A DC Dream House (The Fessenden House)

If you know me, you know one of my favorite things is to drive or walk around DC and check out real estate.  I’ve been doing this for years, spending my Sundays going to open houses and seeing what the various neighborhoods have to offer.  The nature of my job requires that I am in my car a lot, traveling to various vendors and client houses.  That said, I have a pretty good grasp on the layout of the city and I often find myself in neighborhoods where I don’t typically hangout often; real residential neighborhoods that are absent of the local bar or restaurant.  Several years ago on my way to one such client’s neighborhood, I discovered one of my dream houses. 

Not a dream house in the sense of wanting to one day live there but in the sense of wanting to decorate it.  I got in the habit of driving past this house and sitting out front and staring at it and dreaming about how I would decorate the rooms. The last time I drove by this house and took a moment to daydream was 3 years ago, so imagine my surprise when last week a friend forwarded a Business Insider article detailing the listing and selling of the same house! The article finally gave me a peak inside and with 7 bedrooms, a pool house and a wine cellar there is plenty to be decorated in this gorgeous Neo-classical styled house.  Scroll through some of the photos below.

The Fessenden House in Washington, DC. Recently listed for $22 million,
making it one of the most expensive Washington, DC houses ever sold.
Photo via BusinessInsider.com

The rear of the house overlooking the pool and the poolhouse.
Photo via BusinessInsider.com

The kitchen features white cabinetry, granite countertops and brass hardware.
Photo via BusinessInsider.com

The house is composed of four levels.
Photo via BusinessInsider.com

View from the pool house.
Photo via BusinessInsider.com

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WeWork Chinatown DC

Most of my entrepreneurial career has been spent working from home or from local showrooms and coffee shops (upon the occasion when my Internet at home has been down).  But earlier this summer, I bit the bullet (finally!) and leased a shared office space in the WeWork building in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, DC.  Now you can find me at 718 7th St., NW, Washington, DC 20001.

Check out a few photos of the space below!

After entering the building, this beautiful wide staircase greets you and directs you upstairs to the WeWork offices.

Neon WeWork sign just outside the office space.

Reception desk where you can pick up mail and packages and reserve conference room space.

One of three conference rooms, available by reservation only.  This one is for when you require a more relaxed meeting space!

A second conference room.  This one is a bit more formal but still relaxed.

Third conference room and definitely more of what you think of when you think of a typical conference room space!

Private phone booths for when you need to take an important call away from the other co-working entrepreneurs.

Long tables for shared working space.

Sofa, chairs and bean bags for additional (but slightly more comfortable) shared working space.

The kitchen and designated eating space.

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The Graham Hotel - Georgetown

The Graham Hotel Lobby

A few weeks ago, I attended a birthday party on the rooftop of The Graham Hotel, located in Georgetown. It was my first time stopping in, although the hotel celebrated its grand opening in the Spring of 2013. It was previously known as the Monticello Hotel but after an extensive renovation, it has been revamped and renamed after Alexander Graham Bell, who was once a resident of the neighborhood.  I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful decor that greeted me in the lobby, as well as the chic design and styling throughout the rest of the hotel.  I was so impressed with The Graham's level of customer service and the hors d'oeuvres served to our group, my date and I left the party early and decided to have dinner in the hotel restaurant, AGB.  The menu offered a varied array of American fare, from grilled cheese and tomato soup to braised short rib.  We ended up ordering the lobster roll and the steak frites.  The food was delicious and being that we sat down right at 5pm, we were lucky to have the space all to ourselves and thus were able to riddle our server with lots of questions about the menu, the restaurant and the hotel.  I am totally adding this to my list of "staycation" hotels in the city and I will definitely be a fixture on their rooftop next summer.  Check out the photos below.

The Graham hotel

The Graham Lobby. 

Sitting area.

Lobby

Lounge area in the hotel's restaurant ABG.
Photo my own.

The Graham Rooftop Bar and Lounge

*All photos courtesy of The Graham Hotel unless otherwise indicated.

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HENSE the name

A little vision will take you a long way...

     Before. 

     Photo Credit: @hensethename via 

     Instagram

    After.  Photo my own. 

I'd seen pictures of this church floating around Instagram for months and seen the church steeple from the highway many times before finally witnessing it in person earlier this week. I was going about my daily work errands when I realized I was in the neighborhood and decided to take a moment and marvel at this wonderful work of art by Alex Brewer, aka HENSE. It really is a lovely sight to see! I love HENSE's large scale exterior works and the whimsy they bring to otherwise, familiar and mundane architectural spaces.

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Wild for Animal Prints

Of the many things I love, somehow, this summer animal prints have found themselves near the top of the list. I especially love pairing them with bold colors. Here are a couple of ways I've mixed and matched them this summer and a couple of ways I hope to try out in the near future.

Bridal shower attire.
Image my own.

An average Summer day in DC.
Image my own.

Rihanna, Victoria Beckham, and Jessica Simpson in leopard print handbags.
Image courtesy of www.discotreats.com

Rihanna, Beyonce, and Miley Cyrus in leopard print dresses.
Image courtesy of www.discotreats.com

Rihanna in a leopard print blouse.
Image courtesy of www.thechicleopard.blogpsot.com

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Cy Twombly and Richard Serra

Yesterday, my very good friend who is somewhat of a JayZ look-alike sent me a link to GQ magazine's "Man of the Year" article featuring JayZ.  I read it because, well, I'm always curious as to what he's up to and I kinda hoped there would be some mention of Kanye (there was).  But I don't want to talk about JayZ or Kanye (today), I want to talk about two of the artists referenced in the article; Cy Twombly and Richard Serra. 

My first experience with Cy Twombly was on a Sunday afternoon solo trip to the Corcoran.  I came across a large work of art that appeared to be scribblings on a chalk board.  The piece was entitled 'Synopsis of a Battle' and inspired me enough that I wrote the artist's name down with the intent to research more of his work at a later time.  I did and surmised that while the work did not stir up within me an immediate passion to run out and create, it was interesting and I would have liked (RIP) to have had the opportunity to talk art with him.  Check out his work below.

"Synopsis of a Battle" Cy Twombly
on view at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC
(borrowed from http://www.luxeandlucid.typepad.com/)

Cy Twombly (borrowed from http://www.chinoiseriechic.blogspot.com/)

Cy Twombly "Roses" Exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery
(borrowed from HypeBeast/Art Observed)

Another artist mentioned in the GQ article was Richard Serra.  I wasn't aware that I knew Richard Serra's work prior to reading the article. So I again took it upon myself to do a little bit of research.  After researching, I realized I had seen Serra's work up close and personal in the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art.  To be sure, I did a quick google search of "Richard Serra National Gallery of Art" and my theory was proven. I remembered his work strictly due to it's sheer size and weight (sheet metal). It also stuck out in my mind as I remember being afraid it would fall over on me.  While the work on view at the National Gallery of Art was not one of my favorites, I am extremely impressed with Serra's other works.  Take a peek...

Richard Serra "Five Plates Two Poles"
on view at the National Gallery of Art, East Wing in Washington, DC
(borrowed from http://www.cavetocanvas.com/)

Richard Serra
(borrowed from http://www.llanea.wordpress.com/)

Richard Serra (borrowed from http://www.andrecarmellini.com/)

Richard Serra (borrowed from http://www.anyonegirl.com/)

Richard Serra
(borrowed from http://www.lancegray02.wordpress.com/)

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The Knot of a Butterfly...

Since the summer, I've said that starting this Fall, I was gonna be all about bow ties.  I purchased my first bow tie in August for $1 from a thrift store.  Since then I have purchased several more all for less than $10, as I've been leery of investing a ton of money in something I wasn't even sure if I would be able to tie properly.  However, it all sorted itself out this past Saturday night. A good friend was having a birthday dinner at Brasserie Beck.  After helping her pick out her birthday dress the day before, I was a little anxious about what I should wear.  You know that dilemma we girls have in always feeling like we never have anything to wear, well, that's the exact panic attack I had Saturday afternoon about 45 minutes before I was supposed to leave home.  Then I remembered my bow ties!  Since my favorite J. Crew gingham shirt had just been cleaned, I decided to wear that with a purple plaid bow tie, a stretchy black skirt, black stirrups, and black La Perla pumps.  I threw this outfit together in 10 minutes and was out the door (surprisingly) on time!  The dinner was a wonderful feast of food and drink and good conversation with great friends. The bow tie got a lot of stares from strangers and some commentary from friends, but I didn't mind.  I felt fabulous. 

See the pictures below of me in my bow tie, as well as other bow ties I'd like to add to my collection. 

"Gaudi Door" La Noeud Papillon AUD $145



"Icecream" La Noeud Papillon AUD $145



The Perfect Necktie $16.95

"A bow tie can be symbolic for nonchlance, flair, eccentricity, prep, intelligence, wit, charm or just plain fun. A bow tie wearer often has an artist's mind, a respect for tradition and yet a renegade at the same time."

- La Noeud Papillon

"...But perhaps most of all, wearing a bow tie is a way of broadcasting an aggressive lack of concern for what other people think." - Warren St. John, The New York Times

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The Great Case Race 2011

The event was entitled "The Great Case Race 2011" and was held in a condo building in downtown DC, right off 16th St.  The original objective was for 12 people to taste 12 bottles of wine, but end of the night tallies revealed that 45 people tasted 48 bottles of wine.  Nice.  I was invited by my good friend Lauree O.  and told we needed to bring a dish as the event was to be pot luck style.  From my previous post, you know that I brought chocolate peanut bacon bark (it was delicious).  I arrived a little later than most of the party patrons but immediately got acclimated to the festivities and dove right in and began tasting. 



There was a solid array of wines, both red and white.  I started with the reds, working my way from medium bodied to full and once the wines became too heavy/"oaky" for my palette, I made my way back to the whites.  While tasting, I also mingled with Lauree and her friend from college, Peter. During our mingling (which was mostly walking back and forth among the tables sampling cheeses and the delicious chocolates donated by ACKC Cocoa Bar), Peter stumbled upon a sassy pair of red shoes that had been abandoned by their wearer. He then proceeded to model them for our cameras. 

As you can see, he was quite darling. After Peter's sashay in the ruby slippers, we continued walking about sampling cheeses and breads and fruits.  I was especially fond of the grapes.  How ironic/awkward...me hovering about the grapes at a wine tasting.  Go figure.  In the midst of all our tasting and sampling and mingling, I noticed a newly acquired friend, Ashton, whom I met at a Brooks Brothers' event a few days prior. With Ashton was a lovely girl, who was made even more lovely by the Alexander McQueen skull clutch she brought along with her and casually discarded on a nearby bench while she mingled.  Upon spying the clutch, I told her I needed a moment in private with it and proceeded to hold and caress and photograph it. 

Alexander McQueen Skull Clutch



I didn't want to let it go. :(

The night continued pretty much in the same manner, although, once I discovered that clutch, I didn't want to move too far away from it.  So I sat right next to it, only getting up to get more wine.  My reluctance to move could have also stemmed from the fact that my shoes, while quite fashionable, were quite painful.  And unlike the red shoe abandoner, I refused to take my shoes off and let everyone in the party know fashion had gotten the best of me.  So I sat next to the McQueen clutch and silently prayed that the Uni-verse deliver one equally as lovely to my doorstep, post-haste and that Lauree and Peter not want to move to the other side of the room where I would have to stand.  

Fashionable but painful.

The Uni-verse answered one prayer and I continued to sit, we also continued to chat and drink taste.  Towards the end of the night, we were notified that the evening's donations totalled over $1000 and would benefit an organization, known as 'Hole in the Wall Gang', a camp for ill children. Along with cheers, that elicited more drinking tasting until finally there were only 3 bottles of wine left.  

The damage.



An announcement was made that the party needed to dissolve or we could take the 3 bottles of wine and relocate to the roof. Most chose to head home or to other venues. The rest of us, steadfast in our glorious wine-induced haze, headed up to the roof to enjoy the remaining wine and a crisp fall night overlooking the city.



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Jae Ko

Over the weekend, I took a trip to the Phillips Collection for their 90th Birthday celebration.  As part of the promo for the event the gallery was free to the public, *read* it was extremely crowded.  Not one to shy away from a crowd, I stood in line (gasp) and waited my turn for entry to the museum.  Once I was finally inside (20 min later), I was pleasantly surprised by the Jae Ko exhibit.  I'm still not able to decide if the exhibit reminds me of a bunch of amoebas squished together or some kind of striated muscle tissue but nevertheless I was thoroughly impressed by the creativity/ingenuity behind the exhibit since it's composed completely of craft paper.  Here are a few other works by Jae Ko, as well as a video on how the exhibit was installed.  Enjoy!

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