Seattle Part 1

Back in August my family took a little road trip up to where I spent the first 14 years of my life! haha it was such a blast and we saw so much! We even stopped by our old houses which was fun. Its crazy how much things have changed in 8 years. I took like 238584634 pictures, plus just got the ones from my dads camera, hence the reason this is only Part 1.

Day 1

The first day we were there was absolutely beautiful, and perfect for a baseball game. The Mariners were playing the Red Sox, so naturally Joel was very excited. I was excited about the chili nachos I was able to consume, as well as the garlic fries. haha

Marshall, Joel and Dad
(stud muffins)
The game was a blast and the Mariners beat the Sox which made it that much better. Joel is now even more adamant about the fact that we MUST live in a city that has an MLB team so we can go all the time.

Day 2

The second day we went down to the locks where they take the ships out of the Ocean and into Lake Washington...its kind of like the Panama Canal, where they raise and lower the water. It was really cool to see, and we even got to see some Salmon in the latters! Right next to the docks are botanical gardens, it was gorgeous and we had weather to match!

My Cute Mom and Dad :)

That night we went down to the Kirkland Waterfront and watched the sunset. We got ice cream and strolled along the little shops, made me miss living in the city :(

Day 3

We drove about an hour, maybe 2 (I of course fell asleep) into the mountains to go on this amazing hike to an even more amazing lake, Lake 22.

Could this be any prettier? I think not. Joel and Marshall got down in the water to look for salamanders, but it was FREEZING so that didnt last too long. I was too busy taking a million pictures :) After lunch we decided to hike around the lake, which ended up taking waaaay longer than we thought, and had to trek through snow at a few points. but the pictures were definitely worth the walk!


I dont remember what day this was, haha but we went to Pike Place Market and shopped and sampled, again, made me miss living in the city. My dad took us to this amazing fish taco place on the water where we enjoyed lunch and a view. It was called Anthonys and they had the best fish tacos AND clam chowder ive ever had.

Day 4

Joel and I, along with my little brother Marshall, and my brother and sister in law, Devin and Heidi, went to Wild Waves! I went here as a kid and couldnt wait to go back. The park itself was decent, but I think the nostalgia of it all was what made it such a fun experience.

Day 5

We took a ferry over to the olympic penninsula and drove up through Sequim to Port Angeles where we ate lunch. We tried to eat at "bella italia," you know, the place where Bella and Edward eat in the book? haha but they werent open for lunch. I was pretty disappointed...but of course I had to get a cheesy picture :)

We then headed up to Hurricane Ridge, these mountains were huge, and the drive up was beautiful.

We went on a little walk and found this cool little ski patrol shack, they had old school ski lifts that looked like they were 100 years old, my dad was convinced that people still use them, but im skeptical. haha

After Hurricane Ridge we drove down (through Forks!) to the Hoh Rainforest. It was so beautiful and unlike anything id ever seen. The trees were so fuzzy with hanging moss, and the colors were awesome. All of the amazing pictures will soon be a post of their own, there are too many good ones to pick just a few!

Marshall, Me and hot husband :)

I love my dad, he is simply one of the coolest, most hilarious people I know. This picture captures his humor perfectly haha

Day 6

After going to the Hoh, we went back to Forks where we stayed the night. It was kind of weird being there because everything was still covered in Twilight stuff. ha but it was fun and we found an amazing mexican restaraunt, best burritto ive ever had. haha the next day we headed down through the La Push indian reservation to Second Beach...also in Twilight! We got there early enough that the tide was out, and the fog was rolling in, it was so beautiful.

When we got back into Seattle, we had to stop and eat at Dicks. This place has delicious old school burgers, fries and shakes. Its like 500 times better than in'n'out...I had definitely missed it!

These are my windy ferry pictures, haha it was like impossible to take a good picture

Devin and Heidi :)

haha joels hair is awesome and fluffy, i love it!
We had such a blast, and I was glad Joel was able to finally see where I grew up. Going to a big city has made me really excited for Joel to go to grad school, I cant wait for a new adventure in a new city! :)

Must Read

These are all of the books that I am currently obsessed with. I have absolutely loved them and definitely recommend you snag one and start devouring it asap. :)















*I would love any comments with your recommendations for new books to dive into!

I can feel it.

We went with some good friends to the fair last night

and it was the best way to say goodbye to summer.

While its still hot, I can feel summer leaving.

But im ok with that. Im ready for fall colors.

Im ready for my extensions! Sweaters. My Birthday.

Halloween! Decorations. Boots!

Haunted houses. Apple Cider.

I. Am. Excited! I dont know why, but once the fair is over I feel like its ok
to start putting up fall decor. haha is that weird?

ANYWHO. The fair was a blast!

Really I was most excited about the the crappy food I would get to eat.

Including deep friend cheesecake, which yes, I did eat.

and YES its amazing.

We went with our friends Kevin & Aubrey
and Molly & Spencer.
Kevin and Aubrey have two little twin boys, who are adorable.
(they're also the reason Joel is always asking me if we can have a baby)
Here is little Beck and Joel, So cute!


Kevin, Dawson, Joel
Dawson's face is the best, I told him to smile really big
haha so dang cute

Me and Molly, Love that lady!
(and her rad glasses!)
Me and my hot sweetheart! :)

I cant believe summer is over.

Time goes by waaaay to fast.

I cant believe that I am going to turn 23 on monday.

23!!

I definitely do not feel that old.

I keep having to ask Joel, am I turning 22? or 23?

and I have been telling people that Joel is 24...when really he is 25 haha

I guess this last year has just gone by too quickly?

xoxo

MmMmMmmm...

I have been working at my job now for about 3 years. which is crazy, I cant believe i've been there that long. But anyways, in my working experience I have found that most people in general are easily influenced by good food.

Example:

Me- Hey Boy, can you trade me days off so I can have saturday off instead of tuesday?

Boy- That sucks, I dont want to give up my saturday off for a tuesday...

Me- Ill bake you something? Brownies, Oreos, cookies??

Boy- Only if you make oreos.

Its amazing the influence sweets can have. and these little guys pictured above are the top dog. no one can say no to these, because they are simply just amazing! and other than being time consuming, they are really easy to make. and they are my husbands favorite, which just makes them that much better to make! :)

Homemade Oreos

Cookies

1 package Devils Food cake mix

1/2 Cup Oil

2 Eggs

Mix above ingredients together. Mix the dough into dime sized balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 min. let cookies cool.

Frosting

8 Oz. Cream Cheese

1/2 Square Butter

2 tsp. Vanilla

2-4 Cups Powdered Sugar

***SECRET INGREDIENT- 2 tsp. Almond Flavoring -Thanks Julie Palmer :)

Mix all frosting ingredients until smooth. Frost backs of cookies and place together to make sandwich cookie.

These cookies never disappoint and are easliy doubled or tripled for parties or get togethers. I usually double the cookie recipe, and single the frosting and still have frosting left over.

So moral of my story is that the way to pretty much anyones heart is through these cookies :)