I discovered some fantastic books this year! And, as you’ll see, they cover quite a few topics. It’s good to have more than one interest, right?
If you’re looking for some suggestions for your very own reading list, take a look at these. And let me know of anything that you recommend for my 2016 list!
Fact: The end of August is a great time to buy airline tickets. I received an alert around that time from one of my favorite travel sites, TravelZoo, about a flash sale from Frontier Airlines—with fares as low as $15 each way! Luckily, I was online at the time and had a few minutes to spare.
I’d really been wanting to head back to New York City lately. I start feeling this longing for the City after not having seen a Broadway show in a long time. 😉 If I could fly up and back in the same day cheaply, I’d get there a lot more often to see shows and friends. Anyway, that’s the deal I was hunting for . . . and I found it! For just $30 round-trip, I had scored myself a ticket to NYC! It did require an overnight stay, but luckily I had hotel points.
Now, I was on a buyer’s high! I mean, come on, that’s a great deal! I clicked back on the site to see what else might be available to me. And, as you can imagine, the deals were selling out quickly! There were several other offers, but I had a few requirements. First, I needed it to be a short trip due to my schedule at the time. There weren’t a lot of gaps. And the cheapest deals were on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. So, that meant I needed to stay in my time zone, or make it a short flight, to get the biggest bang for my buck (all 30 of them). Second, it’s not like I have piles of money lying around. And NYC isn’t a cheap city. So, I needed to be able to find a place with multiple options for my hotel points, that would still be convenient to the places I wanted to go. Also, Frontier charges for things that other airlines don’t, so if you aren’t careful, costs can easily go up. Finally, I didn’t want to rent a car, so I needed to be able to walk or use public transportation or the like.
Washington D.C. fit the bill. And I’ve been there twice, but had been wanting to go back. Plus, lots of free museums! So, I snagged that ticket too. I couldn’t believe it!
So, now I had two destinations and one full day to spend in each. Here’s how I made the most of 24 hours:
New York City
Landed around 9:00 a.m. Yes, that meant getting up crazy early!
Took NYC Airporter into the City. Great service!
Checked in early to Seton Hotel. They were super nice to let me check in so early.
Popped into Grand Central Station since I used to work there. I always feel like I need to check in. 🙂
Walked to Bryant Park, where they were having a Christmas Village of shops and an ice skating rink. While there, ran into someone I knew from Atlanta, the owner of Smart Glass Jewelry, and chatted for a bit.
Walked through Times Square and down to Herald Square where a lady stopped me and told me that I was a complete doppelganger for her friend.
Met my friend, Jordan, for lunch at this super yummy Korean place she loves.
Went to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. It’s incredible. Please go.
Met my old roommate, April, to try and get lottery tickets to Hamilton, but didn’t win. That show is on my list!
Ended up with rush tickets to Something Rotten, which was my second choice. And let me just say—they were BOX SEATS! (Broadway bucket list!)
Dinner at Ca Va just a couple blocks way. Delicious.
Saw the super funny show, Something Rotten, and chatted with the two older ladies who were in our box. Sweethearts.
Snagged a tea from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Times Square, my favorite coffee chain.
Back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep.
Took NYC Airporter back to the airport.
Flew out at around 9:30 a.m!
Washington DC
Landed around 1:00 p.m.
Uber Pooled to my hotel, the Grand Hyatt. Another really wonderful hotel allowing me to check in early.
Trekked to the MLK Memorial since I didn’t have a lot of daylight left. Quite beautiful and inspiring. It was #1 on my list for this trip.
Headed over to the reflecting pool since the two other times I’ve been, it has been drained. Third time’s a charm!
And then, once you’re on the National Mall, it’s just so easy to hit every other memorial and monument in that area, even though I’ve seen most of them before. Might as well get another pic!
Walked over to the ellipsis to see the White House as the sun was setting.
Spent time at the National Portrait Gallery. I’ve never been here, and it was just ok. Not my first choice, but the only one open till 7:00 p.m. Seriously, all the museums close way too early! I would’ve enjoyed the guided tour, I think, but they didn’t have one in the evening. So, I’m glad I checked it off my DC museums list, but I wouldn’t do it again like many of the others.
Met my friend, Liz, for dinner at one of her favorite places, Central. Really good.
Back to the hotel to rest my feet and sleep. Unknowingly, I had walked 11 miles! And boy, did every part of my feet and legs feel it.
Most of my morning the next day was spent at Ford’s Theatre. I’d tried to go on my last trip, but it was under renovations. It’s a really great museum, and one day, I’d also love to see a show there.
Final stop was the Newseum. I hadn’t even heard of it until my friend Becca suggested it when she found out I was going. It’s incredible! I wish I’d had more time, but will definitely go back. Luckily, I got to go on the guided tour which made getting through it and understanding it much easier in a short amount of time.
Then it was back to the airport via Uber around 2:00 p.m.
Two very quick, but very fun trips! You can see more photos on my Instagram here.
After these two experiences, I will definitely do this again next year!
This Tuesday, October 6, you can buy the first copies of my friend Katrell’s book, Tiger Heart. I would absolutely love for you to do this! You won’t regret it. It’s the really incredible true story of her life, and how she dreamed up her organization, The Learning Tea, which provides college educations for impoverished girls in India. For those of you who have been reading this blog for a while or following me, this is the woman I went to India with this summer.
The proceeds from the book will support the organization, so you’d also be benefiting a great cause. There is a lot of humor in the book, but also a lot of inspiration. One of the reasons Katrell wrote the book, the first in a series of three, is that she wanted people to see that amazing things can be done without a lot of resources or money. And I assure you, she is doing some remarkable work. Each of the girls in her program is talented, and has accomplished a lot. All they needed was the chance, which this program gave them.
The book includes some really crazy stories, some of which may even be hard to believe. But if you’ve been to any third-world country, I assume it won’t sound too far-fetched to you. 😉 Weird things happen in these places! Maybe that’s part of the reason we love them.
So, whether you love reading, social justice, Atlanta, India or inspirational stories, I think you’ll really enjoy the book. I certainly did.
And here are a few other ways you can support Katrell’s work:
If you’re in the Atlanta area, you can attend the book launch party on October 15 at the Margaret Mitchell House.
Please visit TheLearningTea.com for more info about the program, or Dr. Bombay’s for info about her tea shop that funds the organization. It’s awesome!
Purchase tea! The current tea is loose leaf, but she hopes to move to tea bags before too long. This was part of the work we did on the trip.
If you’re in the Atlanta area, stop by Dr. Bombay’s for a cup of tea or coffee! High tea is also served daily, and is delicious! Many of their food items are made in house, or bought from locals. And the last Monday of each month is a 4-course meal for $20 that supports The Learning Tea.
This week I attended Plywood Presents again. I missed it last year, but it was good to be back. I’ve always loved their tagline, “We will be known for the problems we solve.”
It was a great couple of days, and I wanted to share my favorite quotes.
I didn’t take any notes during his session because it was a series of spoken word performances and explanations. I’m not usually a big spoken word/poetry fan, mostly because I probably just don’t get it, but I REALLY loved this guy. He was incredible, and I was able to connect with what he was saying. Check out my favorite piece, “My Father is an Oyster.”
“If you’re alive, if you’re breathing. We need you. You can do anything.”
I didn’t really take notes here either. It was really just this guy telling his story, but it was a fantastic presentation, and he has a terrific story. Plywood is not a Christian conference, but there are many Christians there. Jeremy’s presentation was built on how he felt like he couldn’t do anything right as a kid, but his parents instilled Philippians 4:13 into his head, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And once that message took root, he has done some really remarkable things.
“The people closest to the action will know what to do before the leadership every time.”
“Leaders are resourceful, creative and get it done no matter what.”
“If you really believe something is right, say yes and figure it out. But you have to be willing to do the work.” #hustlemuscle
“You succeed faster in life when you see the patterns. And you have to know where you fit into it. You have to be not only smart, but aware.”
“Work with different teams more often to see patterns emerge faster.”
“If you’re thinking of bailing on something in life, make sure you have a compelling alternative.”
“When you get criticized, assume for one minute they’re right. Take a hard look and see if it changes you’re mind or solidifies your position.”
“You need a culture where employees are proud and grateful. That comes organically, but can be nurtured. You can’t force it.”
“My best lessons have come from my humanitarian work.”
“We all have limited resources. Focus on things that are small enough to change but big enough to matter. You have to really pay attention to find the right size.”
I plan on getting his book called, “Margin.” Actually, all of his books sound great. Just wish they were on Audible!
“You can do extreme things, but then you need to rest.”
“There is a boxing match happening between your limits and progress.”
“There are 2 trillion URLs, 150K products in Walmart, 55K combinations at Starbucks, people check their smartphones 150x per day, and there are over 68K medical codes.” Information overload!
“Stress is the way we adapt to change.”
“You have all the clocks and we have all the time.” a man in Malawi he met
I discovered some fantastic books this year! And, as you’ll see, they cover quite a few topics. It’s good to have more than one interest, right?
Mental Post-Its 