#TheSelbyStories | DC Edition

Ever since our honeymoon to Italy, we have talked about going on more weekend trips to just explore. One of my favorite parts of our honeymoon was all the walking and talking and seeing we did. Bryce's birthday is tomorrow but we celebrated it over the weekend with a trip to DC! (PS all photos are from my iphone- we traveled super light this weekend)

We already had plans to see Houndmouth at The 930 Club, so I built everything around that! 

We headed down to DC Saturday afternoon and checked into our hotel, The Dupont Circle Hotel (who immediately upgraded us when they found out it was Bryce's birthday!). Is my family the only ones that take pictures of the bathroom where they are staying? Just mine? Okay. Well the bathroom at our hotel was beautiful (white marble is my love language) and I couldn't not send it to my family! They had heated floors and the prettiest bath products you ever did see! 

Next we walked to the Spy Museum (and there was a bridge that reminded me so much of one in Rome that ends with the Colosseum) , grabbed drinks at our hotel and then went to dinner at Ezme. A fantastic Turkish, tapas restaurant. 

The next morning we took it easy with coffee and an easy walk around Dupont Circle (which we adore and if we ever move to DC we are moving there or Logan Circle). 

We did brunch at the most fantastic place called, Firefly Cafe. I had buiscuits and gravy, while Bryce had the french toast. The food was divine, and the atmosphere even cooler. There is a giant tree in the middle of the room. They give you your check in a mason jar with holes punched out at the top and a flameless candle to mimic fireflies in a jar. SO CUTE. Then we headed to (walked more) the Botanical Gardens, The Hirshorn and the National Archives.

Are you tired yet? I know I am after recounting all the fun things we did! We made it to dinner (decided to take the metro this time) at a place called The Commissary. They had a fantastic happy hour deal and we got truffle fries (because duh), a quesadilla and grilled artichoke hearts with an aioli dipping sauce. Oh yes, we were quite refreshed and ready to stand for a couple hours at the concert! We had a blast at the concert. Houndmouth recently added 3 new bandmates after someone left, which included 2 saxophone players. They sound so freaking cool. By midnight we had finally made it back home. Phew. And I sit here with lots of coffee. Hope you all had an awesome weekend too!

The Selby Stories | 2nd Edition

Daylight savings got you down? This morning I was NOT happy to be getting up while it was dark outside. However, I'm thrilled it will still be light out tonight at 6:30! 

Last week (I don't remember which day) was international women's day. I love nothing more to empower my ladies! I found this quote and it spoke to me: 

"She was free in her wildness. She was a wanderess, a drop of free water. She belonged to no man and to no city." 

Go and get Monday. Make it yours. 

P.S. How gorgeous is this ring from Saturday?! I just couldn't not share!

The Selby Stories | 1st Edition

Just like Friday's post, today is another new blog series! It's called The Selby Stories. In an effort to better document our moments, I wanted to start a new, reoccurring post on Mondays. Monday's are a hard day for me. Its getting back into routine after having the flexibility of the week. I want this series to help make Mondays easier. I want to reflect on the silly, mundane, love, and adventures of the last week. 

This post dates back a little bit, but thats okay! 

Last weekend we met friends in DC for an amazing brunch at Old Ebbitt Grill. Bryce and I don't make it to DC very often but really enjoy being tourists in our own city. Unfortunately, try as we might, the metro schedules were not in our favor. I'm sure most of you who commute into/out of DC have this happen to you routinely so I really can't complain. But man, those 24min wait times between trains was not fun. 

After brunch, Bryce and I had a course on flash photography. Bryce gave this to me as a Christmas gift. We had hoped it would be more about cool off-camera flash set ups but it was more of a beginners class. Still, it was fun to hang out together and see our friends for brunch! 

In typical Selby luck, Bryce had a terrible fall on ice, Sunday. He's recovering from a bruised sacrum, so activities this week didn't happen. 

BUT SPRING IS COMING! How many of you are doing a little happy dance at the 60 degree days we are supposed to have this week?? Yay for open windows and longer days! 

This weekend was low key, which is our favorite kind of weekend. A stroll through downtown,  a long walk and an amazing engagement session for a June bride and groom! We were driving home last night with our bellies and hearts full, and started singing Goo Goo Dolls songs together. If you've ever seen Elizabethtown, you might remember Kirsten Dunst's character miming a camera and taking a picture of different moments. Last night driving home with Bryce, singing to my favorite band, I took a picture of that moment. It was beautiful.


Hope your Monday goes well! 

Our Next Adventure! | Personal

House hunting is not for the faint of heart I tell ya. You should also be required to purchase a home BEFORE you get married. Its an amazing example of negotiations and compromises, and as we call them in our house, "come to Jesus" moments. 

I walked through at least 20 homes if not more. 
I caught myself saying the same phrases over and over: 

"Its got a great layout." 
"It doesn't have a great layout" 
"That carpet has to go" 
"Gorgeous kitchen."
"What were they thinking?"
"Can we afford this?" 

And we fell in love with one house. A house that upon walking into Bryce and I both knew this was the house we wanted. It had imperfections. All houses do. But we saw such stunning beauty and could imagine great gatherings there. 

Through this whole process we repeatedly told ourselves, if it's meant to be, it will be. The right home is out there for us. And when it happens its going to feel right. 

This house felt right. Felt really right. But we didn't get it. 

It was a hard thing to accept. There were tears. We loved this house! I had already decorated it for Christmas in my mind! But we reminded ourselves, it was not meant for us. I hope the family who did get it will love it as much as we did. 

So we moved along. Nothing really wow'd us. We started to doubt if there was something that we would both love as much as that first house. Then something fell into our laps. 

New construction. 

We didn't even initially consider this option. First time home-buyers, we didn't think we could even afford it. We met with the builder, priced out options (with lots of incentives-they know how to hook ya!) and sat dumbfounded. This might actually work. 

We talked out pros and cons for hours. Talked it over with our parents for hours. The more we talked, the more excited we got. This felt right. There was zero anxiety about this. 

Yes. We decided yes. We were going to do this. 

The morning after we decided we wanted to build, my favorite artist came on the radio as the alarm went off (Goo Goo Dolls). A sign. It was meant to be. The day we signed the papers, it was 60 degrees and sunny. Another sign. The day we had our mortgage meeting it flurried briefly on our way there-another sign. If you are looking for them you can "create" a sign out of anything. But as calm as I felt, these little signs served as reminders that we were making a good choice. This was the right house. It hasn't revealed itself yet because it wasn't the right time. I'm a big believer that if I'm meant to have a new shirt, it will be in the color and size I want. Otherwise I wasn't meant to have it. So you better believe, that something as big as buying a house is, I was going to trust in the process. 

So without further ado, we are the proud new homeowners of a plot of dirt that will eventually have our first home on it! 

We should be ready to move August/September! 

Follow along. #theselbyhome #yesterdaylane #theselbystories