kubota gardens

Here are a  few pictures from our visit to Kubota Garden, a beautiful Japanese garden in South Seattle and maybe my new favorite park in the city.

roots and wings

My friend, Jen, over at Mermaid City and I have been posting bit and pieces from our lives every Tuesday for the past few months. We decided to mix things up a bit and define our pictures a bit more. So, our new topic is roots and wings, and here is our first set!

house update

The kitchen project is a bit behind. It was supposed to be done last Wednesday, but, well, not so much. Maggie will show you a few updates, though..

We have plastered and textured walls now. 

And we have floors made out of recycled fir.

And we have the start of our new island...but no sink. or running water. Dishes are still being done in the bathtub.

Oh and shingles...we now have shingles. Woohoo!

That's about it. Fingers crossed A LOT gets done this week.

cow roast

It’s not very often you get invited to picnic in which some crazy looking medieval torture device is used to roast a 1000+ pound mammal. I've heard of pig roasts, but a cow roast? Sign me up! One of our favorite restaurants, Madison Park Conservatory, hosted a family style picnic out at Local Roots Farm that included: cocktails form Ebb and Flow, wine from Gilbert Cellars, the aforementioned mammal and a ton of delicious sides. There was also a cornhole game, a band dressed like cowboys, DJ Riz and an impromptu  river swimming session. All in all, a delightful afternoon.

two for tuesday

A little weekly photo project.

Two pictures 

Showing the bits and pieces 

of Jen's and my life

I missed last week due to being on vacation, so here is week 7 and 8.

Week 7

Week 8

Week 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

the florida way

Back from Florida! It was a fun (and very hot) trip. I met up with my parents, my siblings and their families, and we took my nieces and nephews to Disney World for a day first. One day was all anyone could handle of that place. It's not really my jam, but it was so fun to see the little girls excited about meeting princesses. After that, we headed to the Daytona for a week at the beach, which included sand castle building, ocean swimming, beer drinking and a whole lot of beach sitting. So fun and relaxing! Here are a few pictures.

My little sister, Emily, made us all matching shirts for Disney. I mean, please. Hilarious. A family that wears matching shirts together, stays together.

Me and my cutie nieces.

 Meeting Gaston. The littles kept asking me if he was the "real" Gaston. To which I replied. Yes, of course!

 My little sister's little monkey, Jack. So cute.

 Off to Daytona! We stayed at Perry's Ocean Edge Resort where we have been staying every year for the past 15 years. Ask for a garden, ocean front room. Those are the best.

 The beach sure is tiring for little babes. 

Oh hi again, Jack!

Hooping contest

Impressive bubble blowing

And below you'll find a series of our week long sand sculptures. I wish I could claim credit for these, but I merely carried water (like one day) and left the art work up to my talented family. I mean, someone has to supervise from their chair with a cocktail, right?  Tough job, but I was willing to do it.

See you soon, Florida!

see ya

Sorry it has been a bit quiet on the blog this week. It has been kind of an obnoxious week. We are still under construction, which means our kitchen is totally torn up and a mess, and we are forced to do dishes in the bathtub. Sigh. I'm taking a break from it all and heading to Daytona, FL to meet up with family for a week at the beach. My family has been traveling to the same resort every year since I was a kid, which is just sort of a funny thing. Pick any time of the day, and I can tell you what we will be doing! 8am...donuts and coffee. noon...burgers from the food truck. 1pm...most likely a volleyball game followed by an immediate cool down in the pool. 7pm dinner on some outdoor patio with a guy playing Jimmy Buffet cover songs. Repeat for 7 days and you've got yourself a Florida vacation. It's a very predictable trip, and it's glorious! See you soon!

Daytona, FL circa 2010