Whew. Weekend Re-Cap.

Yes, I know it's Wednesday. I know you people have jobs. But I'm just now finishing my weekend and getting to the re-cap! Dealwitit.

Anywhoos, this weekend was BUH-IZY. Labor Day weekend is always crazy though, right? I wonder if next year I could swing having no plans...hrm...if I am mysteriously not answering my phone/emails/fb this time next year it means I've gone into hiding!

All good stuff though. Starting with a birthday dinner for Paula at FareStart. FS is awesome and I'm really glad Paula gave us a great excuse to all dine there.

Look it's Kymber and The Merkles! Woo!

My Date :)

Dinner started with a yummy bisque. Paula and I had a food-styling-off. It got pretty serious.

Tasty dessert! Nice plating :) It was really fun to have the whole gang in one room all politeish and dining classy-style. Thanks again for being born, Paula!

Friday I stole some time away to meet up with some of my ladies. We decided we had to soak up whatever last rays of warmth where here before the rain rolled in for good...so we went to Sambar.

I got this delightful drink. No idea what it was but it was fall-colored and lovely.

Megs basking in sunlight post water skiing.

Kim with her fun drink. It was such a cute little place! Definitely recommend it :)

Oooh, and Saturday we got to celebrate the marriage of our friends Brandon and Ally at this gorgeous location right above Pike Place Market. It was SO much fun. Too much fun. I'd promised my aching feet that after a full day of my Grandma's 90th (stay tuned for that re-cap) party we hosted that I would not dance. Nope, didn't stop me. GAWD! Can't help it. The energy was high and everyone was super happy for Brandon and Ally. The speeches were amazing, too. Waterworks!

Next day: Bumbershoot. The cohab and I had to skip a few of the past B'shoots because we were in DC, so we made sure we didn't miss it. I had to see The Moondoggies! I'd never seen them, and they rocked. 6-Degrees of Murphy fact: lead vocals and guitarist Kevin Murphy, is (duh!) brother to my girls Molly Murphy and Andrea Murphy. Six degrees! There are even more degrees, but I'll save it for the next party I see y'all at. They just released their new album, Tidelands. Go check it out!

Of course it wouldn't be Bumbershoot without enjoying the music from under the space needle, in a light Seattle drizzle. Good thing we Northfaced-Suited-Up before we came. It was no biggie!

In fact, the rain and maybes the economy and perhaps lack of mainstage draw kept most of the crowds away. LOVED that part of it! You could actually walk around Seattle Center for once.

Y'all, I had a full, fabulous, exhausting combo of a weekend. Stay tuned for tomorrow's re-cap of my Grandma's 90th Birthday Party. Let me just tell you, it was wild! ;)

Mad Men

Check out this Rolling Stone slideshow of pics from the set of Mad Men. Lawd GET ME THESE leopard print heels!

List & Comm: Favorite Things

I think we're due for another "Favorite Things" List, aren't we?

1. Speaking of favorite things, and The Sound of Music, how about we start with my favorite: Captain Von Trapp! MEOW.
2. Good News. Who doesn't love being surprised with good news? I hope good news comes in threes also!
3. Prickly Pear Mojitos.
4. The Party Store.
5. My freshly re-strung tennis racket. Now it makes that "pop" sound again. Finally :)
6. Pizza. I can't get enough.
7. That one last grill of the the summer. With a beer.
8. Cohab wants me to list: "College effing Football" and "Not taking the bar". Word.
9. Crisp Fall-is-coming air
10. Pumpkin Spice Lattes! (countdown is on)

Ok now you go: tell me some more of your favorite things, y'all! :)

Maltby Cafe: a problem

It's a day full of food praise.

People: go to the Maltby Cafe. It's worth the drive and the wait for this giant-sized delicious cinnamon roll:

My parents discovered this spot and now every Saturday all I can think is: "Maltby Maltby Maltby". Their breakfasts are HUGE and really good! Sigh, living at home again!

Who likes ice cream? (you know who you are)

Dudes, my sis and I played some tennis and dayum, do you know where the tennis courts are? Right next to our fave Everett thai place. The stuff just whafts over to the tennis courts and it's bad news. Naturally, we worked up an appetite and had to hit it up for lunch. A super pleasant surprise came when they brought us these really cute spoons of coconut ice cream. It was sooo good! You can believe that too because I am not one to go gaga for ice cream or coconut. Loved it! If you're ever in Everett, swing through Lanna Thai. It's where it's at.

Paula: Dirrrty Thirty!

This Girl turned 30 last weekend:

Isn't she the cutest? You had to wear something that started with the letter "P" for Paula and I wore pink, obvs, but some people went all out!

KJ had pearls, pink, purple, pumas, and a pony hat!

She totes won. This was also a "mustache" themed party, so I got crafty and made some 'staches for everybody with just fun paper and double-stick tape. You could rock it ring-style:

And then pose all cool-like...

Thanks for being born, Paula! I'm so lucky to have you as a friend! Also I loved having an excuse for a paper craft :)

Other Big Moments :)

Some other big stuff happened during my blog hiatus!

Liz + Hunter = LINTER! Our dear friend Liz married her prince right along the water at the Ballard Marina. It was a gorgeous night for a wedding. Oh man, and we all had a blast! Even successfully got the DJ to stay longer after convincing him that the party was indeed, not over yet ;) Thank you Linter for giving us a fabulous occasion to celebrate!

Remember when I used to blog?

It was a long time ago, like before the cohab and I went camping weeks ago, and before Blogger decided to charge $ and make you store your photos on picasa. Guess who's switching to Wordpress as soon as she can figure out how? I am soooo over blogger.

Sigh. Moving on! Lots has happened since my last post, including the cohab n' I went camping!

I present to you, our camp site:

Isn't it cute? And oh my, just a bit further from our site, was the "group site", which was breathtaking! You Guys: perfect spot for a giant camping trip! Just look at that view!

It even came complete with cool stumps.

We got ambitious one night and grilled chicken and asparagus - turned out soooo good! Maybe it was the Uno that we played I won that made it even better.

Lake Sylvia :)

Ok so you guys: one morning we thought we'd go for a walk on some of the trails. Turns out it was a much longer walk than anticipated! It was totally worth it though - we ran into some cool stuff, like this blade from the old saw mill with a tree growing around it.

This was where we got a bit concerned. Thanks so much, helpful signage.

Go towards the light!

Peace to the forest!

Organic lace :)

Not lost yet. We're still confident.

Pretty...

Orangutan-esque moss...

a wee little fern. I got arty farty.

Fungus amungus!

The camping "look"

bells

there be the damn!

Thistle. Say it with me: "thistle". It's fun to say isn't it?

Omg guys I want to go back right now! It was so quiet and peaceful out there. I love that campfire smell. In fact, I think my hair STILL smells like it.

The Wilderness - What a Thrill!

The cohab and I are going camping! I'm super excited since we've only been camping a few short trips together so far. I'm gonna be a real Wilderness Girl! (couldn't help it - and side-note, why don't I have a friggin' cape yet?!)

{via DesignSponge}

{via pricklypearbloom}

{via CountryLiving}

{via ohdeedoh}

My Top Ten Favorite Camp Things:

1. Smores
2. Fresh Pine Air
3. Canoeing
4. Stargazing
5. Card Playing
6. Fireside Smell
7. No phones/internet
8. Not showering (this is probably just me)
9. Fishing (aka "faux" fishing, still fun)
10. Anything made in a pie iron!

What are your favorite things about camping?