We are Red Line Riders

As residents of the D.C. metro area, the Metro holds a special place in our lives. Which is why I'm finally ready to unveil the latest version of the Weaver Home Metro Map!

(Click to expand) As opposed to the Metro map of our first apartment, I decided to do this one all in Photoshop to make it look more legit. My plan is to get it printed and framed for the living room :o)

BONUS: Early in our relationship, Kevin and I inadvertently started a haiku contest when I posted a random haiku while riding the Metro late one night. Here was the result:

• Train out of service/ Don't attempt to board this train/ Train out of service
• The Red Line is bust/ We're sharing a single track/ Wait wait wait wait wait
• Winter Metro rides/ Are sometimes a cold affair/ When the doors don't close
• Ugh, just missed the train/ Aww come on, 18 minutes?/ Sort of have to pee
• There's a greasy mark/ Smudged onto the train window/ Where you fell asleep
• Empty cement bench/ Think I will rest a moment/ I just sat in what?
• Closed eyes a second/ Woke at the end of the line/ Have to call a cab
• Cellphones only work/ In certain Metro stations/ Can you hear me now?
• Whew, red and blue seats/ The Yellow are stained and torn/ And they were once white
• Too many people/ Trying to cram themselves in/ I'm stuck in the door
• Know I shouldn't stare/ Just can't believe what I see/ You think they notice?

Riding the Metro is always an adventure! My 8th grade english teach would be proud :o)

An Earthquake and Some Dots

Today we had an earthquake at work. It was pretty insane when the whole room started shaking and swaying. That wobbliness sort of inspired this dot pattern. I also really wanted to do a dot :o)

I'm pretty much in love with it. Definitely my favorite pattern so far! Here it is in some other fun colors. Still trying to find a better yellow but still cool.

Did you feel the earthquake? Did it make you want to draw teal polka dots? I'm guessing probably not but the earthquake was pretty unbelievable so at this point maybe anything is possible!

A Trip to the Barn Sale

Today we final headed up to Frederick to check out the barn sale at Chartreuse & Co. that we heard about back in February. There was a pretty good mix of re-finished and needing-to-be-refinished furniture. Best of all, most of the prices were pretty reasonable. Only a few pieces were over $500. The old library card catalog to the left may have been one of them. Kevin loved the Scrabble pillow on top.

There were more than a few pieces that we really loved. Sadly, due to our complete and utter lack of space, we just couldn't commit to bringing them home. The whole experience made me desperately wish we had a house but it was really fun just to poke around.

I loved this industrial workshop cart. The color was like a deep teal. The little herb bottles were really fun. We actually brought home this window frame for about $30. I'm trying to decided whether to turn it into frames, a chalk board, a magnet board... so many options. Any ideas?

I really love this desk. The top was so nice. We were both pretty obsessed with this cabinet which was a blue-y gray color (there was definitely a weird "antique blue" theme throughout the sale... as if all re-painted antiques should be blue).

So what do you think? Should we have made room for any of these treasures? Ever been to a barn sale? It's literally in a big barn in the middle-ish of nowhere.

Botanic Garden Inspiration, Minus the Snark

When people talk about inspiration I have to admit I sort of tune it out. I feel like its one of those fake things that people brag about. "I'm sooo inspiiired by traaavel." That being said, I had a moment this weekend though where I was like, "Oh, I get it!"

I've talked in the past about where Snarky Beagle doodles come from (I'll give you a hint, the stork doesn't bring them), so on a trip to the U.S. Botanic Gardens I was a little surprised I found myself snapping tons of photos of different beautiful, natural patterns.

Obviously, no one here is shocked that flowers are an amazing inspiration. My favorite is the top right with the pink stripes.

But I also couldn't believe how amazing some of the succulents they had were. The colors and patterns had me staring at them (that is until I melted in the humid 95 degrees temps). So stay tuned for some Botanic Garden-inspired patterns I'll be working on (as soon as I'm done with two 10-page papers for grad school... much less inspiring).

What's your favorite photo? What do you get inspired by?

The Obvious Weather Report

Hello Newspaper Industry! I am your BFF. I am one of fewer and fewer Gen Y-ers who subscribe to the real, print version of the Washington Post. Yes! I get it delivered to my front door every day. I rejoice over coupons and in-depth features about the community I live in. I revel in big photos and hard-hitting headlines.

But today, on the front of the metro page where the weather report was, where I was expecting to see... something more like SPRING... I saw this: COLD RAIN COLD RAIN COLD RAIN COLD RAIN.

Whatever happened to March coming in like a lion and out like a lamb?!? That's a thing right?!? So I photocopied, expanded, colored, doodled and wrote my obvious weather report. "Citizens of Washington, D.C. I thiiiiiink it's going to rain." Boo.

Week 9: Connecting

This picture is what our apartment would look like if it was a Metro map which has nothing to do with this blog post for class about Facebook.

I remember the first time I ever saw Facebook. Ironically, I was at work, which at that time was an internship in the summer of 2004. My co-intern/office mate said, "are you on Facebook?" and little did I know that I was joining the biggest time sink EVER. There were a whopping five people from my high school that were on Facebook and we immediately friended each other for lack of other options.

Week after week, more friends arrived from high school and college. Whether we were BFFs, frenemies or acquaintances, we became online stalkers together.

Over the years, while others have culled their friends lists, I've just coasted along occasionally deleting that person I met once at a party, or had one class with, or can't even remember where I met. (That is unless I think the contact could come in handy down the road, like this one kid I met at a party who oddly works as an engineer for Facebook now... is that weird?)

But what I find most fascinating is seeing how people have changed. Like watching television, I've seen people get married, have kids, start jobs, quit jobs, move to Europe, South America and Asia, fall apart, pull themselves together... the drama is intoxicating. They are not the 18-years-olds that they were and neither am I. It reminds me how far I've come and keeps me connected and grounded to the journey I've been on.

Part of that journey is sharing with them my thoughts and drawings on this blog. I share almost every post through Facebook and hope that the people who I have lost touch with can still feel connected to me. Even if it's just by looking at a Metro map of my apartment.