We had an extended Girl's Weekend this past week with Brian having to fly to the east coast for work. I spent the weekend with Chick in Portland, celebrating the last of the birthday meals then heading into the weekend with gardening and lunching.
Last Thursday night, Chick treated me to a great and exotic Thai meal at Pok Pok NW. We slurped down some refreshing cocktails and dined on Ike's famous Thai wings followed by a pork belly/shoulder curry and a spicy Thai herbal salad with coconut milk dressing. I love the NW Portland location and I can see myself dropping by for a cool cocktail and a double order of wings again very soon!
Summer is here, even if the solstice doesn't start for another 3 weeks. Portland has had some amazing weather and we took advantage of a cooler Saturday to shop several nurseries for plants and then spent a few hours on the patio at Cafe Murrayhill enjoying and amazing lunch and a bottle of wine.
Sunday we spent several hours making the backyard beautiful, including planting a gorgeous pink hydrangea.
Enjoy!
Stacy
It's not yet the middle of April and it's already been an amazing Birthday Month! Our weather has been the star of the show with last week's temps in the upper 70's low 80's!
Friday night was date night at Elliott Bay and I branched out and ordered their lamb meatball curry which was fabulous. We left the restaurant just in time to make it up to Solstice Park minutes after sunset and the sky put on quite a show.
Saturday's adventure was a car-free day up to the Seattle Arboretum...a place that we have never explored together.
Founded in 1934, the Arboretum has over 230 acres on the shores of Lake Washington. It contains one of the most diverse and important plant collections in North America displayed in acres of woodlands, wetlands, gardens and walking trails. The arboretum is internationally renowned for its collection of oaks, conifers, camellias, hollies and Japanese maples.
The park is accessible year round, but Azalea Way, the main road through he park is particularly inviting in springtime. Originally a road for the mill, Azalea Way is now a path, lined with enormous flowering bushes that explode in a sea of color as warm weather hits Seattle. At 3 miles round trip, the walk was a great way to get our exercise.
How was your April weekend?
Enjoy!
Stacy
We drove back to Portland on Friday night under starry skies and cooler temps, met by our adorable cat at the front door when we arrived home.
Saturday, we took an amazing early morning walk down to Lincoln Park. Temps were barely above freezing and the sun glistened off the Olympic mountains freshly glazed in new snow.
We swung by my Mom's church to take a peak at their holiday bazaar. They had lots of holiday treasures, books and homemade goods. We bought $5 worth of goodies (to go along with our presents from True Value's annual open house)!
It was a bittersweet departure to Portland on Sunday fueled by an amazing breakfast (potato works) at Circa in West Seattle. I will not be back to Seattle until the first weekend in December. I did manage to plant my spring bulbs as our temps will continue to be cool to freezing this week. In 12 weeks I hope to see three rows of daffodils and tulips!
This week is Thanksgiving mode. Grocery shopping, prep cooking and preparing for the big day! Brian arrives back in Portland on Wednesday.
How did you spend your weekend? Did you travel or stay at home? Leave me a comment.
Enjoy!
Stacy
This past weekend was another quiet weekend in West Seattle. It was also quite wet (over 4 inches in rain gauge from Thursday to Sunday).
Brian's schedule has been hectic and he's in the middle of a long run of 7 weeks of teaching back and forth between Seattle and Portland. It's the perfect time for us to stay close to home!
Saturday was spent making some wonderful and hearty meals! Brian cooked Cowboy Hash on Saturday morning while I worked out indoors. In the afternoon, I made a huge crockpot full of beef stew and Brian made some wonderful homemade Italian Herb bread. The house smelled incredible!
I dodged the ending rain showers and cool temps early Sunday morning, but I finally got the front flower bed cleaned out (pictures next week). I am hoping to get some spring bulbs planted with Brian's help before Thanksgiving. The squirrels run amok in the bed and take off with my bulbs if I don't lay down some chicken wire.
Sunday was bittersweet. A quiet morning...then packing the car up again for another drive to Portland. Brian's fighting a cold and we have a big week ahead. Let's hope we all remain healthy for the holidays ahead.
How was your weekend? Did you have rain/snow/sunshine? Please leave me a comment and let me know what you did to make the weekend memorable!
Enjoy!
Stacy
