USA Archives - Page 22 of 26 - A Day In The Lalz

Michigan, Travel, USA

Comet Coffee | Ann Arbor

March 26, 2014

I was born & raised in Ann Arbor therefore when a new place opens up I have to go check it out for myself. I heard about Comet Coffee in Ann Arbor inside Nickels Arcade and it was on the top of my list to visit while I was in A2 over spring break. My friends and I had a lovely coffee date at Comet. It is a cute little shop with delicious drinks, friendly service, and limited but convenient seating. My dear friend Sameera captured our visit to Comet with gorgeous photographs for me to share with you. Enjoy!

DC, Lifestyle, Persian Culture, Travel, USA

Nowruz: A Persian New Year Celebration

March 19, 2014

The Freer, Sackler, and Ripley Center had a Nowruz: A Persian New Year Celebration. The event was filled with lots of activities, displays, and performances. In my opinion the celebration was great for kids. There was a ton of activities geared toward children such as face painting, storytelling, coloring, calligraphy, Iranian music, and traditional dance performances.

It was an interesting event to go to for a gal like me from the Midwest who rarely sees Nowruz celebrations outside my home. Below are some photos from the day:

Sofreh Haft Seen

Haft Seen Details

Haft Seen Details

Selfies with Hani Hulu

Outfit details:

DC, Travel, USA

Hillwood Estate, Museum and Garden

September 25, 2013

I discover many things on Pinterest and Instagram. I have no shame in admitting that. I managed to discover Hillwood Estate, Museum and Garden on Instagram. I convinced my sister that we should go check it out and she happily agreed.

What is Hillwood Estate? As stated on the website of the estate; Marjorie Merriweather Post (founder of Post Cereal Company) bought Hillwood in 1955. Her estate has the most comprehensive collection of Russian imperial art outside of Russia, a distinguished 18th-century French decorative art collection, and twenty-five acres of serene landscaped gardens.

The estate is open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10am-5pm and on select Sundays. There is a suggested ticket fee – which means they have set recommended prices – however you can pay however much you can afford.

An interesting fact about Marjorie is that when she passed away one of her requests was that every day there be fresh flowers in each room of her estate. When you visit Hillwood you notice that in every room there are flower arrangements in each and every room. The flowers are picked from her cutting garden and greenhouse.

Have you head of the Fabergé eggs? Well Miss Marjorie has two on display at her estate.

In addition to the vast art collection the estate has beautiful gardens. There is a beautiful rose garden, french parterre, putting green, Japanese style garden, greenhouse, and cutting garden.

French Parterre

Japanese Style Garden

Cutting Garden

Greenhouse

It took a good 2-2.5 hours to explore the estate. We opted for the self guided tour instead of professional tour or audio tour at no additional charge.

Hillwood is a great place to explore if you are local to DC or visiting from out of town. It is different from all the Smithsonian museums and DC tourist hot spots.

Hawaii, Travel, USA

Hawaii Chronicles – Day 25

January 1, 2013

It’s my last day in Hawaii…I don’t want to leave!!! We spent our last few hours by first going to Pearl Harbor to show Mama & Lil Bro the USS Arizona.

This time around it was a clear day and we were able to see all the coral life on the USS Arizona.

Afterwards we drove to the Halona Blowhole.

We finished the day with snow cones from Island Snow in Kailua. My Bro claimed it to me the best snow cone of the trip!

I had a great time in Oahu and it is bittersweet leaving. I’m glad to be going home and seeing my friends and family but at the same time I don’t want to leave the sunshine!

Hawaii, Travel, USA

Hawaii Chronicles – Day 24

December 30, 2012

There is one thing that Mama, Doc, Lil Bro, and I have in common – our love to shop! We spent majority of the morning at the Swap Meet Marketplace at Aloha Stadium. We found a ton of goodies!! I bought everything I wanted, a ton of stuff I did not need but bought anyway, and then bought some more stuff!

The best part of the shopping experience was meeting the sweetest Persian jeweler Masoud! As we were walking around the marketplace we saw his jewelry and decided to check it out. He had some great stuff! They way it works he has different gold, silver, and white gold chains and you choose which one you like and he can make a necklace, bracelet, or earrings for you. Being the Persians that we are – when we shop we talk Farsi when giving our opinion about an item. All Persians do this and it is one of the perks of growing up bilingual. We asked him how much a certain necklace was and he completely surprised us by responding in Farsi. I really liked this particular gold chain and thought it would be perfect as a bracelet for my mom, sister, and I to get [when the 3 of us travel we buy the same piece of jewelry as a souvenir/memorabilia of our trip]. Masoud – ended up being from a town near where my mom grew up – sells jewelry at the Swap Meet as a side job. We chatted with him for a little bit and gathered that he has been to MI before – it was too cold for his liking – and before moving to Hawaii he lived in California. He made three beautiful custom bracelets for Mama, Doc, and I. He was extremely sweet and went completely Persian on us and “taarof” with us!! He refused to charge us for the bracelets! We kept on insisting and he would not give us the price of the bracelets! The awful thing was that there was no price tag so we had no idea/concept of how much they cost. He insisted on us accepting the bracelets as gifts and would not charge us for them. He was extremely kind and generous!! I love Persians.

After we shopped till be dropped we headed to Hanauma Bay for snorkeling. Lil Bro was not excited to go to the beach [remember he has a fear of sun and water] but he ended up being the one who snorkeled the entire time and wouldn’t get out of the water!! Doc did a lot of snorkeling as well and really enjoyed it the second time around!

We went all out for our last dinner in Oahu and went to Chai’s Island Bistro. It was voted in the Top 5 best restaurant in Oahu for 2012 by Honolulu Magazine. The food was divine!!! I ordered the Grilled Atlantic King Salmon with Truffle Madeira Sauce, Doc ordered the Pan Seared Fresh Local Snapper with Lobster Cream Sauce, Lil Bro ordered the Pacific Rim Ciopino & Crostinis, and Mama got the Crispy Whole Snapper. Mama loved her fish because it reminded her of fish she would eat as a kid in the motherland. She loved it!! All of our dishes were amazing!

Lil Bro & I leave tomorrow afternoon. I am avoiding packing because that means my time in Hawaii is done and I have to return the Midwest cold & lots of snow. I’m going to look like a fool at the airport in Detroit with no jacket and wearing sandals.

Hawaii, Travel, USA

Hawaii Chronicles – Day 23

December 29, 2012

We spent majority of today in Waikiki & downtown Honolulu. First thing in the morning we dropped off Lil Bro at Koko Crater Trail. Doc & I dared him to do the hike – however we did not accompany him because we were not about to subject ourselves to that torture again. Surprisingly he finished the hike in an hour – he claims to be an athlete. We made him take pictures once he reached the top to prove that he made it all the way.

While Lil Bro was hiking the ladies did some shopping in Waikiki. Doc & I got some pretty jewels and we bought some yummy chocolate.

Doc arranged for Mama to go on the Shangri La tour. She absolutely loved it! Ended up that the tour guide for my mom’s tour group was an Iranian professor of Political Science at a university in Oahu. Mama said she was very knowledgeable and raved about her!

While Mama was at Shangri La the siblings did some shopping at Ala Moana Center. We got Lil Bro some pineapple soft serve to congratulate him on finishing the death hike.

For dinner we went Roy’s in Waikiki. The food was excellent!!! I had my heart set on getting sushi this time. Both the rolls were AMAZING! I got the Frying Dragon & Spicy Rainbow. Doc got shrimp, Bro got salmon, and Mama got Mahi Mahi. All our dishes were incredible!