. Something bubbles up when I am surrounded by love and the promise of commitment, and the emotion escapes through my eyes. I felt better when I realized I wasn't the only person in my row with tears in my eyes.

I drove to San Antonio Thursday to attend the wedding of a good friend from DC. I hadn't been to SA in at least five years, and even longer than that since I'd been to the River Walk, which is where most of the weekend's festivities took place. What a lovely area of town! Despite temps in the 90s, it was nice to lounge by the pool at the Omni La Masion, meander down the river, and enjoy time with good friends.

Beth and me at the Bridal Luncheon. Trying to beat the heat with our fans!

The bride was sweet to let me get ready with them on Saturday even though I wasn't a bridesmaid, and I loved having some extra special time with my DC ladies, whom I see so rarely these days. *sad face*

The wedding was at the San Fernando Cathedral. It was a beautiful, well-lit church near the river and provided the perfect backdrop for Olivia and Josh to say their vows. Between the ceremony and the reception (a time referred to as the Catholic Gap since Catholic weddings are usually so early in the day), we guests took a bus tour of downtown San Antonio. The bride and groom graciously provided the buses with beer while we toured. So we sipped the cold beverages and I gave a debatably-terrible recreation of the Battle of the Alamo to two non-Texan friends.

I can create the story for you, for a small fee.

Eventually we arrived at the McNay Museum for the reception. Y'all, this reception was amazing. The food was incredible, the toasts were sweet and thoughtful, and the band was spot-on. Olivia has been talking about their wedding band, Blind Date, for months, so my expectations were pretty high. This Austin-based band exceeded them all, and I danced the night away to incredible music in the air.

Awesome couple!

Miss these ladies! 

And my former roomie!!

Mmmmmm.

The next day, I got up and made a necessary run to Whataburger with my buddy Beth. Because #texas.












I decided to spend Sunday night a few miles outside Bandera, TX at my Aunt Jenn's house. I hadn't been to their house in forever, so I took advantage of being so close to spend time with her, my uncle, and their three great kids. We went to dinner at a Bandera staple, the OST Restaurant, and then Jenn and I chatted underneath the stars for hours until bedtime. The next morning, in true country-living fashion, we baked buttermilk pies.

They have roughly 30 chickens and get at least 10 eggs a day! 

Beautiful morning in the Hill Country.

Dogs on the porch.

Homemade crust is the way to go!

Beautiful...and delicious

I drove the few hours back to Abilene yesterday afternoon listening to an audio tape I bought on the way down. Spending time with friends and family is about all I could ask for out of a weekend, and this one ranks pretty high on my list of favorites. Driving north on Highway 83, I watched a Texas sunset alter the landscape to my left and change the sky from bright blue to pink and orange. I'm pretty sure I smiled the whole way home.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

No Country(side) for Old Men

After three weeks in Paris, a couple friends and I were ready for some fresh air. A few days in the French countryside was exactly what we needed. We spent the weekend in Beaugency, a small town southwest of Orleans in the Loire Valley. It is an adorable little town, quaint and quiet, but with plenty of bustle in weekend morning markets and boulangeries.

View from our b&b

We arrived Friday night, after the sweatiest and stickiest train ride of my life, and checked in to our B&B. Our hosts were a family of three, and thank goodness Janelle speaks pretty great French, because they hardly spoke English. I tried, but my responses were mostly blank stares, and then glances toward Janelle to translate. They were sweet and so accommodating. The daughter walked us to the only restaurant that was open that late (9:30pm), and we closed the place down talking about families, writing and hometowns.

Sante!

Tricia and Janelle at breakfast the next morning. Check out that spread! And the french press. Mmmmmm.

Our plan was to ride bikes the next day to visit some chateaus that are in that area, and our final destination was Chambord, an enormous chateau and estate a little south of the Loire River. Our hosts said that a bike ride to Chambord would be too far in one day, but I guess they had never met American tourists. When we set our minds on something, we go for it baby.

Let me back up for a second. I haven't ridden a bike in more than two years that wasn't stationary and in a room with lights and an instructor. I learned late how to ride a bike, and they've never been my favorite things. So the idea of riding one 15 miles one way in unfamiliar territory gave me cause for concern. However, I decided this was a good weekend to conquer my fear/dislike of the things. The first few minutes I was wobbly, trying to navigate the narrow cobblestone streets of Beaugency and the cars that passed us. 

Still feeling unsure...

Then we got out of town, and it was more of a breeze. There are amazing bike paths that run up and down the Loire River, and they were not crowded at all. We passed a few families of bikers and a few runners, but that was about it. The river was to our left for most of the trip, and we ventured through a few towns, got lost a couple times, and finally made it to Chambord around 12:45, two hours after leaving Beaugency.

I mean, come on.

Paddle boatin. Go Tricia go!

We had lunch near the castle, then toured the incredible inside. It was beautiful, and we loved thinking and talking about what it would be like to live there. After a tumultuous paddle boat ride, we got some gelato and decided it was time to head back. A few hours later, we rode into Beaugency feeling exhausted, but proud of our sojourn.

We had dinner at the same place as the night before; it was too good not to go back! During an after dinner walk, we heard music coming from the direction of the river, and found a concert going on right on the banks of the Loire. The musician, Natalia Doco, was great, and just what we needed at the end of the day. A rainbow appeared in the sky, and I sipped my rose and felt tired and perfectly content.

Looking out at the Loire River before we headed back Sunday.

It was a wonderful weekend, and I am looking at Paris this week with a new set of eyes. It's amazing what fresh air can do for you.

The Go Gene

Yesterday morning, while attempting, yet again, to curl my hair with my straightener and almost burning my fingerprints off in the process, my phone dinged from my bedroom. I finished a strand and went to check it. A text, "I am at your house. No worries if you aren't ready, I'm early," shone up at me. It was my mother, and we were driving to Fort Worth for the day to do some shopping and have lunch with a friend. She was early, but I didn't mind. I was up and at 'em, excited to start the day, and excited to get out of town for a few hours.

I have the "go" gene, as my mom calls it. It's a gene that runs rampant on both sides of my family. I get restless and impatient, sometimes even irritable if I'm in one place too long. It scares me a little bit, because it was this trait that ultimately made my grandmother so sad before she died, not being able to travel anymore. That being said, however, I don't worry about it and try to travel as much as I can, clearly.

Although yesterday's adventure was just a little trip to Fort Worth, it did wonders for my soul. I watched the early morning Texas landscape change from flat, brown and thirsty to green and undulating, downtown Fort Worth rising into the sky as we got closer to the metroplex. Leaving home always makes me remember how blessed I am: how small I am in this world, yet how much I am loved. Driving a couple hours to another town makes me see things in my life from a distance, and I'm grateful for it.

After exiting on University, making a right, and then another right, all my favorite shops gather in one place. We shopped for a while then met a friend for lunch at Blue Mesa. Between sentences about life and business, I devoured chicken and beef fajitas, homemade guacamole, and jalapeno relish. Thirty minutes later back on the road heading west, deciding whether to stop at Sonic or Starbucks. We decided to stop at both, because this is America.

The drive back felt short, as short as the trip itself, but I loved getting to spend a few hours with the madre before my parents' big trip across the pond.

I know I'm making a lot out of a little trip to Fort Worth, but it was a good warm up for Padre next weekend and Paris in July. If anything, I got a new bag and some notebooks out of it. Not to mention the great company, and a delicious side of chips and guac.

Check out this man after my own heart. 

A Relatively Short Guide to Maple Fest

Every year you are excited, and every year it doesn't disappoint. You fly up on Friday, trying to relax on the three-hour plane ride to your favorite city in America. It isn't easy to relax, however, because you can hardly contain yourself.

You take a cab to an English basement on Capitol Hill. It belongs to the hostess with the mostess, the reason you started going to Maple Fest in the first place. You hug all ten friends that you haven't seen in a year, and try to catch up a little bit before the first meeting of the weekend, or Maple Summit, as it were. This meeting is usually to decide whether you want to stop at Cracker Barrel on the way to Southwest Virginia, or at Sweetgreen before you leave DC. You decide on a Sweetgreen salad because it's the last healthy thing you'll be eating all weekend.

You stuff your bags into one of three cars and climb in, wondering who will be DJing for the three-hour drive to Southwest Va. You talk with your car-mates, listen to Taylor Swift, and most likely stop in Harrisonburg to get snacks (that salad certainly wasn't enough...). You are starting to feel like the old you, the real you that only surfaces in a few places. You know it's going to be a good weekend.

Finally you arrive to your destination, and it's early to bed, early to rise. You have to get to the all-you-can-eat-pancake breakfast as early as possible to avoid the line. Before you leave, you pack a snack pack, graciously provided by your hostess' mother, of baked goods, crackers, and candy. Armed with a camera and a cup of coffee, you leave the house around 7:30am. You drive through the mountains to Highland County. You watch the trees fly by from your seat in the back, their branches bare from the lingering winter. You arrive at the breakfast, and see with disappointment that there is already a line. A long line. But you will wait, of course you will. It's tradition. An hour later you can finally smell the pancakes cooking, the griddle hissing with grease, and the low hum of folks enjoying themselves. Finally, you're in! You get your food and devour, making sure to smother the sausage gravy on both patties of sausage, and soaking each pancake with more maple syrup than you've had in the last five years combined. After you're finished, and can no longer eat another bite, you chug your milk and stand, freeing up table space for the hundreds of people still waiting in line.

"You" in pure Maple Bliss.

You then drive to a sugar farm, where they make maple syrup. You tour the sugar barn, and contemplate buying maple candy in the gift shop. You decide against it, since you're pretty sure your veins are already full of sugar. You buy a maple BBQ sandwich (you've digested those pancakes enough by now), and a Diet Coke, and chow down on the farm's delicious take on a bbq sammy. By now everyone is high on sugar, and you wonder briefly why everything is so damn funny.

Your maple bbq sandwich.

Your beer flight.

You are finished eating for the afternoon, and shortly after find yourself in downtown Staunton (that's pronounced "Stan-ton"), where you visit a wine tasting room, a brewery, a little bookstore, and another wine bar. You see someone you met your first Maple Fest and it is kind of awkward, but the wine is making you happy and you get through the embarrassment.

You go to one more bar before you realize you've had just about enough, and it's time to go back to your home for the weekend. Your friends decide to order pizza, and you eat (seriously, how are you ingesting so much?) while playing Cards Against Humanity. You don't want the day to end. But eventually you give in to your sugar and alcohol fatigue, knowing full well a hangover will hit shortly after 6am.

A little Staunton street art, explaining your feelings exactly. 

You wake up to the smell of bacon and coffee, and come downstairs to find that your hostess' sweet parents have cooked you an enormous breakfast, as they have done every year. You are grateful and very touched by their generosity and hospitality. After breakfast, you pack, walk around the grounds of the house, and chat with these friends who surround you, whom you never get to see, who are your best friends. 

The drive back to Washington is quiet, as you nap or think about the week ahead. The group makes one last stop at a winery to do a final wine tasting and to savor the sweetness of the weekend. You arrive back in DC shortly after and stay with a friend/former roommate before leaving the next day. You are exhausted, but your heart is full. You cherish your weekend with your buddies and count yourself one lucky gal to have such amazing friends. You and your friend stay up late catching up and reliving old times. You anticipate your trip home tomorrow and the perpetual search for your next career path. But for now you push those thoughts back, and say yes to one more glass of wine.

Your BFFs (although a few weren't in this picture.)

Resolute.

I'll never forget 2013. One year ago, I was still working for a Congressman, was significantly less acquainted with Paris and my writing abilities, was without any dreams of Kilimanjaro or Africa, and not very happy about life in general.

It has been quite a ride, but I'm ready to put this year in the books. It's amazing what life throws at you, and I'm ready for whatever ringers I'll be put through in 2014. Here are a few of my (hopefully) attainable resolutions for the new year:

1. Summit Kilimanjaro.

2. Not die on Kilimanjaro (equally as important as number 1).

3. Spend more time journaling and dedicate more time to writing. I've let it fall by the wayside these past few months, and I'm not happy about it. 

4. Keep up the exercise routine I learned while training for Kili. 

5. Figure out what career path I want to take next. Or at least narrow it down to an industry.

6. Appreciate how amazing life is, even though I am perpetually uncertain of what my future will be. 

I still feel like somewhat of a wanderer during this mid-twenties sabbatical. But while I'm unsure of many things, I learned so much about myself this year. I guess you could say I'm continuing to "find myself," but I've never really liked that phrase. It implies that at some point you are finished exploring and growing, and I don't believe we ever are. It's all about the journey, and mine is just beginning.

Have a Happy New Year!!!!