My dear Chicago friend Kristina was moving to DC and needed someone to make the trek across 5 states with her. I gladly volunteered as I really haven't spent that much time exploring the Midwest or the East coast and plus I kinda like hanging with my girl K-sos. Thus the whirlwind weekend began.
Friday after work some friends of ours wanted to go camping down in
Nauvoo, Illinois. Michael and I had never actually been camping the whole time we've known each other, so I guess it was about time. We borrowed all of our gear, packed in a rush, and were on the road. Whenever I leave the city I feel one of two things, 1. "Wow, it's so nice to get out of the city every once in a while, see some open spaces," and 2 "Who the heck lives out here?" We drove about 4 hours from Chicago, talking dreaming, eating Noodles and Co, until we arrived set up camp and roasted some S'mores. Our friends in Chicago really are the coolest. They are our little Chi-Family.
Saturday we were supposed to explore Nauvoo, but ended up at an ER in Iowa. I had never been to Iowa before, check that bad boy off my list. We were playing a game that is just too complicated to explain (
watch this video) and one of my friends got a little bit of a concussion, so we just needed to get her checked out to make sure nothing permanent was going on. As it turns out in the middle of no where Illinois the only thing open on a Saturday is the Emergency Room… in Iowa. Adding "Urgent Care centers always open" to one of my perks of living in the city. When we finally got back to Nauvoo we had time to check out the temple, play a few games, and see the Missiouri River (which is ginormo BTW). Then we drove back to Chicago, grabbing some mexican food on the drive home.
Sunday was a quick pit stop to sacrament meeting for Kristina to say bye to everyone, then we were off, with McDonald's in hand. We literally pulled up to McD's at 10:29. GLORIOUS I SAY. Our drive was uneventful. Through Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, finally ending in good ol' DC. If you can make it through a road trip that is 12+ hours with someone you're probably pretty great friends because you didn't kill each other. We just listened to music, talked, and drove. With a million Diet Coke/Bathroom stops in between. I'm sad that she's moving, but I am happy for her. City life is transient. People move on all the time to bigger and better and more suburban things. It's just a fact.
Monday we spent time as tourists. I went to
DC last year to visit Jane and it looked mostly the same, but what a bummer they aren't offering free White House Tours. I demand to see the inside! I pay taxes! This time we hit up
Shake Shack and all my jealous instagram Shake Shack rage was finally satisfied.
They even regrammed my photo. Whhhhhatttt is life. We saw old friends that had also made the great exodus to DC from Chicago and soaked up all the Monuments the city has to offer. It's a pretty cool place if you're into that sort of thing. My favorite was the contemporary art museum. Partly because of it's amazing air conditioning, partly because of the
killer photography exhibits. What blows my mind is how this giant bustling city only has tiny little buildings because nothing can be taller than the Washington Monument. That sassy lady keeping everyone in check.
Then it was time to leave and Kristina drove me to the airport in Maryland and away I went. I read
Fangirl on the way home. Give me all of the Rainbow Rowell books ever. The jist is that I just went all over the freaking place. All in 72 hours. And it was weird and life is good.
Now for the PHOTO DUMP. MUWAH.
Road Trip to DC selfie!
Dreams do come true.
Bye Adams family. Love you long time.
All photos c/o of my lovely little iPhone. How did we ever survive without them?
By now you know journals are one of our most favorite things. We both grew up writing out our lives, and we even built our friendship over journaling. Years of practice have helped us refine our personal styles of both the art and written aspects, and we love sharing our tips and ideas with anyone who will listen. Whether you're a seasoned writer or newbie journaler, hopefully this post sparks an idea or two. There's nothing that makes us happier (seriously!) than hearing someone say they dusted off their diary and started writing again. Keep reading for our 10 journaling essentials!
Washi tape is versatile--use it for everything from a page border to labels for pictures. You can find washi tape on Etsy, at craft stores, or even Walmart and Target.
We love our instax cameras, but any photos will work. They'll provide a great snapshot into that moment of your life paired with your writing. And don't forget the scissors up there in the left corner--keep them close. We're always needing them to cut washi tape and magazine pictures.
You had a collage phase in your teen years too, right? Actually, I guess I'm not fully out of that phase. Old magazines are great for accent illustrations/phrases or collages. Harley and I have created many collages in our journals.
You probably won't have access to new, interesting business cards every day, but definitely grab them anytime you visit somewhere new. I took one from each store and restaurant Harley and I went to when I was in Chicago, and they made a fun page in my journal.
Again, we like these for collages and other illustrative purposes. The Anthropologie catalog pages create magical backgrounds. Some of our other favorites: Free People and J. Crew.
I'm sure you've heard it before, but Pilot G-2 pens are our favorite. We like the .35 - .5 tips best.
If you're not attaching scrappy stuff with washi tape, we suggest photo splits. They're double sided and, therefore, inconspicuous.
Project Life cards can add a lovely element to art journal pages, but also notice scrappy-type items in little shops, in your mom's craft room, or on the street. I found an old playing card on the road in Chicago and used it on a journal page. I've also picked up dropped shopping lists in parking lots before. You can find gems everywhere!
