Dinner Last Night

Dinner last night was Walnut & Rosemary Oven-Fried Chicken and Lemon Risotto with Peas, Tarragon, & Leeks. The chicken was the better of the two recipes, the walnut/panko bread crumb crust gave the chicken a pleasant crunch.

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Wednesday Pretty

Love this color combo of mums and succulents!

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Eclipse!

Going to opening night of Eclipse tonight in IMAX!! Seattle Center is hosting "Science with a Twist," a Twilight-themed happy hour preceding the 12:01 showing of the movie. Can't wait for fun with the girls and some vampire and werewolf drama! Woohoo!

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Home is Where the Heart Is

Home is where the heart is (and where the pillows are). I thought these state pillows were kind of fun, especially if you're living in a state far from your roots. Then you can really feel (and squeeze) your hometown and feel the love!

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via designmom

Broadway Buzz

Guess what hit movie is being turned into a Broadway Musical in 2010??? Sleepless in Seattle!! I love, love, LOVED this movie, back in 1993 when it debuted and still today. Can't wait to see how this plays out on Broadway!

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Happy 80th!

This weekend was a celebratory one in my family, it was my grandma's 80th birthday. In her honor, my parents organized a party-filled weekend where all our family and friends flew in from all over to Seattle to celebrate 80 fabulous years with our Nonie. It was such a fun-filled weekend, full of reminiscing, old photos, and laughter together. Also, since we have many June birthdays in our family, we were able to celebrate a few others during the weekend as well, my grandpa, uncle, and cousin!

Happy Birthday Nonie! We love you!

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Weekend in Photos

Here are some pictures from our Whidbey Island adventure. And just so you know, despite the grey skies, we did see a day and a half of sun! Woohoo!

Pop Pop Pop

My boyfriend is Mr. Jalapeno Popper, he loves those spicy things more than words can describe. In light of all the pub food and we've been devouring while cheering on the World Cup games, I saw this little contraption and knew it's be love at first sight. A Jalapeno Pepper Roaster - the ultimate do-it-yourself jalapeno popper maker. Jackpot! Christmas has come early this year babe!

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USA!

Anyone else watch the USA/Algeria game?? I missed the first half, but tuned in for the ending, and what an ending it was! Suspense down to the 93rd minute and GOAL! It's moments like these when I love the patriotic energy our country displays! Way to go Landon Donovan!

Glassybaby

In case you haven't heard of glassybaby, these little glass votives are all the rage (at least in Seattle). They're hand blown glass sold in a few locations around the Seattle area. But twice a year they have a seconds sale, where votives that are not considered "perfect" are marked down considerably, and on sale in an all-you-can-grab free for all.

This is what I did Saturday morning. My friend Makaela and I grabbed coffee, and went to the store to find a line that spanned 3-city blocks. The craziest thing was, the people in front of us drove 2 hours South from Bellingham to wait in line! We heard rumors of others driving in from Puyallup, and a rumored visitor from Alaska! Kind of crazy all this madness for glass!

Once we crept up the long line slowly, we realized the line was nothing compared to the warehouse - inside was a mad house! An all out glass brawl if you will, no holding back! We elbowed our way through the crowds and came out victorious, a few glassybaby's each. Success! All in all, it was a very exciting morning, and I was home by 11:30 AM!

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Grillin' It Up

Ever since we got the BBQ, I've been looking into grill tools to jazz it up. Right now I have my eye on this cast iron griddle - isn't it pretty? As I type, I'm envisioning all the grilled goodness the bf and I could prepare on this...

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Happy Father's Day!

Before we head to Whidbey Island, we're going to my parents house for to celebrate Father's Day and have brunch with my mom and dad. Happy Father's Day Dad, I love you!!

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Weekend at Whidbey

My boyfriend and I are taking a long weekend and heading up to beautiful Whidbey Island to celebrate our 2-year anniversary which falls on the 27th, next Sunday. So excited for some summer sun (hopefully), a cozy cottage, and a quiet beach all to ourselves! Have a great weekend!

School's Out For Summer!

There were tears and hugs and I'm sad to see my class go, they were fabulous beyond words this year. But on the other hand...SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! Yes, it's true: Summer vacation begins NOW! Hooray!!

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If You Like Ghost Stories...

Truth: I'm a scaredy cat. Always have been, always will be. I'm semi-afraid of the dark, haunted houses, creepy sound effects, and ghosts. While I do believe in ghosts, I must admit they scare me quite a bit. Yes, I'm a slightly tougher when it comes to scary books, but I'm a wimp when it comes to scary movies. For example, the Scream series - as in the Courteney Cox movies - most people viewed as fluff Hollywood slasher movies - these films terrified me! In high school, I was afraid to answer my phone for about a month for fear that someone was lurking outside my window waiting for me to take the bait.

So as you can imagine, I've never been a big fan of ghost novels, or anything of the sort. But when I heard Audry Niffenegger (author of The Time Traveler's Wife) had written a book, I overlooked the "ghost" factor and decided to try it out. The story Her Fearful Symmetry is very unusual, and unlike any other book I've read. It was thought provoking and interesting in it's ghostly nature, but it is definitely a book that's easy to get into and read through.

My rating: I would give it a B, maybe even a B- as I wasn't keen on the ending. But remember I'm biased - I don't like ghost stories, so perhaps you should read and judge for yourself.

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The Story of Bottled Water

This is a really interesting video about the truth behind bottled water, part of the series from "The Story of Stuff" Project. Take a look! I was surprised at their findings, good thing I'm a tap water girl at heart anyway.

Summer To-Do List

Only 3 more days of school! With the closing of one year comes goodbyes and sadness to bid my wonderful class adieu. Mixed with those nostalgic feelings are those of excitement as the summer season dawns and we welcome lazy days, sleeping in, working out on a consistent schedule, and of course, catching up on my ever-lengthening to-do list.

Here's what's up for the summer (in addition to my big trip to Japan, of course):

1. Go to the zoo
2. Enjoy Sunday BBQ at new Seattle eatery Joule
3. Make Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon
4. Have my grandma teach me how to make a pie
5. Take a class (sewing, sailing, croissant-making?...)

I'm sure there will be many more additions to come, but this is my starting 5. I'll keep you posted on how I do. What's on your summer to-do list?

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Skewer du Jour

Don't these look delicious? I can't wait to make these myself - Raspberry, Mint, and Mozzerella skewers. The perfect summertime treat for a summer BBQ.

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via destinedtodesign

Sweet Tooth

I'm craving something sweet today, and finding my pantry sorely out of sweet snacks. Boo! Wishing one of these rootbeer float cupcakes would just POOF! and appear in front of me. What's your go-to sweet snack?

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Croissant Lesson

I was feeling under the weather this weekend. Perfect timing, right? 4 days of school left and I catch a cold. Brilliant! Anyway, during my time being sick on the couch, I caught up on my Netflix. I've been on the waitlist for the Meryl Streep/Alec Baldwin movie It's Complicated for a while now, and it finally arrived. The movie was okay, but my favorite part was when Meryl Streep and Steve Martin share a romantic date after hours at her bakery, laughing and enjoying each others company as they make croissants. First of all, the scene was lovely, the setting, the music, etc. etc.

But secondly, croissant-making is quite a cool process! I had no idea! Chocolate croissants (pain au chocolat) may be my all-time favorite pastry and watching the process unfold on the silver screen was enchanting. Makes me want to learn how to make croissants!

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Brilliant Birthday

What a brilliant party theme! I saw this India themed birthday party over at Marvelous Kiddo, and was immediately intrigued by the vibrant colors, festive costumes, and elaborate decor. All in addition to a group dance lesson! What fun! I'm impressed with this little girl's unique idea and how creatively and well the theme was executed.

images via marvelouskiddo

Who's Ready?

World Cup 2010 kicks off today in South Africa! Can't wait to wake up at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning, bloody Mary in hand, and watch some soccer! Any soccer fans out there? If so, who are you rooting for?

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1 Week!

"No more students, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks."
That's right, just one more week of school and then...
SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

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Jalapeno

Anyone ever tried jalapeno tequila? Apparently it's the "it" thing in Santa Monica/Venice Beach, California, because my sister keeps raving about these amazing jalapeno margaritas. I'm intrigued... I'm sort of a wimp when it comes to spicy things but this spicy margarita has me thirtsy! Anyone else tried this?

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Dinner Last Night: Mushroom Pasta

My goal last night was to use the last of the crimini mushrooms from the fridge. I succeeded! I tried this Mushroom Pasta recipe I found over at EmilyStyle, substituting gnocchi for noodles, and it turned out really savory and flavorful. The slivered almonds were a nice touch, I would have never thought of that!

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The New iPhone

I'm in the market for a new phone. With the release of the new iPhone G4 just announced, I've definitely got my eye on the iPhone. I'm one of the last of my friends to convert (I'm currently a blackberry user at present).

One of the reasons I'm looking to make the switch is that I'm hoping to use the iPhone for it's map features to help us get around Japan. Any travel iPhone apps worth purchasing/looking into?

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Pie Oh My

This weekend in the middle of all the rain, we had a break of sun on Saturday. It was glorious! My boyfriend and I decided to take this sunny opportunity to explore West Seattle, a fun nook of Seattle. One of our stops was Shoofly Pie, an adorable little pie shop on California Ave. I heard about via the Soho. Her rave reviews were right on! The pies here were simply superb!

My boyfriend ordered the blackberry-raspberry and I had a slice of the strawberry-rhubarb. Delicious! The best part was the crust! In all my years of pie-eating, I've never been a big fan of pie crust, but the crust at Shoofly was flaky, moist, and very croissant-like, utterly delectable! I can't get over how good it was, I'll definitely be back!

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If I Went To...Bali

I would stay here - The Alila Ubad Bali - isn't that infinity pool amazing?! Pure bliss.

National Doughnut Day

Time to celebrate, it's National Donut Day! Woohoo, what a pleasant excuse to indulge in a sweet treat. My fave donuts in Seattle - Top Pot Doughnuts!

What's your favorite kind of doughnut? My fave - chocolate with coconut or chocolate with sprinkles. YUM!

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Dinner Last Night: Black Bean Burgers with Mango-Avocado Salsa

I've been wanting to try this recipe FOREVER, and glad I finally did. The prep was a little time consuming but it turned out delicious, Black Bean Burgers with Mango-Avocado Salsa. The best part, it was not just healthy + super flavorful. Definitely making these again! Perfect for a BBQ for your vegetarian friends.

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Rain, Rain Go Away

It's been dreary, rainy, and utterly blah in Seattle lately. Contrary to popular belief, this time of year is usually quite lovely and pleasant. A typical year would render sunny, breezy, and mid-70's temperatures. (Sigh). Thus, I'm waiting for one of those sweet sunny days to return again so I can make this - watermelon lemonade. All the best flavors of summer!

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Wizards of Wonder

I literally cannot communicate how excited I am about Universal Studios latest theme park - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I may be 27, but I'm still a fool for theme parks, the thought of Disneyland makes me giddy, and now my expectations have been exceeded! Even before I became a teacher, I was an avid Harry Potter reader + follower. It's amazing to me how Universal was able to recreate J.K. Rowling's imaginative world! I literally cannot wait to visit the theme park in Orlando.

Here's a first glimpse inside the walls with some of Harry Potter's cast members. It looks AMAZING!


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video via labellevie

Tom Tom

I wasn't a big fan of TOMS...until I saw these! Ordinary canvas flat turned comfy chic wedge, done & done! Can't wait til they debut in stores!

image via unrulythings