Viva Mexico!

Can you spot the iguana??

We have just returned from our honeymoon in Mexico!  (...And I am officially a married woman!)  :)  Everything went by super fast - just like everyone says it does - but overall it was PERFECT, and I could't be happier.  

Our honeymoon was in Cancun, Mexico - which was my first time in Mexico.  It was awesome and there was tons to do (eating, snorkeling, ruins, centotes...oh my!) but it was SUPER hot.  Not only was it hot, but it was humid.  This was my first time in a climate like that, and I was not a fan.  (I really am a Seattleite... anything over 85 degrees and I start melting!)

While I am very glad to be back in good old 65 degree Seattle, Mexico was unforgettable.  I'm not sure what I am going to do with myself now that I no longer have a wedding to plan, but something tells me I'll figure it out.  (Enter random and wonderful craft projects...!)  ;)  Stay tuned!  

Feeling Nifty in Niagra

We are in Toronto this weekend for a cousin's wedding - another first for me!  Today we took a day trip to Niagra Falls, and it was gorgeous.  Hard to believe that something so beautiful is entirely natural, and has been around for hundreds of years.

To be honest, I have personally heard the most about Niagra Falls in old movies from the 1950's - apparently it had quite the reputation as THE place to go on your honeymoon around that time.  (Which is so funny to me - I guess over 50 years ago there was not as much entertainment that could compete with a very large - and tall - body of water.)

Overall it was quite lovely; we saw several rainbows and got misted on to the point of being soaked.  Also, there are tons of amazing wineries on the way to Niagra Falls from Toronto.  Just take my word for it - make sure you have plenty of time for your drive back to the city if you happen to be traveling from Toronto!  We only got to hit 4 wineries in 2 hours!  

Otherwise, we are having a fun trip!  Toronto has a TON of TRAFFIC (and I'm from Seattle) - but nothing we can't handle.  ;)

Have a good weekend!

Smiling in San Francisco!

We're taking a long weekend in San Francisco!  Gorgeous weather so far - such a nice change from the rainy Seattle weather we've had this March.  ( Look!  The sky can be blue...!) ;)

More later - bye for now, and happy Sunday!

A Cabin in the Woods...

Several weeks ago we spent the weekend at a cabin on Lake Kachess with some friends, and I wanted to post the pictures so we can remember the time we spent there - it was a relaxing weekend full of board games, drinking (yes, there was drinking involved…) and beautiful views.  Just goes to show that some of the best getaways can happen close to home!

Apparently this was the first January in maybe 15 years where they haven't had snow, which was a major bummer.  While the lake was beautiful, it would have been even more amazing had there been snow.  Anyway, Jon and I bought a weekend at this cabin on Lake Kachess at an auction for UW's Law, Society and Justice program (which Jon graduated in), and got a great deal on it.  It was a huge house, and we were able to invite 6 other people to join us - a few of which are pictured below!

As one can imagine, the best things to do at a cabin in the woods is to read, relax, watch a movie or two, play some board games, and… drink.  Preferably you are drinking while doing all 4 of those activities.  Now I am not a lush by any means, but sitting around a fire with some good wine and some good friends makes for a pretty amazing time.  We also had a few rounds of Settlers, which always adds to the fun.  (Yes, I really like the game Settlers of Catan.  Have you ever played?  It might be one of the nerdiest games ever, aside from Dungeons and Dragons, but I enjoy it.  It's okay - I'll own it.)

There was also some good skipping of rocks - one of the best "body of water pastimes".  One of our friends skipped a rock with 15 skips.  Holy fricken cow!  Nobody reading this will probably believe it, but I was there - it happened.

That was pretty much our weekend a few weeks back.  I just got my Canon Rebel T3, so I'm trying to get more comfortable with photography - some of these shots are me trying out different things.  I know plenty of photographers will roll their eyes, but photography with my iPhone is just SO EASY - snap, auto edit, share, DONE.  Going from that to actually putting effort into taking the picture, editing the picture, and then sharing the picture has been new for me.  However, I know it's worth it in the end, and after all - what is a craft blog without AMAZING pictures?  Wish me luck!  :)

A Staycation in Ballard

I was a very lucky girl this weekend - Jon surprised me for our 4 year anniversary and took me on a staycation in Ballard!  This is a pretty big deal, since Jon HATES Ballard.  (He thinks it is too hard to get to, full of hippies, and you can never find parking… all of which…are true.  BUT STILL…!)  I love Ballard, especially the restaurants and the Farmer's Market, so none of these things matter to me.  Every time we go there, I think I have always commented on this cute little boutique hotel called the Ballard Inn in the heart of Ballard, and this is where we ended up staying this weekend.  (Awww…!)  Considering how much Jon hates Ballard, this was very nice of him.  (Apologies for the sappiness of this post…)

The inside of the Ballard Inn - isn't it adorable?

We started off the weekend by playing Putt Putt on our way to Ballard.  (Is there any better way to start off a weekend…?)  I always forget how much fun Putt Putt is - it's such a cheap and entertaining activity!  There were a lot of "water hazards" in the course that had turned into frozen ice hazards in the midst of our cold weather, so it was an interesting game.  We ended up in a tie, despite all of our trash talking...

The score was 60 to 60, respectively...

Finally in Ballard proper, we eased into the evening by having appetizers at Barnacle, the new bar next to Walrus and the Carpenter.  It was a lot of fun - and they have potato chips for you to snack on rather than peanuts.  Note that there are VERY few seats, but I'd recommend this place!  Most people seemed to be getting the Octopus Terrine (thinly sliced octopus), but we stuck with Oysters and duck liver mousse.  I really loved the decor of this place - they stored most everything in mason jars, and had tiled their whole restaurant with really pretty and artistic blue tiles.  I should have taken some pictures of this - sorry!  I thought about grabbing some to show from Google, but that just didn't seem right…  just take my word for it - it's a fun place.  Next, we had dinner at Volterra, a little local Italian restaurant.

I had the scallops, and Jon had the pasta.  Yum!  

Dinner was lovely, and we are learning that the key to affordable dinners is NOT ORDERING ALCOHOL WITH THE MEAL!  Yikes, how alcohol adds to the bill.  I enjoy a glass a wine with my dinner as much as the next person, but you can literally double your bill in no time.  Much better to start off the evening with a glass of wine at home, or finish the evening with a night cap in the comfort of your own living room.  We followed this rule by drinking champagne and watching the Olympics in our hotel room to finish off the night.  (I know, we're pretty wild.)  The next morning, we woke up to snow…

So pretty!  It's also our first snow in the Seattle area, which really sets us apart from the rest of the country…!  The Ballard Inn is right outside the Ballard Farmer's Market, which is my favorite Farmer's Market in Seattle, so we had to take some time to walk around.  Seabreeze Farms is one of our favorite vendors at this market (they also go to the University District farmer's market), so we bought some milk and meat from them.  Seabreeze is a local organic farm on Vashon Island, and we were lucky enough to enjoy a Farm-to-Table dinner with them this past summer.  It was amazing, and now we try to buy from them whenever we can.  Definitely check them out - you will notice the difference in their products!

Finally, we finished off our Ballard extravaganza with some tea from Miro.  Apparently they also have roiboos tea latte's - although not the way that the Cederberg Tea House makes them - but it was still a great way to relax after walking around on the snowy streets of the Farmer's Market.  

Artistic display of the Farmer's Market sign while having tea.  :)

Now here we are - back in good old West Seattle.  I know plenty of people think that Staycations are silly, but I adore them, and this was my first one in Ballard!  Big thanks to my man for making it happen, and I hope some people are introduced to the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle.  It might be hard to get to (IE not next to any freeways), but it's worth the trip!  Just watch out for the hippies.  (Just kidding…!)  :)