Archive for May, 2009

This weekend was proof that summertime is just around the corner, as I enjoyed: slicing into a perfectly juicy watermelon; taking in a Sunday afternoon baseball game; seeing our little front yard garden grow by the hour; drinking several glasses of chilled white wine; jogging along sparkling Lake Washington; barbecuing in the backyard with neighbors; waking up each morning and opening all the windows in the house; wearing tank tops and flip flops; reveling in the feel of sunshine on my shoulders.  ‘Tis the season for all these warm weather pleasures.

Unfortunately, ’tis also the season for busy-ness, with long hours at work and weekends spent preparing for my next licensing exam.  But I will certainly be taking time to stop and smell the spider mums…  (Flowers courtesy of Shane.)

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Liking collage.  And paint.  Mixed media fun…

blue (2009.05.04):

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village (2009.05.08):

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skyline (2009.05.09):

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country (2009.05.10):

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damask geese (2009.05.12):

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I love this man.  Three years of marriage, and he still makes me smile every single day.

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In honor of our upcoming third anniversary, Shane and I treated ourselves last weekend to a great little getaway to San Francisco.  It was a whirlwind couple of days, filled with amazing food, lots of sunshine (I’ve got the pink shoulders to prove it), a good dose of baseball, plenty of sight-seeing, and good times with old friends.  The highlights:

We arrived on Friday morning, checked into our cute little room at the Mosser, and headed straight back out the door toward Golden Gate Park.  We were both eager to check out two of SF’s newest museums – the de Young by Herzog and de Meuron, and the recently remodeled California Academy of Sciences by Renzo Piano.  Both buildings were stunning.  The copper panels of the de Young were sleek and gorgeous; the glassy lobby and hilly roof of the Academy of Sciences were simple but incredibly thoughtful.  We grabbed lunch at The Moss Room in the Academy of Sciences and then spent a couple of hours wandering through the museum, taking in the lushness of the miniature rainforest and the wonderful colors and shapes of the sea-life in the aquarium.  I felt like an awe-struck little kid, excitedly grabbing Shane by the arm every few minutes to point out some cool little butterfly or crazy swimming seadragon.  Awesome.

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We spent the evening enjoying a decadent dinner at Perbacco, and then headed to District wine bar to meet up with some of my old friends from college for a drink.  It was good to catch up – B and I lived together for two years in college and were both in Paris for our fourth year abroad.  So many memories together, and so many details to share about our post-college lives!  I would have loved to stay up all night chatting, but the wine, the heavy pasta dinner, and the rich chocolate dessert were all beginning to put me under, and so we headed back to our hotel, tired but satisfied with a perfect day in the city.

Saturday we had just two main missions:  enjoy a fantastic brunch at Citizen Cake and take in a Giants game at AT&T Park.  Mission number one was accomplished as I polished off an amazing egg/avacado/gruyere breakfast sandwich at our nice little corner table by the window.  And a couple of hours later, we were well into mission number two, as we grabbed our seats at the ballpark, bought an ice-cold lemonade, and sat back to cheer on our favorite team.  The Giants, unfortunately, were no match for the Mets that day, but nonetheless, it was a well-spent afternoon.

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Saturday night we headed to the Marina to get dinner at A16, then bussed south to grab drinks at Bix – a small bar that came highly recommended to us by a good friend.  Bix was awesome, from the perfectly prepared cocktails, to the uber-cool jazz band mellowly jamming out in the corner, to the friendly guy that sat next us and bought Shane and I each a shot of good tequila in honor of our anniversary.  This place has been added to the list of must-hits for our next return to San Francisco.

Sunday began with a visit to the Mission district.  We picked up a couple of tarts at Tartine and walked over to Dolores Park to munch on our treasures and enjoy the view of the city.  Lovely.

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Our weekend of gluttony continued as we headed to the Ferry Building to try out the notorious oysters at Hog Island.  Being near the water was wonderful – the breeze that blew in from the bay gave us a welcome break from the heat.  Our final sight-see of the day was to visit the sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf.  I love these animals – I could watch them bark and flop and laze for hours.

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One final bar stop to enjoy a beer with some good friends that were in San Francisco for the day, and our time in the city had come to a close.  And so the planning begins for our next trip back!  I had somehow forgotten or just never realized what an incredible place San Francisco can be.  So much to see, so much to eat, and so little time…

I have undertaken the task going through the nearly 3000 photos I took during our two-week vacation, picking out some of my favorites for printing or sharing here.  It’s a slow process – so many to choose from, each one coupled with a special memory.  I’ll sporadically post a few on my blog as I’m sorting – here are the particularly special ones I came across tonight:

By the end of our time in Paris, Shane was rolling his eyes as I stopped to take my 200th picture of Parisian roof lines.  Can’t help it – even though buildings like this are found all over the city, I am still enamoured with each and every one of them.  So lovely…

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Lampposts were also a favorite photographic subject – it’s all about the little things (although the sight of the Eiffel Tower in the background certain helps the composition).

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More roof lines – this one was taken from the terrace of the Pompidou:

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Signs of springtime…

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Rue Montorgueil – one of my favorite streets in Paris, lined with cafes and cheese shops and little markets.  Shane and I had a nice leisurely lunch at a little pizzeria on this street after our trip to the Pompidou.

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Place des Vosges – one of my favorite public squares in Paris (I’m starting to notice that everything in Paris is described as “my favorite…” – bear with me).  We stayed just a couple of blocks away from here and frequented this spot.  Great place to sit on a bench, eat a sandwich, and people-watch.

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Yowsers:

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Already our time in Paris and Portugal feels like it was so long ago – I’m ready for a repeat!  But for now, my memories and my thousands of photos will have to do, which isn’t so bad – there’s satisfaction in reminiscing about such a perfect trip…

My all-star husband completed his first half-marathon today, with an impressive time of under two hours!  I, on other the hand, sat in a cafe and polished off a latte and raspberry scone in record time.  Seriously, though, I am so proud of Shane.  He had some anxiety going into this race, but when the time came, he manned up, proudly pinned on his race number, and gave it his all.  Trying to connect with him a couple of times along the course was trickier than expected, but I did manage to track him down somewhere around mile 9, where I ran with him for one block (whew!), and then I caught him again at the finish line, happy to see that he was still going strong.  Nice job, honey!  You rock.

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It has of course been difficult falling back into the daily grind after our 2-week fairy-tale of a vacation, but I feel like Seattle has been especially good to us since our return.  We’ve enjoyed good times with friends and neighbors, and we’ve had some great opportunities to enjoy Seattle’s multitude of entertainment offerings.

We hit up our first Mariners game of the season a couple of weeks ago and are so looking forward to more visits to the ballpark – I have made it my mission to learn the names of at least 9 Mariners and to seek out the best hot dog that Safeco field has to offer.  A daunting mission, yes, but one that will ultimately earn me the utmost respect of my husband, and so I’m calling it a worthy endeavor.

Last Saturday we enjoyed our first ever Seattle Sounders game at Qwest field.  Our friends had scored four tickets right at the 50-yard line and asked us if we wanted to go with them – um, yes, please!  The excitement over Seattle’s soccer club was almost electric, as people jumped and shouted and hugged after each goal.  Confetti rained from the skies when the team declared their victory – it was quite the athletic event.  It’s a bummer that Seattle had to say good-bye to their NBA team last year, but I am stoked about the buzz our city’s soccer club has generated.

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Sunday I officially became part of the Aluminum Siding fan club as I watched my friend D’s dance performance at On the Boards.  She titled her piece “Chemo Confessions”, as it explores the struggle she endured in overcoming cancer a couple of years ago.  I was moved to tears as I watched D use her art to express the fear, the pain, and the ultimate necessity for strength that a battle with cancer entails.  I am in awe of the way she has turned her experience into something so inspirational and so beautiful.  I have a whole new admiration for her, and a whole new excitement about modern dance.

Last night we headed to the theater for a performance of Crime and Punishment at Intiman.  The play was intense and dramatic, and the intimate setting of the theater heightened the whole experience.  I could see the beads of sweat on Raskolnikov’s tormented face, the tears falling from Sonia’s desperate eyes.  I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath throughout the final scenes until the stage went dark, the play ended, and I found myself needing to deeply inhale.

So, do I miss Europe?  Well, yes.  Duh.  But I am excited about the breadth of experiences that Seattle has to offer.  Looking forward to taking advantage of more of my city’s offerings!

Still loving my watercolor Moleskine.  And I found my old Spirograph in a box of old toys that my parents dug out of their garage, so you’ll see a couple of little geometric doodles floating around the pages.  Such a simple but brilliant little gadget!

bridge (2009.03.11):

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sine waves (2009.03.15):

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lemon drops – an idea borrowed from my food series (2009.03.17):

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