Mystery Gardener

Dear Mystery Gardener,
First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you. As new homeowners, we're still trying to collect all of the things that apartment or condo living has not required. Exhibit A: lawnmower.

In an effort to not be the neighborhood's weakest link, I have hand cut the front lawn to help the curb appeal. The backyard, on the other hand, was a total and complete jungle. I'm talking, "Honey, I shrunk the kids" jungle.

But last night, much to my surprise, I noticed the front lawn had been mowed! Me-oh-my, I thought to myself and I quickly ran to the backyard. Wowza, this is what I remember the backyard looking like when we visited the open house and fell in love with out little home! That was exactly two months ago and the lawn had clearly not been mowed since. But more than just a mow, someone had weeded!

Mystery gardener, I don't know who you are and I don't know where you come from, but I like you. I'm just going to pretend you were a sympathetic neighbor who saw me hard-at-work cutting the lawn - then decided to fill your random-acts-of-kindness quota. For that, I thank you kindly.

Sincerely,
Petes

P.S. Look at our backyard now!

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!

Lizzie and Nick tie the knot

There are few things more heartwarming than seeing two people who are so incredibly in love tie the knot. And I'm so happy to have had the chance to celebrate Nick and Lizzie become husband and wife this past weekend. It was a night filled of dancing and cheersing to the happy couple - let's not forget the scream-singing to Call Me Maybe, dougie teaching, and the Chi O tradition of singing "Shades."All in all, it was a magical wedding.

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Battaglia! (Or are you opting for a combined last name? After all, Battcat does have a nice ring, no?)

  

Isn't she absolutely beautiful?!  

P.S. Did I also mention that Erin made the wedding cake?! She's amazing.
P.P.S. Ahem, guess who caught the garter?! :)

Rocked the Rock n' Roll

Another one under our belts! Three years ago, for my first half marathon, I wasn't sure if I'd ever convince myself to do one again. But somewhere along the way, I got hit by the crazy stick and signed up for a full marathon. While I'd like to run another full sometime in my lifetime, I've realized that half marathons are a little more reasonable for everyday life - less of a time commitment and fewer sacrifices.

For this half - life got in the way (I'll blame it on this) and my training suffered a bit, but I didn't let it stress me out too much and got in runs when I could. I thought this would bite me in the butt at about mile 8, but boy was I wrong. We surprised ourselves with a solid run! Even sprinting up the last hill to cross the finish line. Sure, it wasn't my best time, but better than the Skagit Flats, for sure.

So my lessons learned: Don't stress yourself out if you don't get in a few of your weekday runs. Two hours of pain is worth feeling proud of your performance. A 13.1 mile piggy back from Maddie works wonders :)

The "Move Home" Campaign

In honor of Karen and Kimber's visit to Seattle and recent birthdays, we all decided to meet up for drinks at The Sexton in Ballard. (This is the place that got me hooked on spicy cocktails!) I utilized the opportunity to continue on my campaign to get them both to move back to Seattle. Kimber was saying how she missed the Ballard hipsters, so I think I've made progress! Slowly, but surely, ladies. It's gotta happen.

After The Sexton, we mosied on over to the Shelter for the quasi-outdoor seating - open air, but covered! Perfect for Seattle. I love me some quality girl time (plus Daniel!) and it made me even more excited to boogie the night away on Saturday for Lizzie's wedding!

A Common Interest

Last weekend, I met up with an old friend from high school, Lindi. Sadly, we haven't seen each other for about four years, so we had a lot to catch up on. Specifically, how she met, fell in love and married a Swede! (Looks like we have a common interest: men with Swedish heritage :)) In fact, just yesterday, she packed her bags and is permanently moving to his hometown of Göteborg. What a fun adventure, don't you think?

Ultimately, do you know what this really means? One more reason to visit Sweden again!

P.S. So many blasts from the past lately! 
P.P.S. Please excuse the dark photo - wasn't really thinking about the bad back-lighting. 

Stronger

Hold back the years, friends. This one might get to you. But it also will put a smile on your face! Thank you, Seattle Children's, for giving children Hope.

P.S. Steph, you work at a pretty cool place :)

Flower Power

Yep, this is one of our bathrooms. It's a beauty, huh? I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I've heard, "Never, EVER change this bathroom" when people see our flower power bathroom. And to be honest, changing it is at the very, very bottom of my list of home projects. In fact, I may just keep it like this for the long haul. Granted, if it were our everyday bathroom, then I'd be singing a different tune. But this bathroom is in tucked away in the unfinished basement and will likely just be, well, let's just call it what it is, an "emergency bathroom."

Please note the striped wallpaper too. That is what covers the other wall - you know because crazy, bright flowers and stripes go so well together.

Please also note: this is not the only room with red floors. Oh don't you worry, I'll get to that later.

A Father's Day... work party?

For Mother's Day, we had a lovely picnic down at the lake - enjoying the sunshine and each others company. For Father's Day, on the other hand, we had a work party! Since my dad had only seen our home empty, he wanted to see it with all of our goods. And since he was coming down, he was kind enough to offer his handy dandy Mr. Fix-It skills! I won't get into details, but Dad and Joe discovered a simple fix to solve the problem we were most concerned about. Phew!

While they were touring the house, to essentially catalog our future house projects, my Mom and I got busy painting the living room (hence, my Mom's painting shirt!). Pictures to come, but it's beautiful! Not the exact color I was expecting, but perfect nonetheless.

After the work party, Joe and I made dinner - some grilling on the deck (this same meal) and a round of my favorite cocktail. Since I get my love of all things spicy from my Dad, I figured he'd like it too. And I was right! He loved it.

All in all, it was a wonderful day - yes, we worked a little, but being together is what matters most. And to be honest, my Dad loves this sort of thing. (Right, Dad?) Especially, when it involves an excited, grateful daughter who can't survive without her Daddy :)

Dad, Happy Father's Day! Thank you for everything - you mean the world to me. LYMOA!

Stockholm Street Style

One of the biggest surprises from our trip to Sweden last year was the FASHION. Holy moly, everyone dresses like their next stop is the runway - even the men! Their style was impeccably perfect - a combination of chic, trendy and relaxed. Coming from the land of Northface, Gortex and Birkenstocks, it blew my mind. But I will say, Stockholm definitely took the cake for fashion - it really made me think about whether it was a requirement to look good within city limits? (Just kidding... sort of.)

Now to get my Swedish fashion fix, I visit Stockholm Street Style. You'll see some eclectic style, that's for sure! 

 

 

 

pics via Stockholm Street Style

Peaceful Blues

 

As a new homeowner, I can't spend more than a few minutes in a room without envisioning what it will look like someday. I squint my eyes and see an area rug there, a painted wall here, a table lamp there, a mirror here. (Joe usually says, "I can see the dollar signs in that stare", so I quickly flash back to reality.) It's a slow process, but over time, it'll get there. We've decided (well, I decided and ran the idea by Joe, who happily agreed) that we'll do peaceful hues of blue and gray in our bedroom one day. Now, everything I see is a pretty shade of blue! It's like the universe knew that I have the blues... on my mind. 

Any other beautiful blue or gray bedroom pieces out there that I should know of? 

 

 

pics via 1 2 3 4

Toasts and Singing for the Bride-to-Be

 

In a nutshell, the bachelorette party was filled with a spa visit, photo booth, lingerie cookies, "We Love Lizzie" signs, an amazing Italian dinner, the best dance moves you've ever set eyes on, singing at the top of our lungs, hugs, dancing in the streets, late night hotel treats, late morning brunch, beautiful ladies and most importantly, a glowing bride-to-be!

Yep, we know how to have a good time. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking!