Summer 2014 Disposable Camera Dump

Right before I headed back to White Salmon for the 4th of July weekend I thought it would be a great idea to pick up a disposable camera to capture the fun of my favorite holiday. It turns out a disposable camera actually has a lot of pictures on it, and it ended up taking me the entire summer to finish (4th of July – the weekend after Memorial Day). I packed that thing around with me everywhere and got made fun of a little, but you know what, I’m really digging the whole disposable camera thing. You get actual, hard copies of photos and I always opt for the CD too so I can have soft copies as well. I also learned that almost no one knows how to take a picture with one of those (so many fingers in the photos), and also people really like to bunny ear hard copy pics. Fun times!

Anyway, here is a summer recap by way of soft copy disposable camera photos:

The night before the 4th of July I decided to meet Beth for a post-work-beer at Chip’s (this really divey bar in Bingen, WA with a sign that says Liquor in the Front, Poker in the Back out front), we ended up running into a bunch of people I went to high school with and we convinced my brother and his BFF Jered to come join us. We definitely closed down the bar that night and it was actually a blast: ^^Jered, Josh, Beth and Brother Jim at Chip’s^^

On the 4th I went to the annual 4th of July party at the TREW house. I always dress up in my best America outfit for the 4th since it’s my favorite holiday everrrrr. This year did not disappoint:

^^Sarah and I with our matching America glasses^^

^^Captain America letting everyone it was shot time!^^

^^Beth and Capitan America + his mullet^^
    ^^Beth and I in our patriotic 4th of July gear^^

That same weekend Gaby and my friend Dan came through town (on an epic road trip) with his daughter Allison. I met them at The Gorge White House for lunch and a walk through the grounds:

 
I also went to a Mariner’s game with a huge group of friends and coworkers this summer. We ended up running into even more friends and had a total blast. We ended the night in Ballard where one of my flip flops broke so I decided to just go into a bar, Kings Hardware, with only one shoe on, HA:

^^A cute picture of Dustin and I “ruined” by a stranger giving him bunny ears and my coworker Dave photo bombing LOLZ^^

^^Dustin, Meli, Me, Brittan, Danielle, Natalie and Jeff^^ 

  ^^I also found some sorority sisters at the game: Allison, me, A Jo, Kate and Erin^^

In August, I went to Millstock, which is the best thing ever. The next day I took Brittan, Justin, Natalie and Millie to Hood River on our way out of the Dalles and back to Seattle. It was the middle of August and it was SO hot, so we decided to walk down the train tracks to the tressle. On the way we grabbed a bottle of wine from the Springhouse Cellars and bribed the bartender to discreetly open it for us so we could drink it straight from the bottle while swimming like the classy people we are:

There were also Sunday morning brunches and farmers market trips in Ballard with Brittan and Natalie, which is one of my very favorite things:

 
Memorial Day weekend, Brittan’s brother got married in the Dalles. I ended up meeting up with Brittan and Justin in Hood River the night before the wedding. We went to ALL  the bars and drank too much. I took them to Jack’s for the first time and got them their obligatory scorpion bowl which did not help the situation. Whatever, it was so fun!

I went to see Foster the People at Edgefield at some point in August with Gaby and Sarah. It was fun. After I met Beth and Tonya and Christa and we had girls night where we ran around taking shots and dancing our faces off. It was really sweaty that night too.

^^Beth, Christa, Moriva, me and Tonya. Moriva bartended us our first shot of the night – so let’s blame her for our shenanigans ;)^^

And finally, the weekend after Memorial Day I stayed in Seattle (literally the last weekend I spent in Seattle – omg really looking forward to NOT driving this weekend). I went to Friday night Zumba, I got drinks and dinner with Brittan and Natalie, and on Sunday I met up with Katie and Josh and Katie’s dad who was in town from Ecuador and we went wine tasting in Woodinville. It was awesome:

^^Josh, Katie and I^^

^^Katie’s dad with his “marshmallows”^^

Anddddddddd that was my summer! Hooray!

Sunday at the Woodland Park Zoo

I live in a neighborhood in Seattle called Green Lake. It’s just north of downtown, close to i5 and there is a 250 acre freshwater lake bordered all the way around by a park in the middle of everything, named Green Lake, of course! I really like my ‘hood. I also like that it neighbors Phinney Ridge/Greenwood, which is the awesome neighborhood where Dustin lives. Phinney has lots of great shops, bars, restaurants and the zoo!

Sunday we were supposed to float down a river with friends. But the weather didn’t cooperate (I will have to find another excuse to use this awesome tube I bought!). Everyone was bummed, but we decided to make the best of the situation and come up with a plan B. Our plan B was the zoo. Sunday morning Dustin and I went out for breakfast, which we rarely do anymore, after our favorite breakfast place closed down. It was nice to get out and enjoy breakfast together.

^^ I got the french brioche toast, an egg, coffee and a mimosa. I love having ALL the beverages at breakfast ^^

After breakfast we met Brittan and Justin at Woodland Park (which is the park surrounding the zoo, which also neighbors Green Lake Park) for some wine, pita chips and hummus on a blanket. 

I’ve been to the Woodland Park Zoo a few times since I’ve moved to Seattle. Usually with kids, one time with Dustin and now this time, with friends while a little buzzed from our wine prefunk. This time was the most fun time. We had a blast at the zoo!

^^ Selfie with a bear in the background ^^

Fun fact, Dustin used to work at the Portland zoo, so it’s always fun to go with him. He has lots of random zoo knowledge!

The 4 of us walked around, looked at the animals, stopped for a beer/bathroom break in the food court, and took selfies with animals.

^^ Orangutan selfie – Me, Brittan, Dustin and Justin ^^

All the animals seemed to be out and moving around while we were there. Apparently Sunday late afternoon is the time to go! Some of our favorite animals we saw on Sunday were the lion, giraffes, giant eagle, bears and penguins.

^^ Lion, rawr! ^^

Brittan and my favorite animals at the zoo, though, were the flamingos! They were so funny to watch. We decided to make up stories for each of the flamingo cliques (the real housewives, the lonely tweaker bird in the water, the trophy wives, the business men, etc.). It was awesome.

After the zoo we had dinner at The Ridge and then called it a night. It was a fun day.

Also of note this weekend, on Saturday morning I got up early, went to the Aveda Institute on Capitol Hill and got a facial. It was my first ever and my normally dry face still feels moisturized. It was very relaxing and I would recommend the Aveda Institute if you’re in the market for an affordable spa service!

After my facial I stopped for a coffee because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the Hill quite yet (after law school I rarely make it into that neighborhood) and as I was headed back to Green Lake, I had to stop for this picture:

 

Seattle was looking gorgeous on Saturday (Sunday too!). I don’t want Summer to end!

normal Seattle weekend things

I’ve been wanting to post on this space more often. I regularly find myself thinking about substantive things I’d like to write about, usually at inopportune times like while I’m driving or in the shower, but then when I sit down at my computer to write all I ever think to write about is what I did this weekend. So, that’s what you’re going to get today too. Hopefully I’ll have something different soon. Or maybe I’ll just stick with my usual Dear Diary, I did these things and it was so fun approach. Who knows?

This weekend: Friday night I got home from work and I sat on my couch watching New Girl on Netflix which has been so funny and amazing and it has made me weirdly nostalgic for all the regular network TV shows to return in the fall despite the fact that I’m not a huge TV watcher. Anyway, I sat there for a good long time thinking about how delicious a drink sounded (ok maybe how delicious some friendship sounded more than anything) before I finally decided that I needed to get out of my apartment and do something about it. I text my friend Caroline and ended up meeting her and our friend Ashley for a drink on Queen Anne. Well, technically I met Caroline at her house where we found the HUGEST SPIDER EVER on her floor and trapped it under a jar and I took a picture of it but I don’t want to share it here because it was too gross and huge and I hated it. When we finally we out and met Ashley, we didn’t stay out long, but at least I got out of my apartment for a bit. Win!

Saturday I ran my errands on foot to kill two birds with one stone (exercise + get shit done). When I got back to my apartment a little later, iced coffee in hand, I cleaned for a bit before picking up Dustin and heading into to Ballard (which is currently one of my favorite Seattle neighborhoods). Side note: weekend morning cleaning is so sooo satisfying to me, anyone else? In Ballard we got pedicures (his first ever), then grabbed Happy Hour at the Ballard Annex. After that we met my friends Natalie and Kate at the Ballard Beer Co. for a beer. Saturday night was spent in, with me falling asleep early after all my plans fell through and I was too tired to make new ones.

Sunday morning I had brunch at Bastille with Natalie and Brittan before we headed outside to the farmer’s market. Brunch + farmer’s market is one of my favorite things. I bought peaches and blackberries, cheese and bread, and flowers. After the farmer’s market Dustin and I went to an open house. Guys, buying a house in Seattle is SO. EXPENSIVE. (median price = $543,500 WFT?!) and SO. STRESSFUL. I had stress dreams about it that night and it’s not even really my house to buy. Yikes!

We de-stressed by watching WWE Summer Slam since I’m very into wrestling now ;) and eating the snacks I got at the farmer’s market. After wrestling, we went across the street to grab a beer on the patio and talk about the house we looked at earlier. Dustin’s friends Ben and Greg ended up joining us at the end and it was a good end to a successful weekend.

Also I failed at taking pictures all weekend, minus the spider, so this poorly lit, straight-faced, cell phone selfie is all I have for you:

Weekend Recap

Friday kicked off the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale so after a stressful week at work, I met Brittan at the flagship store downtown Seattle and we shopped. I felt like it was necessary since, 1. I still have a job (and therefore I will have more paychecks to replenish my bank account), and 2. I worked hard and endured a lot of stress for that money, so I figured why not blow a little on some things I needed anyway? I don't normally feel guilty for spending money (within my means on things I need or experiences that make me happy) but this felt extra justified.

 

 

After shopping we met Natalie, Justin and Boyd at El Borracho in Ballard for some Mexican food and margaritas. Mexican food and margaritas with good friends is one of my very favorite things. It satisfies my soul. I could do that for dinner every day and be the happiest.

 

 

After dinner I texted with an old friend for a while from the comfort of my couch while watching Friends reruns and drinking a Sofia (because having a drink while talking to someone isn't the same as drinking alone! and even if it was, it was also warranted after this week ha). Have you guys tried Sofias? They're tasty, individual serving size cans of champagne and they're sort of genius!  

 

^^Fuzzy Sofia selfie^^

 

Saturday Dustin and I headed to Brinnon (on the Hood Canal) for a night of camping, round 2 with Josh, Katie, Art and Amy. We grilled fresh seafood (oysters, crab, and clams), made Bop-It into a drinking game, managed not to burn off any of our hair in the camp fire and planned a trip to Vegas! It rained during the night (of course it did! isn't that the way it always works?) but we all managed to stay pretty dry. Overall it was a really successful night of camping.

 

 ^^The view from Josh's (and Katie's) family's property in Brinnon^^

 

I'm already looking forward to next weekend. Isn't that the way it always works?


P.S. my weekend jam (because it's summer and this song is catchy, even if the video isn't):

It's finally summer in Seattle 2014

Last weekend I took full advantage of the long, sunny, Seattle days. Also, it has been really hot in my tiny, second story, brick apartment so I've been looking for every excuse to spend evenings out and about. Friday night I went to a Mariner's game with some coworkers, significant others and some a bunch of friends. We ended up running into a few more friends at the game and by the end of the night there was quite a big group of us hanging out in the beer garden. (side note: I took a lot of pictures but they're on a not-yet-developed disposable camera, so here are some photos I've stolen from other people who used their phones like normal people living in 2014).

^^Me, Brittan, Danielle & Natalie (Mexican Food Club does a Mariner's game^^

 

The Mariner's won at the last minute against the Oakland A's and it was a really fun game. Afterward a few of us attempted to go out in Ballard, but we were all tired and my flip flop blew out (even though I was walking normally) as I was going into the bar, so we didn't end up staying long.

 

Saturday was Seafood Fest in Ballard. Dustin, Katie, Josh and I ran into my coworker Dave and his girlfriend immediately upon arrival. It was Dave's birthday and we ended up hanging out with them and meeting up with Art and Amy for beers in the beer garden. Eventually we got hungry and wandered into the Ballard Annex Oyster House for some happy hour and a place to sit.

 

^^Selfie during HH^^

 

 ^^Katie and I at HH^^

 

After happy hour we met up with Justin, Brittan, Natalie and Boyd for some more beers, seafood and fun.

 

Eventually Art, Amy, Dustin and I got tired and decided that we wanted to head back to Dustin's for some Rock Band and a sleepover. Adult sleepovers with your friends who are kind of like your family are totally normal, right? :)

 

Sunday I ate Mexican food with Justin and Brittan, attempted a beach day (but it was overcast and Natalie was over the elements), and ended up on a patio drinking a glass of chilled Rose with Brittan and Natalie.

 

It was a very successful weekend before a very stressful week. After receiving an e-mail from Satya Nadella (Microsoft's CEO) talking about significant changes that would be made to the company in the coming weeks, then hearing numerous news reports that Microsoft was expecting to lay off as many as 6,000 people this week, reading last night that they layoffs would happen today, freaking out last night, not really sleeping all night, then waking up this morning to e-mails from Satya and Brad Smith (the head of legal at Microsoft) saying that not 6,000 but 18,000 people would be laid off today and in the coming months. Brad's e-mail said that 10%(!!!!) of the legal department was being laid off today. I cried when I read that, first thing this morning. I cried a few times today. It was nice to know that I would know today whether or not I would be laid off, but also very stressful going to work this morning. Part of me was like, "they're not going to lay me off, they JUST hired me!" and the other part of me was like "well, they went that long without me, maybe they don't really need me after all, and I know they're expected to make cuts, and like, I get it." I, luckily, still have a job. One of my favorite coworkers, however, was laid off. My heart hurts for her. It was a really emotional day for my whole group (and probably for everyone at Microsoft). Now I'm attempting to de-stress with a glass of Rose and some blogging :)

 

This weekend I will attempt to de-stress even more (with two other Microsoft employees who are also "safe") with some camping, round 2, in the Hood Canal! Yay! 

Summer in Seattle and a Cautionary Tale

 

I've been feeling in a bit of a funk lately. I've been unsettled or something. It's never a pleasant feeling, especially in the middle of summer in Seattle which has been unseasonably long and wonderful this year. So, this last weekend I decided I should get out of the funk and spend some time with some of my favorite Seattlites, because my favorite people are my favorite thing in life and spending time with them makes me the happiest. Saturday I had a delicious celebratory bacon jam, grilled cheese sandwich and a kale salad at Skillet Diner followed by a ladies' night in Ballard. I deemed Sunday a Sunday-Funday and spent the afternoon on towels next to Greenlake with friends. I'm feeling much more settled and happier this week.

That being said, I do have a cautionary tale: never ever get lime juice on your skin and then proceed to sit out in the sun (with or without sunscreen), it will result in a crazy lime-burn (no jokes - it's a severe chemical burn) which might be hand shaped on on both of your sides where you put your hands on your shirtless hips while taking a rest from playing Frisbee. It will be incredibly red and blistered and make you miss work because of it's severity. Then you will have to call me and I will come over and pop your huge blister with a syringe and suck the blister juice out and you will record it and we will both hate it. Also, I promise never to make any of you peel a lime for me in the sun, ever again. #chemicalburnfail #nursebekie

And now that I've sufficiently grossed everyone out with my cautionary tale, here's a picture of Seattle for you, because, I mean! Summer in Seattle is really good.

work from home is the best kind of work

Since Hood River is basically the only thing I blog about anymore (I definitely blame work for the lack of blogworthy things, and my general lack of a life, while I'm in Seattle) I should probably keep the ball rolling, right? Right...

 

If last night wasn't just the best then I don't know what is. Work has been a lot lately. High stress, and just a lot of hours. So, in an attempt to return to some normal, low-stress version of myself I decided to drive back to Hood River yesterday afternoon to work remotely for the rest of the week and also to help Beth house/dog sit. Pop Tart and I are chillin' tough today.

 

But last night. Last night was good. I got to sit at a café by the river drinking a beer, listening to my handsome friends play music, chatting with my friend Gaby who I haven't seen in forever, and being a happy, low-stress version of myself. It was much needed. 

 

 

^That up there, was the view from the Sandbar Café last night. Prettiest thing ever? Probably. I never want to leave, but I've definitely already told you that. 

 

^That up there is me, Gaby and Andrea (from left to right, naturally). We used to work at Ground together. Ground bonds you for life. #truth.

After the sunset faded into night and the sprinklers turned on next to the café we decided to head to Double Mountain for a beer, and then to the Pint Shack to listen to our friend Tall Paul play some sweet jams #DJtallpaul - it was great. Other highlights of the night included meeting Kurt with a K, who I've been hearing about for years, dinner at 6th St. Bistro with Sarah, and chatting/laughing/loving life with Hood River friends.

Guys, I kind of went out on a Wednesday night. Who am I? That 8am conference call this morning might have been a little brutal. But totally worth it.

A certain line from GIRLS comes to mind "CAUSE IT'S A WEDNESDAY NIGHT BABY, AND I'M ALIVE!"

^Gaby and I loving life. On a Wednesday night. Bring on Thursday and Friday! Working from (the) home(land) is the best.

Things are looking up.

weekend study breaks

I am having a really hard time focusing on studying today, so a blog post it is!

This weekend though, was good. I snuck in a few breaks here and there for some fun with Dustin.

Friday I had possibly the most frustrating Doctor’s appointment ever (for some follow up from that time last week when 1/2 of my body from my neck down went numb and I had to go to the ER in the night = so terrifying). I saw someone new. She didn’t listen. She prescribed me a bunch of medicine I won’t take because anti-inflammatories and my stomach don’t mix. But, she referred me to a spine specialist. Dustin told me that the referral was good and really what I needed. He’s always my voice of reason. So I’m trying to look at the positive side, instead of crying, because I definitely teared up from frustration in the examination room. I’m trying to look on the bright side more lately instead of being so negative all the time. I don’t even realize I’m doing it most of the time. Good thing I have Dustin to help me out with that one… But really, I hope this whole thing gets fixed becuase I don’t want to be in pain every day anymore. I don’t want to go numb. I am so mad at the woman who rear ended me in October. (ok, done being negative!)

After my appointment, Dustin took me out to the Pig and Whistle, a restaurant by his house, to meet a few of his friends from college. All but two of the people we hung out with ended up being attorneys here in Seattle, so it was fun to chat with them and nice to have people around to empathize with me about this whole studying for the bar thing.

This is what I wore:

I am obsessed with this pink dress lately. So good.

On my feet I wore these, which I am also obsessing over:
(warning for anyone who thinks that they might want to go to law school &/or take the bar) Bar prep can make you feel really gross. There is no time for things like looking cute most days (it’s hard to care about looking awesome when you’re so stressed about other things and when your skin is having a meltdown). I have been slacking in the beauty department lately. I’m actually kind of ashamed. For example: I usually go a few days between hair washes. I don’t think it’s good to wash your hair every day, and frankly it’s easier not to. But during bar prep I’ve found myself going longer and longer. Like a week. There, I said it. I am just glad that my hair is long enough to go into a top knot, because things are a little out of control lately. Top knots = my hair’s best friend lately. And the best solution I’ve found to getting dressed in the morning when you know you’re going to be sitting all day? Dresses. They’re the perfect outfit. They’re really easy, they’re really comfortable, AND you almost always look cute when you’re wearing a dress. So, moral of the story: dresses = the perfect bar prep clothing. Dress + topknot = uniform until July 27th. But probably after that too, let’s be honest…

Anyway, that got really off topic.

Saturday Dustin left me alone in his apartment for a good part of the day so I could study and he could run errands and deep clean his car. After our day apart, we decided to drive north to find a place to feed us a late dinner because it was so nice out. We ended up at a McMenamins in a strip mall in Mill Creek (what?!):


Saturday I was thankful for Tots and Dustin! Hooray!

Yesterday, because I was feeling pretty good about Evidence (the topic of the day yesterday), I took part of the day off and Dustin and I headed east on i90 into the Cascade Mountains. We ended up at one of Dustin’s favorite places: Rattlesnake Lake.

Minus the fact that there were about a million screaming kids and dogs (dogs = dog poo), it was really relaxing. And yesterday it was actually warm out. Like 80 degrees warm, which is HOT for us.

AND there were ducks in the lake. I LOVE DUCKS!! I waded out into the water and fed them chex mix because I’m a bad person (please don’t lecture me about not feeding them, I know).

It was a good weekend with my favorite person. I’m so thankful I got to sneak in a few really nice/much needed study breaks (which are probably adding to my short attention span today, I think I got a little out of routine yesterday, whatever, worth it).

P.S. at least I’m not studying for the bar in a trailer park :)

arcade games + drinkz

On Saturday I drove from White Salmon to Portland (after my friend Andy’s wedding) to meet up with Dustin who was there to drop Battle Cat off at Pickle’s house for a few days. When I got there Pickle was out at a BBQ so Dustin and I decided to walk over to Big Al’s and play some arcade games and have some drinks. 

We played Big Buck Hunter (see above) and Air Hockey and Racing Games and it was good. After we had been playing a while Pickle showed up and we played this pirate shooting game. Dustin steered the pirate ship while Pickle and I shot at some bad guys. Ha.

It totally wasn’t something I would normally do, but I had a bunch of fun playing games with Dustin.

Also we ate nachos. I love Nachos.

Ok that’s all for now. Byeee!

Bachelorette Party Part 2

After our day of wine tasting we were ready for dinner. We went to a nice restaurant, brought some bottles of wine, and enjoyed a meal together. I love all-girl-dinners!

At the end of our dinner a jazz band started playing on the patio, then moved inside to play in circles around our table. I think they got the memo that we were there for a bachelorette party. We loved it!

 

After that we walked around a little bit until we found the place to be in downtown Healdsburg. This bar was seriously wedding central!! There was a post-wedding-group, and two other bachelorette parties there. So naturally we had to party it up for an hour or two before heading back to the house.

   

After a drink or two (plus a shot, so I guess that makes three) we headed home. Back at the house Danielle, Kate and I sat in Danielle and Courtney’s room and reminisced for a few hours about our days in the sorority. Courtney joined in because she was also a sorority girl back in the day. Carly was in on our convo too, despite the fact that she didn’t go Greek. That’s ok, we love her anyway haha!

The last night in Napa totally made the trip for me. It was a lot of fun. I’m definitely really looking forward to Danielle and Steffen’s wedding Labor Day weekend!