New and Old

Tonight I was flipping through the Anthropologie catalog and came across these plates. I knew I had seen them somewhere and then it struck me - the pattern was nearly identical to my great (great?) grandmother's china from Norway. (Minus the odd dip-dye effect.) Years ago, my Grandpa Pete sent me home with one of her plates and I've had it proudly displayed since - you can even see where I have it now.

My plate could conceivably be 70+ years old and now you can find something similar at a store near you. Makes you really think about how cyclical design and fashion can be. Let's just cross our fingers that 1970's kitchens come back in style because let me tell you, our kitchen would be breathtaking. (Currently, it's breathtaking in a whole different way!)

The china is even stamped with the town our Norweigian family was from: Egersund!

A Fall Outing

In honor of Kimbie's visit to Seattle, we had to plan a little Fall outing - so we opted to jump on a ferry to Bainbridge Island to have a kick-back lunch and aimlessly stroll the downtown. It's becoming a tradition and if you know us well, we love our traditions. (Our first year and second year to Bainbridge!) It's really just a good excuse to escape the city, catch up and enjoy each other's company and that's exactly what we did. 

P.S. The "Move Home" Campaign is not doing so well...

Unstoppable

You may have seen the Love Story in 22 Pictures, but now there's a video. Holy moly, it's a tear-jerker. If this doesn't make you 1) believe in true love and 2) want to get our troops out of Afghanistan ASAP, I don't know what will. 

Pumpkin Patchin'

Even if our pumpkin patch adventure was a little chillier than years past, it still hit the spot. I mean, seriously, can it get much better than searching for the ugliest pumpkin for Matt, sloshing through the muddy fields, drinking apple cider and group photo opps? Actually it did get better - we went to Erin's house for warm tomato bisque, grilled cheese and salad, jalepeno popper dip and homemade caramel apples. This tradition just keeps getting better and better.

I know, we're mature; we found a pumpkin with a butt crack.

Because what's a pumpkin patch outing without a jumping shot?

My caramel apple looks like a 4-year-old did it. Mad skillz.

Gettin' Festive

It's pretty festive around our neighborhood - pumpkins, blow-up ghosts, lights and more! At our house, we have a couple pumpkins on our doorstep (Mom and I carved the one above - it took soooo long!), a decorative Halloween sign and a pumpkin on the dining room table. All of which are compliments of the Halloween Queen, the Kobester. You see, when you work at a school that goes bonkers about Halloween - parade and all - you really do embrace the holiday. She's even throwing her own Halloween party, complete with Monster Mash (mashed potatoes), black cocktails and dry ice. I can't wait to see pictures.

But I must admit, my neighbors are giving my Mom a run for her money for Halloween spirit. Look at their house!

P.S. Remember these Halloween decorations? Totally forgot about this idea until just now. Next year :)

Bond, James Bond.

I would love to be able to do this. My inner-007 is just itching to army crawl, leap and somersault through these obstacles.

Well played, Coke and 007. Well played.

Bastille

I rarely go out to eat anymore - we get the occasional happy hour, pho or thai, but nothing too fancy. Much to my delight, Liz and Maddie decided that a girl's night for Seattle Restaurant Week was in order. The restaurant of choice? Bastille, a cute little French spot in downtown Ballard that has intrigued me for years. Why I didn't get here sooner, I don't know. It's delicious. Their gnocchi is in the top five pasta dishes I've ever had. And trust me, I've had A LOT of pasta. I've been told their brunch is phenomenal, so I guess I have a good excuse to go back :)