Hope you're having a wonderful week, and if you are in Northern VA/DC have had the chance to enjoy this incredible weather. Feels a lot more like Spring than the last week of January, but if this means we can wander around without a jacket, windows down, good tunes playing, then I am oooookay with it.
This week I'm excited to share a little bit about a new beautiful cafe you need to pop into when you're looking for a break from the DC hustle and bustle, a secret concert series that you and a friend/lover/fellow music gypsy should definitely add to your bucket list, and a big little adventure I will be going on next week. Let's #ConnectRight together....
CONNECT RIGHT: EDITION #3
WHERE YOU NEED TO GO TO SWITCH UP FROM YOUR TYPICAL LATTE...
I am sure you have seen this beautiful cafe all over your social media feed this week, and rightfully so. This Australian cafe brings the healthy Aussie lifestyle to the U.S. in a much-appreciated way.
From gluten-free options to wellness lattes, it's just the thing the DC dining sphere needed this season (and a few years overdue in my opinion). Rather than fried chicken and waffles, you can get a breakfast bowl with sautéed kale, avocado, heirloom tomatoes, quinoa, feta, poached egg and smoked salmon. Not in the mood for a mocha? Go for the Golden Latte. It's a Turmeric latte with Almond Milk and it is incredible. They are going to start serving fresh pressed juices, as would be expected, this month as well. Not a fan of the wellness "trend"? 1. You should definitely try it out (your body and mind will thank you), and 2. Go for the beautiful setting and delicious Aussie Iced Chocolate - this is literally ice cream poured over with milk. With every sip you'll be drifting closer to beautiful clear water, and drown out the incessant honking Ubers on K Street. This cafe pretty much just proves that Australians understand the value of #balance. A cafe that serves beetroot lattes and GF banana bread?! Prayers that more of this kind come our way.
Check it out and let me know what you think!
Bluestone Lane DC is located at 1100 23rd St NW, Washington DC.
WHAT YOU NEED TO ADD TO YOUR 2018 BUCKET LIST...
A Sofar Sounds show.
photo courtesy of Mauricio Castro @themauricio
Sofar Sounds is a global startup that brings together a community of music lovers and talented musicians to secret gigs around the city. The shows are played in an intimate setting (apartment complex, bar, house, etc), and you have to be chosen from the lottery to attend the show. Each show has three acts that perform different genres of music, but are equally talented and beautiful. If you love live music, this is a mussssst. It's such a cool experience to watch these people perform with genuine soul and passion for what they do, so much so they want to do it in a weird basement as you sit on the floor staring at them bobbing your head, drinking whiskey on the rocks with 100 strangers who are doing the same (oh yeah, it's also BYOB). It's also a cool way to discover new bands, so what is not to love?!
I had heard about it forever, and finally was able to make a show a few weekends ago. One of the performers, Jae Jin Music, shared with us that he didn't even know how to play an instrument until two years ago. He had been going through chemo, and realized that life was too short to not try something that he had always wanted to. He was insanely talented, so obviously everyone in the room was shocked, and inspired. I think this goes back to what I shared earlier this week about being a self-taught photographer. You really can make anything happen, and I hope you do! 2018 is the year of self-care and manifesting the things you want to see happen in your life and I can't wait to see what you create.
Artists from the show I attended: Harpooner, Jae Jin Music, and Chris Urquiaga
WHAT I'M LISTENING TO THIS WEEK...
My Spotify playlist: Hopping on a Train
Because that is just what I will be doing on Monday, January 29. I am so excited to share with you that I will be traveling across the country to shoot lifestyle images from a traveler's perspective for Amtrak. I will be stopping along the way to see both new and familiar faces, and will be ending my trip in San Francisco, where I will be staying for a few days *cue San Francisco by Scott Mckenzie*.
As you know, music is my fuel - so I would love to hear any and all song recs you have for a journey across the country!
How to be engaged? Follow along via my Instagram where I will be posting stories, behind the scenes and more over the next two weeks as I share my experience with you!
Have any places that you recommend in San Francisco? I would love to hear those too! Also....any tips you have for being on a train for a week would also be appreciated - can honestly say I have never done that before!
I can't wait to share this journey with you and as always, so grateful for you, your curiousity, and support!
Have a local brand, shop or restaurant you would love to learn about? Let me know and I can share my experience with you!