emerald city diaries – Page 82 – family + adventures + the emerald city

my {long, holiday} weekend in pictures.

{we watched the annual 4th of july parade for our neighborhood. all of the kids sing “god bless america” & then ride their bikes/scooters/trikes down the street. it is adorable!}

{i baked my very first cake this weekend to take to a 4th of july party. it was ombre & had 9 layers & it was awesome. pics to come later in the week.}

{we spent some time at our friends’ parents’ house on bitter lake. such a beautiful place to catch up with old & new friends.}

{our 4th of july view at sunset.}

{happy birthday america!}

{we went out on a boat trip friday for our friend colin’s birthday.}

{the emerald city is gorgeous by boat.}

{#selfie}

{aaron whipped up some buckwheat, chocolate chip, & blueberry pancakes for breakfast on saturday.}

{i needed some new shoes for zumba & body pump. sadie was such a good girl at the store – i think she was enjoying the A/C!}

{my new mizuno shoes. i can’t wait to try them out!}

{family cuddle time on the couch.}

{our friends hosted a BBQ & outdoor movie night on saturday. sara makes the most delicious popcorn!}

{i am very much enjoying feedly as my blog reader. if you haven’t found a replacement for your google reader i would highly recommend it.}

{aaron has been enjoying some homemade hot sauce from our neighbor & friend phil. despite the name it is pretty good.}

{we dined at anthony’s in kirkland with my grandmother on sunday night. not a bad view.}

{this is the biggest blackberry i have ever seen. & apparently the biggest one aaron had seen too.}

it was so great to have the holiday in the middle of the week so that we had such a nice long weekend! we spent lots of time catching up on our sleep {much needed!} & spending time catching up with friends. we are enjoying the sunny weather but how in the world is it already july? #wheredoesthetimego

how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{heatwave rolling thru seattle. it is nice to finally have summer weather but it stinks not to have A/C when its this warm!}

{our CSA this week. this is the half-share, i would hate to see the full! #nowonderwearevegetarians}

{a family walk thru the ravenna ravine. this spot near our house is nice & shady, plus there is a creek that runs thru it that sadie likes to swim in.}

{sadie & me.}

{i finally framed the picture my mom gave me while she & my dad were in town. isn’t it perfect? also, this reiterates how much i need to find a jean jacket…}

{the heat isn’t actually set on our nest, but we are keeping it on in order to run the attic fan during the day. & yes it does say our house is 81 degrees. inside.}

{sadie got a bath this afternoon & her chest hair is priceless when it is air dried. #sheisafurrybeast}

{on our way to the eastside to see my grandmother for dinner we got stopped on the 520 bridge for boat traffic. sitting on the freeway in 90 degrees is not fun.}

{it seemed appropriate that my grandmother wanted to see the movie the heat this evening. PSA – it is bad. funny, but bad.}

after weeks of complaining about the rainy & cold weather we finally got some summer in the emerald city. now everyone is complaining about how hot it is! i realize that there is a heatwave everywhere this week but i am assuming the majority of you have A/C. we only have A/C at starbucks & nordy’s – guess i will have to go visit those places this week, oh darn! i had high hopes of getting some yard work done as our backyard is out of control, but it was a bit too warm outside for me to tackle it. oh well. how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{friday morning breakfast at starbucks: oatmeal & a latte. the best! #breakfastisbetterwhenyoudon’thavetomakeit}

{my parents were & we took them to boom noodle, one of our favorites!}

{of course we had to hit up nordstrom for the half-yearly men’s sale!}

{my mom adores the veggie salad at nordstrom café so i took one for the team & joined in for a lunch date.}

{loving my new saltwater sandals. i had at least one pair as a kid & loved them! so nostalgic.}

{last weekend aaron & my dad took down all of our storm windows. this weekend aaron worked on prepping the window frames for some new paint.}

{i had fun making a birthday card with fun paper & washi tape.}

{the view of the city skyline from i-5. #iheartseattle}

{we got to catch up with old friends from law school & meet new friends at my friend sarah’s birthday party this weekend. happy birthday sarah!}

{i finally got back to my beloved sunday morning yoga class after taking off the last month to do a body pump challenge (which i finished, yay!). #namaste}

{got some new fabric delivered for a project i am hoping to get started on this summer. so excited!}

{not that i needed an excuse to visit west elm, but there was a sale & we may have bought something. okay, a few things. can’t wait to share!}

{we finally got to the grocery store on a sunday which makes monday evening so much better. loving the shopping bag we got from our friend jerry – all the way from london, so fancy!}

{we attended a small law school reunion dinner party at oddfellows to see & catch up with our friend sarah – different sarah – who was in town for a wedding. it was so great to see everyone though!}

{we can’t go to capitol hill without visiting molly moon’s especially since it was right around the corner. one of the summer season flavors is a vegan coconut chunk – amazing & the best part is no tummy-ache!}

we had a fun & productive weekend with half of it being gorgeous & the other half of it being grey. & by productive i mean aaron got a lot done. i, on the other hand, still have a to-do list a mile long. #itnevergetsshorter

how was your weekend?

diy his & her maps feature

be sure to check out a round-up of map DIYs over on the Catching Fireflies blog including my DIY his & hers maps!

my weekend in pictures.

{my parents rolled into town on friday with their new camper. they were here for the weekend & heading out to camp for the week.}

{aaron & sadie.}

{we were sunning on my grandmother’s back patio on friday catching up with my mom & dad.}

{happy father’s day!}

{we have been ignoring our yard for most of the spring but finally started some much-needed cleanup in the back. we filled up that entire yard waste bin & still have so much more to go!}

{it is always double-whammy this time of year with my dad’s birthday & father’s day always falling within days of each other.}

{do you think my parents are boise state fans? #bronconation}

{we had dinner at McCormick for my dad’s birthday – happy birthday dad!}

we had a fun & very sunny weekend, though it went entirely too quickly. obviously my parents were in town & we enjoyed spending some quality time with them & my grandmother. it is finally starting to feel like summer around here & we are loving every minute of it. the house is even getting a bit warm {no A/C here} & we aren’t even complaining yet. how was your weekend?

happy father’s day!

sending some love out to our two greatest dads & all of the other wonderful father’s out there today!

love,

A & M

happy friday!

from our date night at the warby parker event on wednesday. doesn’t my husband look handsome in glasses?

seattle dogs & their people {seattle dog spot feature}

the weekend before last we took a family trip to the nearby cowen park en route to pick up dinner. this is one of ravenna’s best parks as there is so much grass & space for sadie to run around & chase squirrels. {it also has an amazing playground which isn’t much use to us now but will be some day.}

during our stroll, a guy approached us & asked if he could take our picture {aaron, sadie, & me}. it turns out he was a photographer for a local blog, seattle dog spot, & was working on a new feature: seattle dogs & their people. we were happy to oblige & were featured last week!

{seattle dogs & their people post}

two pieces of trivia for you: brittanys are no longer known as brittany spaniels; and brittanys as a breed are losing popularity {perhaps because the brittany in the stock picture is not as pretty as sadie), which is ironic as sadie is a brittany & the first seattle dog featured.

update: sadie came from my parents, not aaron’s!

do you see brittanys around where you live?

my weekend in pictures.

{feeling some love on friday from a west elm instagram shout-out.}

{we had a donut date at top pot on national donut day. did you partake?}

{we walked by cowen park on our way home from the u-district farmer’s market & sadie really wanted to see what was going on.}

{another round of peonies from a local garden – i just can’t get enough.}

{we also splurged on some local strawberries – so delish!}

{sadie waiting patiently for aaron to tell her she can get her treats.}

{we had dinner on saturday at urbane in downtown with a good friend.}

{the new star trek, but not in 3D. i liked it.}

{on sunday i introduced amanda to potbelly sandwich shop in bellevue. then we went antiquing. thanks for a fun afternoon amanda!}

{i finally got out the iron. i have decided i need to iron about twice a year, unless i really need something specific. any tips on how to get ironing done more frequently?}

{late sunday run to target – always a good time!}

we had a nice sunny weekend but i can’t believe it is already over! does time seem to be flying to anyone else? i just can’t keep up. we have been enjoying the summer-ish weather in seattle as well as the local, summer produce that is finally springing up in the local markets. we decided to buy into a CSA this summer {community supported agriculture} which means every week we get a bag full of fresh, local, organic produce for a mere $15 a week! we are excited to be supporting local farmers, eating seasonally, & pushing ourselves to cook & eat different veggies we may not normally pick. wish us luck! how was your weekend?

dear john {a toilet story}

this weekend, as i mentioned here, aaron & i installed a new toilet in our newly-updated bathroom. we were going to wait to replace the toilet despite it being a fun pinky tan color because it really didn’t need to be replaced. then two weeks ago the lid hinge broke & we fast-tracked a new toilet.

& by fast-tracked aaron ordered it from amazon prime, but apparently toilets can only be ground shipped. so our usual 2 business day wait turned into just over a week of waiting. boo. but, it finally came in all of its low-flow, dual-flush, super water efficient glory!

there really isn’t much to this post except a pretty awesome before & after of our bathroom {because as cool as it is for us, it is really just a toilet}.

{before – april 2012}

{after – june 2013}

the installation was a relatively easy process, especially considering the first set of instructions we found online said it would take 3 hours! we {& again, by we i mean aaron} was able to get the old one out & the new one in in just about an hour. thankfully the floor bolts weren’t rusted out {which i believe contributes to the longer installation time} – phew! have you installed a new john recently?