16/52: New York, N.Y.

Tony Bennett sings a great song about leaving his heart in San Francisco, but I honestly left my heart in New York City.

I thought I would be overwhelmed by the city, but instead I embraced it.  I felt welcome and warm.  I met tons of great New Yorkers rather born and raised or transplanted.

We managed to check off just about every box on our list and we had wonderful weather for most of our trip (one half day of sprinkles and one full day of heavy rain).

Almost everything about our trip was perfect, from our flights into La Guardia, our hotel, all our excursions (that we pre-booked) and finding our way out of the city and back home (we managed to navigate the subway system like pros).

A big thank you to my aunt and super travel partner.  She put up with my excessive planning and I think it really paid off big time.  Not only did we have all our Broadway show tickets, museum and tours tickets well in advance, but we also paid for them months ahead of time so that our budget could accommodate $175 dinners for 2, $20 glasses of Chardonnay and $25 bright yellow New York Cab pajama bottoms.

Enjoy!
Stacy

14/52: Getting caught up in April

If you are a regular to my blog, my apologies.  Lots of stuff going on.  Plans, parties and trips.  Not to mention life....you know...work, eat, sleep...REPEAT!!!!

It's nice to take some time....a break and then look back at 3 or 4 weeks of photos to appreciate all that is going on around you.

Longer days!  Sunsets on the train.  April flowers!

Time to relax and take care of yourself!  Time to walk.  Time to eat a wonderful meal!

Enjoy!
Stacy

48/52: It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

The holidays are in full swing.

Celebrations and decorations!

I went to Brew Lights at the Oregon Zoo last Wednesday and had a blast!  Beautiful lights and a dry evening made sipping wine/ciders and brews in the zoo a memorable evening.  A must do Christmas activity for anyone who loves lights!  The highlight of the evening was my 8 minutes zoo train ride.  The last time I was on the zoo train I was three year's old.

Brian and I started off welcoming December officially, last Friday night at 13 coins.  We had a lot to be thankful for as we reached a milestone in our business that deserved a cheers and a nice glass of sparkling wine.

Saturday we picked out our Christmas tree, but I struggled with a neck and back issue which kept me immobile and in some pain most of the rest of the weekend.

We managed to find the most perfect Fraiser Fir at Home Depot and decorate most of the house on Saturday evening.  

Luckily, I flew home from Seattle on Sunday afternoon which cut my normal travel time in half.  I treated myself to a 10 minute chair massage which made my neck/back feel 100 times better.

We flew over a sun capped Mt. St. Helens on route to Portland, which was stunning.

Our weather turns clear and cold this week.  More holiday happens on the way!

Enjoy!
Stacy

45/52: Austin, Texas

What an amazing opportunity to see Austin, Texas last week, while on a business trip.  I had very limited time, but I managed to walk along Congress Avenue up to the Texas State capital and spent a few hours at the Bullock Texas State History Museum (when I wasn't in day long sessions).

Austin reminded me very much of Portland.  Nice people, craft beers, food carts and live music.

Enjoy!
Stacy

42/52: Delaware

What a time we had back east!

It flew by super fast because we were going non-stop for 3 full days, including visits with family & friends, a trip to the beach, a visit to the cemetery, a hike on the Mason-Dixon Trail, a family crab feed and Brian's 40th High School Reunion.

Enjoy!
Stacy

@ the Stone Balloon, Main Street Newark, DE

This girl loves her Wawa Coffee

Class of 1978

Rehobath Beach, DE

Lunch at Matt's Fish Camp, South Bethany Beach, DE

Smith Bridge, Chadds Ford, PA

The Smith Bridge was built in 1839 as a covered bridge over the Brandywine River just south of the Pennsylvania state line.  It was destroyed in 1961 on Halloween with it was set on fire and rebuilt a time later.

Hiking the Mason Dixon Trail with Cousin Randi outside their back door in Chadds Ford, PA

Eating Maryland Blue Crabs

Brian's Aunt Faye will be 80 in April

East Coast Swing

Reunions, Family and Friends!

Off to the east coast.

See you on Instagram and next week with a re-cap of our trip.

Enjoy!
Stacy and Brian

35 & 36/52: The Last Hurrah/Summer Vacation

Summer vacation was amazing this year and as always it kicks off with Brian's birthday (September 1st).  We headed down to Lake Morton, perhaps for the last time this summer and had dinner with friends and watched the sun set fade across the water.

Sunday morning it was up bright and early for a surprise trip to Los Angeles (Brian was told the night before) and by early afternoon we were walking through the historic Venice Canals and down to the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

Monday it was down the coast to Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and the picturesque Point Vicente Lighthouse before making our way north of downtown Los Angeles to Dodger Stadium.

We wrapped up vacation week with our final Seattle Mariner's game of the year and Brian's first foul ball EVER!

Wonderful memories of a fantastic vacation!  

Enjoy!
Stacy

28/52: Heat Wave

We tried to stay cool over the weekend.  I worked from home on Friday and it was a "pleasant" warm...then Saturday and Sunday were down-right "miserable" hot.  We live in a house that gets a nice cool breeze off the Puget Sound.  Let's call that "nature's air-conditioning" as we have nothing else. Need-less-to-say, we each experienced a bit of cranky pants over the weekend, surviving on little sleep.

Saturday we grilled burgers at my Mom and Kenny's (and took a time out inside as they have aircon) and Sunday we went to the West Seattle Summer Festival early in the day to hear Rat City Brass before the pavement began to melt!

Can't complain, can we?  It's the middle of summer and before we know it....there will be frost on the pumpkins.

Enjoy!
Stacy