March 3rd, 2010 kellyschnell
After our tour de Santa Barbara, we headed north to San Luis Obispo on Friday afternoon to meet up with Amanda and Josh, who were also getting into town that evening. While we waited for them to get in, Shane and I took a quick spin through the Cal Poly campus for a stroll down memory lane. Wandering through the architecture building was a total blast from the past – I poked my head into the studio where I spent what felt like every waking hour of my last year at school, and when I saw the desks strewn with cool models and crazy sketches, I felt a little pang of longing for old times. Then I stood on the same little balcony from which I remember making hundreds of stressed-out late-night calls to Shane, and saw the grungy old couch which I napped on when I was working in the studio until 4 a.m. and couldn’t trust myself to head home and make it back for my 8 a.m. class, and I was thankful that those days are behind me.
Amanda and Josh arrived that evening, and once we were all checked into our hotel room, we headed toward downtown to hit up Firestone’s for dinner – their tri-tip sandwich was a protein staple in my college diet, and I’ve been craving this meaty goodness ever since I left. Deeeee-lish. When we left the bar, it was pouring rain, so we decided to just head back to the hotel to hang out and veg. Even though Amanda and I hadn’t seen each other since June, it never takes us more than 15 minutes to feel like we’ve never been apart, and it felt good to have a low-key night together, just talking and laughing. I’ve missed her.
Saturday morning, I had only one mission: coffee at my favorite cafe in downtown SLO. Shane and I were up bright and early-ish to hit up Linnea’s Cafe. I was happy to find that the place was relatively unchanged – still cozy, still serving good coffee, and still inhabited by the same intriguing man that has sat at the same table every day for years now, hunched over his journal, in which he writes/draws symbols unlike any language I’ve ever seen before (I’m betting all of my old Cal Poly peeps know exactly who I’m talking about).
After coffee and a short stroll through downtown, the skies cleared and the sun came out, and we were all beach-bound, intent on grabbing lunch at Splash Cafe in Pismo Beach. Their clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl was another staple in my college diet (the term ‘Freshman Fifteen’ exists for a reason), and again, I was not disappointed. However, I was slightly disappointed when we left the restaurant to walk on the beach, only to find that all beach access was closed for the day, due to the coast-wide tsunami warnings. Bummer. But we got over it quickly enough, ’cause we had a wedding to get to.
The wedding was fabulous. The bride was my old friend Jenny, whom I’ve known since high school, when we used to type messages to each other on our calculators in high school math class. We were roommates during our freshman year at Cal Poly, and though we haven’t seen each other since Shane I got married almost four years ago, I was thrilled to be a part of her special day, which was so wonderfully ‘Jenny-ish’. Francine, another one of my best friends from high school, was also there, and our little reunion was so much fun. When I say, ‘We all go waaaay back together’, I really mean it, and it was fun to reminisce.
Sunday was our last day in Cali, and we took advantage of it by heading up the coast to see the elephant seals near San Simeon. There is this stretch of beach that is home to hundreds of elephant seals, and driving up highway 1 to go see them is a favorite Central Coast pastime. They were out in full force on Sunday, even closer to shore because of high tide. The four of us spent nearly an hour just watching them lounge around in the sun, then occasionally flop across the beach to get in the water or play with one of their mates. They are amazing animals – the males can get up to 20 feet long and can weigh as much as 8,000 pounds, and they have these horribly-ugly-but-still-kind-of-cute hooked snouts that wave around a little bit when they raise their heads in the air to bark.
After our seal-gazing, it was time to say good-bye to Amanda and Josh and head back down to Santa Barbara to catch our flight home. One last walk on the beach when we got to SB, and then I was officially bummed to be leaving California. What a weekend…
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March 1st, 2010 kellyschnell
When Shane and I received a wedding invitation from an old friend of mine, stating that she would be getting married in San Luis Obispo at the end of February, we looked at each other and said, “Do you think we should go?” Approximately 2.5 seconds later, we both nodded our heads with an emphatic “HECK YES.” It would be a great chance to celebrate with several old and dear friends, to revisit my old stompin’ grounds (I hadn’t been back to SLO since I graduated a few years ago), and to enjoy a romantic little weekend getaway. And so we bought our tickets, packed our flip-flops and sunglasses, and we were off.
We flew into Santa Barbara and decided that we would spend Thursday night there, before joining our friends in SLO on Friday. Neither one of us had spent any time in Santa Barbara, and we were looking forward to checking out the beaches, the food, and the wine country. Our plane arrived at Santa Barbara airport at 4:15 p.m., and Shane, being the stellar planner that he is, had already picked out a place nearby where we could grab a couple of drinks and catch the 5:51 p.m. sunset. We hopped in our rental car and were off to Hendry’s Beach. The second I stepped out of the car, smelled the salt of the ocean, heard the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, and saw the sun glinting off the expanse of water, I was smitten. It was then that I realized how much I’d been missing the Central Coast. After a margarita and a sunset walk on the sand, I was ready to call up my office and let them know that I would not be returning to work anytime in the near future – I was in the midst of some serious beach lust (as in, lusting after the beach, in case that came out wrong).
We spent the rest of the evening on State Street, enjoying tacos at Lilly’s, then drinks and dessert at Pascucci and then Palazzio. From the novelty of the labio tacos (translation: lip – Shane was bolder than I in ordering this one) at Lilly’s, to the decadence of the creme brulee at Pascucci, to the richness of the wine that we shared at Palazzio, it was a perfect night.
Friday morning we took advantage of the free bikes that our hotel had for check-out and hopped on a couple of beach-cruisers to head down to the water for breakfast. There can’t be anything more Californian than riding a bike down State Street in your flip-flops, zipping past palm trees and trendy little boutiques, loving the feel of the sun on your face and that cool, coastal breeze in your hair. Heaven. After a 3-mile ride, we arrived at East Beach Grill, where I ordered a heap of wheatgerm banana pancakes (an ode to Jack Johnson), settled into my chair just inches from the sandy beach, and chowed down. Again, heaven.
After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel, packed up our things, and pointed our car north, in search of the perfect glass of Santa Barbara wine. The hills northwest of Santa Barbara are scattered with tons of wineries, big and small, and without a real agenda in hand, we decided we’d just head in the direction of Los Olivos and see what struck our fancy. We hit five wineries and tasted over 30 wines that afternoon – my favorite was the Zaca Mesa Estate Roussanne, and Shane loved the Merlot from Curtis. The landscape was absolutely beautiful, with its rolling green hills and small, rocky mountains.
Once our tongues were sufficiently coated with tannins and our teeth disturbingly purple, we decided it was time to make the rest of the trek up to San Luis Obispo. However, many of you know that no visit to California is complete without a stop at In-N-Out burger, so a pitstop in Santa Maria for some quality fast-food goodness was in order. You can see Shane eyeing me with that “Let me just eat my burger” look:
We arrived in SLO on Friday evening, but I will save our adventures there for another post – I am wiped out tonight, still recovering from the bliss of such a perfect weekend…
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February 21st, 2010 kellyschnell
Today was one of those days when I am indescribably happy to live in Seattle – a couple of reasons why:
Columbia City has a new ice cream shop – it’s called Full Tilt and it serves flavors like horchata, salted caramel, and purple yam, scooped into made-to-order waffle cones. Deeeeee-lish.
The sun was out today, and we found a perfect little dock in Leschi from which to soak up some rays.
While in Leschi, we discovered that Daniel’s Broiler has a great happy hour – beer, bacon-wrapped scallops, and a killer view of Mount Rainier. Shane’s face says it all…
On our way home, we swung by our favorite little viewpoint to get one last look at the mountain in all its glory.
After today, Shane is apparently convinced that he wants to live in Seattle forever. Assuming we can’t find a way to make a living in Paris, I think I might agree.
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January 10th, 2010 kellyschnell
For the second year in a row, Shane and I have decided to counteract the over-indulgence of the holidays by being extra-frugal in January. No eating out, no lattes, no movies, no shopping, and a very tight grocery budget (three dollars per person per day). For someone like me, who loves to spend Sunday afternoons sitting in cafes or shopping for shoes, this is a challenge. Right around day 7, I start to get a little antsy. Shane must have sensed my home-bound jitters and so he surprised me with a free ‘date’ this afternoon by driving us over to Bellevue to check out the Mercer Slough, a park/wetland that we’d driven by several times but never explored. It was the perfect day for a mini-adventure, and we enjoyed wandering through the trails, finding beauty in the mossy greens and even the muddy browns that are so emblematic of a northwest winter.
We ended the day with homemade veggie lasagna with friends, and I am once again restored, ready to face another week of skipping my morning latte and eating my leftovers for lunch. It actually feels kind of good to go back to basics.
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December 12th, 2009 kellyschnell
This clear, crisp weather we’ve been enjoying has reminded me how beautiful downtown Seattle can be, so I grabbed my camera on my way out the door yesterday, thinking I was due for a good hometown shoot. I spent my lunchtime walking through downtown and Pioneer Square, armed with my warmest hat and fingerless gloves, snapping pictures left and right. I’ve walked past some of these buildings hundreds of times, and yet somehow never really looked at them. I suppose that’s the power of having a camera around your neck – your eyes are suddenly open so much wider, as you seek all those perfect photo-ops. Ideally, especially as an architect, I would be consistently observant, but it seems that whenever I’m downtown, I’m just a woman on a mission, whether it’s to grab a quick lunch, rush to a meeting, hurry to catch my bus, etc. It was good to consciously stop and pause, stand on a street corner, and look around in every direction, taking in the way sunlight warmed the tones of a brick facade, or bare tree limbs crawled toward the sky. This is just a small sampling of what I’ve been missing out on…
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November 27th, 2009 kellyschnell
Yesterday was full of reminders that I truly have so much to be thankful for. The sound of laughter coming from our nieces and nephew, the smell of fresh-baked apple pie, the coziness of a warm home, the beauty of sunlight sparkling on a lake, the joy of being surrounded by people that I have come to love as my very own family… It was a good day, spent lounging around the house together, eating to the point of stuffed-ness, playing games, and laughing till our cheeks hurt. Shane and I pulled ourselves out of our post-dinner food comas to take a drive and enjoy the sunshine, returning just in time to re-stuff ourselves with dessert. Perfection.
May we all count and share our blessings throughout the year to come.
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November 26th, 2009 kellyschnell
I was thrilled to look out the window yesterday morning and see that the ground had been covered with a fluffy blanket of white snow overnight. I grabbed my camera and rushed outside to snap a few pictures and take in the pristine-ness of it all. There are few things more beautiful than snow topped branches.
The rest of the day was lovely and low-key. We spent the rest of the morning drinking coffee with Shane’s sister, picking up the last few things for the big Thanksgiving meal, and revisiting some of Shane’s favorite neighborhood spots. This little park was the perfect place to snap a few more pictures of our white little wonderland. I was sad to see that the snow was already disappearing (I suppose beauty really is fleeting), but I managed to get a couple of shots before I needed to hop back in the car and thaw my fingers in front of the heater.
Shane and I had some time to kill last night before meeting up with a few of his friends for drinks, so we decided on a whim to check out the town’s bowling alley. I was skeptical about how much fun it would be for just the two of us to bowl together, but after my third strike, I was having a blast, grinning ear to ear. Yes, I came from behind and managed to crush Shane in our first game.
I was not so lucky in game 2, and Shane will probably give me a hard time for not posting those scores here, but I never claimed to be a fair and balanced reporter…
We ended the evening with a few of Shane’s old high school buddies at the local wine bar/ale house. It was fun to listen to them reminisce – I obviously didn’t know Shane in high school, so I am always eager to gather more of the bits and pieces of memories from this time in his life.
Well, I’m off to prepare my first ever Thanksgiving apple pie – happy Thanksgiving to all of you! God bless.
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November 23rd, 2009 kellyschnell
Yes, it’s been quiet here in blog-land lately… My absence has been due to a general state of busy-ness, but with things that aren’t interesting enough to warrant a post. Shane and I left Seattle for Minnesota yesterday and are enjoying a few days to relax and catch up with Shane’s family. I slept in until 9:30 today, watched a couple of my favorite cooking shows, played Legos with my nieces and nephew, ate steak and potatoes… It was a good day. It’s not terribly cold here, but the landscape is definitely wintry, with bare-limbed trees and gray, misty mornings. It’s nice to be cozied up indoors, savoring the blessings of family and a warm home. Much to be thankful for.
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October 18th, 2009 kellyschnell
Burgers and beer and Quinn’s; lots and lots of rain; a quick trip to Snoqualmie Falls with my parents to enjoy the (wet) fall colors; a visit to Swanson’s Nursery to pick out a tree for our new backyard (backyard reveal coming soon!); and many hours spent at home enjoying the comforts of home-cooked food, time with family, and steaming mugs of tea. Fall is good.
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October 10th, 2009 kellyschnell
We took advantage of the lovely Fall weather today to get out and make the annual Schnell family trip to the pumpkin patch out in North Bend. (This was visit #2 to this particular pumpkin patch, so I am now officially calling this an annual family tradition.) This time, we invited several of our friends (our ‘Seattle family’), which made for an even better time. We spent awhile wandering among the pumpkins, all in search of that one perfectly round, perfectly colored pumpkin – I told myself as we were heading to the patch that we really didn’t need more than that one perfect pumpkin. But then again, what is a ‘perfect’ pumpkin? Is it small or big? Orange or white or green? Tall and skinny or short and squat? We couldn’t decide, and far be it from us to discriminate, so we walked away with a wagon full of ‘perfect’ pumpkins. A nice little multi-ethnic pumpkin family. It was such a beautiful day out there, with the sun shining and Mount Si rising up in it’s rocky glory right beside us. Good times.
Post-pumpkin patch, we found ourselves hungry and ready to cozy up indoors, so we all headed to Brian and Nicole’s for a dumpling making party. I had never made dumplings before, but I have never enjoyed food prep so much – it was fun to sit around the table with friends, folding yummy fillings of pork and vegetables into delicate little pot-sticker wrappers, then passing them to the men at duty by the stove. And mmm mmm, they were delicious. The perfect way to ‘wrap up’ a perfect fall day (pun intended).
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