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

13/52: Let the 50th Celebrations Begin.....

I have an amazing group of friends.  New friends and old friends.  Best of all, friends that know how to throw an amazing dinner party in honor of my 50th year.

Jenny and Brent hosted an elegant dinner party for 9 including a champagne fountain, a 4 course meal and a jazz duo (Jenny provided amazing vocals) the first Saturday in April.

It was an amazing evening and one that I won't soon forget.  Thanks for my friends who are like family for celebrating my birthday!

Enjoy!
Stacy

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

33/52: Seattle Sports Weekend with Pop and Rosemary

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

31/52: Chick in Seattle/Mom's Birthday Celebration

We had a wonderful weekend of celebrating not only my mother's birthday but also the beautiful city of Seattle.

Although we did not officially participate in Seafair, we did celebrate all that Seattle has to offer starting with Friday night along Alki Beach.

First stop on Friday was Duke's Seafood and Chowder.  We snagged a table upstairs on the deck and enjoyed a bottle of wine while looking out over Elliot Bay.  It was the perfect way to kick off our weekend.

We then walked along Alki down to Cactus, a place we love and go to often.  We requested a table outside and watched the sun fade in the western sky while dining on some excellent Tex Mex food.

Saturday was a picture perfect Seattle Summer day as we celebrated my Mom with a quick trip around the Kubota Gardens, which began in 1927.  It's a lovely and peace garden that meanders through lush foliage, trees, hydrangeas and Japanese maples...ponds filled with koi and waterfalls flowing under ornate oriental bridges.  A great place for pictures.

From there we drove along Lake Washington towards Renton and the Hyatt Regency where we sat outside and were treated a several fly-overs by the Blue Angels.  The deck at the Hyatt was amazing and quite a little hidden gem along the water.  A place we will go back to summer or winter.

The evening ended with pasta dinner at the Olive Garden followed by a warm summers evening concert on my Mom and Kenny's back patio with singing, laughing, dancing and celebrating.

A perfect weekend for sure!

Enjoy!
Stacy

29/52: Summertime Life

Some weekends are just perfect.

Perfect travel.

Perfect weather.

Perfect food.

Perfect time spent with loved ones.

I hope your weekend was perfection!

Enjoy!
Stacy