San Francisco Weekend in a Nutshell

This past weekend was my first weekend away from my sweet babe, and on a plane no less.  I flew to San Francisco for a quick weekend away to visit my best friend Jody.  It was such a much needed weekend to relax, recharge, and enjoy some quality girl time.

Upon arriving, we met up with Jody's husband and some other friends at Homestead in the Mission, for a stiff cocktail (I had the Paloma) to celebrate in regale in our friends Alex and Kostas' recent engagement.  Followed by a modern Vietnamese/Thai meal at Slanted Door in the historic Ferry Building.  It was a seriously superb meal; even the rice is amazing!  {Try the stir-fried organic chicken, chili-coconut eggplant, and green papaya salad}.  Plus they boast the eclectic dessert of sculpted cotton candy - we were tempted to order this ourselves to satisfy our inner children, but were perfectly satiated it would've been difficult to eat even one more bite!

The next morning we slept in (!!) before dining al fresco at Kitchen Story, which quite possibly might have been one of the best brunches of my life, I opted for the eggs Benedict accompanied by bacon wrapped asparagus, let me tell you, it was A-MAZING!  We considered ordering the bottomless mimosas - apparently a new San Francisco staple, but opted for singles as to encourage our activity for the day.

After brunch, we strolled around the Mission, Castro, refueling with some coffee at Stanza, before playing tourist and channeling our TGIF roots with a stop by the Alamo Square Park for a touristy photo opp, Full House flashback anyone?

After stopping by Whole Foods to pick up some sustenance, and picking our our favorite stoops and houses along the way, we met up with our friend Andy at Mission Dolores Park.  Mind you, did I tell you it was a beautiful beyond beautiful day.  The sky was cloudless, the sun warm and inviting, nothing of the typical fog or overcast haze San Francisco is famous for.  We settled in for some quality people watching with a blanket, a crisp bottle of Rose, and our own makeshift fruit platter.  

After, we grabbed a quick snack at Regalio Rostecario - all the rose had me craving guacamole (and there's didn't dissapoint).  By now it was at least 7:00, and we slowly made our way back to Jody's house for a "homemade" Blue Apron meal, pinot, and a cheesy but hilarious at times romcom.  All in all a pretty perfect day!

On Sunday, after waking up early to an earthquake (!) - we cruised down to the Marina to explore a new nook of San Francisco, picking up a healthy breakfast and filling smoothie at The Planet Cafe, before enjoying yet another day of sun as we shopped Fillmore and the surrounding area.  I had a 3:40 flight, so we headed back to her apartment to pack, but not before another touristy stop to Tartine  -whose line moved surprisingly fast considering it snaked around the corner.  One pain au chocolat and a croissant to go, followed by a stroll back to her apartment in the middle of the road, courtesy of Sunday Streets.  We discovered this weekend street closure is an age-old San Francisco tradition where alternating neighborhoods close a main thoroughfare on Sundays, open only to pedestrian traffic.  The street was peppered with a few sidewalk sales, street performers with instruments, and children riding their bikes.  It was a nice change of pace and way to explore.

All in all - quite a full weekend of sightseeing, and so much fun catching up with my dearest friend!  Thanks so much Jods! 

What's your favorite thing to do in San Francisco?  Do tell, I might just have to plan a return visit soon...

Sonoma Bachelorette Recap

Fourth of July weekend was an epic girls getaway to gorgeous Sonoma, California.  My best friend Jody is getting married in September, and 10 of us girls from across the country congregated in wine country to celebrate our beautiful bride.  We arrived on the fourth of July for dinner at Girl and the Fig, toured Sonoma's finest wineries all day Friday, laid by the pool soaking up the California sunshine on Saturday, and headed home after brunch on Sunday.  With a few bachelorette activities thrown in here and there, of course!  Here are some snapshots from our girlfriends getaway!

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Elf the Musical

Last night I went and saw Elf the Musical with two of my college girlfriends.  All three of us are HUGE fans of the movie, and were quoting all of Will Ferrell's hilarious one liners non stop throughout happy hour up until the moment the curtain opened.

Now, we all know Will Ferrell's character Buddy makes Elf the movie.  His child-like awe, enthusiasm, and ridiculous behavior is the best part.  So... we weren't sure how that would translate to theater, with a different character playing the lead, Buddy the Elf.  Plus, the addition of song and dance numbers, something that isn't really present in the movie.

The verdict: the play was hilarious!!!  The play followed the same storyline as the movie, with entertaining and jazzy song and dance numbers peppered throughout.  There was a particularly funny Santa number with a slough of drunk Santas marooning at a bar - amazing!  And Buddy the stage version - hilarious!  So funny!  My friends and I were laughing out loud, and talking about the play all the way home (always a good sign in my opinion).

It's only playing in Seattle or NYC, if you live close by, I highly recommend it!

My Second Book Club

I started a book club.  Yes, yes, you may remember, I'm actually already a member of another book club with my college girlfriends, but being the reader-bug that I am, I figured, why not?  Two book clubs = twice the fun!  {Plus, how long do we really spend talking about the book? 30 minutes...tops? It's basically an excuse to get together and drink wine}.

A few of my girlfriends came over, I served grilled asparagus tartines, corn chowder salad, and a green salad with blueberries, avocado, and goat cheese.   We dined al fresco on my deck, sipping white wine, and cooing to baby Oliver who popped by for a visit with his mama (our friend Anna).  After dinner, we delved right into chatting about our first book, 50 Shades of Grey.  I know, I know, not exactly a literary marvel, nor even remotely close...but hey, I figured summer is the perfect time for an easy read, where you don't have to think too hard to follow along, and this book definitely fit the bill.

We capped off our night watching women's gymnastics and the Fab 5, polishing off the last of our prosecco, while rooting for team USA, all the way to the gold medal podium.  All in all - a great night.  

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Book Club

Last night was my book club! This month, our book selection was The Summer We Read Gatsby, by Danielle Ganek. In a nutshell, we all pretty much unanimously disliked the book. Knowingly, Carol, our host, suggested an additional book as "extra credit," The Hunger Games. Skip the first book, and go right to that!

However, we didn't let a 'blah' book damper our evening in the slightest. Our version of book club is super casual, less of a meeting, and more of a social gathering to catch up with good friends over wine and sustenance. Carol graciously made us dinner too, Ina's tomato-basil soup and grilled cheese sandwiches on crusty bread, while we recapped the book and everything else under the sun. I can't wait for the next book!

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Friends Thanksgiving

For the past 5+ years, my close group of friends has thrown a "Friends Thanksgiving" party every year. Our group of friends is a hodgepodge of native Seattleites and transplants from other parts of the U.S., Canada, and England. Together we are kind of like our own little family. We celebrate birthdays, graduations, celebrations of all kinds together.

But Friends Thanksgiving is one event we plan and especially look forward to every year. This year we had a new location - our friends Vanessa & Nick bought a vacation cabin just outside of the Bavarian-inspired town Leavenworth - a 2-hour drive from Seattle, and generously offered it up to host Friends Thanksgiving, making it a weekend event. The 12 of us caravaned through the snowy pass to enjoy a cozy cabin weekend and feast together.

Our feast was monumental; everything from traditional turkey to jalapeno-corn casserole to my husband's famous "bacon explosion," and every Thanksgiving food you can think of in-between. Besides feasting, our weekend was peppered with snowy walks, cozying up in front of the fire, and plenty of games.

It was a blast! I love celebrating traditions with friends.

Do you have any traditions or events you celebrate with your friends every year?

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The Bachelorette is Back

I'm back!

My bachelorette party was amazing, sooo much fun!

Thanks a million times over to my best friends who planned a fabulous weekend in Vegas!

We had the best time;

Friday night, cruising the strip in a pink hummer limo that after a broken AC incident was upgraded to a party bus,

dancing the night away at Marquee,

indulging in late night eats at the ever-delicious-at-3-AM Grand Lux Cafe...

Saturday, private cabana and pool party at Encore Beach Club,

A drive thru In-N-Out burger,

Dancing and champagne at NYNY,

Ending the night with a stellar view from the Foundation Room.

Finally, Sunday recovering poolside all day

before taking in the lovely Bellagio fountains,

and the familiar lights, sights, and sounds that accompany a walk down the Las Vegas strip.

The best time! Pictures to follow shortly...

Now it's time to get married!!

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Kickball Champs!

Last night was our kickball championship and....WE WON!! Yes, back-to-back kickball champions! We were champions last year and held onto the title again this year, Woohoo! The game was pretty close (7-6) and it really could've gone either way since we'd lost to this team before, but we prevailed, champions once again!

The bummer of it was, I arrived late and didn't warm up, so I pulled a quad muscle on my first run to first base. LAME! Fortunately it's feeling slightly better today, but still sore.

Can't wait until next season!

Backyard BBQ

We enjoyed ourselves a grand little backyard BBQ this past Saturday! Smack in the middle of a rainy, overcast Seattle weekend, the sun decided to shine it's little heart out! Temperatures even got up to the early 70's, it was marvelous! Bleu cheese jalapeno burgers, pineapple & avocado salad, and my new favorite (coconut infused beer). Pair that with a rousing game of cornhole, and we had ourselves a time! Gotta love the brink of summer!

What's your favorite thing to make for a BBQ?

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Weekend Bliss

Hooray, it's the weekend! This has been one LONG week, so I'm ecstatic it's Friday! On the weekend agenda: dinner + drinks at this local/sustainable restaurant with my girlfriends, followed by a showing of Water For Elephants. I'll also be enjoying some much needed quality time with my wonderful fiance - who is coming home after being away the entire week. Throw in a workout or two, coffee with a friend and her new babe, and double-date night to this new dumpling house hot spot. Finally, wrapping up the weekend Easter dinner with the family.

Wow, it didn't seem so busy on my calendar, but once I write it out, that's a busy weekend!

Enjoy!

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Weekend Recap

This past weekend was a get-excited-for-the-wedding-extravaganza if there ever was one! First, I went dress shopping with 4 of my 6 bridesmaids + my mom. It was quite the entourage. I went to this boutique in Seattle that is super glam and even boasts a bridal runway! (Not gonna lie, it was pretty exciting to walk the runway in a wedding dress!).

Also, my fiance's parents flew into town to celebrate at an engagement party with us. Saturday evening, my best friend & maid of honor threw a fabulous little gathering in the adorable wine bar Bottlehouse in Madrona (the bar even had wine on tap!). It was a gathering of close family and friends, and such a good time. We wrapped up the evening with a quick game, "How Well Do You Know the Bride & Groom," which was full of love and laughter.

What a great weekend!

Cook du Jour

Last night my girlfriends and I celebrated my friend Carla's birthday with a group cooking class. It was such a great time! We signed up for Hipcooks, "hands-on cooking classes for the novice and seasoned cook...Measuring implements are banned, tasting is encouraged, and your inner chef is invited to play!"

It was so much fun, we tied on our aprons and got our hands messy while creating an Iranian feast, as our class theme was "Persian Immersion." Carla is a self-proclaimed Hipcooks "junkie," and chose the class because being a seasoned cook herself, she admitted knowing very little about Persian food.

We made

• Maast-o Khiar: Cucumber salad with herbed meatballs
• Shirin Pollo: Chicken and saffron rice jeweled with almonds, pistachio, orange peel & barberries. Tadig, too.
• Khoresht-e-fesenjan: Luscious chicken stewed with walnuts & pomegranate.
• Rosewater-cardamom ice cream

Everything was delicious! Can't wait to take another class!!

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Bridal Party

These are the cards I sent out, asking friends and family to be a part of my wedding. Aren't they adorable. Thanks a million to Invites By Jen on etsy. She did a fantastic job!

Friends Gift Exchange

Last night was my friends gift exchange. This has been a tradition of ours for going on 5 years! It's always such a fun event and a great excuse for girlfriends to get together and do what we do best - talk! Plus it really puts you in the holiday spirit, as it's usually the first present we all get to open before Christmas.

To kick off this tradition every year, we all go out to a girls dinner during the November 3 courses for $30 Dine Around Seattle promotion and draw names. This year, my friend Vanessa hosted at her brand new condo downtown. We had dinner and drinks, followed by wine at Vanessa's while making graham cracker houses - our annual tradition. To cap off the night, we swapped our gifts. I got an adorable infinity scarf and two cute going-out tops.

While I was exhausted this morning after a night staying up late with the girls - it was worth it! Let the countdown to Christmas begin!!

Ornament Exchange

Last night was my college friends' 6th annual ornament exchange. It's always comforting to celebrate a repeated tradition, and this is something we've been doing every holiday season since we graduated. It's the perfect excuse to carve out some time in this busy Christmas season to celebrate and spend time together.

In case you're not familiar with an ornament exchange - here's the low down. Everyone selects and cleverly wraps an ornament. Next, the hostess number paper 1-however many people you have playing (10 in our case), and throws them in a hat. Participants draw numbers to see who goes first. Every good gift exchange involves a few "steals," just to keep people on their toes, and it definitely keeps things interesting. Since we had 10 people, our rule was you can steal twice instead of three times. I pulled #1 out of the hat - the best number because you get to pick first and LAST, which essentially means you get the pick of all the opened ornaments. Sweet!

We drank sparkling cider and white wine and nibbled on holiday goodies including homemade peppermint bark... yum! Don't you just love the holidays!

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Happy Friday

This weekend, I'm getting a much-needed haircut, and indulging in some holiday party fun! First, my Friends Holiday Party (formerly "Friends Thanksgiving," but we couldn't find a mutual date in November so we bumped it to December). I'm making mashed potatoes and I'm pretty psyched! There will also be a white elephant gift exchange, and I'm pretty stoked because I have the perfect gift - more details on that next week.

Sunday I'm doing Seattle's 5K Jingle Bell Run with some co-workers to benefit Arthritis research, and then headed to my sorority gal ornament exchange - it's our 6th year doing this tradition, I can't believe we've been out of college for 6 Christmases, that's crazy to me! Looking forward to celebrating some holiday traditions!

Are you doing anything festive this weekend?

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The Deathly Hallows

Last night I saw Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in IMAX with some friends. Man, it was intense!~ You forget this series was actually written for children/young adults. In case you're not familiar with the series - the content of this book (and movie) is incredibly dark. By Book 7, pretty much all hell has broken loose in the wizarding world!

Though the movie was 2-1/2 hours long, but definitely didn't feel it (and I'm an antsy movie theater-goer, so that's saying something). The movie was literally running from the first 5 minutes, I don't think there's been such an action packed HP film thus far. It makes me want to go back and reread the 7th book, so I can be prepared for Part 2 next year!!!

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Holiday Cheer

The holidays are here - as is the weekend, two of my favorite things! I'm excited for a fun-filled few days. Headed to sushi with the fiance tonight, football festivities tomorrow (it's the big Apple Cup rivalry game between University of Washington Huskies and our nemesis the Washington State Cougars). Go DAWGS! Sunday, I'm headed to see Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows in IMAX with my HP crew. Yes we are dorks, but these friends and I have seen ALL the movies together, so I'm so excited!!

What are you up to this weekend?

Book Club

Last night I hosted book club! This month, my pick was the book, The Art of Racing in the Rain, by local Seattle author Garth Stein. If you are a dog person, I highly recommend this book, as the story is told from the persepctive of the golden retriever. I made mushroom lasagna for my ladies, we drank wine, and nibbled other savory appetizers, followed by peaches and cream cookies. Overall our general consensus was we enjoyed the book, a few more so than others (in case you're wondering, those would be the pet lovers).

While it's not official yet, I think Black is the New Orange is our next book, better get reading!

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Baby Love

One of my best friends Sarah had her beautiful baby girl last Friday. Her lovely little name is Olivia Rose - isn't she darling?! I'm so excited to meet her. Sarah and I have been friends since middle school, I can't believe she's a mom!!

Miss Olivia arrived bright and early on black Friday (the biggest shopping day of the year). The family is already teasing she was born to be a shopper just like her mama! Welcome to the world Olivia!