3/52: Middle of January

Just a few pictures from the weekend.  Saturday was an adventure to a sports bar to watch the Duke/Virginia basketball game.

Since we are not drinking and trying to eat healthy, it was challenging, but we persisted.  It's amazing how satisfying a club soda with a splash of pineapple juice is!  Just a hair under 6 miles walking this weekend and 2.2 pound lighter makes it all worth it.

The weekend went by in a blur and I am already looking forward to my remote Friday.

Enjoy!
Stacy

39/52: Girl's Weekend featuring Keith Urban

We had a long Girl's Weekend this year that started off with a road trip to Eugene to see Keith Urban and Kelsea Ballerini at Matt Knight Arena.

The show was amazing and we had a fun evening catching up with friends at the Wild Duck in Eugene before the show.

After a quick trip to see my Mom and Kenny's new home in West Eugene, we had a relaxing Friday night back in Beaverton with plenty of time to cuddle with cats in pajamas (us not the cats) while eating a classic wedge salad along side a steak dinner.

Saturday was our annual trek down NW 23rd for shopping and lunch.  We each bought a few trinkets and our lunch, including a rich and creamy wild mushroom papardelle was fantastic.

Sunday was spent relaxing while watching everything from the 1976 version of "A Star is Born" to a couple of really good football games followed by 4 episodes of General Hospital.

It was a wonderful way to say goodbye to September and welcome October.

Enjoy!
Stacy

7/52: A Nice and Long Weekend

Since Brian and I have seen each other a total of 5 hours this month, we really needed an adventure to Port Townsend, WA.

We enjoyed exploring historic Port Gamble (see barn below), walked main street Port Townsend and did some shopping, then had lunch at Silverwater Cafe before finally exploring Fort Warden (Point Wilson Lighthouse).

Enjoy!
Stacy

Crab Cakes with Shaved Fennel Salad

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

37/52: Girls Weekend

We enjoyed a fun-filled weekend in Portland, our annual "Girl's Weekend".

Saturday was spent in NW 23rd...a long time favorite of ours.  A great place to people watch, shop, bring home many treasures...then sit and have a fabulous lunch.

The rest of the weekend was enjoyed at Rebecca Lane....a great end of summer like weekend with cool mornings and blue skies with abundant afternoon sunshine.

We watched the Ducks take on Nebraska on Saturday night and the Seahawks open the 2016 football season at home against Miami on Sunday.

How was your weekend?

Stacy

34 & 35/52: Summer Vacation 2016

There is just something about not taking a vacation away that is refreshing.  Three times a year, I try and spend at least 10 days in a row in Seattle with my boys.  Summer vacation is always a highlight of the year.

Here are some of the fun activities that we enjoyed last week!  Stacy

Mariners vs. Yankess at Safeco Field

Ferry to Whidbey Island

West Seattle Water Taxi to Seattle Waterfront

A day on Lake Washington

32/52: Rio Opening Ceremonies and Mom's Birthday Adventure

Last Friday were the Opening Ceremonies of the 31st Summer Olympics in Rio!  Chick and I were glued to our seats watching all the festivities and enjoying our international tapas and cocktails!

Saturday morning, I took the first train out of Portland and arrived in Tukwila where Brian picked me up and we headed to Mom and Kenny's for her birthday celebrations.

Her request was lunch at Dairy Queen!  Okay, don't laugh.  Mom's get treated to whatever they want and to be honest, we all really enjoyed the "pig out".

We worked off our lunch with a wander around the Highline Botanical Gardens which include a wonderful Japanese Garden.  Beautiful!

How was your first weekend of August?

Enjoy!

Stacy

27/52: Fourth of July Long Weekend

We had a wonderful long weekend in Seattle to celebrate the 4th of July.

Sandra and I drove up to Seattle on Friday and walked down to the new Whisky West Bar on California Avenue. We loved the place.  The beer/wine and of course, whisky lists were awesome.  Food menu to come....they just opened a week or so ago so the kitchen is still working out the kinks. Brian arrived home from Delaware late Friday night/early Saturday morning so we were all ready for a Seattle adventure!

Saturday we spent touring the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit below the Space Needle. Opened in 2012, the garden is an exhibit showcasing the studio glass of Dale Chihuly.  The project includes three primary components: the Garden, the Glasshouse and the Interior Exhibits, with a 90 seat indoor/outdoor cafe.

I've wanted to go it's opening so it was a fun "new" Seattle experience for all of us.

Afterwards, we took the montorail back to downtown and walked down to Pike Place Market.  The market is always fun to tour and a great place to people watch.  We exited the west side of the market at the Victor Steinbrueck Park and walked over to Cutter's Crabhouse for "linner".  Lunch was wonderful and my Wild Salmon Club was amazing.

Sunday, we had breakfast at Endolyne Joe's with a Bloody Mary...before taking Sandra down to my Mom's to spend the second half of her visit.  Brian and I had a quiet Sunday afternoon at home with Sammy.

Monday was the 4th of July BBQ at Mom and Kenny with friends and family.  It was a much cooler day than last year and we all enjoyed sitting out on the patio and having a really lovely afternoon.

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

Enjoy!
Stacy

4/52: Seattle Underground Tour and Lunch at Fado's Irish Pub

Seattle has an underground network of passageways and basements that was ground level at the city's origin in the mid-19th century.  After the streets were elevated these spaces fell into disuse, but have become a tourist attraction in recent decades.

Last Saturday, Brian and I took Bill Speidel's Underground Tour in Pioneer Square.

The great Seattle fire in 1889 destroyed 31 blocks and as part of the rebuilding, the streets were regraded to one to two stories higher than before.  Since Pioneer Square was built mostly on filled-in tidelands, it often flooded.  The new street level also assisted the ensuring that gravity-assisted flush toilets that funneled into Elliott Bay, did not back up at high tide.

In 1965, local citizen, Bill Speidel realized that there might be some interest in these subterranean ruins.  He establish a tour and began taking customers to see what was left under Pioneer Square.  

Over the years the underground structures have been steadily refurbished to be more visually appealing, however the tour remains authentic and popular for visitors and locals.

We really enjoyed it!  Our tour guide was informative and entertaining and it was interesting to hear about the history of Seattle.

After the tour we walked over to Fado's Irish Pub for lunch.  I was really impressed with their menu and it was a fun location to check out.  Since we took the bus downtown from West Seattle we wanted a place close to Pioneer Square.

We enjoyed Blue Cheese Lamb Sliders and Smithwick's Marinated Ground Beef Sliders and two big plates of chips before heading home.

Enjoy!
Stacy