seattle, you are lovely.

we're back from seattle!

 i mentioned last week that we were flying up there because my super smart older brother got his master's from university of washington. both the husband & i had been to seattle, but we had never been there together so we were excited to get 4 days to explore. and since it became a pretty big family trip (tucker & i, mom & stepdad, dad, step sister & her wife and of course brother & his girlfriend), i was prepared for a non-stop family-filled weekend. but we were able to get the perfect balance of family time + alone time, and had one of the best trips we've ever been on.

it helps that the hottest it got was 76 degrees, and that there was not a single mosquito in sight...which for these texans was pretty much the equivalent of heaven.

 

i'd say we walked a combined 10 miles throughout the weekend and learned how small seattle really is because we now know we saw so much of it on foot. but all that walking allowed us to do everything we wanted to do - we stopped at art galleries, found fantastic little breakfast spots on our way to our hotel, spotted perfect little brick houses with the most beautiful ivy climbing up the walls, and i got to wear in my new converse that are now not as white as when i got them :)

 

all that walking also allowed us to realize just how ridiculously beautiful seattle is. i mean, we both quickly realized that on the trips that we've made there before, but it is just pretty near perfect. i can definitely say that it's one of the cleanest cities i've been to, and i can really appreciate a place that is so loved that it's residents actually take care of it - can't you?

as much as i was cursing the steep, steep hills when i was walking up them, when we would turn around to look down the hill, it was so worth it. you could see the water on one side, adorable unique homes climbing up a hill on the other, and nothing but green on another side.

 

and sure, it rains a hell of a lot in seattle and sometimes there's no sunshine seen for weeks, but hey! we were there for four days with nothing but sunshine and perfect weather, so let's pretend that's how it is all the time, okay?

 

 

 

 

if you've never been to seattle - you have to go, and make sure you go in june or july. we've now been a combined 5 times, so if you ever need tips on restaurants/bars/parks, etc, let me know! i'd be happy to send them your way.

 

updates (3 goals being worked on!)

i've been a terrible blogger, yet again. i just now realized that i never even posted my pictures from sunday night supper #3 that i hosted at my house last month. but i guess the important part is that goal #14 on my 30before30 list is still being worked on and i have not forgotten about it! just forgotten to post about it.

since i've been MIA for the past two months, here's a little recap of what's been going on around my parts-

 

 

 

 

the first picture is proof that the sunday night supper actually happened! there have also been bike rides, date nights, memorial day parties, trips to deep eddy pool and non-stop working on decorating our house.

and those last two pictures are proof that i haven't forgotten about the fact that i created my 30before30 list for a reason - those perfect little round tomatoes actually came from my garden, as part of me working on goal #9, to plant a thriving vegetable garden. and the most recent photo was just taken last night as part of goal #21 - to start a regular yoga practice. i've been going to a hot yoga class 1-2 times a week for the past 5 weeks and am absolutely loving it.

last summer, i did bikram yoga pretty often and also loved (LOVED) it, but truth be told - it's entirely too expensive. so i can justify hot yoga because it's donation based (aka: affordable), and 75% of the poses are bikram poses. it's a win win!

 

now that the past 2 months have been covered, we can move on.

the husband & i leave for seatle early, early friday morning - we're talking 5:30am - because my brother, the smart one in the family, is getting his masters. this means that we're going from 98 degree highs to about 70 degree highs, and i could not possibly be happier about that.

i vow to post as soon as we get back, and to keep focused on my list!

 

PS. Three months until Europe.

 



italia

i was going to start off this post by saying, "a few years ago, i went to italy with a great friend of mine"...and then i started counting the years and it was in 2006. how is that possible?? i think i constantly say that it was about 4 years ago, which means that i've been completely lying to myself & others for quite a while now.

anyhow, yes. 7 years ago, i went to glorious italy with my amazing traveling partner, amber.

i keep seeing post after post about italy and it is making me itch to go back there. but i'm one of those people who is a little bit snooty when it comes to traveling (yes, i will admit it), and instead of returning to a place that i've already been, i'd much rather be able to check off a new place...except when it comes to italy.

since i've been reminiscing and refuse to get over my need to return there, i wanted to share my photos from when i went "several" years ago. they are from rome, florence & venice.

(and please keep in mind they were taken with a very small, crappy $40 digital camera. so there's that.)

italy, i will return to you.

you and your wine-filled dinners, teeny tiny cute towns with black sand beaches & potato-topped pizzas, money stealing cab drivers and beautiful buildings.

mini to-do list: summer version

last fall i created a fall to-do list and, surprise surprise, i actually checked everything off.

i'm going off of that momentum (from 6 months ago?) and will make sure i check everything off this summer to-do list. i haven't been this excited for summer in a long time since i have really lucked out and it seems as if there will be a good amount of travel time, out-of-town-friends time & family time all wtihin the next 4 months.

i'm ready for you, summer.

 

#1 host a summer party

i've been wanting to host a little party at the new house but since we still have some work to do before we're ready to have people over, i suppose i'll wait a month or two.

 

#2 go to hamilton pool

there's no excuse for the fact that we didn't go last year, so i'm forcing us to find time for it this summer...ideally during the week when it's not filled to the brim with kids (who will pee in the water, i just know it!)

 

 

#3 take a day off work during the week to enjoy austin

this may sound like an easy one, but i'm a big time hoarder when it comes to my time off. typically, my rule is that i won't take a day off work unless i'm leaving the city. but i'm making myself play hooky to do things that are otherwise way over-packed during the weekends.

 

 

#4 use my nikon more

this one is a little vague, i know...i'm not giving myself a certain number of pictures or a certain amount of time to dedicate to it because i don't want it to turn in to a chore. but since goal #12 on my 30before30 list is to master taking photos the way i picture them in my brain, i've got to start somewhere.

 

 

#5 check of goal 5 on my 30before30 list and finally bake sourdough bread!

i know this sounds like a weird one to put on a list like this, but when i check this one off, i'll explain a little bit more.

 



1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 /

 

see my full 30before30 list here

 

do you have anything on your summer to-do list?

hosting parties, take a trip, grow some summer veggies?



 

 



weekends were made for...

 

 

this weekend was filled with the best weather ever, which i think was on purpose since today is earth day and all, & it's really easy to get in the mood to appreciate mother nature when she treats you so well.

we found my very first tomato in the new garden (see that little guy?). i've been told that he looks much larger in this picture than in person...he's actually only about 1 inch. but that doesn't take away from my excitement - i'm one miniature tomato closer to making salsa with ingredients from my own backyard!

the rest of the weekend was taken up by fancy meat + cheese plates with friends, visits from my sister in law and her husband (that's her with my husband in the last picture!) and making enough "mediterranean-style" quinoa to last us through the rest of the week.

and not pictured here is my obsession with frozen yogurt on sunday nights. i'm not sure what's happening lately but the thought of not having some on sunday after dinner kind of makes me weepy...i go as healthy as you can possibly go with froyo and get the delicious soy kind with no added sugar, but the m&m's i put in surely cancel out all the goodness. either way, i hope my new sunday tradition doesn't end any time soon & i hope you all enjoyed your weekend too - happy earth day!

weekends were made for...

the weekend was full of work from home days (which meant i cooked myself a healthy lunch + was able to meet up a friend for a neighborhood run! love those days), tending to plants & flowers (those two orchids were housewarming gifts from friends - still goin' strong), cooking this week's lunches for the husband & i (stuffed bell peppers), lots of competitive ladder ball games, finally adding champagne flutes to our wet bar (thanks to a crate & barrel gift card we've been holding on to) & gym time.

we also ordered some final things for the house & painted a few baskets and trinkets to match the new place...and i cannot wait to start putting together a house tour post. of course it won't quite look like jora's amazing california house tour, (if you haven't seen it, you'll want to. click here) but...i'm pretty sure that's impossible to duplicate.

i hope your weekend was just as good!

four h's

for her // for him // for home // for health

green edition

1//peacock dolly parton ring, 2//perfect green pants for summer, 3//the ideal smeg refrigerator, 4//avocado hummus

happy friday!

see my full 30before30 list here