I'm back!

Miss me?

As a new year's resolution for 2017, I've decided to start blogging again, yay! So wish me luck, I'll try my best to not fall off this bandwagon.

I last left you in 2014, quite a bit has happened, but let's just skip over it all and start fresh, shall we?

On New Year's Day, Clint and I headed out to his family cabin on Vashon Island to winterize the place. It was a beautiful clear day, and a fun way to start the year with one of my favorite things to do, go for a ferry ride!

quick pic before jumping back in the warm car

view from the Skullerud cabin

While Clint emptied out pipes and flipped switches, I sat as close to the space heater as I could without catching fire and watched the Seahawks game. Then it was back on the ferry and to Clint's place where he cooked us dinner. A perfect way to ring in the new year!

2014 Recap: Part 5

November
Clint car shopping: Once I got a new car, Clint just couldn't help himself and had to get one, too. Or maybe it was because his Toyota pickup truck had been running poorly and has become unreliable. We started the car shopping process by heading to Toyota of Bellevue to test drive just about everything they had...a Prius, Scion sports car, Sequoia, a couple Land Cruisers, Highlander and a 4 Runner (which Clint owned previously, but had it stolen just before we met). Even though we just went to look, Clint ended up leasing a brand new 2015 4 Runner, and he loves it! After driving the pickup for as long as I've known him, it's about time he treated himself to something fancy. We even drove it up to the mountains to test it out in the snow.

Thanksgiving in San Diego: To continue our tradition of getting out of rainy Seattle for Thanksgiving, Clint and I headed down to SD to spend time in the sun with his family. His parents graciously let us stay with them, and hosted us for the three nights we were there and even treated us to carne asada burritos for dinner as soon as we got in, a must! Our first day, Clint and I took a road trip to the cute little town of Julian, known for their apple pie. We stopped at Dudley's Bakery for lunch (delicious sandwiches with homemade bread) and stopped in at winery that had a cat painted on their sign, because duh. We drove back along Lake Cuyamaca checking out the beautiful scenery and all the camping locations. Just might have to go back. That night we met up with Jenni and Mike (to celebrate their recent engagement!) at the Starlite for dinner and drinks, and then back to their condo afterwards. The day of Thanksgiving, Clint and I headed up to Mt. Helix to check out his parents property, and drive up to the top to see the huge cross before we went over to Blake and Rebecca's house for the big family dinner. It was great to see everyone, and to meet some of Rebecca's family as well. On our last day before heading home, Blake and Rebecca took Clint and I down to Mission Beach to ride their beach cruisers along the boardwalk. Clint and I rode the tandem bike (which was pretty fun) as we bar hopped at a couple bars along the way. Afterwards, Rebecca packed us a couple leftover turkey sandwiches for our flight, and Jerry and Karen drove us out to the airport. Another fun trip to San Diego, can't wait to go back! photos


December
XO Cookie Exchange: This year, Jecca graciously hosted the annual Chi O Christmas Cookie Exchange at her home in Issaquah. She had tons of great food for us to snack on while we sampled everyone's cookies, and she even gifted us all with the most adorable owl mugs from Starbucks! Such a fun surprise, lysico. There was a smaller turn out this year, but that just meant more time to catch up with everyone there. I hadn't been practicing my cookie baking this year, and ended up making a new recipe - eggnog sugar cookies with icing. I decided to double the recipe to have enough for the party, which resulted in never ending cookie dough. I had to transfer it all to my largest stock pot just to mix it since it didn't all fit in my big mixing bowl. I cranked out 70 (yikes) cookies the night before the party, and fortunately they turned out pretty well!

endless amount of cookies

cookie spread

Colleen and Heather

Foster wanting in on the cookie action

Mom's holiday dinner party: Another fun holiday tradition I look forward to every year is Mom's work holiday party. We've dined at some of the best restaurants in Seattle in the past, and this year got to try out The Georgian at the Fairmont Hotel. Dinner was delicious, I splurged and got the surf and turf, and it's always fun to see Mom's coworkers and celebrate another good year at Liberty Mutual.

fun presentation of a caesar salad

delicious surf and turf with mashed potatoes

chocolate cake with espresso gelato

Mom's dessert - the most heavenly soufflé ever

Holiday dinner at Blaine's: This year, Mom and I went over to Blaine's house to celebrate Christmas with the Okamura ladies. We had a delicious dinner (shrimp louie salad with yummy garlic bread), and watched Reese open the gifts Mom and I had brought her. She liked the Little Mermaid lego set I had given her, even though she already had it but had lost most of the pieces, and LOVED the Frozen Elsa hat Mom got her, so cute! Reese also read us her list to Santa - pretty much anything Frozen. It was nice to see Liz and Blaine, too. We don't see nearly as much of them as when Blaine and I were young, so it's great when we do get a chance to all get together.

Turkey dinner: The third annual Layne-makes-us-all-a-traditional-turkey-dinner was a success! Once my grandpa was in town for Christmas, I had the whole fam over. Cooking a turkey with all the fixings seems to be getting easier as I start to learn little tips and tricks each year like prepping some things the night before and the timing of it all. Also, I tried a new method to cooking the turkey this time - covering it completely with bacon. This means no basting since the fat from the bacon continuously bastes for you. You cover the whole thing with a cheese cloth that you remove during the last hour to crisp up the bacon, then remove the bacon in the last half hour to crisp up the turkey. Worked great, and I got to add bacon to the stuffing! Win, win. This has become one of my favorite traditions, I really love hosting and having the whole family together.

bacon covered turkey before adding the cheese cloth

Uncle Bub - expert carver

Jenni & Mike's engagement brunch: Jenni is getting married! In Cabo, yay! Over the holidays, Jenni and her fiancé were in Seattle, so we had brunch at Smith (a fun restaurant in Capitol Hill) to celebrate the lovebirds. It was a fun excuse to get together and see each other, especially Rachelle who made the long trip up. Congrats Jenni and Mike!

Visit to baby Nolan: After brunch, Colleen, Maureen and I stopped by the Win'E household to see Kylee and Troy and meet sweet baby Nolan who was only less than a week old. Maureen had brought them both brunch to go from the restaurant )so thoughtful), and we all got our snuggles in with the new little guy. Mom and baby were doing well, and it was so fun to see how happy Kylee was to finally have him here. Already the sweetest mother ever. Welcome baby Nolan, can't wait to see you again soon!

Christmas: This year, Christmas was full of all my favorite traditions. It first started off with a shopping trip with Dad. A few nights before Christmas, Dad and I headed to Costco to buy each other's gifts. I bought my dad a Keurig coffee maker to enable his addiction, and I got a brand new set of Caphalon pots and pans (I guess to enable mine, I love to cook). After shopping, we had dinner at Bis on Main in Bellevue where we shared the bar top with Gene Juarez, so fancy. On Christmas Eve, Mom and I made a stop to see Marianne who is the mother of my mom's high school friend, Taffy. We drank Coke out of the bottle (a must) and caught up during our annual visit. We even got a surprise visit from Taffy! Afterwards, we went to my uncle's house where Clint met us. We had delicious french dip sandwiches for dinner, chocolate pie for dessert, and played a pretty successful game of gift exchanging - everyone ended up with something they liked! On Christmas Day, Clint and I opened our stockings from "Santa" and exchanged gifts with each other. I got the most beautiful pair of earrings as well as a night at Teatro ZinZanni that we're using next month, and I cannot wait! For dinner, we headed to my mom's to celebrate with her and my grandpa. Santa struck again, and Clint and I scored with each getting another stocking full of goodies. Dinner was delicious - my mom cooked a huge prime rib roast (yum!), and we may or may not have had more chocolate pie (depends on if my uncle is asking). So thankful to have shared another great Christmas holiday with my family!

New Year's: 
Clint and I stayed in this year for NYE for what might be our last chance to see the Space Needle fireworks from his condo (he's been looking to buy a home!). That now makes two years in a row where we've been recluses, and I'm scared I actually enjoy it! We made pizzas for dinner (which I hope now has become a tradition), watched a couple Die Hard movies (which doesn't need to be a tradition), and stayed up to watch the awesome fireworks show. We lucked out and didn't get fogged out this year, they were pretty incredible. It was fun to be able to hear the entire city go crazy, too. It was a great way to end a great year!

NYE 2013

NYE 2014

2014 Recap: Part 4

October
Bond Girl event: My friend Kylee is part of the Heavenly Spies, and a couple years ago I got the chance to perform with them at the Triple Door. They are also hired as entertainment for parties and events, and back in October Fae asked if I would be available for a Bond themed birthday party and dress as a Bond Girl. I thought it'd be fun, so I said yes. I then found out that they would want a couple girls to play the part of Jill Masterson from Goldfinger who is painted gold in the movie. We would be wearing gold bikinis and be sprayed head to toe with gold body paint. I volunteered to be one of those girls, cause really...when would a chance to do something like this ever come up again? So, I showed up to the party (at The Ruins, an event venue in Queen Anne) a few hours early, changed into my outfit and got everything air brushed gold...even my hair! The party ended up being for a father and son's 70th and 40th birthdays. Lots of older party goers who were all really nice and polite (no one being skeezy thank goodness!) who all just wanted to ask questions about the paint and get pictures taken. We walked around the party chatting with guests and passing out chocolates wrapped to look like cigars from cigar boxes. It was a long night in uncomfortable shoes, but so fun. When it was over, I promptly headed home to shower and scrubbed the paint right off and got into bed.

costume inspiration

being painted!

all the Bond Girls

Kylee's baby shower: The next morning, I drove down to Tacoma for sweet Kylee's baby shower, still with a shimmer to my skin and hair (that stuff took a couple good scrub downs before I got it all off). It was held at her mom's house, and her two of her long-time girlfriends did a great job organizing all the decor, food and games. The theme was "little man" with cute mustaches everywhere. We played a few games (which I won!) and showered Kylee with a ginormous pile of gifts. Kylee looked adorable as always, and we had a great time celebrating her and the arrival of her little man.

party planners with the momma-to-be

the whole crew

my itty bitty UW gear gift for Kylee

Palm Desert: My mom, uncle and I all headed down south to visit my grandpa in Palm Desert back in October, and as always had a great time. Our first night in, Mom made an awesome tater tot casserole with chocolate pie for dessert which kicked off the theme of the trip...eating delicious food till I was painfully full. The next day we hit up In n Out for burgers (a must) before driving out to see Cabot's Pueblo Museum. Cabot was a man who built this impressive 5,000 sq ft pueblo using materials he found in the desert. We walked through some of the rooms reading about Cabot and his life, checked out the gift shop and took lots of photos. That night we went to Club Bellatrix for my mom's birthday dinner, again eating tons of yummy food and splurging with dessert. Also during our trip, we visited our favorite deli run by the nicest family. Paul and Athena started the business, and once their 3 kids were old enough, they took over and named it TKB (The Kids' Business) Bakery & Deli. Papa knows them well since he visits weekly, and they have the best sandwiches ever. In fact, the were just named the 4th best restaurant in the nation this year by Yelp, how awesome is that?! We're all really excited for them, and couldn't have happened to a better family. The rest of the trip consisted of daily rides in Papa's new hot rod golf cart, a drive out to the Salton Sea to check out the old yacht club, a stop at Shields to buy dates, dinner at the club for pasta night (my favorite - made to order - yum!), shopping at the College of the Desert street fair and of course lunch at Ruby's in downtown Palm Springs before flying home. Another fun trip to see Papa, can't wait to go back! photos

Sarah's tarot party: The night I flew home from Palm Desert, Sarah was hosting a Tarot Card Reading party. I drove straight over from the airport, so that I wouldn't miss it. Sarah's sister Heather had met with Rose, a tarot card reader, and loved her. We all thought it would be fun to invite her to come read cards for a few of us girls, so Colleen, Hilarie and I all joined Sarah and Heather for a fun and insightful night. One by one, we met with Rose upstairs in one of the guest rooms, and had a private conversation as she read our cards. Some were emotional, some were confusing while others spot on. I can't say that I've experienced anything Rose said specifically, but it was fun nonetheless, and maybe someday her visions for me will come to fruition.

A Daruma doll card given to us by Rose. We're supposed
to write a goal on the back, color in one eye black, and then
when the goal has been achieved, color the other eye.

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...)!