date night – emerald city diaries

PEPS Date Night Challenge Kick-Off!

As I had mentioned a while ago here, PEPS (our most favorite group!) is kicking off a Date Night Challenge & it is officially here. Consider October the month of date nights! And, yours truly (& Aaron) are featured front-&-center on the website! (Check it out here!)

Whether you live in Seattle, or elsewhere, if you have kids or are empty-nesters, treat yourself to a date night this month. This campaign is set-up like the old Ice Bucket Challenge, but instead of dumping an ice bucket on your head, you get to go on a date! Then you make a donation to PEPS (pretty please!) & then challenge a few of your friends or family to join in on the fun & get out on the town.

Aaron & I have a date night to a Halloween party towards the end of the month, but are also hoping to get in one more date night too! Last time we were out on a date it was dinner & a movie which is my favorite! Maybe we should do that again. Any good movies to see?

Take the Date Night Challenge

How It Works

DATE. Get a (Wonder)sitter, go out, & have fun! All types of dates count so be creative: dinner out or in, a walk, girls’ or guys’ night out – you name it!

DONATE. If you took the challenge, please consider a donation to PEPS – any gift, big or small is appreciated and helps us create more supportive villages for new parents.

CAPTURE. Take a photo or video of your date night to share with PEPS on Facebook and you will be entered in our prize drawing! Use the hashtag #PEPSDateNightChallenge and tag @ProgramForEarlyParentSupport (please note: your post must be public for PEPS to see/receive it).

CHALLENGE. Share the fun & challenge at least three of your friends to a date night of their own by tagging them in your date night post.

WIN. If you participate in the PEPS Date Night Challenge, and tag @ProgramForEarlyParentSupport in your facebook post, you will be automatically entered for a chance to win a fabulous prize. Please note: To be entered to win, your post has to be made public.

Date Night Challenge Prizes
(Check back for more prize offerings)

Dinner for two and bowling or billiards at Garage in Capitol Hill (Value: $100)
Dinner for two and a show at Jazz Alley (Value: $140)
Segway in Seattle tour for two (Value: $158)
Theatre Extravaganza prize – Double your fun with tickets to a play of your choice at the Seattle Rep and ACT Theatre (Value: $260)

Free babysitting will be offered by Wondersitter to all Date Night Challenge winners!

Consider this my challenge to you for Date Night! Thanks for joining in on the fun!

my weekend in pictures.

{the current state of our backyard: lumber, our old water heater, & the rhodie.}

{from my viewpoint my bump is huge!}

{fro-yo date night.}

{& so it starts. so excited for nursery decorating!}

{sushi date night. so delish even though I can only eat a quarter of the menu.}

{we had a double date night to see divergent. pretty good, but really different than the book. isn’t that always the case?}

{needed to pick up & scope out some stuff for the house, & decided it was finally time to join Ikea Family!}

we had a great weekend that was a good mix of getting things marked off of the to-do list & spending time together – the best kind of weekend, right? saturday it was pouring, pouring rain while I was trying to run errands which was miserable, but today’s Easter weather was sunny & pretty warm. very excited for this burst of spring weather! how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{pre-dinner drinks on capital hill. cheers!}

{out to dinner with old & new friends on friday night.}

{I don’t know which is more amazing: the fact that spring bulbs are blooming or the fact that I planted these bulbs last fall.}

{I spent saturday morning on a rainy walk around greenlake with an old friend & her little one. I feel like this was a look into my very near future.}

{couldn’t resist the freshly picked pop-up shop at land of nod this weekend. picked up the cutest pair of moccasins for baby lower.}

{sunday lived up to its name today & brought some much-needed sun. needless to say sadie was here for most of the afternoon.}

{see those tiny little green plants at the base of our front tree? yep, those are tulips that I planted!}

{borrowing the divergent series from a friend. I need to get going before we go see the movie!}

{this week sadie got bored & unwound an entire spool of twine she found in my craft supplies. aaron & I spent 15 minutes trying to find an end so I could attempt to re-spin it. still a work in progress.}

we had a fun & productive weekend spending time with old & new friends, & finally taking a much-needed trip to the goodwill in an effort to get a kick-start on spring cleaning. after days & days of rain, we finally got a few dry days, or moments, starting on friday & finishing up with some actual sunshine today – it was glorious! while I am still reeling from the spring forward this morning, it was all-in-all a great weekend! 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?

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?

my weekend in pictures.

{sadie’s post-surgery meds cocktail. we found a lump on her when we got home from the holidays & she had a lumpectomy on friday morning.}

{we had monsoon-like conditions of wind, rain, & sleet on saturday afternoon. crazy.}

{after a very rough friday night, sadie was able to rest by saturday. its not a wonder given that enormous incision on her belly. luckily the vet was able to internalize the stitches, so no cone-of-shame necessary.}

{aaron & ben went to the seahawks play-off game on saturday afternoon. it was rainy, wet, & cold but the hawks were victorious!}

{sadie & I watched the game from the comfort – & warmth – of home.}

{saturday night brought us a last-minute dinner & a movie double date with our neighbors. girls won the movie vote with father of the bride. a classic! not exactly the action film aaron had in mind.}

{finally went thru all of the christmas cards we received & updated the contact pictures in my phone. best idea!}

{grocery shopping on sunday isn’t very fun since everyone else is also grocery shopping too…}

{sadie was like this most of the weekend. I think she wants to just become an appendage. so needy!}

{there was lots of football watched in our house this weekend. the colts may not have advanced, but we are definitely payton manning fans in this house!}

this weekend was lovely, mostly because I had so little planned & so little I “had” to do. why can’t all of my weekends be like that? something to work on in the new year. we are feeling refreshed going into the coming work week, though the winter weather is starting to get old. sadly, we are looking at lots of weeks of cold weather as we always have such a late spring in the pacific northwest. oh well. someday. there was a lot of snuggles & naps for sadie this weekend as she recovered from a minor surgery. we don’t have the test results yet from her lumpectomy, but the vet is optimistic from he removed. fingers crossed! how was your weekend? M

my weekend in pictures.

{traffic on friday night was nuts. the freeway was like a parking lot!}

{we played a tough shuffleboard game against new friends on friday night.}

{said good-bye to our good friend brian who is moving for work. we will miss you brian!}

{downtown belltown. every time I see the space needle, I have to take a picture of it.}

{worked on some crafty projects this weekend.}

{we saw the hunger games: catching fire on saturday. so, so good!}

{since we were at the seattle center to see the hunger games we got to see the needle. again.}

{waiting in line for the movie.}

{after filling up on popcorn at the movie, a light dinner was in order!}

{oregon lost to arizona? huge upset! a big deal for my huskies!}

{I finally got around to a much-needed mani & pedi.}

{we woke up to a beautiful day this morning. sadie was enjoying all of the glorious sun!}

{we saw a homeless dog on the way to the pet store this afternoon. so I bought him a treat. but then when we walked back past the corner where he was with his owner they were gone. sad. so then sadie got the treat. #spoileddog}

{ran to bell square in bellevue to pick up & return a few things. I usually park in 2A. this is the one bad thing about the holiday season…}

we had a great & productive weekend {at least it felt like I got a few to-dos off my list!}. this past week has really felt like winter since we are getting down below freezing at night, but we were spoiled with some sun & decent weather today! we are gearing up for a short week & a much-needed long weekend to rest up & recover from a crazy-busy schedule. how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{kicked off the weekend with a mani!}

{triple date night at the one day’s wages charity gala on friday night with these ladies.}

{saw captain phillips on saturday night with my mom & grandmother. best movie I have seen in a very long time – definitely recommend!}

{I love this time of year – christmas catalogs!}

{I planted some spring bulbs in the front yard sunday morning while aaron did a little raking. we are pretending to be good homeowners.}

{pumpkin carving with friends on sunday afternoon!}

{aaron, sadie, & jaz playing. it was the sweetest!}

{we have broken out all of our winter gear as our house is already freezing. thank goodness for the genius who invented cashmere pants.}

my mom was in town this weekend & aaron was back east on a business trip so everything seemed a little crazy. crazy, but good! we had an awesome weekend spending time with friends & family which was much-needed. it makes me excited for the holidays coming up & to take some time with loved ones who we don’t get to see every day.

also, a huge shout-out & congratulations to our cousin kendra & her family on the new addition! love you guys!

how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{we took the drive south to kent to carpinito brothers’ pumpkin patch on saturday morning.}

{my first time to a pumpkin patch. if aaron would have been okay with it, I would have gotten an entire wheelbarrow full of pumpkins!}

{sadie loved the pumpkin patch, apparently there were a lot of good smells. she was so good while we had to wait for all of the people.}

{on saturday night we went to the Seattle Opera. neither one of us would consider ourselves opera fans per se, but we fully enjoyed the daughter of the regiment!}

{a really fun date night at the opera & impressed with how many other seattleites were dressed up for the occasion.}

{a selfie via aaron.sorry for the fuzziness…}

{tonight we went out to etta’s at pike place market to enjoy the second week of seattle restaurant week. i have always heard good things about etta & the meal did not disappoint!}

we took advantage of a slow weekend to indulge in a few much-needed date nights, though sadie wasn’t too amused. the weather has definitely turned here to cold & we are remembering the age of our house given the number on the thermastat! we are still at the point where we don’t want to keep the heat on all the time, so an extra layer or hat is the way to go in our house for at least a few weeks longer before we give in & turn up the heat! aaron is headed out of town for work & I am gearing up for a busy week along with my mom making a short trip into town. plus, i am still grappling with the idea that it is the end of october – seriously, where did the last three weeks go? how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{the end of #embracethecamera challenge. read more about it here & check instagram for the entire week of photos.}

{all dressed up with somewhere to go on saturday night.}

{the wizard of oz was the first play of the season at The Paramount.}

{swung by jamba juice post-pure barre on sunday morning for a smoothie. when did the menu get so big?}

{crisp fall weather this weekend meant we turned the heat on for the first time in months.}

{even with the heater on it was still puffy vest weather!}

{sunday afternoon amanda came by for a short crafternoon. i may or may not be starting on some things for chrismas…}

{aaron made eggplant parmesan tonight from the eggplant we grew this summer. it was delish!}

ah, where did the last two days go? i say this every week, but the weekend days go so fast. this weekend we didn’t have a lot of plans & i felt like i got a lot off of my to do list – always a good feeling going into a new week. we celebrated our six year dating anniversary on thursday, which seems insane that it was that long ago – talk about time flying! how was your weekend?

Date Night Challenge Prizes (Check back for more prize offerings)

Date Night Challenge Prizes
(Check back for more prize offerings)