I'm engaged!

My weekend ended up being much more exciting than I ever thought it would be thanks to Nick and our wonderful friends! They had been planning this for the past two weeks and not a peep was spilled to me, good job everyone!

My original "plan" for Saturday was that Brynn and I were going to go to the same restaurant, the Tap House in downtown Seattle where Meghan on a blind date. At about 5:15, after we parked, Brynn gota text message from Meghan saying that her date, Micha, (who was the nephew of a family friend and really into musical theater) stood her up!! So I get there, see Meghan at the bar by herself, and am thinking "oh no! Poor Meghan!!"

Meghan and Brynn played it off perfectly: "I can't believe I got stood up, his phone goes straight to voice mail, never let me go on a blind date again!! I am so mad, lets go to the bathroom and change and then head to the Sounders game."

So we start to walk toward the bathroom and I see some of Nick's friends in the banquet room I'm thinking "so weird Nick's friends are at the Tap House too!" (His cover was that they were doing a guys night at Sam's house, which I totally bought). So Meghan and Brynn start walking in to the room and I see Nick's friends and my friends all together in the room and of course, it still doesn't click in my head! I'm thinking "that is so weird Nick's friends and my friends are all at the Tap House too in the same room, wait, is this a party that I wasn't invited too, just happen to stumble upon? Why wasn't I invited?!?"

Then I turn to my left, see Nick in his suit and tie and it finally clicks!! He takes my hand, gets down on his knee, says his part, and pulls out my beautiful ring as I am crying and nodding and he asks and I say "yes" and everyone cheers.

My friend Angela drove five hours to come to the party, Courtney drove three hours! And right as Angela is finish up her doctorate program and Courtney has exams in medical school. They were so busy and came all the way over! And Nick's parents drove three hours as well to be there!

Everyone stayed and hung out for a few hours, then Nick and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for some appetizers (I could hardly eat I was so excited). It was where we had our first date over four years ago.

We then met up with some of our friends at Brasa, a bar in Capitol Hill for some more celebration.

I am so happy right now and feel so blessed to have amazing family (Nick drove down to my parents house two weeks ago to ask their permission, and of course they said yes and were so excited), fantastic friends in our lives and now a wonderful fiance!! I love saying that!!

More pictures to come, once more are sent my way.

I feel full of life and full of love and can't wait for what's next!

my wonderful girlfriends

Nick's fantastic friends

Michelle, Erin, me, Angela, Deanna

checking it out

Meghan, Ivy, me Brynn, Joleen, Courtney

Right when I figured out what was going on

dinner (I could barely eat) at Cheesecake Factory,
where we had our first date over four years ago

Weekend with friends

Happy weekend everyone! I have a busy, but fun weekend I've been looking forward to:

Friday - our Bunco group is heading over the the tennis club for our monthly game. The pool opened last weekend and after our game we can get a swim in, or maybe some late night tennis!

Saturday - enjoying a sunny Saturday outside and then going out to dinner with Meghan and Brynn and then to my first Sounders game. They are Seattle's new professional soccer team and doing quite well so I'm excited to see a game in person and cheer them on.

Sunday - Joleen is back in town!!! After another trip to Southeast Asia for research on her book (more to come on that later) she is back in Seattle to visit before returning to NYC. So the group (Meghan, Brynn, Ivy, Joleen and myself) are going out to dinner and some much needed and long overdue catch up time!

Hope that it is fantastic for everyone, whatever is on your agenda!

image: Flickr

Rafael Nadal in Vogue

I just adore Rafael Nadal and am loving his recent Vogue photoshoot. Tennis anyone?!

images: Vogue

Book review: In Defense of Food

Food shopping will never be the same after reading this book. It is an eye opener, and really makes you think about what you are eating.

Michael Pollan says that we, as eaters of the Western Diet, need to go back to eating whole foods and not the processed junk that line supermarket shelves. His advice: only eat what your great-great grandmother would have recognized as food. Would she think that bubblegum flavored "Go-gurt" in a tube was really yogurt, or toothpaste? Would she recognize the ingredients or even be able to pronounce them?

These simple seven words guide the highly enjoyable book: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Memorial weekend recap

Summer has finally come to Seattle and we welcomed it this weekend!

On Friday after work Nick and I headed over to my parents cabin for the weekend. We did hiking, BBQing and lots of reading and relaxing in the sun. It was so nice to get out of busy Seattle/Portland (for Nick) and relax with the fam and Nick.

We came back Sunday after dinner and spend Monday outside as well, did a run around Greenlake and relaxing outside.

Hope it was a great weekend for everyone as well! Four day week and Nick will be in Seattle!

Mt. Rainier

dad and Nick on the hike

the waterfall we hiked to

elk having dinner

our cabin community is a safe place for them so they are not scared of people

white river

my giant hiking stick

Happy Memorial Weekend

Happy long weekend everyone! Nick and I are packing up and heading out of the city to my parents cabin, which located near the Mt. Rainier area. We normally do day hiking in the Mt. Rainier National Park when we are up there, but would you believe there is still snow?! So maybe just some non-elevated hikes, biking, BBQ and lots of reading and relaxing.

Hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend whatever you are doing. And of course, more thanks than I could ever express to our troops out there, especially those that we remember on Memorial Day.

image: Flickr

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

I know what book I am going to buy on June 2!

I also want to get these Williams-Sonoma silicone cupcake liners and I'll be ready to get baking!

images: Martha Stewart, Williams-Sonoma

Lazy Tuesday

After a wonderful sunny weekend here in Seattle, the past two days have been gray and dreary and made me feel lazy. Since last weekend was so busy playing in the sunshine, I just needed a day to sit and relax and that is exactly what I did. I relaxed over at Brooke's house with a movie, Giada's carbonara and ice-cream sundaes, it totally hit the spot!

Now I'm rested, relaxed and ready for Wednesday!



image: Flickr

Book review: The Measure of a Man

The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography by Sidney Poitier

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars



A very good, inspiring book.

Sidney Poitier took an autobiography to a deeper level, beyond dates and tidbits, and into the core of what all his struggles and accomplishments taught him about the greater meaning of life.

If you choose to read this, I would actually recommend the audio version though. I found out from a friend (after I finished reading the book) that he narrates the audio version himself and I would have enjoyable hearing a lot of the stories in his own words and voice.

View all my reviews.

Lindsay's weekend visit

Overall great weekend, everything was perfect! Lindsay was in town from LA so I met up with the girls after work for happy hour and then we headed over to Jessica's to hang out before we went out later that night.

(Lindsay and me)

(Erin and me)

(Lindsay, Tara, me, Erin)

Saturday was the main event: the cheese festival at Pikes Place Market! We got there in the afternoon, had some cheese and then headed into the wine tent where we stayed for quite a few hours and took lots of pictures and had a great time. Three of my favorite things: cheese, wine, friends!

(sorority pose, of course)

(1,2,3 - pose!)

Afterward, we went to Jessica and Rory's place in Queen Anne to BBQ on their rooftop deck which has views of the water, mountain, and downtown Seattle. Jessica and Heather handled the BBQ quite well (with Rory's help) and we stayed out there until the sun went down.

(Jessica and Heather working the BBQ)

(Puget Sound)

(downtown Seattle)

Sunday was my low key day: Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Greenlake, cleaning, and reading outside almost all day. And the good news is that Nick and his friends came back in one piece from Vegas! Now he is off to another work week in Portland through Thursday.

Weekend celebration

Happy Friday everyone! We made it, jump for joy! I don't know about you guys, but this seemed like an extra long week.

I have been looking forward to this weekend because my good friend Lindsay will be in from LA for the whole weekend! She was my big sis in the sorority and whenever she's in town it's always a good time with the girls. Happy hour downtown after work and then out and about later tonight. And Saturday, we're going to the Pike's Place cheese festival and they also have a wine garden- yum!

Nick is in Vegas for the weekend with 22 of his friends for Tyler's bachelor party so I'm sure they'll be having lots of fun without the girls.

Hope that everyone has a fantastic weekend! (And the brownies turned out great, thanks for asking! Lets hope everyone at work likes them too!)

image: Flickr

Peanut swirl brownies

On Friday I'm bringing in baked goods for work and tonight I'm going to give this Barefoot Contessa recipe a try. I'm worried my peanut butter swirls could turn into peanut butter blobs, but hopefully it will be a success. It sounds delish, hopefully I don't screw it up!


image: FoodTV

Bike to work day

This Friday is Bike to Work Day for many US cities! Happy riding and remember to wear a helmet!

image: Etsy

Book review: French Women Don't Get Fat

What I learned:

• French women typically think about good things to eat. American women typically worry about bad things to eat.
• French women eat smaller portions of more things.
• French women eat more fruit and vegetables.
• French women eat with all five senses, allowing less to seem like more.
• French women don't watch too much TV.
• French women walk everywhere they can.
• French women take the stairs whenever possible.

Loved this book! Easy, cute read with some good recipes tucked in there.

image: Amazon

Make your own book

I've had this on my to-do list for a while (umm, about a year to be exact) but I think I am finally going to get around to it - making my own book! Well, picture book that is.

Last year Meghan got hooked on this site call Blurb where you can make your own books. She has done multiple picture books: her Italy trip, one for her dad, and her friend's birthday. I've seen all of them that she has done, and they really do look professional, but her advice is to choose the hardcover books.

It would be great for vacations, weddings or special events, your personal photography, or anything else you would like on your coffee table to share with guests.

I would like to make one for my trips to NYC and San Francisco with Nick and the ultimate goal is to make a large book of my study abroad pictures. It could take a while to put together since I was gone for three months have have a lot of pictures (total understatement), but I'm up for the challenge and it would be a perfect addition to my bookshelf.

Check out their site and let me know if you have created one or have good ideas. Happy book making!

images: Blurb

Growing my greens

These are not what my herbs look like yet, but hopefully I'll soon be cooking with them! My mom and I spent Sunday afternoon potting flowers and an herb garden for my balcony. I planted impatiens (an easy flower that can grow in only partial sun) in two potters and various herbs in other ones.

Wish my green thumb good luck!

image: Green Mamas

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day out there too all moms, and especially my wonderful mom! I am so lucky to have someone as amazing as she is to look up to. You are the best!

I had a really great weekend spending time with my mom doing gardening, cooking and spending time outside.

Hope it was a wonderful weekend for everyone else too!

image: Martha Stewart

Spring vegetable: asparagus

I am so excited that spring is here and that summer is right around the corner not only for the warmer weather and longer evenings, but also for all the fresh vegetables they are selling at the local farmers markets. Recently it's been asparagus, a vegetable I've always loved.

Here's a quick and easy Tyler Florence recipe for roasted asparagus with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

image: Food Network

Happy weekend

Weekend time! I'll be hanging out with my mom all weekend and can't wait. Hope everyone has a great one!
image: ffffound