"It's not rain, really, it's more like 'mist' here," my friend says...

I was in LA a couple of weeks ago, and while there, I found a cute, but sensible, green "weather-proof" jacket. This past Monday, I had the opportunity to test it out. I couldn't stand being in this house one minute longer, and the library up the hill had a book on hold for me (People of the Book). Anyway, due to a lovely case of hives, I hadn't been outside of our apt's four walls since last Thursday. I wasn't quite public-presentable, as my face was still slightly swollen and my lips would have made Angelina Jolie jealous, but I was determined. It was drizzling outside, so I thought.."Oh, this is the Seattle weather everyone talks about-"misty". No biggie – I'll just try out my new jacket!" I set out on my short journey, decked out in the rain-proof jacket and new "non-purse" messenger bag (thanks for the ebags tip, Harji!). Everything was fine…2 blocks up the road, the drizzle picked up. I thought, "Hm..do I wear the messenger bag over or under my jacket? What is the etiquette here? Oh, I'll just keep it over – it's not really raining." ½ mile in…it stops drizzling!!!

And STARTS raining. RAIN. I'm now ½ way to the library and decide to keep trudging uphill – why go back now, right?– I've put my rain-proof hood up and messenger bag now under jacket. I walk up a steep hill, finally making it to the library. I'm now soaked. Jeans are 100% wet – in fact, they've turned an entirely different color! The rain-proof jacket does have its limits, I'm afraid, and the inside was getting damp. Thankfully, it didn't completely seep through, b/c my shirt of choice that day? White t-shirt - whew! BUT – I made it. I definitely had my fair share of "weather," and was now ready to be back INSIDE. Thankfully, Craig was around to whisk me away shortly thereafter, b/c as hard as I tried to look and act comfortable, (well, I had made it there, so I couldn't give up the fight yet, could I? ha!) I was cold down in my bones!!! So we went to a Thai restaurant, and over a steaming cup of jasmine tea and spicy curry, we came to the conclusion that it might do me well to be a little more cautious as I continue to "absorb" life in Seattle. Unless, of course, I invest in an umbrella and rain-proof pants. The fashion statement attached to said pants, however, leaves me with a sneaking suspicion that another tale would ensue…

I'm over the moon!

For Molly Moon ICE CREAM, that is!
This delightfully sweet confection has certainly always rotated somewhere in my list of top 5 favorite foods, but I do think Miss Moon has driven it permanently to at least place #2...maybe even #1!!! Craig and I made an impromptu visit this afternoon to her recently opened shop. Thankfully, there was a "kid's scoop" listed on the menu, which helped me to feel A-Ok with ordering a double-scoop! I ordered honey lavender and salted carmel. Yes...honey lavender and salted carmel. Have you ever heard of such simple, yet indulgent flavors? And I had TWO of them in ONE bowl! I do believe the world stopped during my first two tastes. And, yet not as exotic, Craig's were nonetheless satisfying. He ordered chocolate (which he later told me might be one of the better "chocolates" he's had, and..for those of you who know him, my man knows chocolate!) and maple walnut. As good as these were...I wanted more. My good, *sweet*, husband jumped on the bandwagon and we promptly ordered one more kid's scoop to split - thai iced tea. Refreshing!!!!!

Other highlights from the weekend?

Friday night dinner and a movie-
We had a great salad:
dressing - dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and olive oil
drizzled over-
1 grapefruit, peeled and I took the fruit out of the individual "skins," so it was the fruit only
avocado
butter lettuce
red onion
cucumber
chilled shrimp

Flowers from my man, from Pike Place Market- beautiful purple and melon-colored gladiolas, lillys, and...I don't know what it's called, but it looks like baby's breath, but with a fresh lemon color...

*New "deceptively healthy" recipe alert*

Roasted Plums!

4-5 plums, quartered
cinnamon, to taste
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2-1T butter
1/4 c grape nuts (optional)
Pre-heat oven to 425.
Butter baking dish (not too shallow, my dish was about 1 1/2 " deep)
Mix all the ingredients
Roast for about 7 min, stir once, roast for another 7-8 min.
SO GOOD!!

THOUGHT DU JOUR:

TULALIP

PUYLLAP

How would you pronounce these words? They take me back to when I first moved to Los Angeles from Indiana and encountered street names like "SEPULVEDA" and "TUJUNGA." Quickly I learned that "Sep-ul-VEE-duh" was INCORRECT. It is "se-PULL-vi-da" "tuh-JUN-ga" wrong. "tuh-HUN-ga" correct. I've been quite confident over my word mastery for the last decade. Then I moved to Seattle. There are a few gems here too. I want so badly to say, "two-LAH-lip," or "tuuulip" I *think* it is "too-WHAH-lip." Puyllap is still a mystery - I can't begin to wrap any sounds around that one. And while these are cities, not streets, like Sepulveda and Tujunga, they are mentioned on a daily basis here. Yes, this was my thought as my morning coffee was brewing...

I haven't written in so long that I don't know where to start... Instead of writing a book, I thought I'd share a few pictures:

We have baby Seagulls on our roof...

WHALE WATCH 2008!!!




We had some extra time on Friday Harbor, so we took a shuttle over to the annual Lavender Festival - it was gorgeous!! The Chocolate Lavender Ice Cream was so good!!

I've not been able to download Craigo's pictures yet, but here's the one picture from my camera, and a few from Nat's blog (thanks!)...
Our friends Dave, Natalie and Sydney came to visit this past weekend (I could hold and love on "Little" any day/all day!!!). We went to some really great restaurants in town - I'm still on a culinary high from it all...if you're so inclined, I've included the sites to check out!


Me and the girls Thursday night - www.canlis.com (thank you Jess and Alex!!!)

Friday afternoon - www.pesoskitchen.com (this is just down the street from us - one of our local faves)

Friday night - www.howtocookawolf.com This place is also in "our hood." Chef Ethan Stowell was recently voted one of 2008's top chefs by Food & Wine magazine. I loved the feel of this little place - Dave pointed out that they way the room was designed, it looked like we were inside a wine barrel..very cool.

Saturday morning - www.boatstreetkitchen.com Yummy french-country (I think) breakfast here!

Saturday night- we had dinner on our roof! I made halibut cheeks (bought from Pike Place Market that morning), gnocci, and a wonderful roasted beet salad


Sunday - Hi Life - www.chowfoods.com

Dinner that night - Crush www.crushrestaurant.com


And that is my CliffNotes version of our life over the last couple of weeks! :-)

Weekend Fun X 2

Hm..where to start... 2 weekends ago, we went to Orcas Island to visit the lovely Harji. They were missed....and were so awesome to invite us to spend the weekend with them. After catching the Anacortes Ferry, they whisked us away in a great little boat! FUN!!!


Highlights of the trip? Friends, conversations, friends, great food and wine, friends, charming house, friends, beautiful scenery, friends...:-)

Clean, crisp sea air

Fresh oysters at the Farmer's Market - shucked and grilled to order...must. go. back....


Big purple starfish - they were everywhere!
The lovely Cara and her famous Spedini, Spedini, Spedini!!! (Cara, did I mangle the spelling?) :-)

Mount Baker!

So that was 2 weekends ago....this past weekend marked the official first weekend together - just the two of us! Great weekend - I took Craig on an...interesting date. We had been hearing of something called The Underground Tour. My understanding was that the tour led you through underground bits of Seattle, while telling of some of the more seedy characters that made up part of the history here. Part of that was true...we were underground, and we did learn of Seattle's sordid past (Seattle, in part, drew most of its early income by a group of women and their "sewing circle" - they helped to service the loggers' "sewing needs" Funny...no sewing machines in town...) However, MUCH of the tour was about Seattle's sewage system, or discombobulated sewage system..mmmm romantic, right? We were even "dumped" *ha!* out into a gift shop that featured a Thomas Crapper Original. nice.

Sunday - Ikea, Ikea, Ikea!!!! Yay for Ikea and their storage department!!!! I finally have a computer desk, filing system, and we found 5 other pieces to help us sort through and organize our "schtuff." And I went grocery shopping. Real grocery shopping - first time since we moved here. :-)

The end.

Tuesday's Quick Thought of the Day...

I LOVE saying, "My Husband"....

Weekend Two!

So the peas I loved earlier in the week? Poison. Straight-up baaad news for me! I had/have hives - from Thur-till now. On my face (nose, cheeks) and ears. Sad!! Will look for an allergist next week...

My Craig left for a business trip (with a side of fun- he was at the U.S. Open today!!) on Saturday afternoon. I made my first trip to Target (yay!), and several hundred dollars later, headed back to the apartment to unpack and organize! I've made quite a bit of progress! (double yay!)

Sunday late morning I headed over to Pike Place. I even "tried on" the Seattle way to go about

town - backpack-style!

Did I pull it off? Not sure, b/c I've never ever worked a backpack as part of my "garb." BUT - I was out walking from 1130a-2p and it made for a much more comfortable outing!!

I had a great time soaking in the beautiful day, walk and ambience of the market. There's so many people, shops, energy...I loved it! Here's what I came home with:

Garlic Spears - I've never heard of these..they were wonderful - very mild garlic flavor..(they're in the back)
Asparagas - yummmmmm
nectarines
fresh figs
"Temptation" melon - never heard of this gem, but it is fantastic!
Dark Chocolate linguine...yes, chocolate pasta...it's dee-lish!
Goat cheese w/ truffle - I learned about this from Cara - she found this last weekend and I couldn't help but go back and get more!
Piroshky Piroshky - famous Russian bakery...this time I got sauerkraut, carrot, and cabbage. Was trying to be more "authentic" in my picking, but next time? I'm going for a potato/cheese or something sweet. This was a bit tooooo interesting for my tastebuds.

It was good to be out today...

I'm looking forward to what God/life will bring my way next week...especially my husband. I miss him...:-) Speaking of, I passed Mars Hill Grad School yesterday. Craig starts in the Fall. Exciting!!!

My two favorite "P"'s

My kitty's Paw:


Yes, you heard me right..
A. I said "my" kitty
and
2. it's true. It's a pretty cute paw.

My new favorite snack! I'm addicted (thank you, CraigLockhart)! Wasabi Peas...yummmmm


That's about all I have to say for today...it was a "sort-of" gnarly Tue and Wed this week, so...I thought I'd dwell on some things that make me smile...Peace Out!

Our First Weekend!!!!

Late Friday afternoon, we made impromptu plans with our friends Herb and Cara. What a great way to spend our first weekend in Seattle! Unpacking unschmaking - spending time with friends is definitely what we were craving!! So we scrambled to get our house as guest-ready as possible (i.e. short-sheeting their bed)

and met them Friday evening around 630pish. Had a great time that night catching up on life, love, etc. Afterward, we walked back to our place and spent some time up on our roof deck. Lucky for Seattle that we had Herb and Craig to hold up the Space Needle...:-)

Saturday we spent most of the day walking around Seattle - I'm really starting to enjoy this city - so beautiful here! Sadly, we discovered there are scattered blocks here and there that aren't the safest to walk alone, so I shall keep that in mind when exploring solo. Honestly, I was shocked to see the blatant drug use in the middle of the day, and it stayed with me all weekend. I also had the feeling that this might be just the place God needs for us to be for the next couple of years. In what capacity, I don't know...but I'll be praying to have an open heart for where that might be. So after our walk, we had thai (again!) for dinner, then a low-key evening of a movie (3:10 to Yuma), junior mints, Mike & Ike, popcorn, and wine! YUM!!! And- great movie! :-)

Sunday, we found ourselves back at Pesos for breakfast. Along our walk there, I had an unfortunate phone call from one of my credit card companies - someone out there was using my card to make itunes purchases...ergh. New card on its way, and I'm most certain this squirrellie will be caught - seems like this wasn't a professional...! I just wonder how...and when...someone got my card's number....I shred everything.....sad. But glad it was caught early!!! :-)

Cara and I went to a spa after breakfast...and believe me, she most likely needed that massage after being in the car with me! She was kind enough to actually be my partner in crime on my first excursion in Seattle without Craig. Should I say? Yes. I will. I managed to get lost WITH Trudy (our pet GPS) AND the spa was only 2 miles away. But guess what? I know my way around a bit better now! lol!!! :-) Oh- and something we discovered after trying to find a place that could handle 2 massage appointments at once - Seattle is NOT a spa town! So - Cara had a massage, and I had a manicure. Another odditty....manicure/pedicures are not something the peeps here get into, unless it's summer. Not me. I'm not going to let my toes and nails go to the wayside just b/c there's not sunshine every day. the end.

Before taking the Harji back to the Seaport, we went to Pike Place Market - FUN!!!! Here's a few pictures of our time there:

The newlyweds...

- My first bouquet of Seattle flowers..sweet... :-)

Romeo oh Romeo

I took this picture last night from our Juliet balcony...it was tres pretty... Ok, so my camera doesn't really capture it, so you'll just have to trust me!

(oh - and I think I figured out the picture thing now...)

Speaking of....here are a couple of our apartment...it's starting to look more and more like a home each day!

(living room) (cute Craig in said living room)

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Oh My the Thai...

Is soooooooooooo good here! There are Thai food restaurants scattered on almost every corner. We've been to 2 so far (Craig's been to 3) and I am already addicted! YUMMMMMMmmmmmm..............

That's all for today so far!!!

Have a Happy Friday and Happy Happy Birthday to my friend Brayden Durbin! He's six today!

Hello Seattle!!

After a 2 year long-distance relationship, Craig and I were married May 17th, 2008 in Denver, CO. What a whirlwind month of May - all of our things shipped to Seattle, WA, a beautiful wedding in Denver, fantastic party our friends thew to celebrate, relaxing honeymoon in Napa Valley, back to LA-then San Diego (another lovely day...a picnic to remember...thank you Citywalk family!)- back to LA - one more kickin' party, and away we went. We're up in Seattle now, unpacking bits each day and settling in as best we can.

Our neighborhood is growing on me, but here's how my first 2 days went...

DAY ONE:

1. Almost hit a car as I was leaving our parking garage
b. Then almost hit a girl on a bike
3. Did my hair before leaving the house, and was immediately rained on.
4. Need new clothes and new shoes. Must go shopping ASAP. I look …like I’m from a different planet. No black = No good
5. Trying my best not to cry.

BUT – our place is beautiful, my husband rocks, and I know that these are all just withdrawal symptoms from moving out of Sherman Oaks..:-)

Shortly after I wrote this email, I found something else had happened - A bird POO'D on my HEAD! I took a picture, but I'm still fumbling my way around this world of blogging....

DAY TWO:

This morning I woke up to the sound of seagulls in the background. Much better than being pooped on, like yesterday. I awoke happy and ready to start my day. In fact, we found and unpacked our new coffee pot last night, so this morning was extra delicious! We’re starting to make a dent in our unpacking – it’s looking more and more like the cute place that it is.

One thing to point out, if you haven’t yet heard - Seattle people cannot stand California people. It’s very strange. I don’t understand the division….I’ve never felt that way towards people. Today at the grocery store (it’s across from Craig’s office and has a Starbucks inside), the checker told me that Seattle has wayyy more good to it than California does. We’ll see. After the checker experience, Craig’s co-workers confirmed for me that Seattle people DO NOT like California people.
Um. I’m a California people. I couldn’t not be California if I tried.

TRUTH ALERT – (I tried. I told the guy I was from the Midwest, and spent the last “few” years in LA. Afterward, I felt TERRIBLE and have decided I will NOT EVER again deny my last 11 beautiful, wonderful years in loving California. It is so much a part of who I am, where I’ve been, and who I’ve become. So…sorry California and sorry Renee and sorry to all of you who are reading this. I won’t ever ever again do that! Besides, look at me. I’m TOTALLY from California. NO ONE says “Totally,” “for sure,” or is half as “chipper” as I am-even on a bad day. Couldn’t hide LA if I tried! AND I don’t want to!!!!! Lol!!! )

Last night, we walked to Racha Thai (fantastic thai place around the corner from us). On the way there, we passed a man and a woman, both on the verge of falling apart. They had raggedy faded jeans, missing teeth, sort of dirty and she had a worn, yellowed half-shirt on. Anyway, as we passed them, he was saying to her, “you are soooo beautiful.” It was sweet and sad all at the same time. Then, RIGHT after that, we passed a younger older lady (in her late 40s probably) – thin, again- worn clothes, sort of mousy looking with cheap pink lipstick (looked like a color from an early 80s Avon catalog). She had a thin, cream-colored scarf over her head and big sunglasses (no sun here). Atop the scarf? A pink tiara.
These are my neighbors. What a different flavor from Sherman Oaks!

Oh- and Nine Inch Nails is in concert across the street from Craig’s office next month.

We’ve been wondering what in the world we’re doing here. But – today is day 2, and if I didn’t have these stories, I’d have NOTHING to write about! I'm excited to find what God has in store for us here!! I think..;-)