Vividly Yours,: Travel

A Day in DC

2/6/17

Living so close to Washington DC, you would think I would visit more often. With the presentment of a three-day weekend, Kendyl (@gowiththekflo) and I decided to hit the city. It ended up being a wonderful day for art, food, and walks. Here's our day!

First stop on the adventure? The Smithsonian American Art Museum, located in NW. This museum has such a large range of works, from portraits of the founding fathers to digital television art, that we were excited to see what was around every corner. Here is "Preamble" by Mike Wilkins, just one of the innovative pieces on exhibit here.

Soooo is this a donut? And can we eat it?

Kendyl and I had a great time at this museum trying to guess the titles of the art before reading the plaques, sometimes we were close, but there were a few we could never have guessed. It led to lots of laughs.

After touring the museum, our stomachs were rumbling for food, so we turned down 7th street and found HipCityVeg. The cute blue door drew us in, but the food was fantastic. Everything on the menu is plant-based so you can feel good about what you're eating. Even if you're not vegan (I'm not!) the food is amazing regardless.

Kendyl and I split the Crispy HipCity Ranch Chick'n sandwich, some Lil' Golden Nugs (grain battered chick'n nuggets), sweet potato fries, and an oreo cupcake to top it off. This place has the best sweet potato fries I have ever had, hands down. And dipping them into the black bean and cilantro sauce made them even better.

If you're ever in the Chinatown area, I highly recommend!!

The weather was so nice (especially for February!!) so we took a walk around the city to work off all those golden nugs ;) How pretty are the lights in Palmer Alley? For my outfit today, I wore a simple black bodysuit and black jeans, paired with my blush utility jacket and circle scarf, some layered necklaces, and black booties. Also threw my hair into some milkmaid braids for fun.

As the sun started setting, the views were even more beautiful at the Washington Monument. A great way to end a great day.

Vividly Yours,

Taylor

Smithsonian American Art Museum: here

HipCityVeg: here

Kendyl's Instagram: here

Montana: Big Sky, Bozeman, and Yellowstone

8/13/16

"Montana? What are you going to do there?" That was the response I was getting from all my friends when I told them of my summer plans with my family. My cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and parents (14 of us!) rented out a house in Big Sky, Montana for a week exploring just what there is to do in Montana.

Fly fishing is HUGE here, so I decided to give it a shot. It was major fishing season on the Gallatin River, so I was able to catch 3 fish my first time ever!! The river and views were so beautiful though, if I had caught 0 fish I would have still been happy. Also, how's my look? New trend??

Another fun way we saw the Gallatin was by white water rafting. Super fun and not too dificult. (only lost one man overboard) :)

We spent all of Wednesday and Thursday at Yellowstone National Park. If you need one reason to head to Montana or Wyoming, this is it! I have never been more blown away by nature. My favorite wonder was the Grand Prismatic Spring (above), but every stop we made had me in complete awe. Also being in a place so rugged and full of history truly made me feel like I was transported back to the American frontier.

The wildlife here is everywhere!!

And the views aren't too bad either ;)

We spent our last day exploring Bozeman, a really cool, artistic town, and first stopped at The Garage for lunch. How cool are their menus??

Bozeman was having their annual Sweet Pea Festival for the Arts, so the sidewalks were full of chalk decorations. Some of them were extraordinary.

Finding vintage dresses in a cute western shop on Main Street.

You guys know me! I couldn't go the trip without finding a bookstore to peek around in. The Country Bookshelf on Main Street was such a special find. I could have stayed in there hours! Finished the day off at the Museum of the Rockies (below)

Turns out there is a lot to do in Montana :)

Vividly Yours,

Taylor

Walt Disney World Fun

3/13/16

Hi Readers! As some of you may know, I recently got back from a weekend getaway to Orlando! The trip was with my high school's dance team, to compete in Nationals. I had an amazing time and I thought you might like to hear a little about it, if you're considering taking a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando. (You definitely should, by the way ;) )

Day One:

We arrived in Orlando around 4pm, and then traveled to Disney's All Star Music Resort. I can't say that the resort is fabulous, but Disney is magical enough, and we did not spend very much time there (we spent most of our time at the parks!), so it worked well for us. The perks of staying at a Disney owned hotel, are 1. Disney's transportation takes you to all the parks, as well as Disney Springs, and then takes you back to the resort 2. Using meal vouchers (if you have them) at the restaurants, and 3. Fun Disney themed rooms, pools, and food! (Thanks @gowiththekflo for this pic!)

We went to Disney Springs, formerly Downtown Disney, for dinner that night, and I totally recommend checking this area out. Disney Springs is an awesome outdoor shopping and entertainment area, featuring so many shops (not all Disney shops!), and restaurants. The atmosphere is really cool and different from all other Disney parks, so it's worth a look. However, our reservation that night was at the Rainforest Cafe, and I do not suggest eating there. We had to wait for 2 hours, despite having a reservation and the food was just ok. Definitely check out some of the other restaurants they have instead!

Day Two:

This day was jam-packed with fun! We woke up early and boarded the bus to the Magic Kingdom. An important tip for Disney is to arrive at the parks early, or late in the afternoon when there usually seems to be a lull in traffic. If you only have time to go to one park, Magic Kingdom is the can't miss. Main Street USA and the Cinderella Castle embody Disney World, and its feeling is so classic Walt.

Since I'm not a fan of rollercoasters, I spent the day with my friend Brittany (instagram: @plainoldb) exploring and finding food, of course! Our favorite was the infamous Dole Whip. If you haven't heard of this before, a Dole Whip is a pineapple soft serve, served with or without pineapple juice. I was not sure if I would like it, since I don't particularly like pineapple, but this was SO AMAZING! If you go to Disney, you have to try a Dole Whip. We got ours from Aloha Isle in Adventureland right next to the flying carpet ride.

As you can tell, I was really excited. Also, like my hat? :)

For all of my fellow non-roller coaster people, here's my list of favorite rides at Magic Kingdom:

1. The Haunted Mansion

2. Pirates of the Carribean

3. Teacups

4. It's a Small World

5. Aladin's Magic Carpet Ride

Also, if you're up to it, the Barn Stormer coaster and Big Thunder Railroad were not too bad for a little more thrill.


Photo: wdwinfo.com

After Magic Kingdom, we hopped over to Animal Kingdom for a couple hours. The highlight of that trip was the Kilimanjaro Safari! It was so cool to drive around and see so many animals on the reserve. I highly recommend it for this park. After some ice cream and Indian music jamming, we headed back to All-Star Music for dinner and off to bed for our early morning competition time the next day.

Day Three:

After competing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, we headed back to the resort, spending the day at the pool. All-Star Music has a pretty large main pool, and then another small pool, so that is one perk to the resort. For lunch, we ate at the quick-service restaurant there and I had a salmon Caesar salad, which was actually quite good. (PS: no sun burns for me, yay!)

That night, we had reservations for dinner at the Mexico pavilion in EPCOT. I have always loved EPCOT, because it is so interesting and different. The World Showcase is always a highlight and the rides there are so unique. But the rides are not the main focus of this park, the landscaping, architecture and people are! Don't forget the food too :) While we were there, they were holding their Flower and Garden Festival, which decorated the park with beautiful flowers and topiary.

I had never been on the Spaceship Earth ride before, but it did not disappoint. Disney has a lot of the rides like this, where you sit the the moving chair and watch amazing animatronics and scenes, but this one was more captivating and fun than expected. Also, a bonus: the line was not long at all. (Tip for this ride: when they take your picture, smile or make a funny face, I promise you'll be glad you did ;) ) In addition to this ride, we went on the Seas with Finding Nemo ride, which was super cute, tasted weird sodas, and then explored Japan's department store and stopped for Baklava in Morocco.

Day Four:

Sunday was the last day, and we spent the morning at Hollywood Studios. This park is quite small, so I would not plan on spending a whole day here. Of course, its main attractions are the Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster, but for me, Hollywood Studios is all about the shows. We arrived there right as it opened at 9, and then Brittany and I first stopped at For the First Time in Forever, the Frozen Sing a Long show at 9:30. I was so blown away by this show, the two storytellers were hilarious, and getting to sing along with Elsa, while it snowed was magical. This show plays on the half hour, every hour and is a must-see! This day we also saw the Muppets 3D show, and the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I didn't get to see the Beauty and the Beast show this year, but I watched that one last year and it's phenomenal.

For a sweet treat, I grabbed a Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar. So adorable and so yummy! I also shared popcorn and cinnamon pecans with Brittany, and they were fantastic. The whole trip, I was looking for the perfect hat to purchase, as I get one every year I visit. The Minnie ear hat I was wearing on Day two was my purchase last year, and this year I went for the Monsters University hat. If you're on the hunt for this hat, I found it on a cart on Hollywood Studios' main street, and I'm obsessed. Monsters Inc and University is my favorite Disney with Pixar film, and I couldn't be happier with this hat!

After that, we had to pack up our things and head to the airport. On the ride there, no one said a word, we were all so worn out! But, hey that's how you know you had a great trip.

Vividly Yours,

Taylor xx

Lilly Lovin': here

A Weekend in the Big Apple

11/29/15

A few weeks ago I took a weekend in New York City. There for my dad's birthday and a college visit of New York University. New York has such a sense of glamour and grime that I love so much. And with a city so large and ever-changing, you can always find new things to explore.

The first day we visited The Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design. In all the times I have been to New York, I had never been here and I was pleasantly surprised! They had many exhibits on graphic design throughout the ages.

They had a really cool room where you could design your own pattern to be projected on the wall. First I drew this retro-inspired geometric pattern, and then I wrote my name, because why not?

All in all, a super interactive and interesting museum! If you want a cool, artistic getaway, Cooper Hewitt is a great trip.

A quick walk through Washington Square Park after my tour of NYU was a great way to enjoy the people, music and dogs! And then it was off to lunch at BareBurger (full post under the eat tab!)

The Union Square Farmer's Market was bursting with beautiful fall colors and produce, as they were having their "Happy Harvest" week. Even if you don't plan to buy anything, walking though is a fun fall activity.

On Saturday night we headed on down to the Richard Rodgers theater and attended Hamilton! If you are unfamiliar with the show, it is a hip hop musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton. I can easily say that Hamilton is the most clever and captivating show I have ever seen. Since that night I have not stopped listening to the soundtrack. It has gotten to the point where I think I could perform the whole show from memory.

If you ever get the chance to see this show, I highly, highly, highly recommend it. But if you can't make it to New York, here are some of my favorite songs off the soundtrack!

-Alexander Hamilton - Wait For It

- My Shot - Dear Theodosia

- You'll Be Back - Non-Stop

- Helpless - Take a Break

-Satisfied - Say No To This

- Burn - Blow Us All Away