A Belated Mother's Day

I'm finding it hard to keep up on the blog these days, especially in a timely manner! But with time, I make it happen. So catching up from a week ago for Mother's Day, both of our folks came over for lunch on the deck. I made fancy schmancy sammies (because our moms only deserve the best!) - including one that was pear, brie and caramelized onions (grilled and served warm) and another that was pepper turkey, ham, white cheddar, avocado, tomato, red onion, arugula and lemon mayo. Served with a side of fruit salad and a glass of wine, it was scrumptious. After lunch, we walked to Bleubird Creamery for a scoop of ice cream - their snickerdoodle ice cream is one of my faves! 

All in all, a great Mother's Day. I am so blessed to have such an amazing mother and pretty soon, a mother-in-law! Love you both :)

P.S. Last Mother's Day, we showed our parents our home for the first time! It wasn't quite ours yet, but we got to peek in the windows and show them the back deck. Fast forward one year and we got to picnic on our deck! Can't believe it's been a year...

 

Family Heirloom

Let me introduce you to the newest member of our family: our new dining room table and bench! They. are. AMAZING. I cannot even begin to tell you how absolutely perfect they are. When my dad and uncle said they would make us a table and bench, I expected something beautiful, but maybe a bit more rustic. This isn't rustic in the least bit - it's a true work of art.

If I saw this on any furniture store floor, I would be mesmerized. But since it was handcrafted with love by my Dad and Uncle Brad - it's even more special. It's hard to tell how many man hours went into this table, but I don't think it would be a stretch to say in the hundreds. Needless to say, we owe them BIG TIME. Thank you both for the love and time you poured into this project - we are quite fortunate, to say the least!

P.S. Here's an in-progress shot and our first table.

 Beautifully polished.

Just perfect.

Goose approved.

Did you notice my cute little Owl Salt and Pepper shakers? They were a gift from my Mom :)

Our Easter

Easter + sun + + Samish Island + relaxing on the deck + Joe + Dad + Mom + Uncle Brad + the dogs + a good meal + pineapple upsidedown cake =  Heaven. I tell ya, there's something special about Samish Island. It's like time slows down and let's you savor the moment. 

Hope you're also feeling blessed on Easter Sunday! 

 

Thankful

It was our second year hosting Thanksgiving with our parents (here's the first year!), and let me tell you, it only got better. The turkey was more moist, the stuffing blew my mind, my grandma's china sparkled and we all had some good quality time to catch up.

By looking at this post, one would think that I'm most thankful for food. In reality, I do love food, but the people in my life top the charts. They are as important as food, water and oxygen combined. But alas, I didn't take any people photos, so I'll share with you what I have :)

These are the pretty flowers I picked up at a cute little Greenwood flower shop. 

Here's our table, all set up and ready to go... minus a few chairs we brought in later.

I made miniature apple pies with a crumble top (the picture doesn't do them justice!). Served warm and topped with vanilla ice cream? Wow, just wow. I know it's weird to pat yourself on the back, but for these, I did. The leftovers of these little suckers alone make me want to buy a few extra pairs of elastic-waist pants. I wish I was kidding.

We also made some turkey noodle soup with the leftovers - we boiled some of the carcass, adding some reduced-sodium broth, egg noodles, turkey chunks, carrots, onions, celery, black pepper and parsley. Then we topped with some parmesan cheese, just for good measure.

As of last night, we were still eating leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner and the turkey noodle soup. As much as I love Thanksgiving food, I think I might just be ready for a change...

But overall, I'm thankful for a fabulous Thanksgiving with my Mom, Dad, Joe, Lilian and Joe (Joe's dad; it can get confusing).

P.S. The recipes not included above: for the cornbread in the stuffing, I used this recipe; for the potatoes, I used this recipe; for the cranberries, I used the recipe on the package; for the gravy, package again; for the turkey, we kept it simple by putting several tablespoons of melted butter, fresh rosemary (from our yard!) and garlic between the skin and actual meat (ahem, Joe, did this part) and cooked for nearly 5 hours, basting only once with chicken broth.

Happy Birthday, Kam!

Is there anything better than pretending to be a kid again? A chance to forget about work deadlines or household chores, and just play and eat pizza. That's exactly what we did for Kam's birthday this weekend. We all brought out our inner 10-year-old and played game after game after game. (Shoot, I'd consider this for my 30th birthday.) After we played all we could at Gameworks, we headed to our house for pizza and the Game of Life. All in all, a quality birthday party. Happy Birthday, Kam! I love you.

Mom and Richelle...

... took on the undefeated Kam and Erika :)

Kam adores Joe. In fact, apparently when Richelle asked if he wanted to bring a friend, he said, "No, it's ok, I'll just play with Joe and Grandpa." 

This boy is amazing at basketball. 

The whole crew for a beer/rootbeer break.

 A snippet of a conversation while playing Life at home:

Mom: "Geez, this game is confusing."

Kam: "That's because life is confusing, Grandma."

So wise at such a young age.

P.S. I still have about a centimeter on him. I wouldn't be surprised if the next time, he's finally taller.

Isle of the Palms

My Mom appears to be having the time of her life in the Isle of the Palms - a vacation getaway to South Carolina with a few of her closest girlfriends. I am living vicariously through every picture she shares and every FaceTime call I get (yes, she's loving up the iPhone FaceTime!). Beaches, kite-flying, floppy hats, sunshine, farmers markets, bikes adorned with baskets, plenty of wine and more. Hopefully next time I can join the fun!

Million Dollar Quartet

For my Mom's birthday back in March, I got her tickets to the Broadway show, Million Dollar Quartet. The show was about the legendary day in Rock n' Roll history when Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins all got together for a jam session at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. It was part history lesson, part comedy, part nostalgia (more for my Mom) and part concert. Throughout the whole performance, everyone around us was tapping their feet, twisting their shoulders and bobbing their heads to the tunes - no one could stay put in their seat! Needless to say, the show was surprisingly good.

But the day didn't end with the show - we also perused downtown, had happy hour at Pesos, got pedicures and ended the night with a bottle of rosé at my apartment. A perfect Saturday in my book. Hope you enjoyed the day too, Mom!

A Mother's Day Picnic

Nothing quite beats a picnic on a sunny Sunday, especially with family. For Mother's Day, Joe (III), my Mom and Dad, and Joe (II) and Lilian all met up at Green Lake for a little picnicking, relaxing and good (great!) people watching.We saw a pet tortoise (it was huge), a woman with a paper bag as a hat and later in the evening, I hear there was a pet kangaroo! We missed the latter, but believe me - I'll be keeping my eyes open for it in future runs and walks around the lake.

Mom, I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day - you deserve the very best. I love you!

TGIF (and Mother's Day!)

Hope everyone has a lovely, sunny weekend celebrating all of the Moms out there. I know I will be! Per my Mom's request, we'll be picking up Paseo sandwiches and finding a place to picnic by the water. Oh, and showering her with our love :)

Happy weekend and Happy Mother's Day!

card/via

Purple Smiles

When we were home for my Mom's 60th a few weekends ago, we took a nice, leisurely stroll through downtown Fairhaven before dinner. It didn't take us long to make it to Purple Smiles, a cute local wine shop we have visited before. They were tasting Pinot Noirs from Washington and Oregon - and I have to say, the PNW knows how to make wine. They were all delicious!

P.S. Do you like the plaid twins?
P.P.S. I promise we don't spend every waking moment drinking wine.

We Love Koby

Over the weekend, we celebrated my Mom's 60th birthday with a little relaxation, wine tasting in Fairhaven, a nice dinner and then drinks and dancing at The Old Edison. Simply put, it was a blast!

But my favorite part, BY FAR, was the reveal of We Love Koby - a secret blog we created to share birthday wishes, funny stories and heartfelt messages from all the people who love my Mom. I couldn't have imagined a better reaction! Tears, laughs and just a general sense of feeling loved. Can it get much better than that? I think not.

Mom, I hope you had an amazing birthday! I love you more.

P.S. Aren't my parents adorable?

(Excuse the dark, fuzzy pictures - it's the best I could get with the lighting in there!)

A Milestone Birthday

Happy 60th Birthday, Mom!

It's impossible to put into words how much you mean to me - you're not only my Mom, but my best friend and confidante, my inspiration, role model, and the sun in my sky on gray days. There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars that you are in my life. Your unceasing smiles can brighten anyone's day and your creativity puts us all to shame :) I cherish our hours-long late night chats, unstoppable laughter and fun adventures. Thank you for everything you have taught me over the years; I'm certainly a better person because of you.

Happy Birthday! Cheers to another 60 years! And yes, even if I have to change your diaper one day (hehe) - every day with you is a blessing :)

See you tonight!

LYMOA,
Erika

Say cheese!

Just goofing around with my parents. Gotta love em!

P.S. Don't you love how you can gradually see my Dad understand what exactly is going on?

via/PopBooth iPad app

Bathing Beauties

As a follow-up to last week's post, seriously, can it get any cuter than this? My Nama and my Mom, soaking in the sun - absolutely adorable, right? My grandma must have been close to my age in this photo (Am I right, Mom?). I wish I could jump into a time machine to join this timeless moment. But I'd definitely have to bring sunscreen! Lord knows I can't survive without it.

Mr. and Mrs. Claus

As you've noticed, I'm taking this week off of blogging. So much to get done, so little time. But I didn't want to leave you completely hanging, so I want to share some big news. Like HUGE news. I found out this Christmas that my Dad is SANTA! Which in turn makes my mom Mrs. Claus. Talk about mind-blowing. Hope your Christmas was equally as exciting!

Thanksgiving Feast

Friends, I'm checking something off my 30 Before Thirty list: Hosting a big holiday! This year for Thanksgiving, Joe and I mastered the traditional turkey feast for our parents. We started bright and early; I had the apple pie in the oven just after 9am and then moved onto the mashed potatoes shortly after (using PDubs delicious recipe).

We opted to keep they turkey simple with butter, rosemary and a tiny bit of garlic, then filled the turkey with Grandma Novak's famous stuffing. Add in the cranberry sauce I made the night before, plus a few more side dishes brought by our parents, and we were ready to give thanks. Good food. (No dry turkey!) Delicious desserts. Great company. I can definitely say that I have a lot to be thankful for. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!

P.S. Don't you love my place setting? It's my grandma's old china that will one day be mine. It would have been her 82nd birthday on Thanksgiving, so my mom brought it down for the occasion. I think she'd be happy it was put to good use :)

Calm, Cool, Clear Lake

Before we jumped for joy last week, my parents visited their happy place: swimming and kayaking on Clear Lake with the dogs. (Yes, the dogs are wearing lifejackets. They go back and forth between kayaks, so it's a must.) If my parents could do this everyday, I think they might just do it - especially my mom who has been sneaking out to Clear Lake after work to take a dip or spin. If I could join them everyday, I might do it as well. It's a little oasis out there. A big thanks goes out to Kathi and Jim for opening their home to us!