Pike Place and Friends

About a MONTH ago (gosh, it's taken so long to post!), Kimbie was in town for a hot second. So last minute, she asked a few of us to spend an afternoon down at Pike Place Market. Clearly, you don't say no to an invitation like that. So we had a relaxing lunch, toasted some bubbly and walked the market - oogling the gorgeous flowers of early Summer. Gosh, I love my girls. But I'll admit, I think it's much better when they all live in Seattle. (Hint hint.) Excited to see Miss Karen Clegg in a couple days too!

P.S. Thanks for the last two photos, Stephers! :)

Woodinville Winos

For the Memorial Day weekend, Joe, Steph, Erin and I headed to Woodinville for some afternoon wine tasting. We only made it to three - my favorite was Patterson Cellars - before we had to call it quits to get some food in our bellies. So we switched it up and headed to Redhook Brewery for lunch on their patio. It was one of the nicest days in a long time, so it was nice to soak up the sun for a bit. 

Considering how close Woodinville is, I really don't know why we don't do this more often. I mean, yes, it makes you want to take a nap by 4pm, but I think we all deserve that on occasion, don't ya think?

P.S. Remember that one time we ran from Ballard to Redhook? Yeah, that was rough. Driving for wine trumps running for Redhook, hands down.

The Great Wheel

Earlier this year, we had the ultimate FOOD DRIVE SMACKDOWN. It was our little Seattle office pitted against sub-groups of our DC office of equal size. Well, one thing I've learned from nearly 6 years at GMMB is 1) the people have hearts of gold and would give their left arm to charity, if needed and 2) holy cow, we are competitive! So it goes without saying, we won. Big time. As a reward, the office treated us to a ride on the Great Wheel and happy hour on the wharf. Sweeeeeet.  

So just over a week ago, we all left the office early on a Friday to ride the wheel and enjoy a drink together. It was cloudy, but still gorgeous. Even though I've lived in Seattle for nearly 11 years, I continue to find its beauty day-in and day-out.

Sam, Trina and Andy

Frances and me

Ominous clouds, yet beautiful

Another pod filled with GMMBers

Makin' Bubbles

A couple weeks ago, we babysat Johan (Joe's nephew; my future nephew) while his folks were entertaining a friend from Sweden. Well, not surprisingly, we don't really have a lot of 5-year-old toys aside from the Kinect, but we didn't want to stay cooped up inside on such a nice day. 

So we improvised. We mixed a little dish soap with water and pulled out a cookie cutter, funnel and tea strainer to make BUBBLES! I think we spent a solid hour seeing who could make the biggest bubble. It was cute to watch these two together; they have a lot of fun :) Maybe next time we should make a giant bubble maker, eh?

Johan popping one of Joe's giant bubbles :)

Blowing bubbles takes some major concentration

 

 Yep, I think that's the face of a happy boy. Mission accomplished.

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...

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

A few weekends ago, I found myself with 2 pints of strawberries, a rhubarb patch that needed some love (it'll go to seed if you don't pick it!) and a sweet tooth. What's a girl to do? Make strawberry rhubarb crisp, of course! So I followed this recipe because it seemed to have the simplest ingredients and quite honestly, looked easy. And damn, it was good.

I brought it to a Cinco de Mayo party and it was a hit. But I honestly don't think you can go wrong with rhubarb; it's so flavorful and fresh. So now I'm already looking forward to picking my next rhubarb recipe, but there are so many to choose from! Which would you choose?

Here's our little rhubarb patch in our backyard.

Mixing the ingredients.

 The magic of rhubarb comes in the baking. Yummmmm.

P.S. I remember when I was a little girl, I'd fill a dish with sugar (for dipping since it's sour!) and go out to our rhubarb patch and eat myself silly. But I always had to leave enough for my mom's famous Blubarb Crisp! (Blueberry Rhubarb :))

I covet

When we were in Sweden two years ago (what, TWO YEARS?!), I saw a lot of these little Fjällräven backpacks in stores. I really liked them - maybe it was the versatility or just knowing it was an iconic Swedish brand? But I resisted buying one because I opted for my ceramics instead - however, I didn't stop thinking about the cute little pack. (And seriously, I don't know why, it's just a backpack!) But then a few months after coming home, these backpacks started cropping up everywhere! On blogs, JCrew, and more!

What do you think? Do you like this pack?