Baker City visit

Over Memorial Day weekend I headed east for the weekend to see my Bethfriend in Baker City, Oregon. The drive should have only taken about 5.5hours but took more like 6.5hours when everything was said and done because of a car accident on i90 going over the pass. Bummer!

^^The view right out of Baker City from i84. Beth told me they call those mountains the little Alps^^

Beth's parents were also in Baker for the weekend, so when I got to town her mom handed me a tequila shot and then we all loaded up and headed to Beth's aunt's camp site for a family BBQ. After the BBQ, Beth and I changed, put on lipstick and headed out to Barley Brown's Brewery (where Beth works) to watch some live music and drink some beer. We met Beth's friend Carly there, shouted at each other over the music, and eventually we headed to the VFW for some video poker, karaoke, $2 beers and a koozy for me to remember the trip by! When it was time to go home Beth called us a cab and we had to stand outside for approximately 5-10 minutes and HOLY COW Baker city gets hot in the day and then cold as fuck at night. It was like it was the dead of winter in June. How is that even possible?! I was dying. Beth thought I was a baby. Whatever, Beth!

^^Beth's dad took this very red-eyed picture of us before we headed out to Barley's^^

 ^^Music up on a stage at Barley's, genius!^^

 ^^Beth, me and Carly with our $2 beers and our VFW koozies^^

^^Carly killing at it karaoke on the most beautiful karaoke stage everrr^^

Sunday morning we all woke up early and then Beth, her parents, her brother Neil and I headed out to breakfast at the Lone Pine Café. We sat outside and ordered Mimosas which were fresh squeezed and it was all really great. But then, mid way through my delicious meal (I had a fancy BLT that was really good and really overstuffed) I decided to pull out some pickled onion and tomato make my sandwich more manageable and when I pulled out the tomato a LIVE SPIDER CAME OUT WITH IT. It was covered in sauce and it was the weirdest thing ever. We all just stared at each other and then Beth picked it up and threw it off the table and I didn't know what to do because A LIVE SPIDER WAS IN MY SANDWICH. WAS IT THE ONLY ONE? DID I EAT ITS FAMILY? AM I GROWING SPIDERS INSIDE MY STOMACH AS WE SPEAK?! Of course that happened to me.

After breakfast we headed to Beth's grandpa's house (where she lived when she first moved there) so we could meet. I am obsessed with that man. He is the sweetest ever and he of course invited me back to Baker City to stay with him whenever I want because we're now besties.

When our breakfast settled Beth and I met back up with Carly for a hike up Indian Rock Trail with Carly's Frenchie, Herbert, and Beth's Boston Terrier, Baxter. The dogs were not the hugest fans of the hike, but did pretty well overall. And at the end of the hike there was an awesome view which we thoroughly enjoyed (in large part thanks to Carly's forethought in bringing a delicious IPA for us to share) until Beth found a tick on her and then we basically ran back down the hill.

^^Hiking up, up, up through the awesome wildflowers^^

^^Babes + Dogs^^ 

 ^^view from the top^^

 ^^Beth enjoying the view just minutes before she would find a tick on her, EW^^

Beth drove us to the trail head and after a quick stop at the lake we were driving home, Herbert in my lap in the front seat, AC blasting on him trying to get him to cool off when I felt something behind my ear. I instinctively brushed it and immediately knew what was happening. I brushed again harder and a tick fell into my chest. I freaked out, told Beth to stop immediately, jumped out of the car, Carly jumped out with me, I freak out more, the tick was on the inside of my shirt, I pulled my shirt down, Carly tried to brush the tick off, it didn't work, and eventually, after she's seen basically all of my boobs Carly picks the tick up off of me and throws it on the ground. We breathed a collective sigh of relief. I owe her my life forever for saving me from the tick and potential lime disease and just general EW-ness. Thank you Carly!!

After the hike we went home to do full body tick checks and then headed back to Barley Brown's for more, very necessary beers.

That evening Beth and I had a delicious dinner at the old timey Haines Steak House with her parents before calling it an early night.

It took me a million hours to get home the next day despite being on the road at 8:30am thanks to another crash on i90 over the pass. I'm never again heading east on i90 on a 3 day weekend, but the trip was great overall and it was so fun to see where my Bethfriend has been living and to drink some delicious Barley Brown's beer!! 

Pizza and Reunion Prep and Too Much Beer in Seattle

This past weekend was Seattle-y.

Friday night there was pizza and rosé and updates on either everyone’s babies or their careers at this new Ethan Stowell pizza joint, Frelard Pizza Co. with my sorority sisters, because Ally was visiting from NYC:

^^Julia, Erin, Ally, Elizabeth, Kate, Kylee, me and AJo^^

After dinner + a drink I headed home because I had to be up early to do reunion prep with Katie on Saturday. We got coffee and picked up pictures and got things from Dustin and ran my car through the car wash (necessary reunion activity, obvs), and went to the craft store and to Costco. Then we went back to my apartment and ordered Indian food for lunch (butter chicken and nann 4ever!) and got spray glue all over everything I own, including my feet, while gluing pictures to poster boards. But after it was done I felt a million times better about the reunion. Having someone to help me with all of that and to gossip with me while we were doing all of the prep made it sooooooooo much less terrible. Thank you, Katie!! 

When we were done reunion prepping, Katie’s husband Josh met us and we went to Seafood Fest in Ballard (for the second year in a row) where we met my coworker Dave, his GF Tia and Dustin’s coworker (B)Art. Some ate Seafood, all drank beer and then eventually we got in an Uber XL and headed to a brewery to meet Rob and Matt who were 1/2 way through an all-day 12-brewery tour. We finished it with them. Can you say shit-show?

^^Josh, Katie, Me, Rob and Dave in the back^^

Oh and at one point I was too tired to walk so Rob gave me a piggy pack ride. Friends since middle school (fun fact: Rob’s mom was my preschool teacher and my cheer coach):

^^Piggy backkkk^^

^^Me, Rob, Matt, Katie, Josh, (B)Art & Tia being sad that Art’s wife, Amy wasn’t there, obviously^^

On Sunday I watched Netflix and snacked on leftover Indian food for a significant portion of the morning. When I finally got up, Dustin and I did a Goodwill drop off, had a v fancy date at Bahama Breeze in the Southcenter Mall Parking Lot (complete with terrible live music and a beverage in a young coconut), shopped a little, went to Ikea and then watched a Redbox while sipping on Mojitos complete with mint from his urban, deck garden.

Successful Seattle weekend, right there!

This coming Saturday is my 10 year high school reunion (which I’ve been planning for what feels like a million years). I’m super excited for it and I think it’s going to be really fun. I’m also kind of excited for it to be over because it has been a lot more work than I initially anticipated. Let that be a lesson to you, boys and girls, when your former class president comes to you and says he’s not going to plan anything and asks you to do it, remember it’s a LOT more work and stress than you think it’s going to be! Move forward informed. Ok that’s all. BYE4NOW.

A bunch of Bald Eagle sightings & things (‘MERICA!!!)

Oh geez, life has been BUSY lately. The end of Microsoft’s fiscal year and the end of the calendar year are the busiest times for me at work, add to that the fact that I’m planning my 10 year high school reunion which is taking place mid-July, and family stuff, and graduations, and birthdays, and the usual summer activities (yay summer!), and growing out my bangs, and everything else. things have been a little overwhelming (cue the reunion-related stress dreams).

At least it’s been really, really nice out in Seattle the past few months. No June-u-ary to be had this year. That’s meant that I’ve got to be outside a lot and also, randomly, see a ton of bald eagles lately. Let me tell you about some of the best sightings!

‘MERICA 1:

^^Shrimp Fest 2015 beer garden^^

During the summer a group of us go to Brinnon, WA whenever we can to camp at Josh’s family’s property. The weekends are always filled with fresh, grilled seafood, sore backs from sleeping in cars, too many beers, and campfire mishaps. We try and make it to Brinnon over Memorial Day Weekend so that we can go to Shrimp Fest, which is super dinky but there are belt sander races, and a beer garden, and fried food, so really it’s perfect. Weekends in Brinnon always include a million bald eagle sightings. During this last trip I learned that Juvenile Bald Eagles don’t have white heads and tails. They’re still huge though, and once you know what they look like they’re super easy to spot. There were a few bald eagles that soared over our camp site all weekend.

^^conquering dog fears and fashion fears all at the same time^^

Also, while camping, I pet this very scary looking dog and I discovered that SmartWool socks with Birkenstocks is the MOST magical, comfortable combo ever.

‘MERICA 2:

^^Rattlesnake Lake^^

A few weekends ago Dustin and I decided to escape the city heat and head out to Rattlesnake Lake for the day. Dustin grilled hotdogs on his portable grill, I drank rose spritzers, and we fed ducks by hand. More importantly though, THIS is when we saw the MOST majestic bald eagle sighting of them all! EVER! There were eagles soaring overhead and at one point one was directly over our heads and then quickly turned around, dove down and caught a fish from the water right in front of us and flew away with the fish in its talons!!!! Merica for the win! Expired sunscreen not for the win though, because we both ended up with really severe sunburns :(:(((

  ^^Dustin, the duck whisperer^^

‘MERICA 3:

^^me, Adrienne & Gaby in Hood River^^

Two weekends ago, Dustin and I went to Hood River for the night. Driving on i84 from Portland to Hood River I saw two bald eagles fly over head. That drive is super beautiful to begin with, add a little America goodness and it was like adding sprinkles on your ice cream cake! So much goodness. When I got to Hood River, I met Dustin and his childhood BFF + his wife for taco pizza and beers. Dustin and I then met up with Gaby who was graduating from college that weekend (!!!!!!) and we ran into an old high school friend of mine, Adrienne, on the street and ended up grabbing drinks with everyone.

Saturday morning was hot. Dustin and I got breakfast sandwiches then morning beverages and walked around downtown Hood River before he had to leave for a family thing and I had a hair appointment. Insert gratuitous post-cut selfie here:  

^^New hair, hayyyy^^

After my hair appointment I drove to Portland where I stayed with my cousin Tad and his lovely S/O, Kelsie for the night. We met up with our other cousin and his family for Mexican food at a hole-in-the-wall with outdoor seating and then drinks on their patio, during which Tad ran into our cousin’s screen door and kinda broke it and I laughed harder than I’ve laughed in a really long time. We also listened to this song really loud in Kelsie’s Land Rover (“DRIVE USSSS, KELSIE!”).

The next morning after breakfast covered in gravy, we went to my uncle Bert’s house (per my demand) where we drank ice cold Keystone Lights on his patio until I had to leave for graduation. Gaby graduated from PSU and I got to sit with our good friend Dan and his daughter Allison during the ceremony. After graduation we all had dinner together and I didn’t get back to Seattle until like 11:30pm. #exhausted #worthit 

^^Congratulations, Gaby! I’m so, SO proud of you!!!^^

‘MERICA 4:

I often see bald eagles on my way to and from work. They like to sit on top of light posts on the west end of the 520 bridge. A high point in my very long, very traffic-y commute which is totally worth it because I love living in Seattle and I love working at Microsoft. Being a young professional is pretty cool.

Oh, and bonus (similar) ‘Merica! Last weekend Natalie, Josh, Katie and I went to the Washington Brewer’s Festival in Redmond where we made friends with the guys pouring the White Salmon-area beers and found out that “locals drink for free!” yay! On our way over to Redmond, we saw a bald eagle soaring over Lake Washington.

 ^^Katie, me and Natalie at the WA Brewer’s Festival 2015^^

So yes, lots of America! Lots of friendship! Lots of Summertime goodness!  PS, I ordered this tank online the other day. Fingers crossed it gets here by the 4th of July. Counting down the days until my favorite holiday + a much needed long weekend! Oh and I’m also counting down until the end of MSFT’s Fiscal Year too (June 30th, Hey-O!). Kbye4now!

Seattle Sunday-Funday

I spent last weekend in Seattle for the first time in like, a MILLION YEARS (over exaggeration much? only a little? ok). It was really great to finally spend a weekend here. Friday night I Zumba-ed then hung out with Dustin. Saturday I woke up early to make him breakfast and see him off to Eugene, OR. I went for a walk around Green Lake with Natalie, scrubbed my apartment for many hours, made cookies, and went to see a movie (This is where I Leave You which was actually hilarious and down to earth) + drinks + dinner at Skillet Diner with Josh and Katie before passing out at 10pm.

Sunday was deemed Sunday Funday and I spent the day drinking beer in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood and girl talking and eating two dinners with Brittan, Natalie and Meli. Our first stop was at Reuben’s Brews which was a total mix up because Meli is gluten free and can’t drink beer and Reuben’s Brews didn’t have any beer or wine so I ended up having most of my delicious pumpkin beer alone (because I showed up first and ordered w/o checking my phone) and then Natalie met me and we went to the next place together. But it was really nice outside and I had a beer in my hand so it worked out fine.

^^ Pumpkin beer at Reuben’s Brews^^

Our next stop was Hilliard’s Brewery. After going inside and asking the bartender if they had anything other than beer on the menu, we were informed that it is actually illegal (??) in Washington to sell any alcoholic drink other than beer at a brewery. Even cider is a no-go! So we ordered a round of beers because they had a nice outdoor seating area and it was actually nice in Seattle in October (WHAT?!) and we got Meli a coffee which she spiked with her purse flask (haha we lose at being adults). We sat outside and chatted about all the girl things before making our next move. P.S. if you don’t have friends who online date and tell you about their dating stories, get some ASAP, it’s magical! 

^^Meli, Brittan and Natalie at Hilliard’s^^

We headed to King’s Hardware after that for some food which was actually really delicious. Or maybe we were just that hungry? 

Our next stop was Percy’s where they have $13 bottles of happy hour champagne on Sundays which fueled SO MUCH GIRL TALK. I seriously got my fill on Sunday and it was the best.

^^Brittan and Natalie^^

We eventually decided that we were getting hungry again so we headed to The Gerald for dinner round 2. Lucky for us it was Seattle Restaurant Week, so we were able to split 2 delicious, 3-course tasting menus between the 4 of us, which meant two deserts to share which was really the best way to end the night.

From there we headed home, happy and full. On my way I stopped to get things for Dustin’s birthday cake (his birthday was Monday) and it wasn’t until after I got home, exhausted from my day of fun, that I realized I was missing one of my round cake pans and couldn’t make his cake. I decided to call it a wash and went to bed instead of baking a cake. I ended up grabbing some cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes on my way home from work Monday and it all worked out fine!

Hooray for weekends spent in Seattle. Speaking of, is it Friday yet? ;)

Hops Fest 2014

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: my favorite part of fall is the beer. I love pumpkin beer, of course, but I also really love fresh hop beer. Every year Hood River, Oregon, hosts a fresh hop beer festival called Hops Fest. I’ve been the last 3 or 4 years in a row and it’s always a blast. It was really nice this year (last year it rained, a lot, boo) which made the whole thing that much more magical. I drove down to Hood River on Saturday morning after a Friday evening spent Zumba-ing then eating a Dustin made quesadilla while watching Revenge of the Nerds for the first time, which, so good! On my way I pit stopped in Portland to grab a cold brewed ice coffee from Marissa so that I would have plenty of energy for my day drinking and then headed straight for the homeland. When I got to Hood River I met Beth and her coworkers Amy and Jessica for some Mexican food before Beth and I headed down town to Hops Fest.

I often feel like the prettiest, most popular princess when I’m in White Salmon/Hood River. I think it’s mostly because I know so many people there and they all always seem legitimately excited to see me. The feeling is definitely mutual. #iloveitthere

One of the first people I ran into at Hops Fest was my first ever boyfriend, Colby. We “dated” in 6th grade after he asked my friend to ask me out. Obviously I said yes. So much romance! Things didn’t last long and we ended up breaking up on the playground before we got the chance to so much as hold hands. Good times. Anyway, I ran into Colby and he proceeded to tell me that it looked like I was wearing a MuuMuu. Whatever, Colby. Sweet Overalls. We decided we were #obvi the best dressed at Hops Fest and took a picture!! 

^^Colby and I = Best Dressed at Hops Fest^^
^^Also, men may hate my dress but I can assure you it’s actually pretty amazing (and kind of warm without being hot) and I got a ton of compliments from girls on it. You can find it HERE if you’re interested! But definitely size down AT LEAST one size^^

I was also spotted by my mom’s childhood best friend, Renee. We took this picture to text to my mom:

I’m definitely not going to pretend like I wasn’t “that girl” on Saturday who was constantly asking everyone to “take our picture, pleaseeee?!”

Whatever, totally worth it.

At Hops Fest you pay a fee to get in and upon entry you get a plastic tasting mug and some tokens. One token gets you a taste of the beer, 4 gets you a full mug. I’m usually a big fan of doing the 1 token thing that way I can taste more delicious brews. However, near the end, I kept giving people I knew one token and would magically receive a full beer. I mean, I’m not complaining but also that was a lot of beers.

Also, you guys, the WORST thing happened to me. I was using the portapotty at the event and I sat my beer on top of the toilette paper holder and mid-pee it FELL ONTO THE GROUND. The little bit of beer in my cup got all over my booties and MY CUP WAS ALL OVER THE PORTAPOTTY GROUND! OMG. I had to go beg the event staff for a new cup, luckily they were pretty nice about it and switched the nasty cup for a clean one.

Anyway, day drinking, fun times, friends, we got drunk. Case in point these pictures from right before we left the beer garden:

^^Beth and Dana falling on the ground^^

  ^^Beth and I are so excited to see Dana!^^

Hops Fest ended around 9pm and then Beth and I decided it would be a really great/super fun/not at all terrible idea to go bar hopping on an empty stomach, because obviously we hadn’t already had enough to drink… We were so busy drinking that we forgot to eat dinner too. Bad news bears. We went to the pub to meet our friend Josh who just got off work and then we ended up at Jack’s. Oh man.

The next day I hung out at my parents’ house, snuggled with my Fluffy cat, picked a million tomatoes, apples, plumbs, and corn from their garden and visited with my Grandpa (or grandma’s second husband) before I headed back to Seattle. Obviously I had a blast this weekend despite having a little too much to drink. Maybe I was just exercising my liver for Vegas this weekend? Ha. Kidding guys. I know alcohol is dangerous and bad, plz don’t judge or lecture me! I don’t drink like that often. But yes, Hops Fest is my favorite and I can’t wait to go again next year!! Totally worth the drive!