Botany, bling, bias, and babies, or my trip to Washington, D.C.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off this weekend in Washington, D.C. My sister tells me that it's absolutely amazing because the entire Tidal Basin area is enshrouded with cherry blossoms. We were up there visiting a few weeks ago and managed to see a few early birds unfurling their delicate petals, but nothing like the full-on display that's probably going on now.

We also had a chance to poke around and see some of the wonderful (and free!) sights around the National Mall. In my mind, any visit to the Mall isn't complete with a quick loop through the First Ladies collection. I adored this gown from Mamie Eisenhower, both for its mid-century cut and its lush color. Sorry it's out of focus -- it was a little dark in there.



And check out the detail on this gown that Pat Nixon wore. Talk about bling!



While my hubby was didn't object to coming with me to see the pretty dresses, he much preferred our visit to the National Air and Space Museum. And surprisingly, I found some lovely creative inspiration there, like the dreamy background color and interesting font on this Russian rocket.



I adored this collage board of World War II era ephemera collected from soldiers who served in the Pacific Theater. Isn't that pin-up girl just so cute and sassy?



And looky here -- who knew that there would be sewing terms hidden inside such a techie museum! Apparently the wings of the Wright brothers' glider were covered with a single layer of French sateen fabric stretched on the bias.



Aside from seeing my adorable one-year-old twin nephews, the best part of the weekend was definitely getting to go up inside the Washington Monument. I'd never been before and we lucked into tickets while we were on our way to have lunch with my friend Sarah.



Holy moly -- you can see forever from up there! Here's the view looking down the Mall toward the Capitol.



This shot is looking toward the WWII Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Lincoln Monument.



And do you recognize the building in the center of this one? It's the White House!

Ah... Savannah

Savannah is my second favorite Southern city. Much like New Orleans, it's a city that is steeped with history but doesn't come off as the least bit stodgy. In fact, it's a hip, contemporary town that isn't worried about taking itself too seriously. Chalk it up to the great art school that continues to bring in creative people who fall in love with Savannah and never get around to leaving.

The New York Times just did a feature on Savannah and gave a shout-out to one of my favorite places for creative inspiration -- shopSCAD.

I stumbled across shopSCAD completely by chance when I visited the city in July 2004 with my friend Jenny. I was totally mesmerized by the amazing things for sale there, all created by current or former SCAD students and/or faculty. Jenny's lucky that she was ever able to drag me out of there!

I was particularly smitten with the wallets, checkbook covers, and passport covers made from vintage papers, made by a company called 11:11, or "eleven eleven." When I went to the site today, I also fell in love with the darling pillows made by Pamela Riley and the chipmunk chest by Katie Runnels which is pictured above.

If you're ever in Savannah, be sure not to miss this little gem. Or, visit the newly opened shopSCAD in Atlanta.