oldies but goodies from the summer

crumbs & whiskers! DC's first cat cafe

If you live in DC metro area, you've probably heard of Crumbs & Whiskers - this city's first cat cafe. The place opened not too long ago to much anticipation after its successful Kickstarter campaign (more than $35k! cool), resulting in a long wait list and people being turned away on weeknights. The owner/founder, Kanchan, is my age (I think) and listening to how she came to start gave me a little nudge in my heart, because honestly, opening a cat cafe (or even just a cafe) is not easy. This whole thing, to me, is pretty inspirational.

I wouldn't say I'm a cat person but I still do like cats. Just unfortunate that I'm allergic. Not terribly, but if I touch a cat or be near a cat for more than 10 minutes I'll start going crazy. So how did I survive shooting/doing interviews for ~2 hours at a place swarming with like 30 cats? I'd say the place is pretty well ventilated - and clean. And my sheer willpower to not die.

If you live in DC area and are not repulsed by the sight of cute cats, you should definitely check it out! It's nested in an adorable building in Georgetown and the people (and cats) are incredibly nice. When you first enter the place feels a little tiny but there's a second floor where the VIP cats choose their favorite human to go home with. Jk. But all cats are from the DC Humane Society and are adoptable. When we went, they had been open for 6 days and had 6 cats adopted - so that's a pretty good rate!

^ cat giving me his/her fierce look

And here is Kanchan! (below) I mean, how adorable is she?

Video for PBS NewsHour coming soon!

The Wydown of DC

About a month ago, I had the privilege of shooting + writing for Sprudge about The Wydown's new location on 14th & U St. I had a blast interviewing Alex and Chad -- they're truly some real nice guys (from the midwest!) having so much fun with coffee. Here are some outtakes from the shoot:

Probably the only ALS ice bucket challenge I'll ever be involved in

This weekend has been absolutely fantastic. There is really no other way to describe it. Not only am I having a full weekend back home in TX for the first time in 5 months, but we (some NewsHour staff) also got to dump some ice water onto our awesome anchors for their ALS ice bucket challenge in the wee hours of the morning. After all the donut, bagel and ice bucket challenge excitement, I hopped on the plane to finally come home for once. Home is so good for the soul.

Spoiling myself a bit

I may not be the type of girl that spoils herself with brand name shoes. But that doesn't mean I don't splurge on the "extra" on the rare occasions when I do have some money and time. For example, coffee. Food outings, including ostentatious brunch trips, hah. Expensive film lab services. Yeah -- I finally got these film scans back from Film Box Lab in Nashville -- expensive but worth it. All photos taken back in early May.

Of course, Madcap coffee tasting event was completely free. After the jitters from all the free coffee, Lauren and I headed over to Bub and Pop's sandwich shop next door for some real food (we think it'd be extra charming if they provided pastries or food at coffee tasting events...heh heh). I have a thing for Italian hoagies. GAH.

Brunch at Ted's Bulletin on 14th when Sammy surprise-visited me that weekend: Also: let's please not forget that they make pop-tarts from scratch. Random thought: I feel like I end up getting lunch food 90% of the time I go get "brunch." Anyone with me?

sunday recap: Georgetown, hanging by the waters

Let's be real: I hate going to Georgetown. Yes, it's the nicer part of the city but still, I'm not a fan of being trampled by tourists while squeezing my way through its morbidly narrow sidewalks. Just never worth it. But last Sunday, with the realization that I hadn't been there in months, I made an active decision to mosey on over to the rich kids' part of the town to renew my hate for Georgetown. Okay, fine, I'm kidding, Georgetown is absolutely lovely. It's crowded but pretty nice. Anyway, here's a tiny tip: go down by the waters if you want a bit of breathing room. Take a stroll on the boardwalk, stare at the boat people and sip on cold coffee while you're at it. And there it was -- a lazy, lovely Sunday afternoon in Georgetown.