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Etxe : Home with Betsy

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etxe : home

Each Tuesday we'll be posting a new perspective on ETXE : HOME. This piece is by photographer and friend, Betsy Law.

How do you define home?

Home is where I want to be after a long drive.

Betsy Canva

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home is a place where I can hang up my coat, and leave it there for days.

Betsy Home 2

 

What in your closet makes you feel most at home?

My plastic box that contains handwritten letters and holiday cards from friends and family throughout the years

What is your favorite memory of home?

Laying on the hardwood floor on a summer afternoon with Skills (my dog) as we enjoy the warmth of the sun. Mom is preparing dumplings. Dad is reading a newspaper and eating fruit. We all chat about Angel (my sister) and hope she is doing well. This memory is a recurring scenario in my home -- enjoying each other's company regardless of what we're doing.

BetsyHome3

What’s something you always take with you when traveling to remind you of home?

Nothing tangible -- just memories of home when I'm in unfamiliar places for long periods of time.

Betsyhome4

 

Read last week's ETXE : HOME with Emily.

Los Angeles is not a place

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Nick Waterhouse the Hamilton 2014 DC Los Angeles is not a place.

It’s a feeling. A memory. A phase. A thought. A dream. A desire. A living history. A destination. A destiny.

It’s the sensation of driving down the 101 in no traffic and thinking about the intersections and the off ramps and the blood rushing in and out and the interconnected separation that makes it so perfectly juxtaposed.

It’s the ocean breeze that you can feel even under layers of smog on the rooftop of a downtown highrise.

It’s that smell of burning wood when you’re chilling in a hoodie after a day of baking on the beach.

It’s the sound and sight of car chases and sirens. The stairs and hills and lights that illuminate your favorite neighborhoods. The movie stars that are dead and the living screenwriters that are sleepwalking.

It’s the casual bliss of being -- comfortable, aspirational, convenient, but unattainable to everyone else.

It’s the art deco and the western and the overcrowded church with no air conditioning. It’s the glitz and the violence and the mosh pits on the boardwalk.

It’s the mountains and the canyons and the clubs and the beach and the asphalt and the sun and the tacos and the palm trees and the supermarkets and the drivethrus and the old movie theatres.

It’s the ability to drive anywhere and do anything and be anyone at anytime so long as there isn’t traffic.

It’s the expectation and the setting and the pleasure of knowing what you will find. It’s the surprise of the new and the constant reminder of the familiar.

It’s the landing strip and the luggage and that weightlessness that just never goes away.

It’s the way you think it was and will always be even when it’s moving a million miles a minute.

But it’s not a place.

Last night when Nick Waterhouse gave a shout out to that intersection on Echo Park and Sunset Boulevard it reminded of this. That place that isn’t a place. That memory that lives forever and keeps growing every time I return to it. To that thing that won’t stop pulling me back to something I can’t even really define.

"I'm the Mayer Hawthorne-type singer that's perfect for adding sensual tension to any given David Lynch soundtrack," Nick Waterhouse

I met Nick in San Francisco. I don't remember how much we used to talk about LA, but I'm sure we did. I'm sure we talked about how strange it is or was or will always be. He lives there now and I live in DC. It's pretty amazing to see how far he's gotten and incredibly inspirational. A true testament to sticking with it and doing what you absolutely love. I really do miss those walks through the mission, up Potrero hill, with a coffee from that weird coffee shop near that Bart station in hand...those walks to jobs that didn't really care so much when we showed up. Both of us terribly thoughtful about everything. One of the few people who understands why the world is so confusing and with whom I could talk for hours about the intricacies of things people don't normally take the time to ponder.

Anyhow, Nick and his band played an amazing show last night and he just came out with a new record, Holly, which you should definitely buy. If you have any interest in well-thought out melodies, precise rhythms that flow or historically rooted music that sounds familiar and innovative at the same time, then you will love it. Oh, and if you have any interest, desire, or memories of a non-place called Los Angeles, it's kind of essential.

Etxe : Home with Leana

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etxe : home

Each Tuesday we'll be posting a new perspective on ETXE : HOME. This piece is by Leana Sanchez, a friend from college.

How do you define home?

Home is where your family is, wherever they may be. Locally, home is where our dog is. We built a safe, loving, and inclusive environment that nurtures our dog, even when we cannot be home with him.

Leana - ETXE : HOME

What in your closet makes you feel most at home?

Ironically, it’s my luggage! My family lives across the states, and pulling out my luggage means another reunion. Even if there are no plans for travel, my luggage reminds me that my family is just a plane ride away.

What is your favorite memory of home?

My favorite memory of home is when my parents built our swing set. I couldn’t wait to share it with my family and friends. We imagined many battle scenes, princess rescues, and our version of hot lava!

What’s something you always take with you when traveling to remind you of home?

I can’t leave home without my diamond earrings. They weren’t always mine. They were a token of affection from my father to my mother, and I inherited them when I turned 15. I look forward to continuing the tradition.

Leana - Home - Etxe - 2

Read last week's ETXE : HOME with Tim.

Adams Morgan Day

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Adams Morgan Day DC 2014Most Sundays are spent relaxing, going grocery shopping, doing laundry and binging on Netflix. You know, what Sundays are really meant for...

But every once in a while you decide to do brunch with your best friend, you decide it's more economical to get bottomless, and you end up having the BEST DAY EVER.

These Sunday fundays are even better when a nearby neighborhood is having their yearly festival. This is the story of Adams Morgan Day 2014.

My friend Anita and I started the day with a casual brunch at Satellite room. Yes, the place behind the 9:30 club that is also known for their boozy milkshakes. There was no wait and they were playing edm. So obviously we loved it immediately. (The waitress told us they switch up the music between edm and old school hip hop, so don't be scared away.)

brunch at Satellite room

We sat in the back patio where we had plenty of room to relax and ya know, hear each other speak. This would have never happened if we had gone somewhere on 14th.

A table of boys were playing cards against humanity. Did they bring it themselves? Are they regulars? Are there games at Satellite room? Questions for another time, because we got distracted by Wu-Tang Mimosas. Yes, these are mimosas made with tang.

Is tang still around?

Is a Wu-tang mimosa just tang powder with champagne?

How long does brunch go until at this establishment?

These are the questions you really want answered after your first Wu-tang mimosa. After much debate between ourselves we did confirm that they are made by mixing tang with water (first), then adding some champagne. And brunch goes till 5pm at Satellite room, just like brunch should.

Wu-tang mimosas Satellite room DC

Anywho. Here's me happy for food. I have a strict rule about always ordering omelets when getting brunch, because I love omelets but can never successfully make them for myself. (Editor's note - I can confirm this-she always burns the eggs... --xoxo Stephanie)

brunch at Satellite room

We had a lovely 3 hour brunch, like only best friends can have. Aww. Then we made our way to Adams Morgan, because hey, we still had about 3 hours left in our no worries Sunday funday.

"Adams Morgan Day A community festival one community, one people, one love, we are one." - adamsmorgandayfest.com

There were vendors selling food, pottery, paintings, and other cool things you would have no where to put in your rented apartment.

Clothes you want, clothes you don't want, and t-shirts that remind you of the friend that taught you to appreciate/love sloths.

Adams Morgan day

There were friends, families, small children, older people, college bro's ... and these two fools loving life.

Adams Morgan day Sunday funday

OH - and the best part about neighborhood festivals - the music!

[video width="854" height="480" mp4="http://www.etxe.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Adams-Morgan-day.mp4"][/video] Don't worry. I didn't leave empty handed. We made sure to get coffee at Tryst. You can't ever leave Adams Morgan without getting a coffee from Tryst. (but why don't our iced coffees come with animal crackers, too??)

I also found Georgetown students and alum I knew selling their awesome shirts. check them out at www.dchillin.com. A comfy new T that exclaims my dc love and supports fellow Hoyas, killin' it.

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If you're sad you missed Adams Morgan day... don't worry, most DC neighborhoods have their own festivals, with their own spin of course.

For example, H Street Festival is THIS SATURDAY, September 20. click here for H Street Fest info. Hope to see you there!

Want to know what else we did this weekend?

Satellite room

2047 9th St Washington, DC Mon–Fri 5pm Sat, Sun 11am

Tryst

2459 18th St. NW Washington, DC Mon–Thurs 6:30am-12am Fri–Sat 6:30am-3am Sun 7am-12am

Adams Morgan day

Adams Morgan is a neighborhood in DC

Etxe : Home with Tim

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ETXE : HOME

Each Tuesday we'll be posting a new perspective on ETXE : HOME. This piece is by Tim Loc, a writer and friend.

How do you define home?

My family—dad, mom, sister, brother—is home to me. Their unconditional love is what makes me feel validated as a person. There’s this constant feeling of *striving* when you’re out; at school, at work, even when you’re just hanging at a bar on a Friday evening. But with family you’re allowed to come as you are. Sometimes the results aren’t so pretty, but I know that, at the end of the day, I’m not kidding anyone when I’m with family.

What in your closet makes you feel most at home?

Probably my green hoodie. I never wear it outside because, at some point, I decided green wasn’t my color. But I wear it around the house when it gets cold. It’s also really snug and comfortable. The cuffs are worn through.

What is your favorite memory of home?

Not really a “favorite” memory. But when the Northridge Quake hit, we spent the night lighting candles and listening to a radio broadcast (no TV since the power was out). It was kind of frightening, but disaster also engenders a sense of we’re-in-this-together. That night always stuck out in my mind.

What’s something you always take with you when traveling to remind you of home?

I don’t really have an object that I take with me. I’m in regular contact with my family when I’m overseas (email, call services via wifi, etc). My mom is convinced my organs will be stolen and harvested when I’m in another country. So I have to constantly prove my existence to her, meaning I don’t need an object to remind me of home.

Tim Canva

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read last week's ETXE : HOME with Kristen.

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