the best christmas eve

This year Dustin and I stuck around Seattle for Christmas. Coincidentally, so did our friends Art and Amy, which meant that we got to spend Christmas Eve together. And I'm so glad we did because it was one of the best Christmas Eves either Dustin or I can remember.

We went ice skating and I was REALLY bad at it, but still had a total blast:

On the way home from ice skating we decided to make a pit stop to walk along the water and see the "clam lights" at Coulon Beach, on Lake Washington.
 

Then, when we were almost back to Art and Amy's, we drove by the Seattle Great Wheel which was all lit up in red and green lights for Christmas. None of us had been on the giant, waterfront Ferris wheel yet, so per Dustin's request, we decided to take pit stop #2 and ride the great wheel.

After that we were all starving, so we snacked on some cheese and crackers when we got back to Art and Amy's apartment, and played rock band while dinner cooked (I was the singer and I was maybe really bad at it). Amy made salad and a delicious Cornish Game Hen dish, and I made tiramisu for desert. Obviously we lingered after dinner (until around Midnight) to chat and enjoy a few festive drinks.

It was great! I hope you all had a fabulous holiday weekend as well!!

(and in case you are curious, here is a recap of the other things I did on Christmas eve: stood in line for an hour to get into the seafood market to buy food for Christmas dinner, fought the insane crowds at whole foods, bought Dustin stocking stuffers (which I put off until Christmas eve, of course), and made this pasta dish for lunch with prosciutto instead of chicken (verdict: delicious)).

BELLINGHAM

This weekend I went to Bellingham (which, if you're not from Washington, is a really pretty college town about an hour and a half north of Seattle) with my oldest, bestfriend Katie, who just got engaged and asked me to be her maid of honor, whoot!, for a wedding-fun-filled weekend with her other two bride's maids.



Katie and I at Suzie's house before our night out

 



We drove up Saturday afternoon and instead of spending the night looking at wedding magazines, Katie decided we should go out. We were all onboard and spent the night acting like college kids, a la dinner at Boundary Bay Brewery, bar hopping, dancing, and eating biscuits, gravy and bacon at a diner after the bars closed. I did this all in a sweatshirt and glasses, because (a) I am super fancy, and (b) I was completely unprepared to go out. #idontcare

Needless to say, I think we're getting too old for things like that because Sunday was a complete bust. We lounged around Suzie's house, complained, watched movies, ate McDonalds, and finally made it home in the evening. And I have no desire to do that again for a long time. But, BUT! it was a really fun change of pace and I'm so glad I got to have a fun girls mini-vaca.

a few December things

A few weekends ago Dustin and I went to his co-worker's wedding. I was obviously really excited, since I love weddings. We got dressed up, got in the car and drove over to Greenlake. When we got inside the wedding venue, we signed the guest book and then were almost immediately hearded outside, through the rain, toward the lake.

 

Guys, it was an outdoor wedding ceremony. In December. In Seattle. SURPRISE!

 

Needless to say it was unexpected, freezing, the pastor took his time doing his thing, and AND to top it all off... the groom was good friends with one of my ex-boyfriends from college #soawkward  

 

After we got back inside we had some food, a few drinks, avoided my ex boyfriend at all costs, chatted with Dustin's co worker, had a generally great time, watched the bridge and groom cut the cake, and then snuck out. 

After sneaking out, we decided to head down the block and grab a drink before heading back to our neighborhood. Since we were all dressed up, you know!

When we finally got home and parked, we still weren't ready to call it a night, so we went to the little French place across the street (where I demanded Dustin take me for my 26th Birthday). I ordered mushrooms and wine. Dustin had a beer.

We got home, put on SNL and I promptly fell asleep on the couch #standard

But not before THIS happened...

 

The next day Dustin and I braved the Sunday, Christmas season crowds to get some things for our VERY FIRST Christmas tree. Never again. Target at Christmas time is a zoo. We were both exhausted by the time we got out of there.

 

After Target we went back home, took a deep breath, bundled up, and walked two blocks in the rain to the Christmas Tree Stand. We chose the smallest, cutest tree they had, sipped some cider to warm up, and then carried our perfect tree home in the rain. 

Now we're working on adding presents and avoiding Target until at least the new year. Have I mentioned that online shopping is my new best friend? I just hope all my presents get delivered before Christmas.

GIRLZ

Do you guys watch the HBO show Girls? If you don't, well, you should probably steal someone's HBO password and go watch all of the episodes right now. It's so good it warrants password theft (statements like that are probably the reason I didn't pass the ethics portion of the bar... So maybe don't steal things.).

Anyway, Season 2 of Girls premiers January 13th and I can't wait. Here's a little preview that I've watched multiple times today. #noshame #dontjudgeme

Speaking of things I'm excited about: it's finally Friday. What are your weekend plans? Dustin and I are going to decorate our apartment for Christmas at some point, and tomorrow night we're going to a wedding at Greenlake. You all know how much I love weddings, so hopefully it will be a fun time!

Thanksgiving (and last weekend too)

It’s Thanksgiving day and I made the drive down from Seattle to my parents’ house this morning. We always have a quick dinner, everyone stuffs their faces for about 20 minutes and the rest of the day is spent watching tv and trying to cool down (my mom likes to make sure the wood fire is always roaring).

I figured all this down time is the perfect excuse to drink some red wine, snuggle with Fluffy and blog. Historically Thanksgiving for me has been spent not drinking wine, snuggling with (read: sobbing into) the cat and outlining for finals. Life after law school is so good!! Hooray!

Anyway, here I go: Last weekend I also made the trip back to White Salmon for my Tot cousin’s FIRST birthday party. His birthday is the day after mine, and we are basically twins (even down to our matching shin, dragon-shaped birthmarks). I love that kid!

We all got matching shirts for his birthday (with his cute little face screen printed on them), we ate cake, opened presents, and I obviously stayed hours after the party was over because I don’t get to see Chip and Katie NEARLY as much as I’d like anymore.

The night before the party I was able to sneak in some time with my Hood River friends. It was our friend Nate’s going away party last Friday and I made it out to the end of the party (after my SEVEN HOUR drive from Seattle… #neveragain). It’s always so fun to see these kids:

 
I’m hoping I’ll get to see everyone again while I’m here for the holiday.

Also, fun fact, today and tomorrow are my first EVER paid days off! Did I already mention that I LOVE life after law school? Because I do! I think this whole no-law-school-thing is one of the things I am most thankful for today (on this day all about thankfulness and shoving all the food in your face).

And now, it’s time to go get a refill on that wine…

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful day.

time with you is my favorite time

Yesterday marked the two year anniversary of my first date with Dustin. Two year date-a-versary, if you will.

That guy, let me tell you (again), he is the best. He's really smart, he makes me feel safe and cared for, he has a great sense of humor, and he is really stubborn, but I love him anyway. He's all the things I want in a partner (minus maybe the stubborn part, but you know).

Yesterday we didn't do much . One of his friends who he hadn't seen in ages was in town, so after work we spent some time with her before Dustin took her to the airport. While he was gone I laid on the couch and felt sorry for myself because I was cold and hungry and tired #standard. SO, what does Dustin do? It's like he knows and he shows back up with delicious steak sandwiches and then cranked up the heat. See what I mean about the whole taking care of me thing? But really, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

He is awesome and I would probably be starved and homeless and cold without him.

Thanks Dustin, I love you!

on growing up

Yesterday I turned 26.

26 seems so much older than 25. Or maybe every year just seems so much older than the last these days.

On my last day of 25 I thought a lot about all of the personal milestones that I hit during my 25th year: I represented a client in court, I graduated law school, I studied for and took the bar, I moved in with Dustin, I got a grown-up job, etc. It was a big year for me. And now there's 26. What does 26 have in store? Surely not as many exciting things. I mean, how could it?

Hopefully during my 26th year I will get better at that whole ethics thing and pass that part of the bar, I would also like to gain some job-security. Microsoft is great, but being a contractor always comes with some uncertainties. Maybe in my 26th year I will get a full time Microsoft job. And become ethical. Those are my goals (bam!). But I don't know what else I have to look forward to this year. Maybe that's alright, though. A year to rest and get my life started after school, school, school for the past 20something years. It has all been sort of exhausting and exciting and maybe now I get to step back and take a deep breath. Is this what being an adult feels like?

To celebrate my first, adult birthday I worked all day with the exception of a bubble tea and cake break thanks to my co-workers. After work I went to dinner with Dustin at the best little French restaurant where I ordered Brussels sprouts and mushrooms and a glass of red wine. What kind of a meal is that? I mean... when Dustin asked me what I wanted for dinner I told him Brussels Sprouts, how grown-up-gross is that? But guys, it was amazing. So good. Then, to top off the night I went to bed at about 8:30. So that's that. Apparently I jumped straight from 25 to 70.

Cheers to another year!