A Favorite Beautiful Thing....

I freakin' LOVE my camera. And I love Washington, D.C.
What makes this image especially beautiful to me right now as I reflect on the busy busy day is that when you look at it, you would think I was the only one in there. I'm not one to get philosophical or romantic about pictures, but this one....moves me.
The room was a buzz with people, tourists, little children who should have been on leashes and flashes from random camera's. No one really stopped to appreciate this fantastic tribute to a man who was ahead of his time in so many ways.
It's beautiful and what's more -- it's inspiring.

Washington Memorial w/ reflecting Pond and Marine One in the middle....Damn, I'm good.
This was a stunning moment; one I will not forget. Taken from the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall starring at the Washington Monument with the U.S. Capital in the background and Marine One flying overhead.
I can't wait to live here!!!!!
Ya know, something...I will say this. George W. Bush did do one thing right and that was facilitate the construction of the World War II Memorial -- it was stunning.


THAT is the White House and THAT is Marine One....too cool!

It was teeming rain when I got off the train that day. And I looked into the puddle on the sidewalk and was taken aback by how beautiful the reflection of the tree against the raindrops was. You see this kind of thing used in movies all the time -- I didn't think it was possible for a reflection to come through this clear.

If anyone ever tries to say God doesn't exist, I would show them this picture. It was breathtaking to see from the car on the way to Indiana and it is breathtaking to see the picture. There is so much energy swirling in this picture. I am overwhelmed by it.

Some days, you just have to be thankful for the sunshine.

This....is sooooo coooooool to witness! In Chicago, they have designed all the bridges to be raised/lowered when the boats come through. It's amazing isn't it? How the entire Northbound/Southbound traffic pulse can be placed a stand still just to let some sailboats come through?



Ya know, something. I do not like Chicago AT ALL. Yes, it's cleaner than NYC and yes, it's architecture is phenomenal. But .... uhg.

I've learned however, that even the thing you detest, can be beautiful. You just have to look at it from the right angles. I love this picture: taken from the east end of the bridge at Michigan/Wacker

Have you ever actually planted a seed from a piece of fruit that you ate? Well? We have! Last year, David thought it would be a fun idea to try to grow a Mango Tree in our living room. He Googled how to shuck the seed, what kind of soil and light it needed and he planted it in an old pot we had laying around. We spent about 8 weeks just staring at this pot of dirt; I didn't think it was possible to grow a Mango tree from a Mango seed that we got from a Mango at the grocery store. But low and behold -- we got a seedling.

Now, here we are. A year later and this is our Mango Tree. It's beautiful! It's leaves are the most outstanding shade of green and the way the light hits them in the morning is enough to make you crave a tropical beach. It hasn't gotten big enough to grow fruit (Obviously) but I'm excited at the journey we've taken with this little tree.

Flawed Perfection

As you may or may not know, I have the good luck to work on Michigan Ave. At this time of year, the Magnificent Mile is decorated from Oak Street to Millenium park with the most flawless tulips and violets one could ever imagine.

So, you can imagine how moved I was by this one. It was right out front, as if to say, "yeah, I have a petal falling off, but I smell just as good." It was such a gray, overcast day outside and the way the yellow jumped out at my eye was enough to make me stop to take the picture.

I love that it's flawed, I love that it isn't perfect. I love that I was able to see this tulip last week, because by the time I went back later that week, someone had already taken it away.

I still found it beautiful. Even if the city of Chicago didn't.

Octavio Paz said, "From the moment I first opened my eyes I've known that my place isn't here where I am but where I'm not and never have been..."

That is what ran through my mind when I took this picture of our "EL" station in Edgewater. I typically walk on the south side of the street because I am a practical person and I walk on the same side of the street as the door to the station. You see my point, right? But look what I saw when I chose to slow down a bit and walk on the north side of the street.

Our station is very run down, it smells dank and dirty and the view from the platform leaves something to be desired. But looking at this picture, I can see a small slither of what makes Chicago a great city to live in.

It's beautiful.

When we moved to Chicago on April 1, 2007, there was not a whole lot of excitement brimming from me. The decision was impetuous, I needed desperately to get out of my hometown and just explore the country a little bit more. While I will never regret my decision to leave and "find myself", if I could do it all over again I would try to learn a little bit more about what this city had to offer me.

Our neighborhood is kind of stark. But if you turn the corner, you will find the Methodist Church. Now, I've never gone into this church, and I probably never will. But this particular day (last Sunday, May 3) the choir was singing from inside. And I stopped and just listened. It was as if it was the first time I had silenced my anxious mind and just listened to the world around me. It was beautiful.
I love this church.
And this church is one of the secret reasons why I love my neighborhood.

Beautiful Things

Hello,
And welcome.

Welcome to my newest blog, which will be titled, Beautiful Things. This past weekend, I turned 25 years old. And for some reason or another I have been incredibly affected by this birthday. I have made a decision that this is the year my life begins, the decisions that I have had to "wait" to make, will be made by the time I turn 26.

The past week, I found myself incredibly down. I'm not sure whether it's because I feel settled or staid, or if it's because I'm restless or maybe even it's because I'm feeling burned out. But I made a decision that I would take my brand new camera and find at least 1 beautiful thing everyday to take a picture of and post on this blog.

The next few posts will be a culmination of the pictures from the last week. I hope you enjoy my beautiful things, and the journey I will hopefully take throughout the next year as I find my way back to my goals and my future. And I challenge you to find your beautiful things everyday.