A quarter of a century...

I can't believe I'm 25 years old -- and 25 FEELS old. I'm officially in my mid-twenties and can longer associate myself with the "check here if you are 18-24" box. But I can look forward to cheaper car insurance and no longer having to pay extra fees when I rent a vehicle. Yes, it's that exciting to be a quarter of a century old.

I used to have benchmarks of where I thought I'd be at 25. Surely, I thought I'd be married by now. And goodness knows I NEVER envisioned that I'd be less than a year away from a Harvard MBA. It just goes to show you how life continues to throw hurdles at you, and sometimes it's useless to plan.

In happier news, I did have a very fun birthday weekend filled with friends, food, and lots of siteseeing. My friend Melissa, a sorority sister from UF, came into town and together we conquered the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, Georgetown for dinner and a movie, Ford's Theatre and the Peterson House, and finally Lincoln's Cottage at The Soldier's Home. Of all the things we saw, the Lincoln Memorial probably takes the cake for the weekend. The views, both as you approach the memorial, and as you look back at the Washington Monument through it's majestic columns, are truly breathtaking. It makes me wish I had been here on July 4th to sit on the memorial's steps and watch the fireworks going off behind the monument (although I wouldn't have missed Lauren's wedding for the world, of course!).

And then, thrown in there of course, was my birthday dinner. I have to say I was a little disappointed to see the guest list collapse in half, with almost everyone canceling at the last minute (a pet peeve, but you can't change the world just because something annoys you!), but the people I most wanted to be there showed up, so it turned out to be great nonetheless. The table shared a bottle of the most delicious Riesling and we prompted devoured it along with two delicious desserts (a white chocolate mousse cake with raspberry syrup and a banana split creme brulee with caramel sauce and fresh fruit). The restaurant itself, Sequoia, turned out to be a beautiful pick (I sort of chose it randomly based on the menu having never been there myself). The restaurant sits on the Potomac and is decorated in glistening hanging crystals and tiny lights. And once it's dark, the lights both inside, and outside covering all of the trees, turn on to give it a sort of winter wonderland whimsical feel. If I have the time, I'd love to go back at least once more before I depart from DC.

Speaking of departing, I have only 18 days left before I head out to Florida. This summer has gone so quickly and I've enjoyed my time here very much. I will definitely have to make a repeat trip back at some point, as there is so much that I have yet to see. I've got one more guest on the docket, too -- Tausha comes into town Thursday night and departs on Sunday. We're going to hit up The Source restaurant (a fancy Wolfgang Puck joint at The Newseum), the National Symphony Orchestra, The Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art, and a French-inspired Georgetown brunch. I love playing hostess, so I can't wait until she gets here! That's all for now, see you again in a week or so!