happy valentine’s day!

valentines day geronimo balloon

{wouldn’t it be amazing to get a giant heart balloon from geronimo balloons from your valentine? i think i would keep it forever.}

i hope everyone has an amazing & love-filled day celebrating! people ask me a lot whether i like having my birthday on valentine’s day & the answer is a resounding yes! i do feel bad for my husband because growing up my birthday & valentine’s day were two very separate holidays, both celebrated {thanks mom & dad!}, but i really do love it. since i do share a birthday with a holiday, i love that it is a day that is filled with joy & compassion for those around you. where gestures of love – big & small – are made in return for a few x’s & o’s.

whether you have an official valentine or not i hope that you find a lot of love today!

xo M

my weekend in pictures.

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{i waited for a meeting on friday at platform 9 3/4.}

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{met john & sherry of young house love. see the full post here.}

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{window shopping at j.crew & found my next handbag.}

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{someone told sadie there were treats behind the counter at ace hardware.}

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{date night at agua verde.}

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{sunday night birthday celebration for our friend andy. dinner was italian family style & it was delish!}

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{aaron & the birthday boy. with matching beards.}

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{coat on sale at anthro in my size? yes, please!}

we had a relaxing weekend getting a few projects done around the house, but not getting out much due to the return of the rain. boo. we are definitely wishing for spring, though it will be weeks before we will get “spring” weather. how was your weekend?

M

highlights of 2012.

2013 lets do this{via}

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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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?

M

see highlights of 2011 here.

happy belated birthday bro.

{how is that for an alliteration?}

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i want to give a big birthday shout-out to the best guy i know, my big brother jason! his birthday was on october 11 {yep, he shares a birthday with the blog!} but we were out of town this year for the big day.

jason – we hope you had an awesome, awesome birthday celebrating how awesome you are!

happy birthday bro!

M&A

my weekend in pictures.

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{woke up friday morning to a double rainbow. so beautiful!}

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{my first time making baked potatoes in the crock pot. success! wash potatoes, wrap in foil, set crock pot on low, & cook for 8 hours. aaron wanted the skin crispy so he put a little oil on the skins & put them in the toaster oven.}

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{my calendar at work. yes, tgif!}

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{3-person carpools: one of the many reasons we take the bus to work.}

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{yay, pumpkins at the store. happy fall!}

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{i need a bang trim.}

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{aaron ran (& survived) tough mudder with his brother & some friends on saturday.}

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{two ferraris valeted at the westin in bellevue. no big deal.}

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{on sunday we took my grandmother to yogurtland for the first time. she was literally a kid in a candystore, you should have seen her bee-line for the candy toppings!}

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{i got caught up on a few of my magazine subscriptions. yep, that is still the vogue september issue that i haven’t gone thru & i already have the october issue.}

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{perusing my food pinterest board for recipes for dinner this week.}

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{we celebrated sadie’s birthday on sunday & boy was she spoiled: a new squeaky toy, a big bone, & a birthday cookie!}

how was your weekend?

M

happy birthday dad!

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{photo taken at our wedding by erin marcum}

i wanted to wish my dad, larry, a very happy birthday today.

happy birthday dad!

dad: even though we aren’t in idaho to celebrate his big day with you, i hope you know we are celebrating you & what a wonderful dad you are. i hope you take the day to relax – though i know you have trouble doing that, i am the same 🙂 – & let someone else do all the work today. heavens knows you deserve a day off!

here is to the happiest of birthdays & cheers to another year older (or younger, depending on how you are counting!)!

love,

M & A

happy birthday to my grandmother!

i wanted to give a birthday shout-out to my grandmother who is turning 90 years young today!

grace

{family trip to ireland for my grandmother’s 80th birthday.}

for those who are unfortunate enough not to know my grandmother, i am sorry. and only because she is one of the most amazing people i have ever had the pleasure of meeting. seriously. she is one of a kind.

i moved to seattle to live closer to her during the middle of college & have since spent nearly every friday night with her for the last six years – we call it friday night dinner, a la gilmore girls {now it isn’t just me & her anymore, as aaron joins in on the fun too!}.

i want to wish the very, very happiest of birthdays to the best grandmother in the world! thanks for everything.

love,

M