D.C. - It's really hot.

I kicked off the official start of summer by visiting Marissa in Washington, D.C. last weekend. I had high hopes for the trip based on our Boston and Cape Cod adventures last summer and it didn't disappoint - except in the heat and humidity fields.

I landed in D.C. Thursday afternoon and met Marissa at the D.C. Court of Appeals where she is interning for the summer. I had every intent of doing a bit of exploring while I waited for her to get off work, but a monstrous thunderstorm had other plans for me and I ended up waiting it out in nearby Cosi. Luckily, the storm passed right when Marissa got off work and we were able to stick with our game plan of going for a row.

Bob, an MSU Crew alum who I met by chance in a bar in Boston once, coaches at Capital City Rowing Club and he had kindly offered to take Marissa and I out for a practice when he heard that I would be in town. The row was short but sweet and I'm glad I'm able to say I've coxed on another body of water - plus I got to cox Mar!

After another freak thunderstorm, we headed to Molly Mallone's, a local Irish pub, to meet Bob and Eric (another MSU Crew alum who I met by chance in Boston) for a couple of beers.

Friday Marissa had to work but I took the opportunity to explore all the "touristy" parts of DC. I started off walking part of the National Mall and ended up sneaking my way into a tour of the Capitol. I had never been to DC before and really wasn't sure what to expect from the Capitol - in my head I imagined it to be more of offices but in reality it is a magnificent piece of architecture. Unfortunately, the Capitol is currently under construction so many of my photos include ugly scaffolding and tarps.

I met Marissa for lunch outside of her office and it was a pleasant break from all the walking I had been doing. After lunch, I headed back to the Mall to visit the monuments. I completely underestimated the size of the Mall and just how hot it would be and I didn't get to see quite as much as I would've liked. I did get to see the Washington Memorial, the World War II Memorial (twice because it was a good spot to cool off!), the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial and the Korean Memorial. I really wanted to see the Jefferson Memorial and the Smithsonian, but unfortunately time did not permit.

Friday evening Marissa and I went to Jazz in the Garden, an event held every Friday night in the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Garden. The band playing rotates but there is always wine, beer and pitchers of sangria!

After deciding we'd just had too much of the heat, we met back up with Eric at the Biergarten Haus, a German style beer garden with great outdoor seating and pretzels.

Saturday was by far my favorite day for so many reasons! Marissa and I kicked off the day with a run to the Capitol with stops at the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress.

After quick showers and getting ready, we headed to The Heights for brunch and to meet Val!!! I cannot explain how excited I was for this. Val has been my best friend since fifth grade but I hadn't seen her in almost 10 years. It was SO good to see her and we picked up like no time had passed at all. Plus, the food and bloody Mary's were phenomenal.

Post-brunch, Val, her fiance Lauren, Marissa and myself decided to spend the afternoon walking around Georgetown. The campus is so pretty and the main street has some really great shopping. Again, I totally underestimated how hot it was going to be and complained about the heat quite a bit.

We had a tasty homemade dinner Saturday night - asparagus salad with egg and bacon, bruschetta, and of course, wine and cheese - with one of Marissa's law school friends. Another thunderstorm had rolled in and squashed our plans a viewing the Monuments at night but we made the best of it and headed to Nellie's, a gay sports bar, with a few of Marissa's other friends. This place was so much fun! Plus, I had potentially the strongest margarita of my life.

Sunday was a short day since I had a plane to catch. But we did have enough time to head to the Historic Eastern Market. We started off with heading to Ted's Bulletin, an old-fashioned style diner with a modern twist and homemade pop-tarts and boozy milkshakes - what's not to love? While we didn't sample the milkshakes, the pop-tart was delicious and so was the turkey club.

We walked through a bit more of the market, lingering in the cooler air conditioned portion, before we decided it was time to head back to Mar's apartment and hit the airport.

As great as DC was and as much as I enjoyed my trip, I highly recommend NOT visiting in the summer. Things would have been 100x more enjoyable if I wasn't covered in a constant layer of sweat. But I shouldn't complain, I had a great weekend seeing so many great people!

12 Non-Rowing Things Rowing Permanently Effects

I've talked a lot about the life lessons one learns when involved with the sport of rowing for any extended period of time. From learning that people matter most, to the difference between losing and failing, to being true to yourself - there's a lot I've taken away from rowing. There's also a lot of other thing that rowing permanently effects:

1. You will never drive past a river and not think, "I wonder if someone rows here."
2. You will think of your college years in seasons, not semesters. "Oh yeah, I took COM 425 spring of my junior year - I had to reschedule my final for Dad Vails."
3. 5:30 a.m. is still early, but you're kind of immune to it.
4. When you see a tall person you don't wonder if he/she played basketball you wonder what their 2k time is.
5. You hate the wind. Always. Because you know it will ruin any row.
6. Acronyms like HOE, HOR, HOG and HOCR aren't funny.
7. You have no reaction to seeing men/women in only very revealing spandex.
8. When having trouble explaining a concept to a fellow rower, you can always fall back on rowing analogies and know that they will get it.
9. You cringe (and sometimes confront) people who are "erging" at the gym because the way they are doing it gives you such anxiety.
10. You've stopped trying to explain the sport to non-rowers and just nod when they say they used to go kayaking at their families lake house.
11. You get ridiculous excited whenever you see rowing/erging featured in any sort of movie, TV show or commercial. (What rower did not freak out when they saw Frank Underwood rowing in House of Cards?)
12. You bond with rowers you've just met by discussing the weather at different regattas you both happened to be at. "Did you race the first or second day at HOCR this past year? We raced the first day and were so lucky because Sunday was so cold and windy." 

5 Tips for Studio Living/Living Alone

Guys, living alone is great. It really is. It's not lonely like I thought it would be and I literally do just about everything pants-less. (Don't get me started on the bad bathroom habits I've developed.)

But I think I've had a few key learnings in my three months of adapting to life in 350 sq ft apartment alone that I thought I'd share.

1. Do not buy anything that can't serve different purposes. I literally do not have the space for something that doesn't serve a purpose. And for that matter, multiple purposes. I don't mean this in the clever Pinterest-y projects that are like "turn your footboard into a dresser/work of art." Nobody's got room for a footboard in a 350 sq ft apt. What I do mean is, I bought my kitchen table with the thought in mind that it would serve a lot of different functions. I had debated buying a bunch of different furniture options to fill my empty corner (a bar cart, a small sofa, a nice chair) but ultimately landed on a kitchen table and two chairs. This is because I can obviously sit and eat a meal at it, but I can also prep food on it (because my kitchen counter space doesn't exist), work on my laptop at it, store random papers and nonsense on it, dress it up with a fresh vase of flowers and entertain my limited roster of guests at it.

2. Be practical in the kitchen appliances/tools you buy. I've always been very fortunate to have friends/roommates who are good cooks because I can mooch off their kitchenware. But when I moved into an apartment by myself, I became shockingly aware of how little kitchenware I owned myself. My initial reaction was to go buy a ton of stuff but evaluation of my limited space shouted otherwise. I have a couple of sharp knives and a good cutting board for chopping, a can opener and winer bottle opener and one set of measuring cups and I don't think I need much else. I don't have a microwave or a toaster and don't want one because it would take up too much space.

3. Meal planning is more important than ever. I'm not a big eater. I get full fast and get bored of the foods in my fridge nearly as fast. This being said, I'm ashamed to say I'm a big waster of food. In the past, my roommates would always clear my plate for me or finish up a container of mushrooms I no longer wanted. Now I need to make sure that what I buy at the store I'm going to eat. I try to be crafty and prepare a meal for lunches during the week on Sunday evening and try to buy things that I can repurpose for multiple meals and not get bored.

4. Do things regardless of whether other people want to do them with you. The skill of doing things on my own is one I've been working to develop over the past few years and has become a more needed one now that I live alone. It's really easy to just fall in the habit of not doing things just because you don't have someone to do them with. Now, if I want to do something and there is no one else to do it with me - I do it myself. I think it take a lot of confidence to do things on your own.

5. Similar to #4, plan to do things. It would be really easy for me to come to home from work everyday and just become a hermit. But I don't want that. So I make a point to try to pack my calendar with activities. Even planning something as simple as going for a run helps to break up the routine of coming home and turning on Netflix. I also try to make sure I have one planned activity every weekend to look forward to.

Falling in Love with Chicago

It's been about two and a half months since I moved to Chicago and I finally feel like in the past few weeks the warmer temperatures have allowed me to explore some of the city I'm now calling home.

I love Memorial Day Weekend because it signals the unofficial start of summer and summer is hands down my favorite season, I mean there are so many great things to enjoy - who couldn't love summer?

I've been trying to get into the habit of becoming a more consistent runner. I mean, I am signed up for a Warrior Dash and the BIG10 10K so I guess I have to. But learning more about my neighborhood is also great motivation to get out and run a couple of mornings a week.

(And who doesn't love to see the sunrise over Lake Michigan?)

(View behind the Lincoln Park Conservatory)

(Lydia had told me about this lily pond/prairie pagoda and I made it a mission one morning to find it. So serene in the middle of the city.)

On my way home from work last weekend I decided to take a bit of a scenic route and strolled down Michigan Ave. before catching the bus. My office is in such a great location, right in the heart of so much great shopping, food and tourist traps. There was an old church that has always caught my eye on my bus ride to and from work and the weather allowed for the perfect opportunity for some exploring of it. I love that this old architecture is mixed right in with Chicago's skyscrapers.

(Can you see the little bird drinking from the fountain?)

I spent sometime meandering through Lincoln Park as well. I always knew that Lincoln Park was a gem in Chicago but didn't know much about it overall. But after doing some reading on it (#historynerd) I was so eager to see it all. You could spend a day exploring Lincoln Park and I'm not sure you would see it all. There's a zoo, a petting zoo, several ponds, beaches, restaurants, the conservatory and plenty of open green spaces and gardens just to name a few things. Plus, the views of the city were stunning.

Sunday, I talked Lydia into joining me on a trip to the Lincoln Park Conservatory. The conservatory, like everything else in Lincoln Park, is free and features four rooms of stunning exotic plants. I wish I had taken a few more pictures while we were there but I guess it means I'll just have to go back!

We explored a bit more of the park and watched what I'm sure will be stunning wedding photos be taken. As we started to walk back towards my apartment we felt the first drop of rain which very quickly turned into a torrential downpour. Lydia had the great idea to hide under the prairie pagoda I mentioned earlier to wait out the storm.

Unfortunately, the roof of the pagoda was not solid and we ended up trying to position ourselves between the slats to avoid the sheets of rain falling outside. Eventually, we gave up and made a mad dash to La Fournette Bakery & Cafe for some tea and macaroons.

So excited for more summer in Chicago adventures!

Thought Catalog: 5 Things Everyone Feels When Moving To A New City

It’s fair to say that I’ve moved around quite a bit. Four states, seven cities and nine different addresses before the age of 25. Moving is something I’ve become a bit of a pro at, as well as starting over in a new location.

Here are the five things everyone feels when moving to a new city.

The Sun is Shining on Chicago

Yesterday was the first truly warm day of year and I celebrated it by spending the day rowing, drinking iced coffee, laying out on my Mary's roof deck, wearing shorts and sandals for the first time and drinking Oberon's outside. It was wonderful and almost made me forget the terrible, no good, very bad winter we just experienced.

Being back in the Midwest this summer there are a lot of things I'm looking forward to enjoying this summer.

Doesn't the city just look so much better with a bit of color and sun?

Washington, D.C.
I'll be visiting my friend Marissa in D.C. in June and am looking forward to recreating some of the greatness of our Boston and Cape Cod vacations last summer. (Perhaps we'll unintentionally match again?) I've never been to D.C. before and can't wait to do all of the stereotypical tourist stuff. My best friend since fifth grade lives in Baltimore and I'm also hoping to be able to meet up with her. Any suggestions on any D.C. musts? Tips for seeing the city? Any great restaurants?

Trips to Michigan
Michigan is my favorite in the summer. It truly is a hidden gem. Between the Great Lakes, all of the inland lakes, cities like Detroit, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, and the UP, Michigan has so much to offer. I'm hoping to be able to spend some time in Grand Haven this summer and would love to plan a trip up north to either the UP or Mackinac Island since I've never been.

Lake Michigan
My new apartment in Chicago is literally blocks from the Lakeshore and I can't wait to spend my weekends sprawled out on the beach with a good book.

Summer Concerts & Events
One of the many benefits of living in a big city is the number of cultural events and concerts that take place. I'm excited to take advantage of some of these events and already have tickets to Lollapalooza in August.

Spontaneous Trips
I feel like the warm weather makes people much more inclined for adventure and spontaneity. Last year, Laurissa and I took a couple of fairly spontaneous trips to Maine and the beach and I can't wait to embark on some in the Chicago area. Whether is a quick road trip or a trip downtown, everything seems so much better in the summer.

Homemade Ramen

I have a love-hate relationship with cooking, and having a miniature kitchen with virtually no counter space has only strengthened that relationship. But I recently felt inspired to try my hand at cooking again outside of the realm of pasta and frozen pizza.

I had been craving ramen. Not your college cup-of-noodle ramen but the real deal. I've only had real ramen once during Head of the Charles weekend last year in Boston so I would not consider myself an expert on the topic and wasn't sure what to look for in recipes. A lot of the recipes I came across seemed really involved, using a lot of ingredients I'd likely never use again and I hate that.

I finally stumbled across a recipe on my new favorite site for recipes, Damn Delicious. I really like this site because all of the recipes are unique but easy to make. I've so far made variations of their ramen recipe and their pesto pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and I've been pleasantly pleased with both.

But back to the ramen.

I liked this recipe because I already had a handful of the ingredients on hand and I was able to use most up in making this dish. The other big selling point for me was it only called for one pot to cook in - an almost must for me now that I've got a kitchen that resembles the play kitchen I had when I was five. A few variations I made:

• I used bella mushrooms because that's what I had on hand and I think it was just fine.
• I used low sodium chicken broth and I think it helped the dish stay light and not too salty.
• The pictures for this recipe show a soft boiled egg but its not included in the ingredients, I added one to my dish for a bit more protein and flavor.

The recipe made about 3 1/2 servings - enough for dinner and two lunches at work which was wonderful. I'm looking forward to trying more recipes on this site - tonight's menu will likely be the quinoa enchilada casserole!

Recent Reads: The Virgin Suicides

I picked up The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugene on a whim a few weeks ago. (Coincidentally, the author is the same person who wrote Middlesex - a book I started to read last year as part of my long distance book club but just never made it through.) I had watched the movie about a year ago when I stumbled upon it one rainy afternoon on Netflix*. The movie was good but almost left me feeling unsettled so I thought following it up with the book might be a good bet.

The story is told by neighborhood boys in 1970's Detroit who are mildly obsessed with their neighbors, the Lisbon girls. The five girls, Mary, Bonnie, Therese, Lux and Cecelia, all commit suicide in their family's modest suburban home over the course of the year. Disturbing, yes.

Death is an overlying theme in this book, but so many other themes are explored. It picks apart adolescence and coming of age, as well as sex and love. It focuses on freedom and an escape from the rules of society. Uniquely positioned in Detroit right at the start of its fall from glory (I've since learned the author is actually from Detroit), the book almost eludes to the fact that the Lisbon girls are symbolic of the general feeling of the time. The girls end their young lives because of the ugliness around them, just as so many were fleeing the city as it took its turn from the worse. The book almost makes the case the that the Lisbon girl suicides were their break for freedom, versus the end of their lives.

The book is not a casual read. If you're looking for an easy read, this is not it. But if you're looking for something a little deeper and darker and thought provoking, this might be it. It was not my favorite book but I am considering giving Middlesex another try.

*Side note: The movie is still available on Netflix if you're interested in only a two commitment versus a 243 page commitment.

How long is your birthday?

Lydia said to me, "I feel like your birthday always seems to extend way more than a day." And she was right. And I am incredibly grateful for my incredible family, friends and co-workers who make it that way.

This year, my birthday kind of snuck up on me. With the craziness of moving and getting settled into a new city and routine over the past weeks, I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked at my calendar and saw that my birthday was right around the corner. I also couldn't believe that I was turning the big 25 this year. A full quarter century old!

Two weekends before my birthday, I headed home to Grand Rapids to celebrate Easter with my family. We also went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday at Bonefish Grill. I was surprised with this delicious and rich cookie pie (I don't like cake).

(Birthday dinner)

The next weekend I was back in Chicago and decided to celebrate my birthday with my friends (my real birthday fell on a Monday this year). Mary and I kicked off the weekend with a low-key dinner at Kuma's. Whenever I'm at a place with exceptionally good or unique food I always think of Laurissa and how I wish she could experience it too. I didn't inspect the menu too closely while I was there, but just from briefly skimming the burger choices I think she would've died. (They're all named after famous rock bands!)

Lydia was coming into town and she suggested we go for a birthday weekend run. I hate running but I agreed because she promised there would be treats at the end. It was perfect weather for a run, sunny with just a bit of breeze and the views from beach we ran to were spectacular. (I should clarify that this run turned into a walk.)

(Views of the Lake and the skyline deserve two thumbs up.)

Finally, we made it to Everybody's Coffee for delicious treats. This coffee house was so fun and probably my new favorite, and my iced latte was spectacular as well. While I ran to the bathroom, Lydia surprised me with this amazing cinnamon roll topped with a koala. I died.

(I LOVED this!)

Celebrations continued Saturday evening (I have such great friends!). Mary had arranged for us to head to DOC Wine Bar. It was really beautiful spot and they served flights of wine! All of the flights were named after Chicago neighborhoods, I had the Lakeview (appropriate since that's where I live). We also all shared the Grande Butcher Block which had some of the best meat and cheese you can imagine (I tried duck!) and a brie and pear bruschetta which was heaven.

(Flights of wine!)

Full of wine and cheese we headed to the J. Parker, the rooftop bar at the Lincoln Hotel. The weather was perfect for sitting outside with the fire pits and the views of the lake and the city were spectacular. The cocktails at this bar were also pretty good and I learned I actually really like dirty martinis (surprising, since I HATE olives)!

(#lemmetakeaselfie)

(Mary was in this photo, but she apparently can't handle photos.)

The night ended with Brad and Matt taking me for ice cream (perfect).

I love my friends. :)