"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterward." (Spanish Proverb)

How wonderful to have a weekend devoted completely to...myself! Okay, so that sounds a bit narcissistic. What I mean is that I'm totally loving have a weekend devoted to whatever I'd like to do--free of homework, work, and obligations. It's rare to wake up and have the whole day to do absolutely whatever you want (no less, in the nation's capitol!), so this weekend is a treat.

Speaking of treats, yesterday I treated myself with a little trip over to 11th and F street, also known as the block with my two life loves: H&M and Forever 21. I promised myself to only consider clothes I could wear to work (so I wouldn't feel so bad about purchasing them). To any fellow Forever 21'ers out there reading this, this is seriously the best Forever 21 store I have ever visited. Most I've visited, including the one I'm used to at Crabtree Mall in Raleigh, are massive, messy, unorganized, and just plain overwhelming. This location, on the other hand, is wonderfully organized (all three levels!) and clean. It's like Forever 21 heaven.

(It's kind of embarrassing I just wrote an entire paragraph about Forever 21. Hey, what can I say?)

I passed by the White House to say hi to my favorite DC neighbors after shopping:

I also picked up The Good Daughters, a book I've been wanting to read for a while and finally have some time to now. 

Today (Sunday) was wonderfully relaxing. I grabbed some free hot chocolate from my lobby first (I'm hopelessly addicted) and went down to the weekly Sunday morning FRESHFARM market in Dupont Circle:

 I had never been to a farmer's market in the city, and it was a fun experience. Lots of locals clad in their puffy jackets and cups of Starbucks with their cloth grocery bags ready to stock up on local meats and fresh produce. I was just window shopping (what do you call "window shopping" at an outdoor market?) but was tempted to buy some of the fresh bread since I do love my carbs. 

I had lunch at Chipotle (yum!). It's sort of down in a basement from street level and had a cute little view looking up and out:

After lunch I went to a Caribou Coffee in Dupont for a perfect Sunday afternoon: curled up in a comfy chair with a good book (and some good phone conversations). 

I also took the metro up to DC's one and only Target (also the only two-story Target I've ever been in). I love the city, but there's something about walking into Target that is so comforting. My favorite part of this trip was discovering the cart escalator, because you have to get your cart to the second story of the store, right? You just hook your cart into a step of the little escalator and it just rides right up alongside you. It's almost kind of hilarious. (Tempted to take a photo but decided I took enough random tourist-like photos today.)

The best part of today? Knowing I have tomorrow off too. I think I see some cooking and/or baking in my immediate future.