Washington, DC

My trip to DC was short but memorable (hence the very late post!). Besides the historical landmarks and plethora of museums, the district is full of diverse, smart people and delicious food for every palette. Within my short trip, I only had amazing French (Bistrot Du Coin in Dupont Circle), Vietnamese (Rice Paper in Eden Center), Indian (Rasika, Penn Quarter), Ethiopian (Meskerem, Adams Morgan), and of course.. cupcakes (Baked & Wired in Georgetown). Maybe it's impossible to find bad food here?

My brother and I having lunch in Dupont Circle after touring the White House.

These kids were wearing matching vests... it was even more adorable when they all held hands as they walked towards the Washington Monument.

Perplexed but in awe of LL Cool J in the National Portrait Gallery. The pop-culture nerd in me even found Stephen Colbert's portrait(s) by the restrooms.

The 9/11 exhibit is one of the most beautiful, touching tributes in the Newseum. I've never seen a viewing room more full when a mini documentary was being shown.

Georgetown is so pretty during sunset. We walked along the canal after dinner and on our way to dessert.

The three days I stayed were filled with so much eating and learning in such a short distance of each other; I'm certain I've found my happy place.

Likability

Here's a cool piece of advice from writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:

So what I want to say to young girls is forget about likability. If you start thinking about being likable you are not going to tell your story honestly, because you are going to be so concerned with not offending, and that’s going to ruin your story, so forget about likability. And also the world is such a wonderful, diverse, and multifaceted place that there’s somebody who’s going to like you; you don’t need to twist yourself into shapes.

via: NYmag

Sheryl Sandberg's Facebook letter

Yesterday, Sheryl Sandberg wrote a beautiful post on Facebook about the loss of her husband and her period of grief. Her honesty is relatable to anybody who has been through mourning. As much as you appreciate and loved the time you had, you just want Option A, even though it's time to move to another plan. How very real it is to want something that had made you so happy that it breaks your heart. She reminds us that it's so important to live with presence and acknowledgment of others.

Read the entire post below: