I want my paperback, paperback, paperback books!

I love technology...most days. Sometimes I get overloaded with information but then again sometimes I'd love an iPhone to Google every question that comes to mind. Every day I love being able to blog, read blogs and check my email. But recently I've been frustrated with technology because of it's effect on one of my favorite things/places...bookstores. If you watch the news and don't completely live under a rock, you may have heard about Borders filing for bankruptcy and yesterday the Wall Street Journal had an article about Barnes and Noble's profits falling 25%. With the introduction of the Kindle, iPad and, Barnes and Noble's attempt not to completely fail, the NookColor, as well as the ability to purchase books online thanks to Amazon, bookstores are quickly becoming a thing of the past. It's funny to think that about 15 years ago, big box bookstores like Borders and Barnes and Noble were on the rise threatening mom and pop bookshops and now technology is king.

                                                      Reading in the National Garden
I know there are many benefits to being able to carry every single book in one device, bookmarking points and typing notes in the margins. It creates less waste, though I personally have kept every book I've ever purchased and actually purchase books instead of using the library. I, however, love perusing a bookstore, judging books by their covers. I love the smell of books, the feel of turning pages and feeling the end draw near based on transfer of pages from front to back. I don't like to think that someday I may be expected to read all my books online. I would like to think that books will never become completely obsolete, and that maybe I'm just old-fashioned in my young age. Technology, of course, has brought us many great things such as the Internet, news and information at our finger tips and the ability to work from virtually anywhere. But there's something beautiful about books! I've always dreamed of having a room in my future home where all the books I collect over the years line the walls. While in DC, I visited the Library of Congress, which after a fire, was sourced by Thomas Jefferson's personal collection of books. He had thousands of books on virtually every subject and in many languages. After hearing about the failing of current bookstores, there was also a news story yesterday about Thomas Jefferson's books. While there is currently a display of his remaining collection in the Library of Congress, more of his collection was discovered at Washington University in St. Louis. Read about it here!

                                            Books stacked side by side floor to ceiling...beautiful sight!

All in all, technology is great and so is moving forward. I don't want to be a hermit and completely out of touch with the world. However, I hope that it doesn't threaten to change one of my favorite pastimes. I've been reading books, well devouring books, since I was a child and I don't like the fact that the way I will access them is changing. Somehow discovering someone famous' Kindle 200 years from now doesn't quite hold the same charm and mystery that discovering an old book collection does. I'm sure that there will always be bookstores, though not in the beauty and splendor that we have seen in the past few years.  

How do you feel about books? Are you happy reading them on electronic devices or are you like me?

Words of Wisdom: "I cannot live without books" - Thomas Jefferson

"I know every book of mine by its smell, and I have but to put my nose between the pages to be reminded of all sorts of things." -George Robert Gissing

Washington, DC: Food Review, Brunch and then some...

Ahhh Sunday morning. Sundays in DC usually consisted of getting up and going to church and then hitting up somewhere for brunch. Later, as I mentioned previously I would spend the afternoons in Eastern Market and would sometimes grab a delicious pretzel and lemonade for lunch or a snack. One of my favorite brunch places was Montmartre.

Washington DC: Food Review, Bars

So "bars" doesn't really describe a type of food, but they deserve a review too! While I don't think I ever ate anything too terribly delectable or out of the ordinary at any bars, happy hours were frequent occurances. I have to tell you, happy hours ruined me...I've come back to college life and drinking doesn't start until 9:30 or 10, which means I don't get to sleep until 12 or 1 (though really I keep whimping out and either a) not going out or b) being done by 11). With happy hours in the real world, I got to drink at 6 and if I so chose I was in bed by 9:30 or 10. Its a rough adjustment. I'm partially kidding, only because I'm not that ahem...lame.

Without further adieu, DC's notable bars according to Simone.

Washington, DC: Food Review, Pizza, Burgers and Shakes

Pizza, burgers and shakes. Seemingly American staples that are simple but I know a few places in DC that make them oh so delicious and far from simple.

First, pizza. My favorite was the recently famous pizza shoppe that serves up scrumptious pizza by the slice: We, The Pizza, Top Chef Spike Mendelsohn's second restaurant in DC just up Pennsylvania Ave from the House Office Buildings. Just preparing to write about my favorite slice is making my mouth water. Mendelsohn's restaurant serves both by the slice and by the pie pizzas with unique combinations of toppings as well as handmade sodas and gelato. My absolute favorite slice was the white pie with ricotta, fotina, parmesean, mozzerella, garlic, olive oil and salt and parsley. The forest shroomin pie and the BBQ pork pie were close seconds.

Since I'm talking up Chef Spike's pizza, I should definitely mention his burger joint: Good Stuff Eatery. Juicy burgers some with unusual toppings and names. He has both a Michelle and Barack Obama burger. Mendelsohn also has fabulous french fries with sea salt and also french fries with thyme, rosemary and sea salt, those are my fav! While I enjoy a rather crispy french fry, I overlook that for the amazing flavors that these fries have. And the cap on a perfect meal at Good Stuff has to include a handspun milkshake. They are famous for their toasted marshmallow shake but the cookies and cream one is equally delicious and creamy!

And now that I'm on the topic of milkshakes, I will tell you go to Ted's Bulletin. My friend Ketan first introduced me to their milkshakes after a night at Matchbox pizza (I'll get to that soon!). He was in love with their s'mores milkshake (apparently the Brits have never heard of s'mores), which I must admit was a little sweet for my taste, but I soon discovered their peanut butter, chocolate and banana or pbchoconana shake and I was in heaven. Ted's also has adult milkshakes that I enjoyed with a couple of my friends from L-town that came to visit me for fall break. I had the tequila sunrise and the bailey's caramel macchiato which were both fabulous. Ted's is also famous for having breakfast all day including the delicious Walk of Shame Breakfast Burrito...you have to eat this, they also serve homemade poptarts and twinkies and play old movies and cartoons all day. Ted's was one of the places I frequented most because of their unique and yummy treats, fun atmosphere and super nice servers.

My friends A and C outside of Ted's after our adult milkshakes!

My friend Ketan also introduced me to Ray's Hell Burger in Rosslyn (don't ya just love the name?). While it's kind of out of the way, especially if you're relying strictly on the Metro system, it's delicious! You get to choose from a list of a million ingredients including sooooo many different types of cheese. This was one of the first places I went so I don't really remember what I ordered but it was yummy! Do make sure you have cash here because they do not take cards!

Rounding out my pizza, burger, shake review is going to be Matchbox. Matchbox is a snooty pizza place with a couple different locations in DC proper. They are similar to We, The Pizza with their unique pizza topping combinations, but you have to buy a whole pizza so I wouldn't recommend it if you're going solo, unless you like leftovers (I'm picky and like to eat something different everyday). I ordered the proscuitto white pizza with kalamata olives, prosciutto, ricotta, mozzerela, garlic and olive oil. It was scrumptious, just a little much for one! Clearly I like pizzas with cheese and garlic. =) I do think that my opinion of Matchbox was clouded by the company I was with that evening so perhaps I can't give the atmosphere a proper rating. The food was perfecto though a bit pricey! They do have items other than pizzas, so it might be a nice date place. If you do go, check back here and let me know what you think of the atmosphere.

I am now sooooo hungry...I could seriously go for a slice of white pie and a Ted's twinkie. Or if there weren't a blizzard happenin' here, I would drive to the store and grab all ingredients to make my own pizza. Anyone in DC want to mail me some?

Washington, DC: Food Review, Spanish and Italian

"Dad, I ate lunch with K at a tapas bar! It was great!"

"You ate at a topless bar?!"

Yes, it happened. My middle of America father misunderstood tapas for topless, which is an easy mistake to make when you're unfamiliar with different cuisines. I'd heard of tapas in my many years of Spanish language education but never had the opportunity to eat them until I was in DC. The day of the Restoring Honor rally with Glenn Beck was warm and long. My roomie KM and I were famished after standing for 3 hours or so in the warm sun, so we walked off the mall into downtown DC/Penn Quarter area. We stated we would eat at the first restaurant we found that wasn't too busy. We stumbled upon Jaleo...the tapas bar owned by chef Jose Andres. They/It was delicious! I ordered three things that were absolutely amazing! I had canteloupe wrapped in serrano ham, spicy chorizo wrapped in fried potatoes, and dates wrapped in bacon and fried. The dates were so incredibly delicious I couldn't stop eating them and was terribly disappointed when they were gone. It was the perfect treat, sweet and salty....yum! I did take a picture of the chorizo because they stacked it so nicely! See...I love how presentation is just as important as the food itself.

I returned to Jaleo a few weeks before I left with my roomie J. We hit up the lunch special with a sandwich and salad. While my sandwich was not quite what I imagined, my salad was phenomenal. It was green apples, fennel, manchego cheese, walnuts and an olive oil/sherry dressing! All of those flavors together were so amazing! I would recommend Jaleo to anyone going to DC. It's a nice place to go alone or with someone else and then you can eat way more by sharing items ordered!

Italian is my absolute favorite food! I traveled to Italy a year ago and ate some of the most memorable meals there. In DC, due to the amount of Thai food I was consuming, I surprisingly ate very few Italian dinners. But those that I did eat were delicious. The first weekend I was in DC, two of my friends that I met on my trip to Italy were also in town. We made it a point to get together for dinner one evening and of course what better reunion that eating Italian. We ate at Cafe Italia. With four meals ordered, we had mixed reviews but the portions were large, the atmosphere was lovely and the wine was delicious. The owner was quite generous and gave our table free amaretto shots!

A few weeks before I left I finally got together with two other friends from my Italy trip that go to school at George Mason. We decided what better than Italian again, though their second choice was to take me to Jaleo...see its amazing! We ended up at Dino's in Cleveland Park. We all went for their 3-course meal for $39 special. I enjoy potato croquettes as my antipasti, canneloni verde with kale and spinach, and pistachio crumb cake. I also had a delicious spicy red wine. Restaurants like that do meals the way they should be done, bringing out amazing flavors and allowing for people to enjoy their conversations over the delicious food.

This post has me wanting some bacon wrapped dates and a glass of wine. You should definitely visit these restaurants while you're in DC! If you are staying in the Crystal City area, there are quite a few little Italian restaurants as well as another Jaleo you should check out!

Washington, DC: Food Review, Thai

I love food. I love trying new things in restaurants and cooking new things at home. So in DC, I tried to eat out as much as I could afford and eat as many different things as I could. I started out enjoying things from all over: Thai, Spanish, French...but I discovered favorites and returned again and again.

First off, Thai food is fabulous. My friend TY and I would eat Thai food almost once a week. Our favorite was Thai Old Town in Old Town Alexandria. To find it, go to the King Street stop on the Metro and walk about 12 blocks toward the waterfront. It's on the south side of King Street across from the city hall. Reasons it was our favorite: huge portions, low prices and great servers. I swear we were never thirsty in that place, they were very on top of refills. Our favorite was the Pad Thai, but I also loved the Pad See Ew.

Another great Thai restuarant that isn't quite as easy to get to but was hands down the BEST meal I ate in DC...I was dreaming about it for the next week is Thai Square in Arlington. I really wish I could remember the name of my dish, but I can't. All I know is that it was delicious and pretty much anything you order there is fabulous. I do remember we ordered the fried squid and sun dried beef which were so good, I almost cried.

Mai Thai was also amazing. Though it is a chain(there is one located in DC proper), it was so yummy! We frequented the Mai Thai in Old Town because of the amazing location. It's right next to the Waterfront! We would often go to dinner there and then walk around on the pier. For a girl from landlocked Kansas, I loved being next to the water! One of the amazing dishes from there was their Cashew Chicken. I know that's more of a Chinese dish, but they did it perfectly. Also, try an apple martini and think of me if you do!

source: Local Kicks


I think that I will make this post just about Thai food otherwise it will be sooooo long. I'll post about my other favs in following posts!

Washington DC: An Overview

Since I did a horrible job of keeping up with posting while I was in DC and I now have lots of free time on my hands I thought I would do a few review posts of Washington, DC. My favorite things to do and see and places to eat will be covered.

The view looking at the Capitol from the Old Post Office.

First off the best decision I made to have a worthwhile experience was choosing to live on Capital Hill. I lived near Eastern Market, which was about a 20 minute walk to the Rayburn building. It's a very quaint neighborhood. Cute little row houses side by side. Most of the people that lived in that area were young couples who worked on the Hill and some families. We did spot a couple of different members of Congress on the weekends wandering around the Eastern Market farmers' and flea market. This farmers' market was a great place to look around and shop on the weekends. My Sunday routine usually consisted of going to church at St. Peter's then grabbing a pretzel and lemonade from a vendor in Eastern Market. I would then meander through the market and usually ended up buying some fruit to take with me for lunch during the week. The market building inside reminded me of the Central Market in Florence.

Though I was able to buy some food items at either the Roland's grocery store on Pennsylvania Avenue or at Eastern Market, I would try and go the supermarket once ever two weeks. It was about 10 blocks away so finding the time to get over there and back while hauling groceries on the Metro was something I tried to limit.

Eastern Market in the snow...it's much more enjoyable in the warmth.

Thinking about hauling groceries from my place to the store makes me think about my first weekend in DC. I did more walking in one day than was entirely necessary, mainly because I couldn't ever figure out the bus system. I remember starting my day off by wanting to go down to the Mall by bus. I walked up to where the bus was supposed to be only to find it wouldn't be there for 15 minutes. I'm not a very patient person so I didn't really want to wait in one place for that long so I took off walking to the west. I walked all the way to the Newseum which was about 16 blocks from where I was at. Whew!

After spending most of my afternoon in there I hauled it back to church which was only about 10 blocks from the Newseum and then walked home after church. That was only day one.

The next day my roommate and I decided to explore the Eastern Market/Barracks Row area and then grocery shop. We ended up walking about 24 blocks that afternoon, including 10 blocks walking with loaded bags of groceries in the late August heat. Needless to say that was a good introduction to how DC works...walk, walk, walk.

So while this post took a bit of a detour with my weekend walking story, two tips I have to give is if you're interning: live on the Hill and be prepared to walk. If you're in DC visiting, while the Metro gets you close to all the great tourist spots, be prepared to walk or dish out some money for a taxi because they still are quite spread out.

There's No Place Like Home

Excuse the cheesy title but here I am back in Kansas. It's difficult to adjust to being back here after living in DC for the past 4 months.

Don't get me wrong I love my hometown and my family and my dog and seeing the stars in the middle of the country and the sunrising over my beautiful country church like this...

But I also miss seeing this beautiful building every morning walking to work...


hanging out with these great friends in a beautiful city...

and being only a couple of hours away from this...


I surprisingly miss the controversial news stories and the opportunities to see big name politicians and walk around inside the Capitol building marveling at the fabulous art. I miss Thai food..nom nom nom...and the vibe of Eastern Market. I miss riding the Metro and people watching. I miss being part of the political process and talking to Kansans as they call in with their concerns, though many people in my town have expressed their various opinions about representatives and senators and how they're doing their job. It's funny how there are things that the general public doesn't understand about the political process. Things that I probably didn't understand either before my experience. I miss the quick pace of the city, just as much as I missed the open spaces and calmness of the country when I was there. I'm torn between going back and staying here.

I am looking forward to getting back to Lawrence and finishing up my college career. My degree is only four short classes away. I'm going to love every minute of it and the memories I will make with the friends I have been away from the past four months. I am already planning get togethers with my friends when I get back! Life is good, I will always have a spot in my heart to miss a place I love and of course people I love. I've just got to learn to enjoy the moment as it happens and not wish I was constantly in some other location.

Words of Wisdom: "There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you have altered." - Nelson Mandela

Where is the time going?

Oh my goodness! I've only got about four weeks left for my internship and this is only my third blog post. Oops!

In the past few weeks, I've seen almost all the museums that really interest me, seen the monuments multiple times, turned another year older, become an expert or atleast I can intelligently discuss the legislative process, attended an election watch party where big names such as John Boehner and Mitch McConnell were present, celebrated my boss' win as Kansas next Senator, explored the city with a few of my best friends, made new friends in two new roommates and numerous people I have met, blended into routines that make me a local and fallen more in love with this city.

Three Weeks Down Already!

When I went to work this morning, one of my co-workers pointed out that if I were doing a summer internship, I would be halfway done already. Thankfully I have until December until I am finished. In the past three weeks, I have learned my way through the Capitol and have managed to make it around without getting lost too much, I've discovered how to successfully navigate through the Metro, and I've pretty much fallen in love with DC. I miss Kansas with its wide open spaces and lovely people so much, but DC is so charming and historic it has stolen my heart! I have been pleasantly surprised by how friendly people here are. And I'm sure if you're getting ready to live here or even visit you've been told that its very expensive to live here...that is sooooo true! PB&J's and fresh fruit from Eastern Market are my main meals because it's cheap and easy.


In more exciting news than what I've been chowing down on, I went to the Glenn Beck rally that has caused much controversey in the news lately. It was interesting and while I agreed with most things being said more than I disagreed, it was a bit extreme at some points. Other exciting news: I have some really amazing roommates, one is from England and the other is from Austria. They are both lovely and it is fun to cook with them! We also discuss the many differences between our countries especially differences in education and healthcare systems. Who would have thought I'd be having an international experience still in the U.S. My weeks are filled with spending time at the Capitol getting the opportunity to help Kansans and find out about issues that really matter to them and meeting Kansans as they come into the office for a visit!

If theres anything extra you would like me to post about just let me know! I'm doing so much I never know what is interesting and what could be left out! I could definitely talk about food and the exhibits I see all day long!

Words of Wisdom: For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work. ~Doug Larson

And just for kicks and giggles: How long a minute is, depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on.

Simone Goes to Washington

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I leave for DC in less than 3 days! And I start my internship in Congressman Jerry Moran's office in a week! When I got accepted for this in March, it seemed like I had all the time in the world to prepare for my move to DC. Now I need those past 5 months back!

I think everything is in order though. Flight to DC: check. Someplace to go when I first get there: check. Apartment: check. Instructions for the first day: check. Suitcase packed with my life for the next 5 months: eeerrr, about that. How does one go about packing suits and normal clothes and shoes for 4.5 months of their life. In a climate that I'm unfamiliar with. For 2.5 seasons. My suitcase is loaded to the brim with most everything but its over the weight limit. This is the point in my life where I'm really beginning to fret and wonder what the heck was I thinking. Moving to DC? To do an internship representing one of my favorite places in the world, in a subject that is NOT my major? And packing enough clothes to get me through without looking like the Kansas bum? It will all be okay, right?

So here I am, blogging about this small packing disaster, trying to figure out what I can leave behind for the adventure I'm about to embark on. I would've added pictures but no one really wants to see the mounds of clothes, boxes and books that have taken over my parents basement. It kind of makes me cringe.

Wish me luck as I prepare to go back in!

Words of Wisdom: "If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears."
- Glenn Clark