French Win'E wedding

Kylee and Troy finally tied the knot! I had so been looking forward to their big day, and it turned out to be beautiful, perfect, and so much fun...just like the two of them.

Clint and I left around 2pm on Friday to get down to Tacoma. We were lucky and didn't hit much traffic, so we had plenty of time to check-in to the hotel, grab some food, and get ourselves fancy before heading to the wedding venue.

We stayed at the Murano Hotel, which was gorgeous. Our room had a great view of Tacoma and the water. We decided to walk around the area to find a place to eat since we were starving. After wandering around and coming up short, we came back to the hotel and ate at the restaurant. Time was getting tight though, so we had the food delivered to the room so we could get ready and eat at the same time.

looking down at the lobby

hotel restaurant

We left the hotel, grabbed a cab, and headed over to the Weyerhaeuser Mansion. The venue was amazing. It has an awesome view of the water, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Clint and I found a seat, and the ceremony started shortly after.

all set up for the ceremony

me and my hot date

Kylee came down the aisle with her father and immediately started crying, she's so sweet. She's even pretty when she cries. Her and Troy read their own vows, and you can just tell how perfect they are for each other.

so pretty

After the ceremony, we mingled and drank, then found our seats for dinner.

dinner setting

LYSICO

I missed the memo on the shades of blue and green

but I had my salmon sister!

We took our seats as Mr. and Mrs. Win'E were introduced!

Dinner was delicious! I had been looking forward to the food ever since Kylee had me design her table menus and I got a sneak peek at what would be served.

noms

Becca, Roo, Tegan, and Jenni

Weiner Boo and I

the Harts

the Nikonovs

After dinner and toasts, it was time to dance. Kylee and Troy had their first dance as their talented friend Miss Caela Bailey sang. *Side note: Caela is amazingly talented, and you should all support the production of her first album by donating to her Kickstarter.*

Once Kylee hit the dance floor, I don't think she left. The DJ played well into the night, and even moved the dance floor indoors as it got dark to keep the party going. It had been a while since all of us were together (Tegan was even in town from Korea), so we made the best of it and had an amazing time.

me and the beautiful bride

And of course we had a great time with the photobooth and props.

Chi O party

Clint and I making new friends

photo bombers

last dance

After closing down the mansion, we headed back to the hotel to call it a night.

party favor jam - spread the love - how cute

party till you drop - waiting for cabs

The next morning Clint and I took advantage of late check out so we'd have an extra hour of recovery time. Once we got kicked out of the hotel, we headed to the waterfront to find a place for brunch. Tacoma has quite a few patios on the water to choose from, but we went with C.I. Shenanigan's to nurse our hangovers with bloody mary's, mimosas, and the most delicious steak sandwich I've ever had. Seriously...I would make the drive out to Tacoma just to have it again. The view from our table was great as we watched the para-sailers. We were back to feeling great in no time.

couldn't even wait to take a bite

Kylee, your wedding was amazing! Thank you for having Clint and I there to celebrate with you. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. French-Wine!

Vegas planning

I'm going to Vegas!

Sure, it's over a month away, but I'm especially excited. I'm heading there with my life long friend Blaine and her friend Hilary for a girls trip.

Blaine and I have actually never traveled together as adults. Sure we had our fair share of sleepovers as kids (sometimes including Hilary - her and Blaine met in Kindergarten), and went on plenty of family vacations together...but I'm not sure what has taken us so long to rekindle the fun now that we're older.

When Blaine mentioned a Vegas trip a while back to Hilary and I, I made sure to hold her to it. So, last month we booked a mid week trip for September. We'll be staying at Planet Hollywood for two nights, which should be a blast.

With all this excitement pending, the three of us decided to get together...you know, to get a jumpstart on our planning. We met at Hilary's condo in lower Queen Anne, and shared a bottle of champagne up on her rooftop as we googled pictures of the PH pool deck.

Only 40 days away!

Vegas bound!

New fence

My backyard revamp has continued, with the latest addition - a new fence! The existing fence was getting pretty old, leaning over, and had a broken board creating a hole to see through to the back neighbor. My next door neighbor was particularly happy. She's been there for over 40 years and can't even remember when that fence was built. So, it was definitely time for an upgrade.

Before shots:

The couple that owns the townhouse unit in front of me (they rent it out and live in Kirkland) suggested their landscaper, who happens to do fencing as well, do the job for us. He came out to give his estimate, and he was by far the cheapest as he agreed to throw in some lattice and a new gate for free.

His crew came the next Monday to get started. They first tore down the old fence, and put in new posts along the entire length. It was pretty strange to come home and be able to see into the neighbor's yards.  

hello neighbor

The next day, I worked from home, so I was able to watch the progress they made. Two by fours went up pretty quickly as the fence started to take shape.

As the week went on, the crew (slowly) started to finish. 

putting up the framing for the lattice

power-washing existing fence before staining

By Sunday, all that was left to do was stain. 

almost done!

I had them move the gate out a bit so
that I would have a nice area to
put a shed or garbage cans in

After about a week and a half, I came home to a beautiful completed fence. It really turned out great, and I love the extra privacy the lattice provides. Plus it just looks pretty.

As with any job like this, I had my issues with some of the things the crew did (timelines, ruining a few of my plants, communication issues)...but I'm happy with the end result, and now I have a great backyard I can enjoy all summer!

After shots:

Family time

I love when my grandpa comes into town for a visit, cause that means we all get together for some family time. This year, he came and stayed for about a week and a half. That first Saturday, my uncle Bub and aunt Sara had us all over for dinner at their place on Mercer Island.

We had BBQ'd hot dogs, and sat out on their patio enjoying the great weather. After dinner, we headed to the backyard to play some badminton. The guys ended up playing quite a bit more than us ladies, we're better at spectating. Rex also got in the game and snatched the birdie as often as he could.

trying to hold Rex back

The next morning, we all met at my mom's house before we set out for a day trip to Port Townsend. We had done a similar trip last year when Papa was in town that was so much fun we decided to go again. We all piled into the suburban and headed out to the Edmonds ferry.

First on the agenda was lunch. We had eaten at the Courtyard Café last year, and I've been dreaming about their homemade bread and ginormous slices of pie ever since. Definitely worth the drive out there!

Bub and Max playing checkers

pesto chicken salad sandwich and apple pie

Fully stuffed after lunch, we walked around the cute little town of Port Townsend and did some window shopping. It was a pretty overcast day, but it eventually burned off and we had the sun shining as we took a walk along the beach.

creepy artwork in Port Townsend

homemade donuts being sold out
of an old elevator

Mom had us collect some rocks for her garden, so we combed the beach and had the guys lug around the heavy bag.

Joe and Max finding a secret
passage way

After our walk, we made our way back to the car and drove to the ferry line. Turns out Sunday was a busy day to be heading back to Seattle, but we made the most of it by stopping for ice cream.

back to the Kingston ferry

The weather was much better on ferry ride home, so we enjoyed the view from the top deck.

Mom and the boys

Papa with his favorite grandkids

The following weekend, I had everyone over to my place for a patio party and to check out the new fence. The weather was perfect, so it was nice to sit outside and enjoy it. We even had some entertainment from the little girl that lives next door. She was out playing and chatting it up quite a bit. 

Clint took over the BBQ and grilled teriyaki chicken, Mom had brought her delicious watermelon salad with feta, tomatoes and pistachios (per Clint's request), and I whipped up a batch of roasted potatoes and a BLT chop salad.

Clint manning the grill

sneaky picture from the balcony

BBQ chicken, watermelon salad,
potatoes, and BLT chop salad

For dessert, I bought an assortment of frozen treats from Trader Joe's (sans popsicle stick for Mom), including Clint's favorite - the mini ice cream cones.

Clint and his favorite dessert

It was great to have the fam over, I love hosting! The next day, Papa hit the road early to make the drive back down to Palm Desert. We all had such a great time having him here, and now I'm counting down the days for when we get to visit him in October!