alabama – emerald city diaries

highlights of 2012.

happy 2013!

i love reading yearly highlights on other blogs & even though i try to keep up on the updates via this blog, there are hopefully a few fun things to share that you haven’t heard before. here’s the rundown of 2012:

january: i donated blood for the first {& last} time. we dined at emmer & rye in queen anne with my friend beth ann who was in town visiting. we survived snopocolypse 2012. the repairs on the jetta were finally completed from my rear-ending in november. sadie had surgery to get a small lump removed & have her teeth cleaned.

february: we took a trip to new england & managed to visit all six new england states. we spent a long weekend in boston. i celebrated my 27 {yikes!} birthday & valentine’s day with my love in manchester, new hampshire. we celebrated thanksgiving in february with my law school friends {this is a reoccurring event in which my friend miriam cooks up a big thanksgiving dinner at various times of the year}. we celebrated leap year!

march: my mom visited for a long weekend. i oversaw work to the townhouse {new venting for the dryer}. we house-hunted on the weekends with our realtor padraic. i started & completed all three books in the hunger games series. we saw the hunger games at the IMAX. we saw {& were disappointed by} king tut at the pacific science center {no tut, just his stuff}. aaron took a work trip to vegas. we made our first {& only} offer on a house. our offer was accepted!

april: we took a post-offer tour of our new house. we celebrated easter dinner with my grandmother. we showed the townhouse to potential new tenants. i co-hosted a baby shower for amanda. we packed up all of our belongings for the big move. we closed on our house after signing lots of paperwork & handing over a very large check. we moved.

may: we were rear-ended {this better not become an annual event}. my mom & dad visited for a long weekend & helped with some house projects. we celebrated my grandmother’s 90th birthday! we celebrated aaron’s 29th birthday! i took on my first pro bono case with VAIJ. we hosted a small dinner party with old idaho friends kami, travis, & their adorable daughter olive. we spent a night on the town in bellevue at aaron’s organization’s ship party with lots of aaron’s co-workers.

june: we saw dia frampton in concert at chop suey. we hosted a small dinner party with my law school friend marcus, his then-fiancée katy, & their beagle maggie. padraic & his partner justin threw us an awesome housewarming party! we ventured down to alabama for andy & hailey’s wedding. i had lots of phone interviews.

july: we attended herschel’s first birthday party {the son of one of my law school friends}. we celebrated the fourth of july! i started going to fitness classes with my neighbor leanne at community fitness. we hosted a small dinner party with andy & hailey, just back from their honeymoon! we attended thanksgiving in july at miriam’s. sadie & i drove down to idaho. i got my haircut & had drinks with my CBC {high school} girlfriends. we loaded up the car & took a roadtrip {sadie included} to stevenson, wa for marcus & katy’s wedding. we saw the dark knight rises at the IMAX.

august: we celebrated our second wedding anniversary with a picnic dinner at greenlake! we attended our first neighborhood potluck & met lots of our neighbors. we joined a summer bocce ball league with ben & sarah. i did yoga in the park with our neighbors – the friends – & tens of other people. i shopped & noshed with my friend ashley who was in town on a work trip. we attended the pratt’s housewarming party {a couple i met & befriend while i was in americorps}. we attended padraic’s wig birthday party. i met my pro bono client. i was offered a position doing media license management & started working. my bff carlie came into town – our first house guest! we attended a moroccan dinner feast at ben & sarah’s house. aaron’s parents visited seattle for a week.

september: we attended a final farewell summer bbq. we visited indiana to see family & surprise meg at her baby shower. we attended a colts game with our friends colt & erin. we celebrated sadie’s eighth birthday!

october: we visited peru & got to hike around one of the new seven wonders of the world machu picchu. my mom & sister anya visited for a long weekend. my friend meg was in town to visit! aaron made an unexpected trip back to indiana to attend his late grandmother’s service. we attended ghouls near greenlake, ben & sarah’s annual halloween bash, as a somecard. we celebrated halloween with our very first trick-or-treaters!

november: aaron attended a week-long conference for work & stayed downtown. i watched the election results while painting the bathroom trim & texting aaron updates. we hosted our first {vegetarian} thanksgiving. we spent the long holiday weekend working on the house.

december: we attended a housewarming party for amanda, george, & madeleine. we brunched with our neighbors – the friends – at the 5 spot in queen anne. my mom visited for a long weekend. i brought back a pinterest christmas & recruited some friends to join in on the fun. we celebrated the holiday season with six holiday parties with friends & co-workers. i won rookie of the year at work. we enjoyed a double-date night in bellevue with some newly engaged friends. we loaded up the car with presents & made the trek to idaho for the week of christmas. we celebrated christmas! we made it safely back to seattle only one day delayed. we plan to ring in the new year with friends & watch the space needle firework show.

reflecting back on this year, i am reminded how blessed we are & also how different this year has been than the year previous. it has been such a wonderful year & ringing in a new one is a bit bittersweet.

how was your 2012 – was it a year to remember or are you itching to start 2013 already?

see highlights of 2011 here.

sweet home alabama: andy & hailey’s wedding.

as you know, we were in alabama this last weekend celebrating the nuptials of our good friends andy & hailey. since aaron was a groomsman, we decided to head down to the south a few days early & spend some time with the bride & groom to-be & the rest of the wedding party.

{redneck night at flora-bama bar.}

we spend thursday afternoon on the beach on the florida panhandle & then changed into our finest redneck attire to dance the night away at flora-bama bar (named for its location on the border of, you guessed it, florida & alabama).

{our travel buddies: colin & carolyn.}

{the groom & bride to-be: andy & hailey.}

{colin, hailey, & chris.}

{shannon, hailey, & two of andy’s adorable nieces.}

{andy & hailey.}

{the beautiful sunset. & also colin watching the nba finals.}

{andy, hailey, & jaime. andy & hailey were donning their new trucker hats. his says “hitchin’ a bride” & hers says “randy for andy.”}

{me, andy, tyler, & alyssa.}

{rehearsal dinner.}

the rehearsal dinner was held at oak hollow farms in fairhope, AL in a beautiful, old (air-conditioned!) barn. there were twinkling lights hanging draped from the ceiling – as seen in this week’s my weekend in photos – & wood chips on the floor. we had delicious southern food, including catfish, pulled pork bbq, sweet southern tea, & peach cobbler. the toasts by the best man, & maid & matron of honor were given, followed by lots of dancing & karaoke. aaron even got on stage & sang me everything by michael buble which is what he surprised me with at our wedding; it was wonderful!

{the rustic centerpieces.}

{me & carolyn.}

{colin & carolyn.}

{the hosts & parents of the groom: barb & alan.}

{hailey & andy.}

{me & aaron. the dress for the rehearsal dinner was southern, so aaron wore a bow tie, & it wasn’t even a clip-on (i learned to tie one before we left)!}

{hailey, andy, aaron, & me.}

{wedding day!}

aaron stayed in fairhope with the rest of the wedding party on friday night while carolyn & i stayed at a little motel in town. on saturday, the wedding party got ready in fairhope, took some pictures, & headed to mobile for the ceremony. carolyn & i spent the morning at target, before heading to mobile to lunch & do some shopping before we got ready.

{apparently this guy’s rack makes a nice place for hanging dress shirts.}

{andy getting ready for the big day.}

{the first dance.}

{me & andy.}

{me & aaron. doesn’t he look so handsome in a tux?}

{cutting the cake.}

{the cake was delish. so were the sugar cookies & the french macaroons. two thumbs up to the bride for the dessert selection!}

{the traveling four-some all the way from seattle!}

{my dress was matthew williamson which i got from rent the runway. (this is a referral link.) the wedding was black tie optional & since aaron was wearing a tux, i figured i should wear something a little fancy since i was his date. it was so fun to dress up & i think we should start dressing more formally in the pacific northwest. who’s with me?}

{the ringbearer with his cool shades on.}

{the bride dancing with her father, barre.}

{the groom dancing with his mother, barbara.}

{yes, that is the garter around her head!}

{the send-off. we showered them in rose petals on their way out to the get-away car while the band played.}

{congrats to the new mr. & mrs. steiner!}

{my up do.}

a few people asked about my hair, so i thought i would just include this quick note. i knew i needed my hair to be up & off my neck. also, my hairdresser always taught me: the more the dress, the higher the hair. basically, if you are wearing a strapless dress, you can leave your hair down, but if you have straps, you should have all of it up.

my hair is thick & super long right now, so i needed an updo that had different sections. i basically followed this hair tutorial, but did regular french braids instead of french fishtail braids (my arms get too tired to do fishtail!).

it is definitely wedding season. have you been to any recently or do you have any to attend later this summer?

my weekend in pictures: mobile, AL.

{aaron & colin – one of our travel buddies & also a groomsman – had matching bags.}

{the view from our garage apartment at the dumas family bay house in fairhope, AL.}

{toes in the sand!}

{um yep, it was 83 degrees at 9 pm. welcome to the south!}

{we joined the rest of the wedding party at flora-bama bar, right on the boundary between florida & alabama – dressed in our redneck attire.}

{this is aaron wearing my redneck camo hat.}

{a special delivery for the groom.}

{the rehearsal dinner venue was an old barn that was decorated with such pretty lights!}

{a&m peanut shop in mobile, AL.}

{the courtyard at our cute little southern hotel.}

{the wedding service.}

{roses & feathers decorated the chandeliers at the reception.}

{a little snack of cheese & meat at the reception.}

{toasting glasses.}

{the wedding party arriving at the reception.}

{sadie was so excited to snuggle on the couch after a long weekend with her new beagle friend maggie. thanks marcus, katy, & maggie for keeping sadie company while we were away!}

{we were too lazy to make dinner on sunday night (after leaving at o’dark thirty & traveling all day) so we hit up pies & pints near our house.}

we spent the long weekend in the deep south celebrating the wedding day of our very good friends andy & hailey. aaron was a groomsman & looked so handsome in his tux. to say it was hot & humid would be an understatement, but we had an amazing time. congrats andy & hailey! {wedding pics to be posted later this week. i hope.}

how was your weekend?