Miss Iggy in D.C.

Formally known as Washington, District of Columbia, this historic city is also the capital of the United States. It is not part of any US state, therefore directly overseen by the Federal Government. With this heavy fact in mind, Miss Iggy just can't help but exclaim "IKR"--i know, right. D.C. is roughly 4 hours away from New Jersey (factor in a Chick-fil-A stop in Maryland), so imagine Wander Iggy's initial reaction when told that we're driving this very long to go to 'The Mall'. 

The National Mall of course is not your regular mall. It's a very large open area in the centre of the city. Walking around, at one end is the US Capitol. (above)

In the middle is this phallic symbol  the Washington Monument.

And in the other end is Lincoln Memorial, where Miss Iggy paid a visit to her good friend Abe.

Reminiscent of 'Night at the Museum 2', we visited some of the museums. 

Among them is a Miss Iggy favourite--the Air and Space Museum.

'Is this outta here or what?'

 Hamming it up with Panelomo at the Smithsonian

 Our last stop is at the White House. Miss Iggy had to make a courtesy call, of course.

the magic of macy's

jersey iggy lives close to a macy's department store which is located at the rockaway townsquare mall in new jersey. macy's is an american department store chain whose flagship store is at herald square in manhattan. macy's prides itself for its annual thanksgiving day parade at herald square which features extravagant and fun character floats.

macy's was founded by rowland h. macy in 1858. last year, macy's celebrated its 150th anniversary. it declares itself as "the world's largest store" (referring to the one at herald square), but wikipedia states that it's now tied with harrod's in london in terms of store size.

macy's signature color is red, and its signature logo is the red star. february is american heart month, and macy's is a proud national sponsor of the "go red for women" movement which aims to promote heart disease awareness.

movie trivia: the original film "miracle on 34th street" was set in macy's store at herald square (because it literally is on 34th street in new york city), but its 1994 remake was set in a fictional "cole's department store" when macy's refused the filmmakers to use its name.

p.s. those are birds perched on the letters of the macy's sign.

recession short-circuits circuit city for good

"recession" is a bitter word that's gripping the whole world.

jersey iggy was sad to see circuit city, one of the electronics store giants (or used to be) in the US, (second to best buy) succumb to bankruptcy when it announced on january 16th this year that it was closing its remaining 567 stores across the country.

this store has been around for 60 years, but is now undergoing liquidation such as this store above in ledgewood mall, new jersey.

the camera's flash obliterated the sign which announced "store closing sale." (if you look a little more closely, though, you'll see.) the store offers an extra 20% discount on all of its merchandise, but they're all regarded as "final sale," meaning they're non-returnable once purchased.

fortuitous faery's current digital camera (a sony cybershot) was bought from this store's website. circuitcity.com used to offer free shipping for orders worth $25 and up.

so long, circuit city....thanks for the memory sticks.

yes, he did!

although miss iggy couldn't personally be in washington, DC, she watched the historic inauguration of barack obama as the united states of america's 44th president via CNN live.

miss iggy was enthralled by the "first lady of soul," miss aretha franklin's rendition of "my country 'tis of thee." she also loved her big, studded bow hat.

vice-president joe biden was first to be administered the oath.

and finally, mr. obama took his oath as administered by US chief justice john g. roberts. he used the same bible that former president abraham lincoln used in his inauguration in 1861. this bible is part of the US library of congress' collection and has never been used since lincoln did in 1861.

first lady michelle obama beams proudly at her husband. miss iggy loooves mrs. obama's sense of style. her inaugural outfit was made by one of her favorite designers, cuban-american isabel toledo.

good luck, mr. president!