emerald city diaries – Page 93 – family + adventures + the emerald city

my long weekend in pictures.

{ben, sarah, sam, diane, cal, aaron & i went wine tasting in woodinville on saturday.}

{posing with the pig at project v – a vodka distillery.}

{we stopped at woodinville’s warehouse district where many of the vineyards in eastern washington set up tasting rooms. there were lots!}

{190 proof vodka. i was more interested in that beautiful demi john it was in.}

{the moon was awesome this weekend. this was taken saturday night.}

{we have grapes growing over the fence from the neighbor’s yard.}

{we are bird-sitting this week for ben & sarah. welcome hamachi & azul!}

{sadie surveying while aaron & i did some yard work on sunday.}

{another free giveaway on craigslist. we use craigslist to get rid of so much: cardboard boxes, old TVs, old furniture, etc. this is also a hint for a post later this week.}

{a dessert smorgasbord from menchie’s at the u village.}

{aaron is embracing the trend of fascinators.}

{aaron installed a dual-flush handle on our toilet this weekend. i hope this helps keep our water bill low!}

{i got some framed pictures ready to go for my desk at work: an instagram of sadie, & aaron & me at a wedding this summer.}

{yummy chocolate from theo’s.}

{chocolate covered fortune cookie? yes, please? also, i am taking that fortune as a sign that i need to get back into some crafting projects that are on the back-burner.}

{yummy dinner at snappy dragon to start the week. we sat at the jiao zi bar & enjoyed lots of yummy dumplings.}

we had a lot on our plates this weekend & are thankful it was a long one! aaron’s parents were here until sunday morning & there was so much to do in the yard & around the house. i am bummed that the weekend is already over (it was so nice to sleep in & hang out with aaron & sadie), but the forecast is shaping up to give us at least another week of summer-like weather, so i can’t complain too much. how was your long weekend?

bff.

last week we had our first house guest: my bff carlie! we hadn’t seen carlie since she was the maid of honor in our wedding two years ago, so we had a lot to catch up on.

unfortunately, carlie was only able to stay two nights with us as she was heading to portland for the weekend to visit her dad who is working down in salem, oregon. also, i had to work a half-day while she was her which was a bummer. darn those real world obligations!

even so we had a great time dining out & exploring the u village & downtown. thanks for visiting us carlie!

{we took carlie to our very favorite local ice cream shop molly moon’s!}

how often do you see your out of town friends? also, i am curious how you stay in touch with loved ones that are out of town – email, phone, skype?

thirty before i am thirty.

i haven’t been able to check off anything from my thirty before i am thirty list recently which has been a bit of a bummer. obviously i have a few more years before i am thirty to get the list completed, but it is such a great feeling to put a little check next to one of those items.

just last week, however, i was able to check off a big item & i wanted to share in case you hadn’t heard the great news!

number three: get a grown-up job. many of you know that in lieu of entering the workforce right out of college, i applied to law school & joined americorp for a service year. i graduated from law school last spring & sat for the bar that july, but have been looking for work since last fall. since i had essentially been in school my entire life (well, since age 5), i really hadn’t had a real job. that is until now! the week before last i was offered a job after two rounds of interviews, & obviously i accepted. i am an account manager of media licenses at a large software company (you could probably guess!) & will be managing non-standard media licenses for big clients from pre-license thru the life of the license. i know it may sound boring to some, but it is right up my alley with all of the contracts & compliance that is involved (yay for using my law degree!). while i have not even worked a week, i am enjoying the role & really like my team. it has been a bit of a change for me to be gone from the house all day, like we had to hire a dog walker to come walk sadie & let her out during the day, but it is wonderful that aaron & i both have great jobs! {does this make us yuppies?}

{my first day of work}

are you keeping a list of things to do in life?

my weekend in pictures.

{a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers from pike place market has been brightening up our house.}

{commute via bus.}

{thanks for packing me a snack husband!}

{i walked into the office saturday morning & found these two cuddling.}

{i went to run some errands while aaron was mowing the lawn. i came home to find that he had hacked on the holly tree.}

{you know you are a homeowner when the surprise! your husband brings you is a new bathroom fan.}

{golden gardens beach park.}

{we had to say good-bye to our good friends marcus & katy as they are leaving seattle & moving to d.c.}

the weekend went so quickly. seriously, where does the time go? aaron’s parents are in town this week, so it should be lots of fun with family! how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{chobani greek yogurt: breakfast of olympians. and me.}

{sadie cooling off by eating ice cubes.}

{finally cleaned out the office closet!}

{aaron & my grandmother walking from dinner to the big picture movie theater.}

{we saw ruby sparks on the big screen. cute & funny.}

{planning artwork configurations in the office.}

{traffic jam. thanks I-5.}

{fun party lights.}

{a wig birthday party to celebrate PJ’s birthday!}

{loving the chandelier & wallpaper in the kate spade dressing room.}

{art up in the office & bed set up for our first house guest this week!}

{i saved some daisies in the backyard from the weed-whacker.}

we enjoyed the sunny, but cooler weekend with projects around the house & a few get-togethers with friends. we are gearing up for a very busy week at the lower house! how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{yoga in the park at the SAM sculpture park on saturday morning.}

{we finally craigslisted all of our moving boxes that have been sitting in the basement.}

{trip to home depot. sadie loved laying on the cool concrete floors.}

{21 jump street – not awful, but also not the best movie i have ever seen.}

{aaron drilled a hole in the back of our new media stand for the cords.}

{aaron went sailing on lake washington with one of my law school friends, ben, who is a merchant marine. sadie & i enjoyed the lakeside in leschi (a seattle neighborhood on lake washington) while we waited for the boys to sail back to shore.}

{our sunday night was filled with ryan seacrest & the closing ceremonies of the olympics.}

{my favorite part of the closing ceremonies: the spice girls reunion.}

we kept busy around the house this weekend & finally organized the basement! it was hot here all weekend & definitely felt like summer – wahoo! how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{sadie hunting for bugs in the backyard.}

{the cranes for the 520 bridge construction at sunset.}

{olympics.}

{we attempted to dig out the roots to two box hedges that bit the dust after our plumbing work.}

{success! take that root ball.}

{it looks so strange with no hedges here.}

{removing my gel polish manicure.}

{playing hopscotch in the neighborhood.}

{bbq at rhett & lindsey’s new place. killer views of lake union & the city.}

{i like the team spirit at the u-district safeway. go huskies!}

{i found a lucky penny on my way to greenlake sunday morning.}

{we finally caulked in the kitchen. tip: use painter’s tape!}

{aaron ran around all weekend propping open all the storm windows in various parts of the house to help us stay cool in the 90 degree weather we had in seattle this weekend. i realize 90 is not that hot, especially with much of the country into triple digits, but this is HOT & we don’t have A/C.}

{more olympics. despite the heat, sadie was really into cuddling.}

how was your weekend?

friends of a certain age.

{images: roman muradov}

i recently came across a NYT article on one of my favorite blogs – a cup of jo – that really hit home: why is it so hard to make friends (over 30)?

while i am not yet 30 (yep, i may be in my late 20s now, but i still have a few more years in my 20s!) making friends post-college has been a challenge. this is not to say that i don’t have friends. however, i often feel friend-less day-to-day. the vast majority of my close friends (& family) live in different states & thus different time zones, & the close friends i have in seattle feel distant as most are in completely different parts of their life (i.e., babies, jobs, single). i realize all of these folks are just a phone call away, but i am old-school & prefer in-person conversations to over the phone (or even skype really). plus, shouldn’t everyone have that one (or two, or three) person that is close enough to have over & discuss the ins & outs of everyday life (spouses not included)?

as i read this NYT article, i noticed a few things that applied to me: (1) i transferred from one college to another as a junior; (2) i don’t work (yet); and (3) i got married at age 25. now i have to wonder: have i completely set myself up for a future without (close, in-town) friends?

aaron & i have talked about joining some kind of group where were would meet people (or couples) that are interested in similar things, like a trivia group, co-ed flag football, or a bowling league, but, for whatever reason, we just haven’t pulled the trigger. perhaps this blog post will be the catalyst.

the other issue i find difficult is whether i can maintain a relationship with a friend who isn’t part of a couple. it is so much easier to find time to hang out when each spouse is friends with the male or female counterpart of the friend – true? since i have been married (or even since i was dating aaron), i have found myself searching for a couple to be friends with, as opposed to just one person. perhaps this is too limiting.

i would love your two-cents on this subject: have you struggled to make new friends as an adult?

celebrating two years!

{venue: woodriver cellars in eagle, idaho. photos by jason ropp.}

on august 1, 2010, aaron & i shared vows, exchanged rings, & said “i do” in the presence of our closest family & friends (& then we had a big party!). those vows mean more to me now than they did two years ago, & i know that will continue to be true for as long as i have the privilege of being married to aaron.

aaron – if i could do it all over again, i would in a heartbeat! you mean the world to me. i can’t wait to grow old with you & spend many, many more anniversaries celebrating our love.

i love you to the moon & back.

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?