celebration – Page 3 – emerald city diaries

my week{end} in pictures {indiana edition}.

{sorry for the delay in this post – we landed in seattle late yesterday night & hit the ground running!}

{we got off a red-eye flight from seattle to chicago last week & drove to indiana. in hindsight, this was a terrible idea. #wenappedinapaneraparkinglot}

{aaron being a great uncle!}

{our friend colt & aaron picked these beautiful peonies for me!}

{hanging out with our sweetest niece charlotte.}

{headed to colt & erin’s wedding on friday. more pics to come!}

{aaron spent a lot of time shooting clays at the post-wedding picnic.}

{aaron’s stepmom diane made sugar cookies & someone had to eat the last one. #takingonefortheteam}

{watched the french open finals – go rafa!}

{got to have dinner with aunt kathi, uncle stan, aunt sharon, & uncle mike. what a treat!}

{got to see kait & oliver while in alex. aaron & oliver shooting with a bow & arrow.}

{kait, me, & the bump.}

{our rental car – a kia soul. actually not a bad car, just an awful color!}

{aaron & frankie getting in some male bonding time.}

{we got a chance to see meg & her littles on our way out of town. aaron & si were bffs by the end of our trip!}

{after having lunch in chicago, we got to see wrigley field on our way to o’hare!}

{the route to terminal c at o’hare is always fun!}

{as we approached seattle, we opened the airplane window to discover the most beautiful view of mount rainer!}

we had a whirlwind trip to indiana to see aaron’s family & attend colt & erin’s nuptials this past week. it was so great to see so much family & get to spend some quality time with our niece & nephews {though it is so tough to not see them more often!}. the weather was beautiful & we both enjoyed a stretch of sunny weather with very little humidity {yay!} – looking forward to the summer weather that will hopefully descend upon the emerald city in the coming months. thanks to everyone who made time to hang out with us while we were in town – hope to do it again sometime very soon!

how was your weekend?

my {long} weekend in pictures.

{picked up a few pizzas from zaw for a dinner in with friends.}

{happy birthday aaron!}

{all packed up for a weekend staycation.}

{we stopped by the house on saturday to see the progress – I promise to share pics later in the week – & this is how you get into the front door.}

{it is sort of fun getting a week’s worth of mail on our weekly pick-up at the post office!}

{good weather in seattle means much more of this: waiting for boat traffic.}

{we got the sweetest package for baby lower from an old college friend.}

{celebrated a birthday dinner at steelhead diner at pike place market. the food was delish!}

{we stayed at the w hotel this weekend & it was so nice of them to remind us what time of day it was.}

{this sign at pike place market for the restrooms is hilarious – they are all over! I guess this is a sneak peak into what life will be like next year.}

{two of my favorite things: peonies & the bump!}

{I finally got started on a craft project for baby lower’s nursery at crafternoon with amanda.}

we had such an enjoyable long weekend vacationing in downtown seattle. we puttered around the shopping area downtown, took a few trips to the market, dined in bell town, caught up on grey’s anatomy, & enjoyed not having any plans whatsoever. sadie stayed with our good friends jes & cale – thanks you two! – so we knew we could relax without worrying about her. I can’t believe that we are already post-memorial day! that means aaron is one year older & summer {& baby lower} is right around the corner!

how was your weekend?

project baby {seattle baby shower}

as I had mentioned in this week’s bump post, amanda threw me a beautiful & lovely baby shower this past weekend. it was likely a bit of a challenge since it was gender neutral, but it was so, so perfect! every detail was thought of & executed to perfection. thank you amanda – such a fantastic way to celebrate baby lower with a fabulous group of women!

the spread was perfect – snacks & dessert {french macarons & cupcakes – my fav!} & I adored those hanging balloons. & the very sweetest thing was the guest book: everyone’s thumbprints on the cutest print from where the wild things are. this is the first art piece for the nursery!

{hanging balloons // the spread // the sweets}

{the guest book // shower prizes // oh baby banner in the bathroom // the most delicious drinks}

{quote on the guest book // shower game // favors // the spread}

{the drinks // my balloon chair // law school gals}

{playing shower games // admiring the youngest shower guest // the oldest of friends}

{mom, me, & the bump // the guest book // the lovely hostess & me // balloons!}

perfect, right?

my weekend in pictures.

{we attended a fun celebration for both a birthday & an MBA completion for our friend sara – congratulations!}

{hit pike place market early saturday morning to pick up last minute party goodies – fresh flowers & french macarons! the tulips are so gorgeous & I have filled my house with them.}

{the dessert table set-up for my birthday bash.}

{kicking my feet up after a long & fun night of entertaining. loving this fantastic anthro skirt {no longer available}!}

{leftover cupcakes & donuts for breakfast? sure! don’t worry, we also had some blueberry muffins…}

{aaron showing our little friend jaz how to snap a straw.}

{car accident + rainy weather = major traffic issues.}

{meet fred, my grandmother’s new roommate!}

we had the most amazing weekend celebrating february birthdays with our friends & family. seriously, it was the best! sleeping in, eating macarons, & catching up with friends is the very best way to spend the weekend. now I am in disbelief that we are in the last week of march already – where did february go?

how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{thank you for all of the sweet comments here & on instagram about our big valentine’s day announcement! we are feeling very loved & were so excited to finally {officially} share the happy news. I promise this blog won’t become baby-central, but I will be sharing updates for those who are interested.}

{last year I made aaron’s valentine card & decided to make it a tradition by making him one this year too. I also made the envelope & liner using these awesome templates from paper source: envelope & envelope liner.}

{aaron spoiled me with breakfast in bed on saturday with heart-shaped pancakes & eggs.}

{we visited an old favorite place for lunch while we were in fremont running some errands. if you are ever in that part of town & want a really good sammie or gelato, be sure to hit up jai over at royal grinders}

{we spent some quality family time watching the sochi olympics this weekend. sadie was fascinated with the cross-country team event.}

{I may or may not have had a number of cupcakes this weekend.}

{we also got to celebrate our friend steve’s birthday this weekend. he was surprised by a party & a dinosaur cake. happy birthday steve!}

what a wonderful birthday weekend this shaped out to be. it was a little soggy, but hard to complain. we went on a fun date night to serafina on friday to celebrate my birthday & to eat alongside many of the other seattle couples celebrating valentine’s day. the rest of the weekend was spent sleeping in, opening presents, running some errands, & enjoying our little family of three. how was your weekend?

friday I’m in love: {a valentine’s day announcement}

my previous friday I’m in love posts I have mostly been round-ups of things I am loving for that week {see here, here, here, & here}. this week though, I thought it would be fun to share this year’s family valentine.

for those of you not yet in the know {which is likely a lot since we’ve kept mum recently} we would like to share the LOVE & are absolutely thrilled to announce that our family is growing this year!

if that doesn’t make your valentine’s day happy, I don’t know what will!

{I would love to give a huge shout-out to jihan & geronimo balloons for making & sending over this gorgeous, fun, & festive balloon!}

be sure to check out what kendra is sharing! what are you loving this week?

friday I’m in love.

welcome back friday! be sure to pop over to kendra’s blog too to see what she’s up to. we would love for you to join us! leave a comment and we’ll come check out what you’re loving each week!

{one} the waterlogue app.

I rarely, read: never buy apps. all of my favorites – instagram, feedly, pinterest – are all free! however, when I started hearing rumblings about the waterlogue app, I had to look into it. you open up a picture in the app & it transforms it into a beautiful watercolor piece of art! seriously, it is amazing. I’m in love…

here are a few of my favs from my own pics:

{two} seahawks victory parade.

in case you missed it, the seahawks ~~crushed~~ beat the broncos in the superbowl last weekend. just yesterday there was a team parade downtown where the players & the team piled into the Ride the Ducks amphibious vehicles & cruised down fourth avenue to century link field. early estimates were that 300,000 people would end up downtown. turns out 700,000 {!} people ended up downtown cheering on the hawks. seriously. on a wednesday morning. if that isn’t pride, I don’t know what is!

{three} polar bear family.

family photos of polar bears? melts my heart. a mama & her triplet cubs. #savethepolarbears

what are you loving this week?

my weekend in pictures.

{sometimes when you just have a smoothie for lunch, you grab a bag of cheetos out of the vending machine at 3 pm.}

{on friday night I introduced aaron to the sandwiches at delicatus in seattle’s pioneer square neighborhood. he approved! thanks to amanda for sharing this spot with me last year.}

{after some delicious sammies, we joined ben & sarah at the comedy underground. hilarious!}

{on saturday morning, I breakfasted with an old friend & her new little one at the hangar café in georgetown. definitely check it out if you are ever in town. the crepes are amazing!}

{a girlfriend & I did some early birthday shopping in bellevue on saturday morning. the 12th man was everywhere, including at nordy’s.}

{nothing says date night like two glasses of ice water & a plastic table number. to be fair though, this was the second date night of the weekend, so I wasn’t complaining!}

{we picked up some beast mode skittles after dinner.}

{it is the beginning of february – seriously? – & my bulbs are already sprouting!}

{the laziness won over this weekend & our bringing a dish to share at the superbowl party turned into picking up a dozen donuts at top pot on the way over. no one seemed to mind.}

{the seahawks entering the field. that was before they went on to whoop the broncos! what a game! as much as I would have liked to see a better game – closer score – it was nice to not have to stress about whether the score was too close. from that first play of the game on it was all seahawks!}

this was a really great weekend. the sun was out, I got not one, but two date nights with my husband, we got to catch up with lots of friends, & the seahawks won the superbowl! doesn’t get much better than that! how was your weekend?

highlights of 2013.

{via}

happy 2014!

i’ve said it before, & i’ll say it again!, yearly recaps are always my favorite kinds of blog posts. its a small way to sum up your year & to see how much the last 365 days have brought. as i look forward to the New Year, i am humbled & grateful by all of the wondrous events of 2013. here’s the rundown of ours:

january: I started out the new year with a bout of the flu. we hosted our first blog giveaway! we installed the west elm hanging capiz chandelier over our dining room table. I framed my diy polaroids for our bedroom walls. amanda & I met john & sherry from young house love during their book signing tour! I diy-ed campaign dressers for our bedroom.

february: I did lots of diy-ing for valentine’s day {here, here, & here} I celebrated my birthday! we bought a kitchen island. I tried to be better about getting in front of the camera!

march: I tried my hand at painting an antler {& was so impressed with the results!}. we took my 91-year-old grandmother to target for the first time! amanda & I diy-ed framed house keys on maps. we sold jez the jetta & bought a new car.

april: we updated our bathroom vanity with a converted antique sideboard. we updated the closet doors by stripping off the old paint in a crock pot. we celebrated our one year anniversary in our house & I reviewed all of the house diys!

may: we finally got some good weather in seattle! I painted the ceiling & hallway walls. we celebrated aaron’s thirtieth birthday with a beer tasting party! we had a fun-filled memorial day weekend. we were featured in west elm’s blog front & main.

june: aaron replaced our toilet. sadie was featured in the seattle dog spot blog. my parents visited for a long weekend en route to the olympic peninsula. my diy his & hers maps were featured. we finally got some summer weather!

july: we celebrated the long Fourth of July weekend with a holiday parade, fireworks, & time with friends. I made a nine layer ombre cake! we replaced our kitchen track lights with globe pendants from west elm. we road-tripped to idaho for my ten-year high school reunion. we started growing our first eggplant.

august: we celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. the blog got a Liebster Award Nomination. I diy-ed the tiniest baby hats for our friends’ new baby. we road-tripped to hood river, oregon to celebrate my cousin’s wedding.

september: we went to the husky vs. bronco game to kick-off labor day weekend complete with husky-style tailgating {via boat}. we took advantage of the warm weather & cleaned up the front yard with a fun game called love it or lose it. we celebrated sadie’s ninth birthday! I attended the Alt Summit for Everyone blog conference.

october: I attempted to start doing fashion posts again. we celebrated our two year blog anniversary at emerald city diaries! I finished up with the #embracethecamera challenge. we went to the pumpkin patch & carved pumpkins with friends.

november: aaron joined a team for movember 2013. we snuck off to hawaii for thanksgiving.

december: I reviewed some of my favorite weekend in pictures pics. I participated in A Pinterest Christmas for the third year {see this year’s projects here, here, here, here, & here}! we celebrated Christmas in indiana with aaron’s family.

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 2013 – was it a year to remember, or are you itching to start 2014 already?

see past yearly highlights for 2011 & 2012.

merry christmas {2013}

wishing you a very happy holiday & merry christmas this year!

our cards this year are from tiny prints {again!} who i love working with as there is such a great selection of cards & the shipping is fast! as this year’s card was just a family picture & not the highlights that last year’s card was, i decided to put together a fun infographic christmas letter as a yearly review.

happy celebrating!

see previous christmas cards here & here.