football – emerald city diaries

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?

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} boeing & the 12th man.

boeing not only wrapped its new freighter planes with seahawks graphics, its newest jumbo jet also took its first flight in the shape of a “12.” if that’s not support, I don’t know what is. good luck seattle! go 12th man!

{two} cupid’s arrow cupcake topper.

I am loving all of the valentine’s décor & diy ideas that are floating around the interwebs {for obvious reasons}. I am particularly enamored with this cupcake topper that was featured over on the Oh Happy Day blog.

{three} julep freedom top coat.

I am pretty certain I have talked about my love of this product before, but every time I use it, I fall in love again. when I do feel fancy & go get a mani/pedi, I always go to julep which is my all-time favorite nail salon {bonus that it is 5 minutes away from our house!}. months ago the gals started using this freedom top coat after two or three coats of color. once it is on, you sit 10 or 15 minutes with your nails under a light {just any regular light} & like magic, the coat finishes almost like a gel polish! seriously. it isn’t perfect, but it does mean you can put on your jacket & pay for your mani without smudging your nails. I use it at home now when I am feeling not quite as fancy {& have to paint my own}. I just put on one top coat over the color & sit at the dining room table under the light for 15 minutes. you an even read a magazine as long as you keep your fingers facing the light. then, as long as you don’t really rub your nails, you are free to get along with your day. if that’s not freedom, I don’t know what is!

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 jamaican bobsled team.

did you hear about the jamaican bobsled team? without a way to fund a trip to sochi, they weren’t even sure they could participate in the winter olympic games this year. but, thanks to crowdsourcing, they raised enough funds to go! this is just an example of how awesome humans can be sometimes. plus, what olympic bobsled competition would be complete without the jamaicans? “sanka, you dead?” “yeah mon.” *

*if you don’t know what the quote is referencing, please stop reading this post & immediately go rent & watch cool runnings. it won’t disappoint! I know I will be watching in at least once in celebration of the upcoming winter olympics!

{two} superbowl XLVIII.

not only am I super stoked to have the seahawks going to the big game this year, but manning {one of our favs from his legacy with the colts} will be there too! it is always a tough game when you want both teams to win, but exciting nonetheless. & a bonus this year is that we get to bet on how many times manning will say “omaha” & see what, if anything, sherman might have to say post-game.

{three} rifle paper co wallpaper.

in my last & non-sports-related love, word on the street is that rifle paper co is releasing a line of wallpaper this year. yep, seriously! its hard to believe I would even consider putting up wallpaper given the bad rap its gotten over the years, but yet I find myself searching for the perfect place in our house to wallpaper. & I can’t think of a better person to create super chic & desirable wallpaper than anna bond of rifle paper co. she is a genius!

what are you loving this week?

my weekend in pictures.

{my grandmother sends all of her sheets out to the cleaner. & they come back packaged in saran wrap. she is the only person on the planet that I know who does this.}

{marinating some salmon for dinner guests on saturday night.}

{sadie is so proper with her little paws crossed like that.}

{finally got some crafting done for a baby shower gift.}

{caramelizing the squash & grating the cheese to make this pizza.}

{sadie doing yoga in the kitchen this evening. #downwarddog}

{this is sadie’s “please mom will you feed me dinner now?” look. it melts my heart.}

{after seeing the broncos win, our nerves were up for the seahawks game. we are ecstatic that the hawks were victorious. superbowl here we come!}

what a great weekend catching up with family & friends! on friday we saw the secret life of walter mitty which we both really enjoyed, on saturday we had friends over for dinner & a much-needed catch up, & this morning sadie & I strolled around greenlake with a friend. despite the weekend being at its end {& me being so bummed that we don’t get tomorrow off!} it was a bit of a change that this weekend felt slow. at least to me. it was nice to feel like life slowed down for the past two days. definitely a contrast to the way the work weeks have been feeling recently. how was your weekend? M

p.s. you may notice some changes to the blog. I have been wanting to make some changes to the blog design for a while & finally found some time to start. I hope to have all of the changes finished soon!

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.

my weekend in pictures.

{caught the end of the fight hunger bowl game. go huskies!}

{saw our cousin kait’s new house. aaron & oliver had fun launching arrows everywhere.}

{we drove out to lafayette to see tim, meg, & silas yesterday.}

{si was such a ham at lunch. this is his new squishy face!}

{pool party at our hotel with all of the little cousins!}

{happy birthday cari!}

{all of the littles in one pic – amazing!}

we are wrapping up our indiana christmas vacation & fly back to seattle today. it has been great to unplug & catch up with family & friends over the holiday. it seems like we have had no less than 6 christmas celebrations! plus, we finally got some snow this morning! hard to believe we are in the final days of december – where did the year go? how was your christmas week and weekend?

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.

{debuted my new favorite sweater – carpe diem!}

{trying to fit in pure barre classes during the week, though i am loving it on saturday mornings.}

{i attended my first alt summit blog conference at the end of this week. it makes me want to attend the live conference – so fun! for now, the alt for everyone classes are perfect.}

{it rained literally the entire weekend. & by literally i mean there was an 80 to 100% chance of rain all weekend long. we are used to fall rain, but even for seattle this is ridiculous!}

{yep, it’s the end of september, the house is freezing, & the electric mattress pad cover has emerged from its summer hibernation.}

{sadie doesn’t mind the rain at all, especially if it means we take a family walk on weekend mornings.}

{we caught the end of the seahawks vs. texans game this afternoon. go hawks!}

{i am attempting to learn more advanced techniques in illustrator. wish me luck!}

we had a chilly & wet weekend given the non-stop rainstorms. boy does it feel like fall in the emerald city! since there was no going outside, we took the chance to get some inside chores done & catching up on a few of our favorite TV shows that are beginning to start up. it is hard to believe these are the last days of september already, but we are looking forward to a fun (& hopefully dry) october! how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{enjoyed a perrier andy warhol edition at dinner on friday night with aaron & my grandmother.}

{our goal for saturday was to clean up the front garden beds & fill up this yard waste bin. we were successful plus some & filled up another smaller bin as well!}

{sadie isn’t very good at yard work.}

{sadie & me waiting for aaron to get our CSA this week.}

{got my birch box for september!}

{picked up a few goodies for the fall from the u village.}

{sadie & i enjoyed catching up on some magazines saturday night while aaron was out seeing Tosh.}

{inspired by the feels-like-fall-weather this weekend & my love for anything pumpkin, i whipped up some pumpkin cream cheese using this recipe from pinterest.}

{watched manning vs. manning on sunday afternoon. #gobroncos #sorryeli}

{while running errands on sunday afternoon i swung by target to check out the phillip lim collaboration. picked up a few goodies & surprised by how much stock was in the store.}

{aaron joined me in my pumpkin obsession this weekend with some pumpkin hard cider.}

{aaron & sadie enjoying the seahawks vs. 49ers game. lots of cuddling helped the seahawks win despite the hour game delay for lightning.}

we had an awesome weekend with not much planned. we got a lot of much needed yardwork done in the front yard {though we haven’t touched the backyard – anyone free in the next few weekends?}. it definitely is starting to feel like fall here in seattle as we got rain and thunderstorms (unusual for the area) despite reaching the 80s earlier in the week. as much as i love summer, i love this time of year! how was your weekend?