Category Archives: Emily D.

1. You were raised a nerdy traveler. Anyone who grew up in the state of Virginia remembers the school trips to Bull Run, DC museums, Williamsburg, Jamestown, Monticello, and any of the other handful endless abyss of historical and cultural landmarks across this great state. I mean, do you really expect anything less from a state that produced eight presidents AND Pocahontas?

I was no exception… except that my PARENTS also believed in this educational travel hullabaloo, and I happened to be in a super active Girl Scout Troop (fun fact: it was led by Denise’s mom!). That’s right, I didn’t set foot on an airplane until I was 16, but I saw the Historic Triangle  at least 5 times before that and suffered through was obsessed with every other cultural experience that our state had to offer – from Luray Caverns to the Stonewall Jackson Shrine to every children’s discovery museum in the commonwealth.

no really, this exists.

my 15th trip to Williamsburg, probably.

Well, something in there must have stuck, because I’m pretty convinced that my travel style is very much of the nerdy persuasion, as evidenced by pretty much every work trip that I take.

2. You text your parents while on travel. Ok, so maybe my parents are usually my go-to “I’m alive after that plane ride” folks. But I also insist on sending them 15-photo updates and selfies of what I am doing, mostly because my Instagram followers already hate my quadruple-posts within 5 minutes of landing, and my dad is so into it that he saves every photo onto his phone (Truth. Biko, my sister’s cat, also has his own folder in the camera roll).

High Museum in Atlanta

HEY PARENTS HERE I AM

On Monday, I also texted my parents: “I can’t believe how much I have lucked out. I never would have pictured this three years ago.” The thing is – while I never expected it to be a part of my job, I love traveling for work (which is how the majority of it happens these days – thanks, government!), and I equally love sharing my experiences and my excitement with others – and my parents are incredibly supportive and always willingeager THRILLED to hear it.

Feet shots are also mandatory.

3. Your immediate instinct when given a destination is to look up every local/regional museum… and then cross-list them by accessibility to the hotel and the quality of their content.

newly installed Gutai exhibition at the Gugg? Hellz to the yes.

4. Martin Luther King, Jr. wins over the World of Coke. No question.

MLK murals.

Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta

Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in ATL – Martin + Coretta

5. You drag your boyfriend to a small photography gallery in an office/apartment building instead of going to the Met. And he happily obliges, until you nearly cry over the stunning $15,000 photo that you now want.

Kenro Izu is a genius.

6. You’re not afraid to fully interact with museum exhibitions. Or casually befriend every single employee in the process. While at the Guggenheim in February, I insisted on waiting 15 minutes with the security guard in order to press an alarm-triggering switch on the half-hour for a newly-installed piece.

INTERACTIVE IS THE BEST.

7. You have a sweet program with your job where you get free admission to museums nation-wide. And you can’t think of a better perk for your life.

I got to see this sculpture made of chewing gum – FO FREE!

I contemplated how I could somehow incorporate this into the design of my future home

8. You’re not ashamed to cry in public when a museum is closed.

COOPER HEWITT, WHY YOU NO OPEN FOR ME?!!!

9. You get teared up over the scripting and narrative selection for museums and memorials, and then mass-text your entire contact book to share it with them.

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the question. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?”

10. You know how to take a personal break too – even though it usually still has some type of historical context.

memorial headquarters for my sorority in Atlanta

The best friends are the ones who completely indulge your nerdy travel wishes and get just as excited to run around with you.

whimsical Wednesday inspiration via jordanderuiter

So we all know that feelings are a bit hard to come by sometimes in my world, but I have to say – I have zero problem with feelings that take the form of spunky designs and fresh spring colors. I’d wear my heart on my sleeve/back any day if it looked this cool.

Last night, I gathered with some of my dearest friends (who also happened to be my four fourth-year housemates at U.Va) for dinner. In particular, I am a giant nerd with numbers and assigned yesterday, 4/4/13, as “443 Day” in honor of our house number on 14th Street in Charlottesville. One of them smartly pointed out that we will encounter more 443 days every ten years, so we’ll be doing this until we’re 95… but we’re not complaining about that!

Over the past week, I have been reminded several times how lucky I am to have such amazing friends around me. Last weekend, I got to show half a dozen sorority sisters my museum’s current exhibition and spend a few days running around DC with them. One of them also magnificently came to the rescue last Thursday evening when I was moving apartments and on the verge of tears for 24 hours straight from stress and anxiety.

On Easter Sunday, twelve lovely ladies came out to my parents’ home in Clifton for brunch and an egg hunt. They filled our home, played along with every game, and brought some life back to what was once a quieter holiday in the Draper home.

collage courtesy of Kimmy

On Tuesday, Denise prepared a spectacular birthday evening for me in my new home, complete with an insane amount of cake and wine. A dozen of my friends in the DC area made sure they got out of work on time and took metros and buses and rush-hour highways to come celebrate.

tell me Denise isn’t THE BEST

And last night, I came together with four ladies who made my fourth year at U.Va unforgettable in so many ways. Afterward, my dear friend Kimmy took me on my first car-sharing experience in DC with Car2Go.

clown car for life.

smartcar > metro

As we bumped down K Street in our tiny toy car that didn’t even come equipped with a car horn, I couldn’t help but think of a photo I had seen in the U.Va Magazine shortly after Teresa Sullivan arrived in 2010:

T-Sull and Pat Lampkin orrrrrr…. Kimmy and Emily in 30 years?

Because, well… yes! Sometimes that’s kind of what I want in thirty years. And no, not specifically an orange toy car to drive around a college campus with Kimmy (although, that would be a total bonus and I wouldn’t turn it down)… but in thirty years, I still want all of these wonderful friends in my life. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the number of circles of friends that I have…. they seem to keep growing, which most people say is a good problem to have. It spoils me, too – between all of them, 99.9% of the time there is someone who understands a work or life issue that I am going through, or shares my interest in bad reality tv, or wants to try a new activity with me.

I’m a classic Type-A personality, and I tend to spread myself thin. Friends are no exception – it seems that I am always “scheduling in” one friend or another, this dinner or that wine date. I’ve never felt drawn to the commitment of that one BEST friend, that one friend above all others. I prefer to have many best friends – or, many people that I treasure building my life around. So all of you out there.. you know who you are. You’re the best. You’re my best. And I’m going to keep building my life around you for years to come.

want. want want want. freaking WANT. (via littlegoodall)

Holy Week is upon us! So get your Lenten butts in gear, wish away all this dreary snow, and get ready for Easter, spring, and some sunshine! (please, please, pleaseeeee let there be sunshine! and soon!)

As for me, I already have my Easter outfit covered, clearly.

Because I am a history nerd (via Mugsleys)

Because I am an ice queen (via CharlieChalkDesigns)

Because I am going to miss Denise if she moves far away for grad school (via Heart Map Mugs)

Because I am addicted to sugar (via LennyMud)

Because I have a deep love for Jackson Pollock (via sproutstudio)

Because I love a strong aesthetic, straight lines, and well-organized colors (via Karin Lorenc)

Soooo I’ve already had two cups of coffee this morning, and I was inspired to share some of my favorite recent mug finds, which may just happen to represent some of my labels from posts past.* Also, FYI: my birthday is in 16 days, in case you need some gift inspirations. Happy Friday!

*Still trying to figure out how these mugs relate to my labels? Never fear! Check out some throwbacks here: Nerd (we are all nerds here at LiL), Ice Queen, Denise’s BFF, Sweet Tooth, A Little Bit OCD