vegas

Anders and I decided the only proper way to celebrate 5 years of marriage was a trip to Vegas. I have been to Vegas many many times, but this was my first time going in 10 years and my first time with Anders. According to our cab driver, Vegas is a "saggy-ass" town, and there is definitely a scene there that isn't our speed. However, if you look hard enough you can find a lot of gems among the clubs and pool parties and $15 drinks. We had a blast! We spent time gambling in the Fireside Lounge at the Peppermill, ate amazing steaks at the Golden Steer, found secret pizza at a no name pizza spot at the Cosmopolitan and caught the Michael Jackson Cirque de Soleil show, which was the highlight of the trip and better than I had even imagined it could be. These are all cell phone shots as I decided not to drag my nice camera around the town, but I still managed to capture a few great moments.

 No name pizza/A cupcake ATM

 Anders hoping for a big payout/Meeting his childhood idol

 Michael Jackson One

 Hands down the coolest spot in Vegas

View from The Mix. This place is a swanky bar at the top of our hotel. It wasn't so much our scene, but you can't beat the view.

Thanks for the great time, Vegas, although did you really need to keep so much of our money? We'll be back to square up soon.

outstanding in the field

Anders and I were lucky enough to attend a huge dinner at our friend's oyster farm put on by Outstanding in the Field. The crew from OITF travel all around the country putting on dinners on farms that reconnect the diner with the farmer. They have been doing these events for the last 15 years, and it is quite a site to see. We had a great time eating delicious oysters from the farm but also local sockeye salmon, squash blossom salad, grape gazpacho and almond cake for dessert. And while the night was a complete home run, there was one funny incident. The dinner table was set up on the beach, but the crew misjudged high tide (how fast it would come in and how high), and by the time the first course was served, my chair was underwater. The tables had to be moved to higher and dryer land, but it was a  pretty hilarious adventure. Luckily, everyone was a good sport. It's a good thing we moved too because less than an hour after we moved the tide was so high our tables would have floated away. In fact, a boy cruised by on a boat...right where we had been sitting!

If you ever get a chance to attend one of these dinners, I highly recommend it. Check out the complete tour here.

 This is not a great picture, but I wanted to point out how far away the tide was to begin.

 Squash blossom salad

 Grape gazpacho 

 The tide rolled in quickly! Literally all within 10 minutes!

 Table sinking with Kevin, the owner of the oyster farm

 High-ho, high-ho

 Luckily our chef, Zoi, was always on dry land.

 Treasure Cove oysters

 (there was wine too)

 Chef Zoi is my hero. This dish was perfect.

 Almond cake for dessert.

happy 4th of july!