3 Years Ago Today

We said "I do."

I loved every detail of our wedding. Here are just a few photos from our special day.

We married at the Orcas Hotel on Orcas Island in Washington State. The staff was great and took care of every last detail. We were able to book the whole hotel for our whole wedding party and family, which made it extra special.

We bought all our flowers for the table settings at Pike Place Market and made our own arrangements. One of the highlights of the weekend was meeting one of my bridesmaids at Pike Place and, along with my mom and fiance, picking out all the flowers for the event. Since it was August, there were lots of dahlias, one of my favorites. We named each table with a location that was important to us: Argentina, Orcas Island, New York City...

We gave wildflower seed packets as favors.

And had custom M&Ms as treats.

I handmade all our invitations and programs.

The pastry chef at Rosario Resort made our cake. The flowers on top are from Pike Place, too.

And though I know a wedding does not equal a marriage, it was a happy celebration of love and a perfect start to our official life as husband and wife.

"Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won’t adhere to any rules…My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.”

          

          Tom Robbins
          Still Life with Woodpecker

Dining Alfresco

Here's one of the best outside dining spots in Seattle. Hold on summer, don't go away--I need more days to bask in the (cool) sun outside on my lunch break!

Weekend Smorgasbord

Last weekend was a dining smorgasbord. Family was visiting and we had a lot of eating and celebrating to do.

We started out at Friday night at a launch party for Dry Fly Bourbon. This is the best stuff I've ever tasted come out of a bottle. Seriously.

After that, we dined at Steelhead Brewery. No photos of the food, but let me assure you that I ate a burger that was larger than my face and received absolutely no teasing about that fact.

Photo: Juliette Cook, from steelheaddiner.com

The next day we took my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and baby niece to eat Homegrown sandwiches at Green Lake.

Then we dined at Salty's on Alki.

Arguably the best view in the city (here is said view across the parking lot), the interior and decor haven't been updated since the late 80s and the menu is woefully overpriced.

But, it was a great place for a celebration and the Dry Fly Whiskey Manhattans were delicious.

And if that wasn't enough, we started Sunday off with brunch at Portage Bay in South Lake Union. Don't let this photo deceive you. Weekend mornings it's swarming with people and requires at least an hour wait for a table.

Photo: urbanspoon.com

 Needless to say, this week it's been all salads all the time.

Global Vintage Modern Eclectic

I like to describe our style as Global Vintage Modern Eclectic. I like sleek modern and vintage pieces, but I also like funky global inspired artifacts (or better yet, things we've acquired ourselves, abroad). So I'm pretty pleased with the way our living room has recently come together.



We'd been living for months with no table, sitting on the floor using magazines as makeshift tables for our beverages. Then, a few weeks ago my mother-in-law brought over this amazing marble-topped coffee table. It had been in their basement for almost 30 years, sometimes used, sometimes in storage. She remembered seeing it at her in-laws, when visiting them for the first time almost 40 years ago in Palo Alto, when she first went to meet them after returning from Vietnam where she had met her true love. A true mid-century modern piece with a meaningful history! Now it's in our living room. If tables could talk, I wonder what history it's witnessed and what stories it could tell about us someday.



She also brought along this fab end table.



And this super cool (pun-intended) vintage Eskimo fan.

Then I got these great pillows from West Elm. I usually like to buy things like that on my travels, but these were just too perfect and it doesn't hurt that they were handmade in Jaipur, a region of India that my husband and I visited last year. The thing I love about them is that they look like they've been here all along, they fit our style so perfectly.

I don't know how long we'll stick around this apartment, but at least, for now it has a few touches that make it feel like home.

Pillows: West Elm
Tables: Vintage
Sofas: Macy's
Lamp: Urban Outfitters
Fan: Vintage

Summer Resolution Update

Holy SMOKES. It's already August! This summer has been flying by, mostly, I think, because most days it hasn't really felt like summer. But I've still been able to make a few of these resolutions happen. Here's what I've done so far.

• Go to a Mariners game Had a great time at the game on Father's Day!
• Bike on the Burke Gilman Trail
• Swim in a lake
• Rent Kayaks at Aqua Verde  --> While we did EAT at Aqua Verde, kayaking sadly did not happen because the line was around the block. We tried though, and we've done plenty of kayaking otherwise.
• Eat at Emmer and Rye Mission Accomplished. Though my photos from brunch were among those that mysteriously disappeared.
• Eat at Paragon Yes, where I consumed this burger that was far larger than my head and drank one martini strong enough to remove paint. You really get your money's worth at that happy hour.

 

• Eat at Sitka and Spruce
• Visit Melrose Market
• Go camping
• Go hiking
• Go to a lake place in Eastern Washington
• Go to the San Juans
• Go out in the boat for 4th of July Yes!
• Make s'mores Yummy!
• Grill stone fruit
• Make a new type of fruity cocktail
• Take a free Zumba at the Seattle Center
• Take a hot yoga class
• Run three times a week Okay, technically I haven't been running, but I have been walking almost 3 miles every day
• Write a travel story I'm proud to say, this project is IN PROGRESS!
• Buy and make some artwork for the apartment --->This hasn't happened exactly, but we did get new pillows and furniture, stay tuned for a post soon.
• Eat an ice cream cone while sitting outside
• Eat alfresco once a week Doing a pretty good job at this, given the amazing outdoor space at my office.
• Take my lunch to work three days a week and eat breakfast at home  Amazingly enough, I'm actually achieving this!
• Read six books ---> Well on my way. I've been putting heavy use on my new library card AND I just discovered Sookie Stackhouse.
• Continue to post here 2-3 times a week ---> Doing my best! 

Something else I'd like to try? Stand Up Paddle Boarding. Have done this? What's it like?
How are you doing on your summer resolutions?