Summer vibes

Summer time is probably my favorite time of the year because everything feels a little bit lighter. The sun stays up later and so do I. I always walk away from summer with so many amazing memories. Backyard bonfires, to weddings, to bicycle rides, to porch hangouts, and concerts, I just love summer. I still am amazed quite regularly that I'm back in Indiana (in a good way) and summers in Indiana are always jam packed with friends and then I find myself craving the next weekend so that I can catch up on sleep. 

While I realize May isn't technically summer, I'm lumping it into summer this year because the weather was SO hot that it may as well have been summer. God bless hot and humid midwestern summers! May was filled with a visit from my parents for Mother's Day and the same weekend was also Katherine and Craig's graduations. We all enjoyed visiting together and got a good family photo for the first time in a while. Happy days, mom!

Happy Mother's Day!

He LOVES taking photos with me!

The weekend after Mother's Day was my birthday weekend, yay! We tried to go camping on the Friday, and that was an epic fail due to rain and poor communication, but we hung out in the tents for a night in southern Indiana and made the most of the evening. Saturday we tried to have people over, but these days it's semi difficult to arrange people's schedules, so our core group of about 7 went to the bar down the street and played quite a bit of pool. On Sunday we had a foster puppy that I adored dearly and between hanging out with Antonia and catching up on the week, we found time for a family dinner at Bazbeaux (my fave pizza place in Indy) and called it a weekend. So far 28 is treating me swell, and thanks to you all for the love from near and far!

Katherine, me and Elloree loving life :)

I think Craig and I were winning, possibly?

Antonia was the cutest!!

The weekend after my birthday was a weekend in Washington D.C. I was looking forward to that trip for so long, and it was just as good as I had hoped it would be!! I became so accustomed to seeing Valeria every day for two years, and it wasn't until I saw her again after a whole year had gone by that I truly appreciated how much I missed her. Valeria and I were each other's support system while in Europe, and her presence is so calming and it was great to be around her again. 

I got to D.C. really early on Saturday morning, and after getting situated at the house we were to stay at, Valeria immediately made me tortilla, my favorite Spanish dish! I have attempted to learn how to make tortilla and I simply can't figure it out, but Valeria is really good at it and it was lovely to have my first tortilla in almost a year. After tortilla, it was time to hit the streets and see the sights of D.C. I had been to D.C. as a kid with my parents, but that was so many years ago now and my memory is so poor. Plus, things appear different with adult eyes anyways, and I was really eager to see the city again. Valeria had also talked my ear off about D.C. for two years and I was excited to see her American home :) (To be fair I talked hers off about Portland and Indiana haha!)

We biked allll over the city, it was great. The first stop was actually to a bike shop to fix Valeria's chain. After that we saw the classics, and some other local gems that are just that, known only by locals. We rode through Rock Creek Park (which was gorgeous) down to the Potomac via Georgetown, and sat on a cool rock that overlooked the river. We then biked over to the National Mall to see those aforementioned classics. I checked out Abraham Lincoln, he's massive. I scoped out the Washington Monument, it's super tall. We looked at the World War II Monument, I found Indiana! We saw the White House, it's still white. We creeped on Thomas Jefferson, he stands proud. And then after hitting up all of the essentials, we went back home to relax and make food before going out for the evening. Valeria's friends had a rooftop party that we went to and that was so cool because we could see the skyline, and there was a decent dj. 

The beginnings of tortilla, lots and lots of potatoes, yay!

Potomac River!

Abraham Lincoln

Washington Monument

Indiana monument

Thomas!

The White House, and my white legs!

On Sunday we woke up late, and it was great to sleep in. We eventually made our way back on to our bicycles for more adventuring! We first biked through China Town, and I loved seeing the different barrios of D.C. We then took a pit stop in the Smithsonian American Art Museum to regroup. We then headed over to the Capitol building and then tried to go in the Library of Congress, because Valeria used to do tours at the Library, but sadly they were closed for the day. We then moseyed over to the Eastern Market, where they are known for having a great Sunday market. We wandered through the booths, admiring the things, and only walked away with a peach. After taking our time in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, we made our way back towards our casa, passing by Union Station, a gorgeous train station I might add. Then, instead of going home we decided to go check out the drum circle that happens every Sunday in Meridian Hill Park. The drum circle was so cool, and it felt great to be in a city with such vibrancy. We got dinner at the grocery store and went back to the park to keep enjoying the energy. After the park we ultimately found ourselves near Logan Circle for a drink, and low and behold we stumbled upon a bar named Barcelona! It was too perfect to not take a picture. All in all, a lovely Sunday.

Greetings from China Town

Smithsonian selfie!

Everyone was moving and grooving!

Wishing we were on the other side of the pond...

Monday, on Memorial Day, a big group of Valeria's friends had decided to all go and get brunch. The house of Valeria's friend that we were staying at was in Petworth, and the brunch locale wasn't far from there, in Columbia Heights. After enjoying some eggs and talking brunch nonsense, we decided to venture through the zoo. The zoo in D.C. is free, it's crazy, so we thought why not. After meandering through the zoo, and seeing zebras in the middle of a metropolis, we thought we would go to one of the public pools. D.C. also has free public pools, which date back to when this truly was the way to stay cool in the summers. We enjoyed a few leisurely hours at the pool in West End, at Francis Pool, but not before passing through the very famous Dupont Circle. After sunning ourselves we headed back to Valeria's friend Sarah's for a barbecue and hanging out, and it was a great end to the trip. I had heard so much about Valeria's friends, and similarly they'd heard quite a bit about me, and so it was good to spend my last hours getting to know her people :-)

Dupont Circle

Pool babes

All in all, my trip to D.C. was perfect, and the time flew by far too fast. I was so grateful to have spent that time with Valeria, and I miss her more now then I did last year. It is crazy how you don't realize sometimes just how much someone means to you until they're gone. Don't get me wrong, I always knew that Valeria meant a great deal to me, and that my time in Europe wouldn't have been what it was without her, but it wasn't until I got to see her again after spending a year apart that it really hit me how much I miss seeing her on a daily basis. Tiny things like cooking a meal together (aka Valeria making me food) meant so much and I forgot how comforting her presence is. I am so so lucky to have walked away from grad school with more than a diploma, as cheesy as it is to say because I walked away with some invaluable friendships. Til next time, Valeria :-)

While in D.C. my mom sent me this cute throwback of Alex and I at The Mall.

The weekend after D.C. was Liz and Ryan's wedding in Frankfort, Kentucky. I had been looking forward to their wedding for months, basically since Dave and I got to check out the venue with them back in October. So the wedding was at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, but I went down to Louisville a night early, on Friday, so that I could spend more time with Liz and I got to go to their lovely rehearsal dinner party. Ryan's family hosted a great outdoor party for all of the out of town guests, as well as for family, and it was great to get to meet some of Ryan's extended family. That evening Liz, her friend Nikki and myself drove to Frankfort to spend the night. 

Wide eyed and bushy tailed we woke up on Saturday morning and decorated the venue. Katherine arrived just in time to help set up, and it was so much fun helping Liz get ready for her big day. We drank mimosas and hung flowers and had a great time seeing the space really come together. After the space was set up, and the bridal party was getting their hair/make up done, we ventured off to go have a tour of the distillery. The guests were encouraged to arrive an hour early to the distillery to get a complimentary tour, and it was well worth it, such a fun way to start the day. Then came the ceremony, and the wedding was truly the most beautiful I've ever been to, and the vows were so genuine that I shed a few tears. I love seeing my friends find their best match and celebrate in their love with all of their friends and family, it's truly beautiful. 

The reception came and went far too fast! The dancing was on point, and the energy was the best I've ever seen at a wedding reception, everyone was dancing. I love when everyone dances and participates in the fun! We shut down the venue at around 10:00 and by the time we all made our way back to the hotel our legs were tired. We woke up on Sunday morning after a very successful wedding and made our way back home. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Miles! 

The distillery tour ended with some potent bourbon shots!

Don't we clean up nicely?

Too many pictures!

A gorgeous couple!

Liz getting funky on the dance floor with one of her students while Katherine and I chill in the back.

Just so many pictures!

Then the weekend after Liz's wedding was a trip to Nashville to see Erin and Noah. Erin and Noah moved to Nashville a few years ago now, and I'd still never managed to see their life down there because I'd been gone. It was lucky Katherine and I took a trip down to see them when we did because Noah accepted a position in Boulder a mere three weeks later and they are already there now! 

So we arrived to Nashville around 9:00 on Friday evening so we just relaxed and enjoyed our night at their cute house. On Saturday morning it was out to the Red River for a day of canoeing. No one brought a camera on the water, which was wise, but only leaves us with a before picture. The day on the water was great, and we had such a good time but the sun made us all sleepy. After going home and napping and showering nobody had much energy for more activities, so we just grilled out and chilled around the house. Sunday we rallied the troops and made the most of our morning/early afternoon because we had to make the drive back to Indy. Erin and Noah took us to their farmer's market, which was cool to see! We followed the farmer's market with a walk around Bicentennial Park. After having a killer Indian buffet lunch, we walked around the Parthenon, which if you're not familiar is a true to scale replica of the Parthenon in Greece, I was glad to finally see this. But sadly after those adventures it was time to drive home. 

I will say that while I was eager to see more of Nashville and check out the music scene, it is funny that Erin and Noah are gone now because that same weekend we were there Liz and Ryan found out that they are moving to Nashville. So now I have different friends to visit in Tennessee, and I'm excited to plan my next visit! 

Creak freeks!

Bicentennial park friends.

Parthenon friends!

So we had to hurry back on Sunday from Nashville because Katherine had her last two days of school for the year to prep for, and she didn't want to slack. Katherine asked if I would want to go see her kiddos graduate, and I was so excited at the offer that I went! Katherine and I made an evening out of it, we got dinner (my first time having Ethiopian food) and then went to graduation. Her kids adore her, you can tell, and it's exciting to see my best friend so happy with where she's at. It's been really cool watching my friends find their 'thing,' if you will. Congrats Northwest Seniors of 2015! 

I'm so eager to eat more Ethiopian!

A teacher and her friend. A friend and a teacher.

Then the weekend after Nashville, Jessica Collins was home from Italy and I was so excited to spend time with her! Jessica was home for two weeks and it's always great to see her! It was also admittedly nice to spend a weekend at home after so many away in succession. Coincidentally, the weekend Jessica arrived was also the Pride parade, an event I always enjoy no matter what city I'm in. So Jessica and I got to hang out a fair few times while she was in town, and it was also great to get to know Michele more. Yay for visitors back to Indy! Now it's my turn to definitely go visit Jessica.

Shola, Jessica, Katherine and me with some drag queens!

Post Jessica's visit was Father's Day weekend. I was excited to have convinced my parents to come to Indy to visit us for dad's day, and then we would all drive up to Chicago to visit with my grandpa and extended family. The trip went so well, my parents getting in on Friday night. Saturday morning I ran a race for Riley Hospital for Children (with Mark and Julia), then we drove up to Chicago and had dinner with the family. On Sunday was my cousin Rachel's high school graduation open house party, where we alos celebrated the dads, and then we drove home. The weekend flew by far too fast, but was really great. Growing up, we used to do the drive to Chicago relatively frequently and it was nostalgic to have the four of us in a car together again driving up to Chicago. I unfortunately only have pictures from the race, but Happy Days, Dad!

Before with Julia

The final stretch!

The last little bit of this post will be filled with odds and ends, as summer typically is. First of note is that despite Erin and Noah having moved even further away, Erin works remotely and her company is based in Indianapolis and about once a quarter they fly her home for work. We love that Erin has to come home for work regularly like that because then it means that we get to see her! So, the week after Father's Day, Erin was in town and it was really great to spend some time with her. Her work is located in one of the skyscrapers downtown, and the building also has a rooftop deck that transforms into a bar on Thursday evenings. Needless to say, Erin and I went to the rooftop on that Thursday and had a good time. Also, on Fridays during the summer, the Indianapolis Museum of Art hosts screenings of films outside. A group of us had decided we would do this cool event a few weeks back, as they were playing Psycho. Well, the event got moved indoors due to the insane rains we have had this summer, but we had a good time all the same. I am still trying to see a movie outside somewhere this summer though...

Rooftops because we iz fancy like that!

We all go a little mad sometimes.

Other odds and ends have included a few concerts, the highlight being Interpol, but we also took a trip to Columbus, Ohio to see Belle & Sebastian and that was amazing as well. 

Interpol!

Some Scots playing us some tunes.

Our buddy Lucas does stand up comedy and when we can we try and go to support him in that. Recently he was at the gay bar doing comedy, and that was quite entertaining! 

Big cat thrones at Tablott Street

My job is still going well, and I get to go to cool events and/or get to travel to neat corners of the state. Recently I got to go to a meeting in Dearborn County, which is on the border with Ohio, very close to Cincinnati. These types of meetings are exciting to go to because people view me as an expert in regards to cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, I wouldn't go as far as to say that, but I am getting pretty articulate on the matter. At any rate, the border between Indiana and Ohio in the southern part of the state is divided by the Ohio River and I went and had a gander.

The mighty Ohio River

We also recently had some national experts in Complete Streets come to Indianapolis to hold a two day workshop with our city employees; Department of Public Works, Department of Code Enforcement, etc. It was really cool to help organize this event, and it was via a competitive grant process. The national coalition is called Smart Growth America, and they are the leaders in advocating for healthier cities and town across the country, with a focus on legislation. Anyways, that was a fun workshop and my 'professional network' continues to expand as a result of my job and for that I am so grateful.

Welcome!

Other summertime things include lots of hanging out on the porch, or the backyard, depending on our mood. Going out to listen to jazz on Thursdays rather habitually. Bike rides with whomever, walks with the pups, and just lots of time with friends. Enjoying long summer nights with friends is what reenergizes me after long winters. I am so grateful to have another summer in Indiana because every time I spend a summer here I always envision that it will be my last, and who knows if this one will be but I'm going to enjoy it as if it is. In a nutshell that means very little sleep, but I'll sleep when I'm dead (as they say).

Katherine captured me on the porch chilling.