road trip – Page 2 – emerald city diaries

my weekend in pictures.

{waiting for aaron with sadie after work.}

[post-dinner sorbet sundae!}

[packing for a weekend wedding.}

{the bridge of the gods in cascade locks, oregon in the columbia river gorge. so gorgeous!}

{we were in the columbia river gorge for the weekend to celebrate my cousin, jesse’s, wedding. the celebration was at a local orchard – so fun!}

{we drove out this morning to multomah falls with my parents & sister anya.}

{sadie & the falls.}

{after an extra-long return trip home from oregon because of traffic, we met up with friends at bastille for dinner.}

{i guess it is that time of year again to start thinking about my fall wardrobe!}

we spent a really lovely weekend in oregon celebrating my cousin’s wedding. my parents & sister anya were able to make the trip over as well – it was great to see so much family & catch up! if you haven’t been out to the columbia river gorge, you definitely should. it is breathtakingly gorgeous! the wedding was in an orchard with views of mount hood – pictures to come later in the week. we are gearing up for another week of sunny summer weather! how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{on thursday we celebrated our third anniversary!}

{friday night i got to dine on indian food with aaron & his brother, ben. naan & mango wala – so delish!}

{a roadtrip isn’t a roadtrip unless you have a latte & donut for the road!}

{welcome to idaho! we spent the weekend in coeur d’alene & i have to admit that it was my first time in northern idaho.}

{we were in town to celebrate our friends & their soon-to-be-born daughter neva rose!}

{we had a good time in coeur d’alene – crazy that we were so close to montana.}

{the gorge is so beautiful this time of year.}

we spent just a short time in coeur d’alene but had such a great time catching up with friends & celebrating a new little one (on the way)! in an effort to “un-plug” i didn’t get very many pictures of the weekend. good for me but bad for this blog post… i didn’t even get a picture of me & the mom-to-be! #badblogger

the weather was so nice in idaho & it was great to be out on the water & in the sun {with sunscreen, of course!}. we got to catch up with old friends & meet lots of new ones; always a treat until i have to remember everyone’s name. aaron is great at remembering names, but i am terrible at it! how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{after a day-long roadtrip the sportwagen needed a little love. plus i LOVE the car wash!}

{aaron wasted no time getting into vacation mode.}

{i am loving flavored coconut water for hydrating after workouts.}

{pool essentials: sun protection & magazines!}

{this is the life! but i only lasted about 5 minutes before i hopped in the pool since it has been in the triple digits.}

{i got to spend the weekend with this fun lady, one of my best friends from high school emily! we had so much fun!}

{ah, this face!}

{sadie was enjoying the late afternoons in the shade by the pool}

{we tried out some of the kebob recipes in the latest real simple for family dinner tonight. #delish}

{summer = watermelon.}

{this is how my nephews clean up the dishes. #thedogsaretheprewashcycle}

{sadie surveying my parents’ property.}

{thanks catch phrase for giving aaron the word fahrfegnugen.}

{yep, that’s the moon above my parents’ house. it was so beautiful tonight!}

aaron, sadie, & i drove down mid-week for my ten year high school reunion. besides feeling a little old, we had a lot of fun! i was able to catch up with my close girlfriends, old classmates, & some family this weekend which was really great & much needed. it almost makes me wish i lived in boise again. but then i think of how much i love seattle & am thankful we are just a short ways away. it definitely feels like summer down here with triple digit heat & we have taken full advantage of the A/C & swimming pool at my parents’ house! what a fun weekend & thanks to everyone for making it so amazing!

how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{the peonies that i picked up from whole foods last week are absolutely the most gorgeous & biggest blooms i have ever seen!}

{our house was featured in a before & after feature on west elm’s blog front & main on thursday. we were pretty excited about it!}

{cookies are the proper way to finish a lunch date, don’t you think?}

{on saturday we drove down to southern washington to pay our respects to my dear friend’s father who passed away a week and a half ago. mr. ayoub may you rest in peace.}

{aaron & sadie at the dog park.}

{we call her frog dog when she lays down like this.}

{on saturday we tried vegan pizza pi in the u district for dinner & it wasn’t too shabby. notice its awesome phone number.}

{aaron & i – well mostly aaron – installed a new toilet this weekend. more details to come this week (& by details i mean pictures).}

{i am enjoying dan brown’s new book inferno. it has taken me a long time to get back into reading a book for pleasure after law school. i think this is the third novel i have read since graduation. #yepiamscarredforlife }

{the view from i-90 this evening was lovely. we were lucky enough to get a warm, sunny sunday in seattle!}

i don’t quite know where the weekend went, but alas it is sunday night. we got a few to dos done around the house, but i feel like we had a pretty mellow weekend. also, to celebrate the first of june – is it really june already? – we got a nice dose of sunny weather which is always a treat on the weekend. makes me long for a summer vacation…

how was your weekend?

highlights of 2012.

{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.

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.

my weekend in pictures.

{friday morning yoga.}

{it must be summertime because half of the time i drive thru eastlake the university bridge is up for boat traffic.}

{snacks packed for our road trip.}

{on the road! destination: stevenson, wa.}

{welcome to stevenson! so stevenson, wa is right on the columbia river acts as the state border between washington & oregon. in order to get to stevenson though, you have to drive into oregon & then cross back over into washington.}

{the bridge to hood river, oregon where we spent saturday morning.}

{downtown hood river.}

{family photo.}

{sadie was loving the shade & the cool concrete.}

{we stopped for a delicious juice on our way to the farmer’s market.}

{the columbia river gorge is absolutely gorge-ous! if you are ever near portland & have a vehicle, keep driving down i-84 to see the columbia river. you won’t be disappointed!}

{our little rustic cabin get-away.}

{here comes the bride!}

{the ceremony.}

{we clean up pretty well. at least for special occasions like weddings.}

{the cake cutting.}

{& the cake fighting.}

{the beautiful view from skamania lodge.}

{crossing back into oregon over the bridge of the gods.}

{bye-bye portland! we stopped in portland for a little shopping & leg-stretching before heading back to seattle.}

we had a fun weekend get-away to small-town, washington to attend the wedding of one of my law school friends, marcus. neither of us had spent any time at the columbia river gorge, but boy it was stunning! the weather was nice & sunny, & the wedding was so fun. how was your weekend?