Small Burst » Field Trip

Smithsonian American Museum Of Art

SB — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:56:04 +0000

Living a hop, skip and jump away from Washington DC sure has it’s perks. One that we take full advantage of is visiting the Smithsonian National museums-all of them. The kids seem to enjoy them all and I love that all Smithsonian Museums are free. Yes, these museums are for everyone to enjoy. One of my favorite museums is the National American Museum of Art and I heart it for a few reasons. Aside from the fact that they house such beautiful and inclusive American Art, there’s also the gorgeous, enclosed Kogod Courtyard where you can either lunch at the Cafe or bring your own pic-nic. I brought my parents here during one of their visits and there was a full-on Salsa dancing show and class afterwards. My Dad happily partook in the lessons while the kids played in the water scrims. I didn’t think to take any photos of the courtyard during our recent visit, but please visit this page to see photos of it. What I did take photos of were our favorite sculptures. As with most of my photos, I did not use a flash. You can capture beautiful, bright, museum photos without the use of flash if your camera is capable and if you know how to use your manual settings.

"Driftwood Horse" © Gena Roma Photography

Although it’s called “Driftwood Horse” it’s actually made of Bronze.

"Jack" © Gena Roma Photography

: “Electronic Super Highway” © Gena Roma Photography

This is actually pretty amazing. All the monitors within each state was showing a program associated with that state. California was showing a documentary on California and for Hawaii, Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii.

"Woman Eating" Sculpture © Gena Roma Photography

This sculpture was so lifelike! Even up close, she looked real.

The beautiful hallway of the museum © Gena Roma Photography

Oh Christmas Tree…

SB — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:00:40 +0000

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. We got into the Christmas sprit early this year and chopped down our Christmas tree during Thanksgiving weekend. I’m so glad we did. The weather couldn’t have been nicer – it was 60 degrees and we could have walked around in our t-shirts. I thought that getting a head start on the tree would give me a leg up on shopping but I’m far from completing my list. I also still need to prepare for our Christmas dinner.I’m tackling prime rib. Anyone have any suggestions on sides? I’m staying away from green bean casserole and want to try something different.

California Landscapes

SB — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:50:18 +0000

I’ve been away having fun with my Lovies and visiting with family in California. Most of you already know that being with my family in California makes “my cup runneth over”. Being with them in beautiful places is just icing on a delectable piece of cake. This year we explored the beautiful coast north of San Francisco. From the beaches (too cold to swim in) to abandoned dairy farms, this area is just breathtaking and I never tire of its rich scenery. I was in photography heaven!

genaroma.com ©

Gena Roma Photography

genaroma.com ©

genaroma.com © genaroma.com ©genaroma.com ©genaroma.com ©

How was your weekend?

SB — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:46:09 +0000

Ours was great but cold. Very cold. We managed to take a little excursion to The Old Post Office to take a tour of the clock tower. For as long as we’ve been living here, this was our first visit. The main event for kids wasn’t really the tower but the ride over via the Metro. Luckily, the metro station stops right outside the Old Post Office so there wasn’t too much walking. Did I mention it was cold? I love DC and all the architecture here. I thought I’d share a few gorgeous details I snapped from our day out. Have a great week!

The Metro

Right outside the Federal Triangle Metro Station

The Old Post Office Clock Tower

Interior of The Old Post Office

Even the radiator in the building was gorgeous

These bars were messing with my photos! LOL

View of the Capitol from the Tower

View of the Washington Monument from the Tower

Farewell Summer

SB — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:45:14 +0000

Summer break is officially over. The kids are back at school this week so we’re once again back on our schedules and routines. Back to running around in the morning trying to get everyone out of the house in time for school and work. Back to cramming our evenings with sports, ballet, homework and trying to find time to make home cooked meals. I much prefer summer when we all could get up pretty much anytime. Now I’m back to waking up at the crack of dawn. Sigh….Oh well, such is life. Here’s to a great school year to all you parents and students out there. I hope you had a restful Labor Day. Here are a few pictures from our weekend. We hit up the National Colonial Farm. We were the only ones there and it was nice!

California Love

SB — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:21:53 +0000

You ever had an experience where you felt so much joy and peace and love in your heart that you wish you could suspend time at that moment? This was me on so many occasions during my visit to California. I have a big, close-knit family in California so when we’re there it’s a big party everyday. Our visits are always jam-packed with togetherness, home cooked meals, stories of yesteryear, jokes, late night talks, and yes, even karaoke. My kids get to run around with their cousins (lost of them!) like a pack of wolves. No video games, no fighting, just some good old fashioned outdoor playtime. Remember when kids did that? The absolute worst thing about going to California is having to leave. It’s almost unbearable to say goodbye to loved ones but once we make it back to the east coast it’s as if everything is where it should be. For now anyways….

California Love

Peeps!

SB — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:52:14 +0000

In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, I give you Peeps and Company. My kids (and me too!) were in heaven and delighted in all things Peeps. There were Lenox Peeps, Peeps golf club covers, Peeps bling, Peeps clothing. You get the gist-lots of Peeps. My fave, which I didn’t take pictures of, were the t-shirts and some packaging with the words, ‘Peeps, Inside We’re All The Same’. Love that! Oh, and the store also features Mike & Ike, Peanut Chews, and Hot Tamales but they were virtually ignored by the kids.

And now a tasty treat for your eyes. For more pictures of the peeps store check out Small Burst Flickr.

Eastern Market

SB — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 05:00:25 +0000

We had the best weather this weekend. The 70 degree temperatures prompted anyone with a yard to do some spring cleaning which is exactly what we did all day Saturday. We couldn’t have a weekend with all work and no play so on Sunday we took a break and took a jaunt to Eastern Market. Eastern Market is one of the few public markets left in Washington, DC, and they offer a large variety of fresh local fruits and vegetables, flowers, delicatessen, meat, cheese, poultry, bakery and dairy products. If you’re coming here for a visit, stop by Market Lunch and try their crab cakes and blueberry pancakes. Can you believe this market has been in continuous operation since 1873! Just adjacent is the Flea Market where you can hunt for antiques and vintage finds. We love coming here on lazy Sundays to grab lunch at one of the quaint restaurants then walking about to have a look-see. Perhaps one of my favorites at the market this time around was the old printing press shop. I was immediately taken by the wooden numbers and letters which come in all shapes and sizes. Ooh and the old printing press silver design blocks-awesome! I’m defintely going back to get the large letters. I just have to decide what word I want to spell out and where to put it. What’s your word and where would you put it?

BTW- I discovered a very lovely Etsy shop at the market so stay tuned for a giveaway and shop feature!