Switch up

First, let me fill you in on how my brain works. I write "switch up," and this song immediately gets stuck in my head. I'm weird, I know.

Now, why I was even thinking "switch up" in the first place. Well, as you can probably tell, I'm switching up the look and layout for my blog. Part of the reason is I want to be on SquareSpace 6. The other part is so Josh stops nagging me about switching to SquareSpace 6. Lastly, and mostly, because I like to think that as I get older, the more awesome my style gets and my blog needs to keep up with my stylin' ways.

This is the third switch up on my blog. Crazy right? Do you remember the look of my first blog. Check it. What to hear something even more crazy? I've had this blog going now since 2009 (first post). That's three freakin' years. Crazy, I tell you, crazy.

Now, on with blogging!

My Blog Layout Remembered

Buh-bye 2012, Hello 2013

Happy New Year! It's 2013! 

2012 went way too quickly. It seems every year I get older, the years go by faster and faster. So here we are at 2013. Hope this one goes slower. ;)

I just got back home to Seattle yesterday after a lovely visit to both parents in SoCal. New Years Eve was dinner with friends at Re:public, and then we all came back to our place to watch the ball drop. Not to crazy, but fun. 

I plan on give you my 2012 year in review once I've had some time to put some thoughts together. Today was all about getting settled and ready for work tomorrow. Until my awesome 2012 post is ready, here's 2012 in review from JibJab (please excuse any course language or visuals - I didn't make this, ok).

Mastering Macarons

Saturday I took a most awesome class at Sur La Table called Mastering Macarons. I went with my fellow baker and friend, Beth.

It was not just some demo class, but a hands-on class where you get to do the baking with a professional guiding you. The instructor, Mary, was a quirky one, but also quite qualified. She made it funny and informational.

There were about fifteen of us (or so), and we broke out into four groups and we each got our own workstation. Beth and I lucked out and got our own station, right next to the instructor...score!

For the class, the instructor would show us a technique, and then we got to try it out ourselves. Each station got a different flavor macaron. We got banana.

Some tips I learned, and will now share with you (because your special):
- Take the egg whites out at least three hours ahead of time
- Shift the flour four times (yes, four!)
- Don't over beat the eggs - soft peeks, not stiff peeks
- Wait to put the macarons in the oven (patience, my friend)
- Cool them upside down

Some of the flavors we all baked were: chocolate, hazelnut, pistachio, and banana. For fillings we made: chocolate ganache, banana, and praline buttercream. Look at these beauties...

Next weekend's challenge is making some on my own. Yay!

Wedding Then Anniversary

I was originally going to break this up into two posts, but time kept slipping away. Then as I was taking a shower this evening (yes, I'm a night shower person, deal with it), I had a revelation...wedding, anniversary, those go hand-in-hand, I can easy make into one.

And so, my friends, this is a single post about my two weekends in November that involved a wedding one week and an anniversary the next.

First, the wedding. 

Josh and I headed down to see our college friend, Manuel, get hitched. And Josh was special enough to be in the wedding. What better place to see your college friend get married, than at the church on your old campus, eh?

It was nice to be back in our old stomping grounds and hanging out with "the gang" - just like the good, old days (wow, I'm already using that phase). However, it was weird to be in our old stomping ground, but not living there. It's not like you need to do tourist stuff. So then there's shopping, but we only brought a small suitcase (and there's that money thing). 

But I digress; back to the wedding talk. The wedding was very beautiful. Alley, the bride, now friend, was gorgeous and radiating happiness. I just love weddings. They are just so happy! The ceremony was at the Mission Church, and the reception was at Dolce Hayes Mansion. I have to give it to the bride & groom, they went all out with the reception. There were chandeliers, uplights, and a photo booth. 

 

Did I mention, there was a photo booth? Oh yea, we had fun with that. Good times were had by all. And so as not to bore you with all my pictures, here's a college. Or better yet, check out the wedding photographer's photos.

Next, the Annivesary.

Big news for my parents...they have been married 40 years. That's a mighty long time together, and they're still going strong. I flew down home to join in the celebrations.

We did all the usual Heather-at-home activities. We went to Honey's for breakfast (I got a muffin, big surprise). We went to the Forum, UTC, and Golden Spoon yogurt. But, the big event was Saturday night dinner for the big celebration.

We went to a restaurant called Hexagone in Hillcrest (French, of course). Sadly, the restaurant didn't live up to our expectations (this reviewer says it all for me). But, all that aside, it was good to be with friends and family.

Brunch at the Cottage the next day made up for Hexagone's mistakes. We had them put candles in the french toast, and they gave my mom a free bag of granola. And everyone was happy once again.

It was great to celebrate with my parents on their big 40th anniversary, and I'm so glad I was able to fly down and join in the fun.

Now, you know why I was so busy in November. Two back-to-back weekends of travel, with crazy busy work weeks in between. I think I'm almost caught up now, almost. ; )

Turkey Eating

As I mentioned in my post on Thanksgiving, Josh and I were doing Thanksgiving on our own this year. As you may have picked up from reading my blog, I actual enjoy the kitchen. I decided to take on the turkey challenge this year. Alright, not a whole turkey, but a turkey breast (and I got a thigh, too - that sounds funny). 

You can't have turkey without all the fixings, so make a couple of sides, too. To Josh's dismay I passed on stuffing this year. Honestly, I haven't found a stuffing I really like. And with me being the cook, I decided it was not a priority. However, I did make my favorite Sweet Potato Casserole (recipe here). It's oh-so-good. It's practically dessert! And to tempt you more, it's from Cooking Light, believe it or not! 

I also make some Brussels Sprouts. I steared away from my usual Brussels sprouts recipe this year to try a different variation, Caramelized Brussels Sprouts (recipe here). This recipe is from a blog I've recently started following called Eat Live Run. She has some pretty good looking food, and these sprouts didn't disappoint. Plus they are on the stove top and my oven was busy. 

To wrap up the food goodness, I made a Sweet Potato Pie. Now, I was extremely worried about this pie. You can ask my mom or Josh -- I talked to them both as it was in the oven. I said, "I just don't know, it's not setting." I was very upset. All this time to make it by scratch and it was failing. NOOO! But, luckly I was wrong. The pie came out great. In fact, it was crazy delicious. I wish I could mail you a piece. I think it's the strusel topping that took it to the next level. I'm salavating now. I should go grab a slice.

Do I have you begging for the recipe now? Okay, my Thanksgiving gift to you...

1. Make a crust. I grabbed the crust from this recipe. (I actually want to make that pie too)

2. Make the rest of the pie using this recipe. (I bet you can use this strusel topping on any pie!)

3. Bake and eat. 

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. Now....on to Christmas!!!

Goodbye Summer

Goodbye summer, it's been nice, hope you find your paradise ... I've really enjoyed my stay, but I must be moving on. Come on, sing along...

Okay, that was dorky, but that is literally what I start singing to myself when I hear, "goodbye summer." That's me; welcome to my world.

Now let's officially say goodbye to summer by revisiting some moments (via Instagram):

 

In June, Josh took me to Cave B Inn for my birthday. We stayed in a Yurt. It was so beautiful there, but so windy. We thought we were going to blow away that night.

I switched decades this year. I turned the big 3-0. Sigh. Ahh well, doesn't really feel much different anyways.

 

After living in Seattle for two years, we finally made it to the Woodland Park Zoo. I realized that I was spoiled as a kid with the San Diego Zoo. But, who doesn't like to see giraffes and tigers?

I made my first ever whoopie pie and it won Crowd Favorite at the Oddfellow's Annual Whoopie Pie Contest. Mine was a lemon lavendar whoopie pie. Yummie.

  

My parents came and visited us, and we all headed out to Leavenworth. It was hot, but the pretzels and beer made up for that.

Seattle gave us some awesome weather. We got to see the sun for three entire months, it was glorious. This sunset was taken over in West Seattle.

 

For work I went out to New York City for a two day onsite. I got to slip away for a few hours and be a tourist. Now, I want to go back and be a total tourist.

Or, why not be a tourist in your own town? Josh and I like to do that. We go downtown to Pike Place Market and walk around. I just love the flowers there. I heart Seattle.

 

I really enjoyed this morning. The sun was shining, I had a steamy cup of coffee, and my PB and banana biscuit was on its way. Loving the mornings (only if it's after 9am though - one must sleep in).

Josh has had a hankering to go to the EMP Museam forever. When a German girl visited us (that's another story), we took her here. It was the history of Seattle music. A fun music if you're into music. 

 

We rarely see Mount Rainer in the winter/spring because it's so gray and rainy. Summer is the magical month when we drive around town and can see the mountain towering in the distance. You know what I think when I see it, "man, what if that think erupted!" (Yes, I'm morbid like that).

We took our annual, big trip to Vegas and Zion. This is the Eiffel Tower in Vegas, not Paris (but if we were in Paris, that would have been awesome). But Vegas was fun, especially since the last time I saw it, I was about 8 years old. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas (or not).

 

As I said above, our big trip for the year was in Zion. My in-laws where there and we all had a blast. The picture is of our "backyard" for the week. Not too shabby, eh?

I baked a ton. Even in the warm weather, I baked. I love baking. These nutella banana cookies were the bomb.

 

You can't let summer go by without a little happy hour and mojitos. Mojitos are a fav of mine.

I rocked these pink heart sunglasses. I'm pretty cool. And that ice cream was oh-so-good.

And that, my friends, was our summer. Now...

Hello Fall. 

You Belong in the Zoo

...The San Diego Zoo.

Do you remember that jingle? If you grew up in the 80s in San Diego you would. And I'd totally play it for you if I could find it online, but I can't, so sad.

This jingle comes to mind because last weekend Josh and I finally visited the zoo in Seattle - its the Woodland Park Zoo. It was a beautiful day; a day meant to be spent outside. The zoo was the perfect place.

Being at the zoo made me feel like a kid again. I was so excited when I saw an animal, especially up close. The new excitement, as an adult, was if I could grab a shot of the animal. I got a few - see below!

Although, going to another zoo made me realize how freakin' spoiled I was growing up going to the San Diego Zoo. I realize now that my moaning about "going to the zoo again to see the same animals just older" was really bratty. I should visit again!

Anyway, it was a lovely day strolling at the zoo. Good times.

Makin' Whoopie

And the crowd roars!!!!!

...because Tuesday I was winner of the Crowd Favorite award in Oddfellow's 3rd Annual Whoopie Pie Bake-off. I can now say I am an award-winning baker.

I was pleased as punch at the turnout of all my friends and co-workers (my office is right upstairs!). But if I don't say so myself, the lemon lavendar whoopie pies that I entered were pretty darn tasty. Like unicorn rainbows in your mouth!

There were about 7 contestants total, and we had 2-3 whoopies on display then a bunch of tasters in front. They were labeled A-G (mine=E). The crowd went through, tasted, and then voted.

There were lots of tasty whoopies pies such as:

Strawberry Shortcake. This one taste liked summer and was quite delicous. I found this guy works at Oddfellows as a baker/server. Oddfellows has some pretty tasty treats in the pastry case, so no wonder I liked thie one.

One of my favorites (besides my own, of course), was the sweet potato spice with caramel filling. It was all the fall flavors that I love. I got the chance to chit-chat with the baker and get the recipe. Friends, I'll make these for you sometime this fall - so tasty.

Another whoopie was the scortched s'mores. Very cute though with it's campfire decoration, and quite deserving of Most Inventive.

Mine, Crowd Favorite, was the most loved by the people ... also the most delicious (in my humble opinion). If there was a reward for best decorated, I think I would have won that too. I had down to the fine details like candied lemon peel on top, a cute sign, actual lemons, and lavendar - looky here. I'm awesome (again, this is said in the most humbly-speaking voice possible). Ahh, I've let it get to my head. Seriously though, they were ALL delicious whoopie pies.

 

The best part of the whole experience was ... I had a blast. I really enjoyed trying to make whoopie pies for the first time. Trying to get the recipe just right was a fun challenge that kept me busy in the kitchen. Plus, I got to enjoy some time on a nice afternoon with fellow bakers and friends. Who can beat that? Thanks Oddfellows!

Here's some more info for your reading pleasure:

The Judges:

• Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce’s Michael Wells
• The Wandering Goose's Heather Earnhardt
• Crumble & Flake Patisserie’s Neil Robertson
• Surly Gourmand, Blogger
• Babeland Seattle's Audrey McManus
• Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream Molly Moon
• Trophy Cupcakes's Jennifer Shea
• Robin Wehl Martin & her lovely assistant Eliza

The Results:

• #1 Whoopie Pie: Strawberry shortcake by Curt Waller
• #2: Vegan chocolate with cookies 'n' cream filling by Aaron Valdivia
• #3: Sweet potato with caramel filling by Emily McClory
• Most Inventive: Scorched S'mores by Owen Curtsinger
• Crowd Favorite: Lemon-Lavender by Heather Brown (Me)

More Things to Check Out:

• My Flickr Album for awesome pictures
• Oddfellow's FB photo album
• Capitol Hill's Blog post about it

A Sneak Peak

I alluded to this in my previous post, but I am in a baking competition this Tuesday. In fact, it's a Whoopie Pie bake-off. I've entered into the home baker non-traditional category. I've been testing out my recipe in the kitchen the past few weeks. I think I've got a winning recipe!

It's at Oddfellow's tomorrow from 4-6pm. There are about 10-12 bakers competing and we're bringing samples for the crowd. They have judges but the crowd gets to vote too.

Come and join me and my whoopie pie friends!

P.S. Of course I'll take pictures and write a post.

Soak up the Sun

At last, the sun arrived in Seattle.

Walking around town, you'll notice people are a bit red. The sun appeared here over the weekend (and is still here!). It's my belief that Seattlities go a bit nuts when the sun is out. It's like the gray skies seeps out all the sanity, and then the sun arrives and we get sun obsessed. We have whole conversations that center around the weather and the sun.

Josh and I partook in the sun craze this weekend. We spent a fair amount of our weekend outdoors. It was sooooo nice. On Saturday, we took a ferry over to Bainbridge. This is something we've been meaning to do since the wedding when some family went over there and said it was cute. Josh and I were holding out for good weather to make the day trip -- it's been 7-1/2 months. Enough said.

The sunshine made the ferry ride very pleasant, and it gave us some good views of downtown on the way in/out. It's only like a 30-40 minute ride, and Bainbridge is the first stop. From the ferry terminal, it's like a 5-10 minute walk to the cute downtown.

 

We meandered to town, and decided it was lunch time. We made a stop at a place called Nola's that got good reviews on Yelp. The wait was like 30 minutes though, and we were hungry. As we walked out, we noticed a sunny, little park. Then, as luck would have it, next door was a butcher/deli that looked pretty dang good. Why not enjoy our lunch outside?

And that's what we did. We ordered two sandwiches from the Hitchcock deli (and I got a lavendar latte - yum), and we headed to the perfect little picnic spot.

  

After a our tummies were full, we took a lovely stroll through the stores. Grabbed more food, this time a tasty milkshake from Moras (which totally rocked), and strolled some more. 

Then we headed back on the ferry. After which, we strolled some more in downtown Seattle. 

Sun shining. Good food. Cute shops. Could it get any better?

Tiptoe Thru the Tulips

Or maybe not....

But tiptoeing through the tulips might actually ring a bell for a few of you. Josh let me know about this song, but I haven't heard of it before (you've got to listen a good 30 sec to hear the refrain). He said you'd know though, and like a trusting wife, I post it.

First, to set the scene, we had a beautiful day weather-wise on Saturday. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and it was the weekend. . The temperature was great - not too hot, not too cold. And best yet, I got to sleep in. Can't beat that start.

No wait, it gets better. I decide to whip up some waffles with strawberries. This idea spawned from our Waffle Wednesday at work that week (yes, our lovely office manager makes everyone waffles - isn't that awesome?!). I topped my waffle off with some whip cream - voila!

Then, we decided to head north of Seattle to the infamous tulip festival. Every year in the month of April, the Skagit Vallyey (basically Mount Vernon and La Conner) opens its doors to crowds of tulip-seekers. There are fields and fields of colorful tulips - all within a few different farms. For today, we headed to just one field - the RoozenGaarde fields.

The drive took about half an hour to get there, and then it was tulip time. After navigating around some fields, we arrived to our destination. We knew it was our destination by the amount of cars and people. You would have thought it an amusement park. But we came this far, so no turning back now!

We walked around the gardens, and enjoyed the different colors and arrangements. They had little signs to tell us what type of tulip it was. For instance, there is a Seattle tulip.

Then we walked out to the fields and saw rows and rows of tulip -- most of them were yellow and red. In the distance where the billowing clouds and majestic mountains. Picture perfect. It was like our own Holland (I was thinking maybe we're on similar latitudes and maybe that's why Holland and Skagit have tulips - I should research if my idea is correct).

All this tulip looking, we worked up an appetite. A frield recommended the town of La Conner for lunch saying it was cute. So we headed there for some grub. But when we got there...even more people. Apparently there was some parade going on. The restaurants were all packed. It was two o'clock but we were still encountering one hour waits. I was starving. Finally, we got the the local brew pub and they squeezed up in there back patio. Couldn't beat that on a nice day, so we took it and enjoyed pizza, tacos, and beer.

With full bellies, we headed back home. What a beatuiful day for some beautiful flowers.

 

P.S. I dedicate this post to two friends. (1) My friend Irene who lives in Holland, and (2) My friend Lara who loves tulips.

A Trio

"What makes up this particular trio," says you? I say, "it's a trio of three." You return with, "Heather, that's ridiculous, a trio is 3 already." And I say, "yes, 3 trios, deal with it." Explanation:

Trio 1: The diners

1. Heather (me)
2. Josh (my husband)
3. Beth (my friend)

Trio 2: The courses

1. Appetizer (my choice= Savory Apple Soup)
2. Entree (my choice= Carnaroli Risotto
3. Dessert (my choice= Carrot Cake)

Trio 3: The dessert

1. Theo Chocolate Pudding (Beth)
2. Carrot Cake
3. Maple Crème Brulee

The three of us enjoyed a lovely dinner last night at Tilth as part of Seattle's Restaurant Week. I believe other cities have similar events, but mainly restaurants join together to offer 3-course menus to diners for a flat $28/person. For some restaurants, this is a great deal for the diner. You get to try out a new restaurant at a lower then normal price. To make it work for the restaurant, it's Monday through Thursday only; no weekends. But that didn't stop us!

This was the perfect opportunity to test out a restaurant that I've been wanting to try since I arrived here in Seattle. Their menu is seasonal and always looks delicious. And for all your Bravo Top Chef buffs, Maria Hines, the chef, was on Top Chef Masters.

To be honest, I was totally going to document the whole experience for you. But I was late at work and had to rush to make our reservation. In doing so, I forgot my camera. Then, I was so caught up in conversation (and food), that I forgot to use my iPhone. Finally, at dessert, I remembered and whipped up the above photos. Sorry the one of Beth and me didn't turn out (blame Josh - he'll blame the lighting and the window).

After eating our meal, I would definitely return to Tilth, even it if meant for the regular menu (maybe just for special occasions though). Restaurant week makes for a fun night out during the week and a delicious foodie experience.

Good News & Bunny Food

I've been MIA on my blog - sorry. I've been sick all week. I still have the sniffles, but that didn't stop me from enjoying Easter! 

Josh and I started out Easter at church. The music was great - especially the drummers that were out front and then marched in to start the service. I love our church's music; it really makes it fun. It's like our own Switchfoot at chruch. Another thing I enjoy about our church is their cool marketing. Seriously. It's cool. Below is an image they have for Easter celebrate. Okay, I won't go ultra religious on you, just wanted to give my church some props (not to mention, it's what Easter is really about). 

After a good service, we headed out for a nice Easter brunch at Tilikum Place Cafe. I enjoyed a decadent Dutch baby pancake. It had bananas and bittersweet chocolate to drizzle on top. Josh had their special lamb eggs benedict on crispy polenta. A delicious way to start our day.

Then, I had to get some regular Sunday chores in - groceries, laundry, a bit of cleaning - but after that we were off to celebrate the sunshine we recieved here today. We took a walk along Elliot Bay starting out at the Helix Bridge (you may remember this from another post last year). 

The part was great. People out strolling. Dogs running around. Sun shining down on us. A slight breeze to cool us down. What a great day?! We walked all the way down to the waterfront and art sculpture area. We took a few photos on the way.

 

By 5pm, we were back at our car and ready to head home. I whipped up a yummy spring soup with ricotta toasts. Then, to celebrate a lovely Easter-Spring day some more, I baked a tangerine olive oil cake using the special tangerine olive oil Don and Nada gave us for Easter (this olive oil could deserve it's own post...if I have time).

 

Speaking of desserts, I wanted to give a quick mention to our Pastiera cake at The Fat Hen on Friday. It's a traditional Neapolitan (Italian) cake make for Easter. I'll have to make this next year. Quite tasty.

Rat City, Flowers, Tribute

What does Rat City, Flowers, and Tributes have in common? Well, pretty much nothing except for the fact that I've enjoyed all three of them in the past week. Let me explain....

Rat City

Get ready for this...roller derby. Here in Seattle there is a roller derby league called Rat City Rollergirls. These girls are rough, and tough, and so unique, they are the badest girls around and you're so weak (<--I had to, it's an old cheer from, well, let's not get into that).

Josh and I decided to twist up our weekend movie night and insert a night out watching some roller derby. I was pretty doubtful about the whole idea, but thought it wouldn't hurt to go for a few hours. Neither of us had any idea how the game was played. Luckily we had our iPhones to look up the rules. After a quick look-up, we had the basic idea, and enjoyed watching girls beat each other up. Get a glimpse of the action...

Flowers

Ready for something sickenly sweet? Josh has gotten me flowers two times in the past 3 weeks. Isn't he the best husband? Today, while in training at work, the knock opens up and my co-worker walks in with a big box from ProFlowers. I immediately knew it was for me, but I just didn't know why. Inside was two dozen roses with a little note wishing me a happy half year anniversary. Okay ladies, say it, "awwww." Yes, I do have the best husband. And I can't believe we've been married half a year - time flies!!

Tribute

If you've read the book or seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then I seriously need you to get with it or else we might not be friends. Tribute, District 12, President Snow...errr, okay, I guess I need to spell it out for you....Hunger Games. And I saw it opening weekend.

Sometimes when books are made into movies, I'm bitterly disappointed. But, this time, I can say with certainty that I was NOT disappointed. Sure, they switched a few things up, took a few things out, but they had to edit it or else it'd be too long - I get it. And they did a very good job. Highly recommend it. Go see it! It's awesome.

Tea for Two

Last Sunday, Josh and I did a "test run" for my first day at the Seattle office - the route, parking, timing. But why drive all the way to Capitol Hill without spending a bit of time.

We grabbed some lunch at a cute little restaurant called Plum Bistro. Afterwards, we decided to go check out a tea shop that Josh found out online. I was excited because I just spent the week prior in Chicago where every morning I enjoyed a tea latte from Argo Tea, a cool tea chain that I found (not on the West Coast yet, sad face).

I just love tea lattes. The love for them began when my friend Heather Richardson took me to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in LA many years ago. That is when I was introducted to the English Breakfast tea latte and the idea that you can have tea lattes other than a Chai tea latte from Starbucks. My favorite now is the Winter Dream tea latte...whoops, drooling.

Anyway, I digress. So, Josh and I took a nice stroll, in the rain (this is Seattle for crying out loud - deal with it), to a new place with high hopes of it being awesome tea especially since our favorite little tea shop in Queen Anne, TeaCup, closed it's storefront (you can still order online).

To our delight, we walked into Remedy Tea, a cute, cozy tea shop. I really enjoyed the way they decorated the store and had the teas organized. They labeled the teas with numbers and then had rows of the jars labeled with the tea's corresponding number. So hipster, Capitol Hill.

 

They had a few options for tea lattes, but back at Argo I had an Early Grey Creme tea latte that I really loved. They had an Early Grey Creme tea so I asked if they could make a tea latte (note: this would be called a London Fog tea latte). They said they could totally whip that up - hurrah. Josh ordered off the regular tea latte menu and got a chai tea latte. We were both very impressed with our drinks. 

 

(I guess with all this tea talk, I'm a tea freak)

We got our teas to go, and walked happy back to our car with a warm cup in our hands.

Green, Guinness, Shamrocks

Green, Guinness, Shamrocks --> Happy St Patrick's Day

No need to pinch me, I definitely wore my green today. And, I even though my last name has changed, I'm still an O'Neill on St Paddy's Day. That, and, it will always be in my blood. 

Josh and I are having  a low key St Patricks Day. I had a long week (which I'll write more about soon), so we thought we'd keep it easy. We started off getting crumpets downtown at The Crumpet Shop. Now, you might think, those are English treats, not Irish. Well, did you know St Patrick was actually born in England. Read up.

Then we got some coffee at Fonte, and cheese at Beechers cheese (yum). Why not, we were downtown?

After relaxing and doing this & that at home, we got some Guinness steak pot pie at Hilltop Ale House. It seemed Irish enough. Josh ordered some Guinness too. I just pretended to drink it. I really don't like beer, so a photo with it will do it for me.

 

This afternoon, I baked up some delicious Chocolate Mint Oreo Cookies. I searched at three stores for the mint green chips, but no luck. ( I guess my Irish luck was faulty). Instead, I bought some Easter M&Ms and picked out all the green M&Ms and placed them on top of the cookies before baking. And there was my touch of green.

Lastly, we are about to get a pizza delivered (mine half will have spinach, so it'll be green too). Then we're off to see John Carter - note: that's a Josh movie pick. 

Go Irish!

To The Summit

Thursday was a beautiful day, and what better way to enjoy it than go outside into it. And we really went outdoors....we went snowshoeing.

You know it's a clear day, when you can see Mount Rainier. So that's exactly where we decided to go showshoeing, at Mt Rainier. Not to mention, that the guy from REI went on about 45 minutes on how great Mt Rainier was for snowshoeing than Snoqualamie, the other place we were considering.

Our friend Aaron joined us in the morning to partake in the snowshow adventure. So, the three of us hopped in the car and headed for the mountain. Before we headed onto the open road, we made a quick pit-stop at Wholefoods for some sandwiches to pack along.

The drive took about 2-something hours, with us arriving at the Paradise parking lot around noon. We slapped on our snowshoes and headed into the snow wonderland. And the sun was still shining bright as beautiful as ever. In fact, it was so warm, that we hardly had to wear any layers. I was even rolling up my sleeves it was that sunny & warm.

We're not entirely sure what trail we took. Maybe Alta Vista or maybe Mazama Ridge. We just picked a direction and went. We saw another snowshoeing couple ahead of us that were blazing the trail for us. We walked through a valley and started upward. We we got to the top and had a little lunch.

We continued on, doubting the ridge that lay ahead. It was quite steep, but Aaron trudged ahead - the trail blazer. And after some huffing and puffing, we made it to the peek of the ridge (or, as I like to say, the summit). It was a dazzling site, with views of the surrounding mountain ranges - we saw Mt Adams and Mt Saint Helens. Here's a little video I took from the top:

2012 March Snowshoeing from Heather Brown (O'Neill) on Vimeo.

Lastly, we headed back down the other side of the ridge, making a nice little loop with us ending back at the Paradise parking lot.

But that wasn't the end of the day. Not sir ye. We also got two beautiful views of Mt Rainier on the road home. One from inside the park at Kautz Creek and another from a small town near at Clear Lake. Can't beat these views....

And was one fine day of beautiful weather and showshoeing.

Weekend Visitors

This past weekend, Josh and I had some visitors. My parents! Of all the weekends we've had recently, they picked the one with the most rain. Sad face. But that's okay, there is plenty to do indoors.

Saturday - Wine Tasting

We jumped in the car and headed over to Woodinville, WA. There are about 85 wineries in this area (at least, that's what one of the winery people said). Sha-right, like we could visit all 85, get a grip...we did manage to visit 6 of them.

1. Chateau Ste. Michelle


2. Challenger Ridge


3. Patit Creek Cellars


4. Trust Cellars


5. Delille Cellars


6. Novelty Hills Winery *

*Bet you didn't know our visit last weekend was to preview the wineries and ensure it would be a good place to bring my parents.

We had a jolly good time. I got introduced to ice wines which I found awesomely sweet and yummy. My dad got a taste for Washington wines. And Josh and my mom just had a good time.

Sunday - Theo Chocolate Tour

What better way to follow up a day of wine, a day with chocolate. Theo is a local chocolate maker (just 1 of 10 in the US) just across the bridge from us in Fremont. This place is so popular, you have to have to make reservations to get on the tour. Since we didn't really plan ahead on this one, we go there early, got on the waiting list, and then prayer we got on the tour. And we did!

We all enjoyed the tour, especially the tour guide who made many Willy Wonka references. We got to taste some chocolate along the tour, and learned quite a few new things about chocolate and Theo.

Some of you who were at our reception may recall the little chocolate bars on your place settings. Those were Theo! My parents bought got the limited edition scotch chocolates which he is enjoying this week.

After a quick bite to eat at Fonte, my parents had to head down to Portland for a Burger King convention my dad was attending for work. See, even rainy day weekends can be fun weekends.

Red and Wine

That's what I said. Red and Wine. Not red wine. I'm talking about a red wall and wine (which was white).

On Sunday, Josh and I wanted to get out of the house a bit. We thought we should go out to someplace we've never been in the general Seattle area. Yes, we like to do this kind of random stuff. Sunday's pick was to go to the Eastside and Woodinville was the place. We thought we'd grab lunch and then see a winery or two out there.

And that's what we did. We had lunch at a cute sandwich place called the Twisted Cafe. It was a tasty sandwich with homemade bread. Then off we went to a winery.

We ended up at Novelty Hill winery. I'm not a huge wine fan, which I know for some of you is shocking considering I'm my father's child (if you don't know, my dad is a big wine affectionato). I do, however, enjoy a nice sweet, white wine. Yes, the kind you drink for dessert that are all syrupy sweet. Those wines. Maybe in time I'll develop some taste for nicer, red wines. For now, this is it. So it was lucky for me that the "bonus" wine on the tasting had lots of residual sugars (aka sweet!). So we bought a bottle.

As for red, well, the patio of the winery had a red wall at the back. See a red wall in the background...

And here's some close ups at the wall:

There was also red in the front of the winery. I like the gray to red contrast (trying to be artsy).

Then we headed home.

A Hearty Meal

Happy ♥ Day!

Today could have been any other day, except for two cool facts.

Fact #1: I made our polenta cakes into heart shapes. How cute is that? It was a sausage ragu sauce on top (which happens to be red). Then we sat and ate a heart-y meal together. (PS the recipe is from Anne Burrell on Worse Cooks In America)

Fact #2: I got Josh a cute card and had it sitting on the table for him when he arrived home from work. Isn't it a cute card and fitting for us Seattle-dwellers?