Twirling

My Grandma Toni just sent this photo of me. Ah, memories. Twirling away, with no concerns in the world. If I had a dime for every time I wore a pink tutu...

I'm ready to twirl my way out of the office to enjoy the long weekend. Why can't every weekend be a 3-day weekend?

Have a good one, friends!

Reunited

Our ten year reunion has come and gone. We saw familiar faces, reminisced about days long gone and toasted to the next ten years. Everyone was genuinely happy to see each other. When I came home that night, my mom asked, "who were you most surprised about?" And to be honest, there was very little surprise - Facebook has sort of made the reunion shock obsolete. I've seen who has three kids, who is a doctor and who has had some interesting life changes.

But what I'm most proud of is the friends I've managed to keep close in the ten years since we graduated (some pictures, some not). These amazing people hold a special place in my heart. And that's not just because this is how we automatically posed for a picture at our pre-party, but it certainly is part of the reason.

Thanks for all the great memories, friends! Thanks for hosting a pre-party for a few of us and our folks, Kathi and Greg! Thanks to Josh and Suze for flying in from Chicago and L.A. And a big thank you to my sweetie pie, Joe, for suffering through enjoying my reunion by my side - there were just so many people I wanted you to meet! :)

Ballard Market Flowers

Maddie and I spent more time than I'd care to admit at one of the flower booths at the Ballard Market this Sunday. We were completely enamored by one of the women who works there - creation after creation, her bouquets were like pieces of art. We'd watch and say, "ok, let's see what her next one looks like..." Again and again. I honestly thought they might call security on us because we were just standing there, staring.

From the beginning, I fell in love with this $10 bright bouquet filled with some of my favorite colors, and finally made the decision to take it home. (In fact, they remind me of this beautiful bouquet that I hope to one day emulate.) Now I can't help but smile every time I get a whiff of the sweet floral smell and glance over at them perched on our dining room table. Summer, don't leave us. Pretty, please?

Dan the Man

My dad is finally back home from "Deadliest Catch" Alaska! Ok, not really Deadliest Catch - my mom made him promise that he'd stop fishing in the dangerous areas the moment he proposed, years and years ago. In order to keep his best catch yet (my mom, hehe), he happily obliged. 

So these days, he heads up to Southeast Alaska near Ketchikan every summer to bring in hundreds of thousands of pounds of salmon. I tell ya, fish should steer clear of this fisherman - he's a force to be reckoned with.

For the second year in a row, he made it home to celebrate his birthday! The birthday boy requested a home-cooked meal and family time, which is exactly what he got. It's always so nice to have him home :) Hope you had a wonderful birthday, Dad! Love you.

P.S. Check out the halibut he caught - not quite as big as a few years ago, but still GIANT!

Summer Sangria Birthday Party

You know what is loads of fun? Celebrating your grandma and great aunt's birthdays on our deck with a large glass or crisp, white wine sangria. Paired with fancy panini sandwiches that my mom concocted, and you've got yourself with a well-spent Saturday afternoon. Wish I could put on Dorothy's shoes and click my heels to find myself back in this moment!

NYC

My whirlwind work trip to New York City couldn't have been better. As guinea pigs to the conference, Ashley, Megan and I weren't sure what to expect - but we came away with some great insights that will be valuable for our work. Now to synthesize everything we learned into a quick all-staff presentation!

During one of our quick conference breaks, we ran across the street to poke into MoMa - we didn't even make a dent (there are so many floors!), but saw Starry Night, so it was well worth the quick trip. We also made our way to Times Square (our hotel was two blocks away!) at midnight after a day full of conference sessions.

But the bulk of the sight-seeing was on Sunday (conference ended Saturday night) - exploring the city with Kathryn and Pat. We walked everywhere! We walked along the Hudson River on the High Line, through the Meat-Packing District, West Village, Soho and more. We walked part of the Brooklyn Bridge and had roof-top cocktails off 5th Avenue with Central Park in the distance. It is such a vibrant city and it's really impossible to take it all in on a single day. Guess that means I'll have to go back soon :)

Another ahoy-matey birthday

Only a lucky few have a birthday fall on a Duck Dodge Tuesday. Last year, it was Autumn and this year, it was Stephers! Autumn and RyRy took us out on their boat for a festive sail - birthday leis, beer, hot dogs and cupcakes. We were out celebrating until the moon shone bright. And even then, it took some arm twisting to call it a night. I mean, who would ever want to go in after celebrating on a beautiful, warm summer evening with great friends and a birthday princess?! Definitely not me.

The Perks

"I'm with the Double Take crew." -Us

"Oh, wow! Congrats - didn't Double Take set a record or something?!" -Maui People

"I think it was close. They certainly got in quick!" - Us

"To celebrate, do you want to go out on a 70+ foot, privately chartered catamaran?" - Welcoming Committee

"Well, I mean, I guess we couldn't really say no to that, could we? Thank you!" -Us

"We'll also bring out snorkeling gear for everyone so you can swim with the fish, turtles and baby sharks." - Welcoming Committee

"You're so generous, thank you! But please, no sharks." -Us

"We can also do some big-time fishing off the back of the boat." -Welcoming Committee

"Neato!" -Joe and RyRy

"How about you also come over to our beautiful beach front home for dinner? Our deck is perched right above the ocean" -Welcoming Committee

"Golly, twist our arms. Sure!" - Us

"And then we'll give you each a million dollars as a parting gift." -Welcoming Committee

Note: Only one thing on this list didn't happen. I'll let you guess. But the takeaway from this post is that the welcoming committee spoiled us!

Brother and Sister

These two just love each other. They snuggle each other like it's their job. It's adorable, don't you think?

P.S. Look at his giant paw!

Good Morning, Seattle

One of my absolute favorite things about our new home is the view from our bedroom - a peek-a-boo view of Green Lake, the mountains and city homes. As someone who has only lived in homes that get sunset views (crazy, huh?), it's been fabulous to experience the early morning sunrise.

While I'm not always up at the crack of dawn, I occasionally sneak a peek of the view once the sun starts filling our bedroom and waking me up. It's been so pretty lately, that even in my bleary-eyed state, I grab my phone to snap a quick picture to capture the moment. I don't really have the energy (read: I'm halfway asleep still) to actually get out of bed to frame the picture nicely, so these pictures don't do it justice. But I'll tell you this: it's lovely.

So Outdoorsy

To balance out the pure relaxation, we decided to build in some exercise. And when I say exercise, I mostly mean longish walks on the beach and through the jungle. So Hawaiian, I know.

So we opted to hike up a river in the Iao Valley State Park (after seeing the famous "Needle" below) and also took a stroll along the lava rock beach. It was really fun to mix it up from the usual wear and tear (read: beach and pool), but I think I can speak for us all - it's too bad we didn't hike with Mai Tais :)

A little detour required us to climb up vertical hills. Oops.