Quick Update

Hey y'all. Life has been extremely crazy lately and I feel like so many parts of my adventures have been left off the blog. I mentioned that I attended the White House Summit on Working Families a few weeks ago and realized I never really did a follow-up post. 

Well, first of all, my trip was amazing. It was so inspiring to be amongst some of the nation's most influential people in the business world and in the non-profit world. I also had a blast catching up with some old friends while working in the city I used to live in. Here are some of the highlight of the past two weeks. Oh, and of course I am not including the photos from my overnight stay in the Salt Lake City airport. You'll have to check out my Instagram feed for those gems. 

Some of my favorite photos from the Summit. I got lucky and somehow got a front row seat for each of the main presentations. Making new friends can really pay off sometimes!

The past few weeks have been full of trips to Tahoe, San Diego and catching up with old friends-- especially on the 4th of July. It was so fun seeing my little who I haven't seen in years. 

White House Summit on Working Families

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I am so excited to announce that today I am attending the White House Summit on Working Families. I flew into DC late last night and am so excited for the day ahead. It's going to be a long day but I am sure it will be amazing and inspirational. Not only will the President and First Lady be a part of the event, but Joe and Dr. Jill Biden will be as well. This is pretty much letting my inner nerd coming out and I couldn't be more excited. I am sure I will be updating Twitter and Instagram throughout the day and feel free to check out the live stream of the event as well here.

Happy Monday!

West Coast Best Coast

2009

I have been wanting to write this blog post for months now and I finally have the opportunity to share some really exciting news with you: I am moving back to the west coast. I have been looking for a new job for months now and finally gave notice to my current organization this past Friday. While it was bittersweet because I love the people I work with and everything I do, I am extremely excited for my new adventure. I will be leaving DC in two weeks so I wanted to put together a "DC Bucket List" of things I must accomplish before leaving town in just 14 days.

It's amazing to think how much my life has changed since I arrived here with my 4 suitcases just over five years ago. I have met some amazing people, had life-changing opportunities and experienced things I never dreamed of. The thought of moving out of a big city definitely scares me but I know that this new adventure will take me on another amazing journey.

DC Bucket List:

1. Visit another Virginia winery.

2. Go to Nick's. 

3. Have drinks at POV.

4. Have coffee on the Lincoln Memorial steps and watch the sunrise.

5. Eat at El Pollo Rico. Again.
6. Attend one last blogger meetup.
7. HH with my "Bachelor" girls.
8. Go to Luray Caverns (this may not happen).
9. Have bottomless brunch.
10. Go to the top of the dome at the Capitol. I am sure this won't happen but it's been on my bucket list for years so it seems appropriate to include it here.

I am sure I will be adding to this list as I come up with things. If you only had a few days left in DC, what would you be sure to do?

Snow Day

Sweatshirt/ Sweatpants/ Slippers/ Nail Polish/ Movies/ Mug/ Hot Cocoa/ Jacket/ Throw

Today we are preparing for round two of our snow here in DC so I decided to focus today's post on the highlights of snow days: cuddling up in comfy clothes on the couch while catching up on movies and your DVR that's been filling up for weeks. One of my favorite things to do this time of year is throw on my warmest sweats, lay on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate (and tons of marshmallows) while watching snowflakes fall outside my large living room window. There is something about watching the large flakes that is so peaceful and puts me in holiday spirit instantly. And for those moments when you have to step outside (ahem, maybe the delivery guy has brought dinner) I highly suggest a puffy down coat to brave the weather. Above are some of my favorite things for a day home in the snow.

Visting Montana

Yesterday I mentioned that I've been spending the week in Helena, Montana for work. This is my first time ever visiting Big Sky Country and I've had a blast. On the first day we were here, we decided to play tourist and visit as many places as possible before the sun set. We went to the state capitol building, the Helena state park overlooking the town, and drove around looking for the outdoor walking mall. As we were driving, I noticed a deer on the side of the road in someone's front yard... and it was moving. It was a live deer! Now, I may be the only person who was fascinated by this, but it was so cool. I stopped the car (and didn't even pull over, oops) and jumped out to take a picture of this huge guy. I was less than ten feet from the deer taking pictures in awe. It was so cool.  We finished up the travel day by visiting Blackfoot Brewing Company for some local craft beers and popcorn. Um, my favorites.

Day two was spent training most of the day but we made sure to see more of the town when the training wrapped up. We went to Lewis and Clark Brewing Company for a couple quick beers and more popcorn. The fact that this town loves popcorn as much as I do is heavenly. Then, we decided we should actually go out for dinner and went to Bullman's Wood Fired Pizza. Mmm. I went with the Crazy Mountain pizza and was happy to take my leftovers home.

Day three was spent training and then grabbing lunch with some colleagues at the last brewing company in Helena, Brewhouse. We are proud to say we visited them all and I had a fabulous "Athens Chicken Sandwich" for lunch with feta cheese. This town has totally impressed me. Following lunch, we realized we had more time to kill than expected so we got in the car and drove a little over an hour to White Sulfur Hot Springs. It was the perfect way to wind down our trip. I joked in the car that it might smell like sulfur when we got there... and boy was I right. I couldn't get used to the smell but the water was perfect. I wrapped up the night with my leftover pizza and some Modern Family in the hotel room.

Helena made me fall in love with the idea of living in a mountain town and listening to country music. So often, we would show up somewhere to see locals walk in and everyone knew there name. It was so fun to see such small town life and look at everything differently than I do daily in DC. Sometimes getting out of the big city is exactly what you need.

Hello Again: DC

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A few weeks ago, Brad and I attended the "Hello Again" tour hosted by Lincoln Motor Co. This tour offers residents in major cities across the US to drive brand new Lincoln cars around neighborhoods to say "hello again" and rediscover their own city. We were lucky enough to drive two 2013 Lincolns: the new MKZ and MKX. I fell in love with the cars and now really want to own one in the future. Did you know that they now not only have seat warmers, but seat coolers? Love.

Here are some of photos I took throughout the day:

This is the route we drove around re-discovering DC. 

One of the sponsors: Herban Lifestyle 

My favorite stop on the route: Pleasant Pops. It was by far my favorite discovery of the day. I can't wait to go back and try every flavor.

Rooftop.

Brad driving.

Goodie bags.

We had a blast finding new places in the city that we had never been to and have recently found ourselves in the U Street area much more. I am finding so many places I love in the area that it makes me miss living so much closer than I do now. There are so many unique places to eat, drink and visit. I loved redisovering my city and falling back in love with DC.

*Note: this is not a sponsored post.

Insta-Update

It has been months since I posted an update from Instagram so here is what I have been up to lately according to my phone: 

Running outside the Capitol building.

My new favorite wall in my bedroom.

The pajama pants I made in class with Emily. 

My favorite picture from Inauguration Day.

Hanging out at Northeastern University with some of the most amazing ladies.

Georgetown Cupcake… in Boston.

Florida palm tree.

Follow me on Instagram here. 

Find me at saramiller04.

Holiday Cheer

Yesterday, a few friends and I decide to get into the holiday spirit a little differently. We decided to sign up for the Jingle All The Way 8k. Running is not how I typically choose to celebrate the best time of the year, but we all dressed up and were able to run alongside some very festive people. We had a great time waking up early (in the rain!) and heading into downtown DC for a race along the Capitol and the National Mall. What a fun way to spread holiday cheer!

My race bib and christmas light necklace.

I met up with my old boss, Berto. If you are into running, be sure to check out his blog! 

Photo opp with Amanda! 

One of the best parts of the run was seeing all of the great outfits. Here are just a few I was able to snap photos of:

Love all of the Christmas cheer flooding the Capitol:

And our obligatory finisher photo:

What fun ways are you celebrating the holidays this year?

Susanne Kasielke Giveaway

I am so excited to announce today's giveaway from Susanne Kasielke! I met Susanne about a month ago at a friends house and fell in LOVE with her work. She has created some fantastic art pieces and adorable crafts that she sells locally in the DC area. She has also been featured in the Washingon Post!  I am so excited to share some of her pieces with you today! 

Susanne has graciously offered THREE readers a chance to win either a keychain or a pocket mirror (I am obsessed with mine!) from her Etsy shop! Be sure to visit her shop to see her full collection!
Use the Rafflecopter tool below to enter.

Oh, and her crafts would make GREAT gifts for the holidays. Stocking stuffers anyone?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rainy Day Apparel

Top: CAbi Similar Style  Sweater: Banana Republic Similar Style  Skirt: Banana Republic Similar Style  Shoes: Jessica Simpson  Necklace: Stella and Dot

As you can probably tell, today's photos are not the same quality as my usual posts. When I went out to take pictures yesterday morning (in the rain!) I got outside to find that my camera was dead. I had taken so many photos during my photography class the night before and I forgot to charge my battery, so I apologize for the low quality iPhone photos I posted today. 

I know that I have mentioned my photography class before but I am in love with it! We went out on the water in Old Town on Sunday night to take some pictures when the rain stopped. I included a couple of photos I took with no filters or editing: