We had an amazing long weekend in Seattle with my parents.
It began on Thursday night in West Seattle where we enjoyed wine on our backyard patio and a wonderful home cooked meal courtesy of Brian.
Friday we explored Alki and had breakfast at the Alki Cafe and then took the water taxi from West Seattle to the Waterfront and had Happy Hour at Anthony's.
We made our way to Key Arena to see the Seattle Storm (WNBA) take on the NY Liberty Friday night...and to see Mercedes Russell who grew up in Springfield, OR. My Dad and Rosemary have been watching her play all her life and this past spring she was drafted out of the University of Tennessee to play in the women's professional league. As a rookie, she isn't getting much playing time (she played 53 seconds on Friday night) but it was still a great game and a nice way to support her.
We had an amazing brunch at Cactus on Saturday morning and made our way to Safeco Field to see the Mariners take on the Dodgers Saturday night. It was a tough night for me. I love my Mariners, but grew up a lifelong Dodgers fan. I took a lot of grief from my family, but still decked all out in my Dodger gear! The Dodgers lost on Saturday night (still won the series 2-1), and we all had a really good time!
Sunday we headed back to Portland and my parents went back to Springfield.
Great memories this weekend!
Enjoy!
Stacy
So many good things packed into a longer weekend.
It was my first Friday working remotely from Seattle. A bit hit and miss. I missed my second computer screen and slower connections speeds. I loved an extra long lunch and taking a fresh air break to read my book on the front porch.
Saturday was filled with walks and shopping...then some time pulling weeds and laying bark the Secret Garden...followed by a yummy curry and some gelato in Wallingford with friends.
Sunday was a beautiful Mother's Day brunch cooked by Brian. My table setting honored some of the women in our lives, china from a great-great Aunt, Ann Lee's Silver (Brian's mom) and water glasses given to me by Grandma Phyllis (Rosemary's Mother). Mom and Kenny brought their dog, Bella and we had a great day!
Enjoy!
Stacy
Another quiet January weekend. Brian worked from home on Saturday and I made myself a wonderful vegetable hash with a poached egg.
We had a fun adventure to the casino for a few hours on Saturday. It's always a treat to splurge on sushi for dinner after playing craps and roulette!
I finished up the weekend getting the house decorated for Valentine's Day!
Enjoy!
Stacy
Brian's niece Alex came up from Alameda, CA this past weekend for a visit. We had an amazing 48 hours! It was a full and exiting weekend, showing her some of our favorite place in and around Seattle.
Friday night we had burgers and brews at Elliott Bay Brewery. It's our go-to Friday night place and Alex loved the beer sampler!
Saturday's adventures started off with breakfast at Circa before heading to Georgetown.
Bounded on the south by Boeing Field, this industrial warehouse district has mastered bohemian blue-collar chic. Rail yards, antique shops and refurbished lofts dot the neighborhood, where everyone from artistic beatniks to hipster families have carved out a spot in this creative hub. We walked around the Georgetown Trailer Park Mall, where artesians sell their good inside Air-Stream trailers, spent time ogling old albums at Georgetown Records and stopped off at several shops that had some funky art, strange collectibles and interesting clothes (the pizza dress amused all of us).
Pike Place Market is always good fun and a great place to people watch. We picked up two gorgeous bouquets of seasonal dahlias and explored all the stalls filled with jewelry, leather goods, pottery and seafood. While dodging rain showers, we came upon La Buona Tavola (the Truffle Cafe) and Cameron gave us one memorable wine tasting! We left with a bottle of Malbec and a greater appreciation of Washington wines.
Finally, we filled our bellies again with amazing pasta at Peel and Press and watched bits and pieces of the Oregon Ducks game and the Dodgers/Mets.
Sunday came around all too quickly and Alex flew back to Alameda and I caught the train back to Portland, catching an amazing sunset as I rolled out of town.
It was so much fun to spend some one-on-one time with our niece who is quite an amazing, bright and beautiful young woman. She is....the bomb.com!
Enjoy!
Stacy
We welcomed October this past weekend with a road trip to Seattle.
Chick and I drove up Friday night and had dinner again at Shadowland (Chick's favorite place in West Seattle).
Then, Saturday morning we hooked up with my Mom and Kenny at The Bridge for Brunch.
On Saturday evening Brian, Sandra and I went to our last Mariners game of the 2015 season. The ballpark celebrated Oktoberfest, the first pitch was at 6:05 and it was a beautiful fall evening in Seattle.
Unfortunately, the M's lost in extra innings but we had a fun evening.
This year, Brian and I went to more M's games then we have in many years. There was a lot of off-season excitement in this team and hopes were high. As the old saying goes....wait until next year!
Enjoy!
Stacy
We had quite a mismatched weekend with a bit of this and a bit of that over Father's Day.
Last Friday, we drove from Eugene to Roseburg to the Roseburg National Cemetery where my Dad's brother, Mike's ashes are interned. It was a bitter sweet journey, but the family agreed that it was the right thing to do...to say a proper goodbye even if Mike was absent from our family most of his life. I know it meant a lot to my Dad and that's all that really mattered to me.
We drove north west out of downtown Roseburg along the Umpqua River to Henry Estate Winery. This part of Oregon is beautiful and the "Hundred Valleys of the Umpqua" forms the heart of the timber industry of Southern Oregon, generally centered around Roseburg.
The Native Americans in the Umpqua's watershed consist of several tribes including the Coquille and the Kalapuya. The Umpqua River boasts some of the world's best fly-fishing and is famous for its small mouthed bass, striped bass and shad population.
Henry Estate Winery, has been in operation for more than 30 years and has five generations of wine growing history behind them. Beginning in 1978, Henry Estate produced only 2,000 gallons of wine. Today, full production is 18,000 cases, 75% of which is handcrafted from estate grown grapes. Their tasting room is open daily from 11-5:00 and it gave us an opportunity to sample some of their wonderful wines and take in the gorgeous views.
We also stopped by Misty Oaks Winery and has their current offerings of Gobbler's Knob Red Blend, Constitution Ridge Pinot Blanc, Jones Road Cabernet Franc and the Viper Trail Malbec (we enjoyed so much that Rosemary bought two bottles).
We left the vineyard and headed north east to the historic town of Oakland, OR. This city was the first city to be placed on the state's historic register in 1968. The city's two block business district consists of the original brick buildings built in the 1880's and 1890's. Stearns hardware has been in operation since 1887.
In the center of town is Tolly's Grill and Soda Fountain, housed in a historic building built in 1872. It was great place to stop for linner (lunch/dinner) and enjoy an old fashioned homemade soda from the restored fountain.
On Saturday, Brian flew in from Seattle and we went out for breakfast at the Washburne Cafe before settling back to E Street. We didn't have much planned for the day, but it was nice to be outside by the pool and visit as a family. The weather was just perfect and it made for a great outdoor day and time in the pool.
Saturday for dinner we decided to have a small plate/tapas/appetizer meal. Brian made his Pinot Noir meatballs, Pop threw some honey mustard chicken wings in the slow cooker, I grilled some lamb lollipops and there were dips and salads overflowing.
It was a great celebration of Dad and family once again this year.
Happy Father's Day to all!
Enjoy!
Stacy
