2014 Recap: Part 3

August
Seafair 2014: This year, Clint's friend Matt graciously invited us out on his sailboat again for another fun Seafair on the water. We took off from Lake Union where the boat is docked, and headed out to the north side of I-90 to watch one of my favorite parts of summer, the Blue Angels (they came back this year!). Afterwards, we boated over to the south side and tied the boat up with some friends. We cruised back at the end of the day as the sun was setting, another fun day on the water. On Sunday, Clint and I headed over to I-90 and walked out onto the closed bridge to watch the Blue Angel show from there. Neither of us had ever done it, so it was a fun experience. So many people were out posted up on the freeway, and the jets flew right over us a couple times. From there, we headed south along the water to catch a glimpse of the afternoon hydroplane races.

Kirkland Summerfest: With Clint's office being in Kirkland now, he hears more about what's going on in their little town. We thought Kirkland Summerfest sounded like a fun time, so we headed over there one Saturday morning. They were still setting up a lot of the festivities for later in the evening, but we still had a good time checking out the booths and of course eating the food. They had a cool fish art exhibit being displayed down by the water which was probably the highlight. We looked at each one and picked out our favorites to purchase if we were rich. Maybe some day.

Clint getting a new library card
from the book bus

Portland by train: Clint and I took a fun little getaway trip this summer to spend the weekend in Portland. We took the train down there, which was my second time doing so, and I swear I'll never make that drive again. I just feel so fancy traveling by train. We checked into our hotel, The Paramount, which ended up being a great place in a central location, but a little too pricey. The walking brewery tour we had planned got cancelled since they didn't have enough people sign up, so we had to find some other things to do. They had the Mountain Dew Tour in town that weekend, so we checked out the BMXer's and the skate-or-die skate boarders as few times, as well as our own pub crawl, eating at the haunted Old Town Pizza, and a fancy dinner out. The weather was great and we had a great time exploring. We'll definitely be back. photos

Becca's baby shower brunch: My friend Becca was expecting her second baby boy (Emmett, born in September), so we showered her with brunch! We met at the cutest little restaurant in Ballard, Ristorante Picolino's (which I keep meaning to go back to), with a great outdoor seating area. The food was delicious, and it was great to catch up with the girls and see Becca and her ginormous baby bump one last time.

Pink Door and a little burlesque: Over Labor Day weekend, my coworker Paul and his wife Victoria were staying in Seattle on their boat (they live in Gig Harbor), so Clint and I met up with them for drinks and dinner downtown. We decided to go to Pink Door since the food is so delicious, and Clint and I had yet to see their burlesque show. Dinner was fantastic, but the show was pretty good, too. Paul and his wife are a fun time, so it was nice getting a chance to spend time with them outside of work.

September
Karen's birthday dinner: Clint's mom, Karen, had been staying in Seattle in August, and was still in town for her birthday in September. Clint and I joined her along with Clint's great aunt, and two second cousins once removed (we had a fun time trying to figure that one out) at Duke's on Alki for dinner. We had brought her a bottle of wine and a book I had enjoyed reading, but to my surprise she had two huge bouquets of flowers from the market along with a lavender relaxation pillow for me! The occasion she said? Having to put up with her son...she's the best. Dinner was nice, and fun to hear all the family stories.

Huskies beat Eastern Washington: Clint and I had still yet to attend a Husky football game in the new stadium, so this year we purchased some tickets with friends and went to a nice sunny late summer game. Our tickets were for the Off-Leash section which is standing room only, but they serve wine and beer. Tickets were cheap and the view was pretty good, so I'd say it was a good deal. It was extremely hot that day, but we still had fun watching the Dawgs win another game.

Weekends on Vashon: This summer, we made it over to Vashon Island to stay at the Skullerud family cabins two weekends in a row. We had such a fun time over there, and it's just a quick ferry ride away (helps when you live right near the ferry!). During our visits we dined out in town, saw a movie at the old theater, made a couple trips to the hardware store, checked out the library, went for walks around the property and along the beach, and the best part, watched a few VHS tapes from their extensive collection. We're hoping to visit out there more and more since we always have such a fun time. I love Vashon. photos

Jami and Bjorn's Wedding: My cousin Jami got married this summer to her long time crush, Bjorn Sollid. Bjorn was (and still is) Jami's other cousin's BFF growing up, and she told me that Bjorn was her very first crush when she was about 13, how sweet! They had a beautiful (and ginormous, about 300 people!) wedding out in Arlington near where the two of them live. Clint and I drove out there with Mom, had a fun time seeing family and of course seeing Jami look so happy.

2014 Recap: Part 2

July
4th of July: Clint's friend Sean from San Diego moved up to Seattle this summer when his wife landed a new job at Amazon. Before they bought a house and settled in to the area, Amazon put them up at the Residence Inn on Lake Union. There, they had a great view of the Gasworks firework show (okay...not as great as the Dexter house, but still good). Clint and I and a few more of their friends headed over for a BBQ potluck and hung out while eating and drinking until the show started. It wasn't the best weather (surprise, surprise), but it stopped sprinkling just in time to watch the fireworks. We had a great time, and Uber'd back up the hill at the end of the night.

cloudy Seattle 4th of July - typical

XO BBQ at Rachel's: Over the 4th of July weekend, Rachel and sweet baby Raleigh held a Chi Omega BBQ at her place since a lot of us hadn't had an excuse to see each other since the winter. She made delicious teriyaki chicken kabobs and a rhubarb upside down cake (yes, even after 6 months I still remember the food). It was fun to see the girls with some of their kiddos in tow, and it was also our first glimpse at Kylee's adorable baby bump!

XO ladies minus Erica who took the photo

Trip to Washington, D.C.: Okay, I know I said Baja was the best trip of the year, but I'm changing my mind now...DC trumps Mexico! Clint had a Microsoft conference to attend in DC, and since I had never been, we decided we'd travel there together before the conference to do some sight seeing. Then once the conference started, I'd be on my own for a couple days before flying home and leaving Clint to finish up his nerd workshops. The nation's capitol has always been on my list of places I'd like to travel to, but I had no idea how much I'd enjoy it. The weather was hot (and humid as all get out), but that didn't stop us from cramming in as many museums, tours, monuments and DC life experiences as possible into the six days I was there. We have hundreds of photos that I still need to sort through before posting a link here to share with you, but here's a list of all the amazing things we did. I seriously can't wait to go back, because as much as we got to see, there's still so much more. Plus, I don't think I'd ever get tired of standing on the steps of the Lincoln Monument and looking over the Reflecting Pool at the Washington Monument. Gives me chills just thinking about it, that city is magical.

• Lunch at Bojangles amongst all the hubbub at Union Station
• Touring the Supreme Court and Capitol Building along with our first view of the Mall
• Visiting our friend Viet who works for Suzan Delbene in the Senate office and riding the secret underground Senate Subway
• Night time bus tour of the all the monuments and memorials. So pretty to see them all lit up and the heat was way more manageable - Capitol building, White House, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, MLK Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, Korean Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Memorial
• Visiting Ford's Theatre and seeing where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated
• Touring the National Archives and seeing the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights all in person
• Seeing all the cool exhibits at the National Air & Space Museum
• Playing a game of ladder golf on the Mall with Viet and friends with the Capitol and Washington Monument as our backdrops, amazing
• Using the DC bikeshare program to rent bicycles and ride from one end of the Mall to the other checking out the Grant Memorial, Washington Monument close up, World War I Memorial and along the Reflecting Pool for another visit to Lincoln Memorial
• Checking out the awesome nightlife of DC in the U Street District and hitting up El Rey, American Ice Company, The Saloon, Cafe Saint-Ex, The Gibson and then capping off the night at the infamous Ben's Chili Bowl and having the most delicious half smoke (chili dog) I've ever eaten
• A trip to the largest flea market I've been to in Eastern Market
• Getting our culture on at the National Gallery of Art and being in the same room as millions of dollars in paintings (but no touching)
• Strolling through the Botanic Gardens and stopping at the Capitol to sit on the steps and look out at the Mall
• Taking the metro to Arlington to see the Pentagon close up and walk through the 9/11 Memorial
• A tram tour through the Arlington Cemetary to see the JFK Eternal Flame and the watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns
• Renting a bike to ride along the boardwalk on the Georgetown waterfront
• Walking through the beautiful (and huge - over 7 acres) FDR Memorial
• Touring the Library of Congress, and getting my picture taken for my very own official Library of Congress library card
• Lunching with Viet and the rest of the staffers at the top of the Madison building in the cafeteria
• Ending with a quick tour around the National Museum of Natural History until I had to catch a cab to the airport

Kevin and Katie's Wedding: This summer our friends Kevin and Katie held a wedding reception out in Monroe at Kevin's parents' huge property. They had taken a trip to Hawaii earlier in the year to have a ceremony with family, and now they wanted to celebrate back home with friends. The food was amazing (catered by the Barking Frog food truck), dancing was a blast (Katie used to work at Chopstix in Queen Anne so the dueling piano players came out as the entertainment - they even set up a couple of pianos!) and it was fun to see all our friends and celebrate the newlyweds.

Mariner's Game: Clint and I went to a Mariner's game this year with my dad and his long time friend Zoe. I hadn't seen Zoe in about 15 years (she had moved to live in Belize!), so it was really fun to get a chance to catch up. The M's won, and we all headed over to Jimmy's on First after the game for some drinks.

Papa's Summer Visit: My grandpa made his annual summer trip out this year, and we had a great time enjoying the awesome Seattle weather. We all took a ferry ride over to Bainbridge and had lunch at Doc's Marina Grill. It was a nice sunny day, and riding the ferry is always my favorite. The next day, I hosted the family at my place for a BBQ. We grilled up some hamburgers and had a great time sitting out on my patio.

On the Run tour: My two favorites, Jay Z and Beyonce, toured this summer and Blaine and I saw their concert at Safeco Field. It was probably the best concert EVER. They played over 40 of their hits and with every song it just got better and better. My dad offered to drive us there in his limo, so we showed up in style! We met up with some friends before the show, but afterwards it was straight home and into bed. It had been a long, but oh-so-worth-it kind of night.

champagne in the limo

2014 Recap: Part 1

Let's see...I last left you back in April, so I'll pick it up from there.

April
Baja Getaway: This was by far the best trip of the year, and definitely up there as one of my most favorite trips ever! Clint and I traveled with his friend Matt and girlfriend Thao down to Loreto in Baja (just north of Cabo and La Paz). Matt had a hookup with his friends Mike and Sue who have both a townhouse and a condo in a housing development in Loreto. We got to stay in their townhouse while they were in the condo, and the place was amazing! The development is mostly occupied by retired folks who use it as their second home or for vacationing, so everyone is happy and laid back. The grounds are landscaped and all the houses are so cute with their brightly colored stucco and Mexican decor. The week was a whirlwind of fun activities. Mike and Sue played great hosts and took us out to fun restaurants, out on their boat for an amazing day on the water where we swam in the bluest water I've ever seen and even saw a group of about 100 dolphins swarming our boat, trips into town, and even a huge potluck dinner at their place with some of the neighbors one night. We rode bicycles around the development, hung out at the margarita bar where we sat on swings, had our own private clam bake on the beach, bonfires, pool time, countless cervezas...it was heaven, and writing about this now makes me want to be back there now! Check out the hundreds of photos we took. photos

San Diego: After a week in Baja, we still weren't ready to go home. At the Loreto airport, we managed to talk the Alaska Air desk into extending our 2 hour layover in LA to 2 days! They even did it free of charge...we just need to bring them beer next time we're in Loreto. I love Mexico. Once we got to LA, we rented a car and drove to San Diego and checked into a hotel in Pacific Beach right on the water. We spent our couple of days eating carne asada burritos, riding beach cruisers along the boardwalk, going on the Mission Beach roller coaster, checking out the Stone brewery, and meeting up with local friends. It was the best way to transition back to the real world. I highly recommend a mini vacation after a longer vacation and before heading home. photos


May
Kylee's Stella & Dot jewelry party: Kylee hosted a Stella & Dot jewelry party for me back in May. We held it at my house, had a small turnout, but still had a great time catching up, eating and trying on jewels.

Mother's Day: As per the usual, Mom didn't want any gifts or to be pampered for Mother's Day this year, all she really wanted was manual labor. No leisurely day filled with brunch, mani/pedis and girl time...instead we washed windows, dug up trees and moved big heavy pots around which I guess is our own version of "girl" time. It was a nice sunny day, and we got lots done. Mom is such a big help when it comes to getting things done around my place all year long, it's nice to be able to repay her!

Flight to Mars concert: My coworker Deanna and her husband Devon were planning on seeing the Flight to Mars concert at the Market Showbox back in May. When I heard that it was put on by Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, and that all the proceeds from the show benefit Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, I was in! Clint and I joined them for a fun night of rocking out.

My new car: That's right, I bought a new car! And this time it was because I wanted to rather than needing to. My last three cars were totaled which added an urgency factor to car shopping. This time though I was able to take my time, do my research, and find a car that I would be happy driving. I ended up with a black 2013 Toyota RAV4 and I absolutely love it!

Jen & Kyle's baby shower: Our friends Jen and Kyle were expecting their first child (baby boy Owen who was born in August), so we celebrated with a casual brunch with friends at Cactus in South Lake Union. It was a good excuse to see the parents to be and shower them with presents all while drinking mimosas.

Leavenworth Getaway: After brunch with Jen and Kyle, Clint and I took off in my new car to test it out on a road trip. We booked a night at the Innsbrucker Inn in Leavenworth, which is a cute little spot above the bookstore with a balcony looking over the main street. It was quaint and decorated with a wine theme, perfect for us. We walked around town doing a little pub crawl, checked out a live band, had German sausages for dinner and made it back to our room. In the morning we had coffee out on the balcony, and then checked out the street fair before heading home. The perfect little getaway. photos

Alicia's going away party: My friend Alicia who lived above me in the Dexter house had taken a job in LA and was moving. Her friends held a going away party for her at the Via6 apartment complex rooftop. It was a nice day, and the food was great! They grilled up some chicken and carne asada for a full on taco bar, yum. It was nice to Alicia before she took off for SoCal, now I just need to go down and visit her!

Kitty Cat Club at the Can Can: Clint and I went with Matt and Thao to the Can Can to see the latest Heavenly Spies show, Kitty Cat Club. It was another great show as always, and a good chance to see Kylee perform for the last time before her pregnancy started to show! Troy was there, too, so we all sat together and had a fun night.

June
bluLink Solutions open house: After a few months of having the new bluLink offices open to the employees, Clint threw an open house and invited his clients to come check out the new space in Kirkland. It was a nice hot and sunny day, so they had a BBQ on the outdoor patio and tours of the office inside. He had quite a good turn out, and everyone was excited to see his company grow.


Travis and Kate's going away party: Yet even more friends moving out of town! My friends Kate and Trav moved to Chicago this past summer after Kate got accepted to law school out there, yay! Tyler threw them a party at his house in Kirkland, so we all got a chance to get together to bid them farewell. It was kind of a cloudy summer day, but we still had fun bbq'ing and watching the guys test drive Tyler's hovercraft...oh brother.

Father's Day: This year for Father's Day, I took my dad to an M's game. Again, it was kind of cloudy, but we still had a great time eating peanuts and hotdogs from our seats in the Terrace Club. After the game, I went with my dad to make a limo run taking some people to the airport. Afterwards, we got a treat at Dairy Queen. It was a fun day spending time with Dad.

Norwegian Male Chorus: Clint surprised me with tickets to see the Norwegian Male Chorus at McCaw Hall. It was an interesting show to say the least, but always fun to do something cultural and get a taste of Clint's heritage. Maybe someday he'll join the chorus!

Clint's birthday weekend extravaganza: This year for Clint's birthday, I booked a cabin out in Roslyn by Suncadia for the weekend. Matt and Thao and Colleen and Will all joined us, too. The first night we picked up pizza in town and stayed at the cabin playing board games. The next day, us girls went for a hike/walk while the guys played golf. When they got back, Matt and Clint tested out their dirtbikes on a nearby dirt hill while the rest of us cheered them on. That night we bbq'd dinner for Clint's bday, and I surprised him with an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, his favorite! We then had Stan the Man with a Van (the local designated driver) pick us up and take us to the Brick in town. We had a fun night partying with the locals, and then we packed it all up and left the next morning. photos

Hello?

Is anyone there? Did I neglect my blog for too long?

I know, I know...I left you all on the edge of your seats wondering what I've been up to. After a while, the thought of updating my blog just became way too daunting. So, I figure I'll do a recap of the last half of 2014 instead of individual posts, and then hopefully pick it back up for this new year. I've missed having a place to refer back to what I've been up to and share all my photos, so this sounds like a good solution.

Happy reading (to those of you that didn't give up on me...)!