Well good golly, January has come and gone, and here we are now approaching Valentine's Day. But, I quickly sum up that January was rather cold and also super fun.
I celebrated my birthday with a visit to the only east coast branch of
The Bruery, went roller skating, out to
an amazing dinner, received a massage, and for the first time, got over a foot of snow!
Kids have definitely got their fill of snow play. And I finally resigned to buying a snow shovel.
We visited the
College Park Aviation Museum on a particularly dreary Saturday, and had the best time, learning about early flight achievements in the area, as well as dressing up in period wear, and experiencing quite a few hands on activities.
Watching the effects of the shutdown was tough here. We had friends and neighbors impacted, as well as businesses who were suffering from the 35 days of people not having an expendable income. What was so great to see, were those who stood up and shared meals, invited people out to activities, and found creative ways to support neighbors.
During this time, only the independent museums were open since the Smithsonian museums were not funded. It turned out to be a great opportunity to see the
National Museum of Women in the Arts, which blew me away. I saw the first fashion exhibit from California-based designers Rodarte, who created the costumes for Black Swan, and many beautiful gowns and pieces straight from the runway. I also saw works by Frida Kahlo and Amy Sherald, whose most famous may be Michelle Obama's portrait hanging in the National Gallery.
We've spent time with friends and lots of indoor play to combat the cold.
After living in the shadow of the Capitol for nearly 2.5 years, I finally made it inside for a tour, which was really cool. We had a terrific tour guide, who reminded me so much of my sister-in-law, it was hard not to love her humor, stories, and excellent knowledge.
If January came in like a lamb, it went out like a lion with the Polar Vortex descending on us. It wasn't as bad as places in the midwest experienced, but certainly the coldest we've ever experienced. The roads were treacherous, the wind chill frigid--I'm actually surprised school wasn't cancelled. When it warmed up enough to eventually leave the house, it coincided with the government reopening, and it was really energizing to see how many people were excited to be back at their jobs-from the security guards to the docents. Sometimes the east coast gets the best of me with its lack of friendliness and angry drivers, but on that day, everyone was all smiles, and it was really heartwarming to experience.
As I write this, snow is on the horizon for the weekend, but it was a GLORIOUS 70 degrees today-temperatures I don't think we've seen since early October-and we spent much of it outdoors soaking it up.
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