Our Next Adventure: Three

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Josh and I have enjoyed many new adventures this year: 

Towards the beginning of the year we moved into a rental house in Magnolia a real house with a yard and no shared walls.

Shortly after moving, we got our little Asha puppy. 

And now, we want to share the biggest of them all...

Wait for it...

Here's a hint: it involves a bump.

WE ARE EXPECTING TO BE THREE!

(well, Asha just pawed me and reminded me it actually going to be four).

Oh man, it feels so good to share the news. Finally! 

Little Baby Boy Brown is expected to join our family in mid-January 2016. I'm sure you have many questions. (guess what? so do we!) 

Let's see if I can at least answer some of your questions. 

  • Special delivery is coming January 17th, 2016.
  • It's going to be all snips and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails - a boy!
  • The mama? I'm good! I was pretty lucky in my first trimester mainly dealing with fatigue, tummy aches, and my super sensitive sense of smell going into overdrive. Now, I'm in the second trimester and feeling better (more about all that in a separate post). 
  • The papa? He's so excited, especially to have a little boy.  

Unsurprisingly, we're psyched and thinking a lot about babies now. Pretty much 110% of my thoughts are about babies (especially our baby). I get to compare the baby to a fruit each week. Last week he was a peach, and this week a lemon! 

We contemplated some other ways to share the news in pictures. Our friend Aaron Smith was kind enough to take them for us. 

Because of my love of baking, we thought of saying there is a bun in the oven: 

Also, we got this cute little onesie with a heart in Seattle. Pretty darn cute. Ha, with the one photo below, you can see why Asha wasn't included in most of the shots. In fact, after that shot, the little rascal got lose and ran in circles like a crazy dog.

We are so ecstatic about this baby that we're jumping up and down! 

I'll be sure to keep you up-to-date on all the news. 

Cruising the Chuckanut

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Imagine it's Memorial Day again. It's sunny, family is in town, and you have a three day weekend. Doesn't that sound nice? Well, I can tell you, it was nice. 

My in-laws, Don and Nada, were in town in May. Two bookend weekends since Nada had work down in Tacoma for a week. The second weekend was Memorial Day weekend. We decided to show the Browns some Washington beauty and cruise down Chuckanut Drive. It's sort of like Hwy 9 for you Californians. You may remember Josh and I cruised this drive previously and really enjoyed it. 

And guess who joined us for the ride. This little pup. She was ready to ride!

We started our drive in La Conner, which is a cute little town near where all the tulips bloom each year for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.  We didn't see tulips, but we did see some beautiful flowers. Oh wait, one of those photos is not flowers - eh, close enough.

The Rainbow Bridge is near La Conner, which connects you to Fidalgo Island. We did a little jaunt over the bridge and back just to see what the other side was like. There were some nice waterfront houses over there, but we didn't explore too much over there. There was much more cruising ahead of us. 

But before we left La Conner, I had to get one shot of the pup because she's the cutest. Don also got a similar shot - plus some others - check it out.

After La Conner, we jumped in the car and headed up to Edison. Yes, it was named for the inventor, but I'm not sure why. It is a teeny, tiny town but super cute.

While in Edison, we enjoyed lunch at Slough Foods - tasty sandwiches and soup. We had a great time...

We grabbed some cookies from Breadfarm and then headed on our way - back on the Chuckanut Drive. I don't know what the next spot is called, but to me it's the start of Chuckanut Drive. I think it's what you see on some of the Chuckanut Drive brochures, and if not, it should be. We just pulled over, so you just got to be careful with the traffic zooming by with other Chuckanut cruisers. 

We hopped in the car and cruised some more and hit Taylor's Shellfish. While I don't like oysters, it's fun to drive out to Taylor's. You have to cross over some unprotected train tracks. A train came and freaked out Asha. And not surprisingly, there are lots of oyster shells on the ground out there. 

I must have gotten tired since my photos stopped after Taylors. But we did continue to drive (sorry, I should say cruise) up the drive some more. It twists and curves and has some awesome sites. and ends up in Bellingham. We didn't spend too much time in Bellingham since we needed to head back. The road back was just the 5 - nothing too special there. 

It's really a great drive. I've done it twice now and enjoyed it both times. I tell ya, you can't beat Washington's natural beauty. Now, cruise on my friends!

A Few Hours in Chicago

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I told you I'd tell you. I sure did, and here I am fulfilling my promise. I'm good like that - keeping promises.

As you know, I was in Chicago this past April for my Grandma Ruth. There was one afternoon, where Lindsay and I found ourselves with a few hours to spare before the next family gathering. So we looked at each other, shrugged, and decided to hit the town. Downtown Chicago.

Boom. 

We started out with filling our bellies at Little Goat Diner. I knew the chef (uh, not personally) from one of my favorite shows, Top Chef. She was the season 4 winner and has since become very popular, especially in Chicago. 

Yes, there was actually goat at Little Goat Diner. Lindsay got goat sloppy joes and I got a goat cheese & smoked blueberry quesadilla. Both were delicious. See Lindsay ohh-ing and ahh-ing and me ready to devour? Dang, I look hangry in that photo. Don't I? Roarrrrr. Food. Eat. Now.

Every time I write "goat" I say "bahhh" to myself. I'm weird. But we enjoyed the lunch experience. 

With bellies full, we decided to have a little adventure out at Millennium Park. For one thing, it's free (except for parking). And another, Lindsay had never been. 

My favorite thing at the park, and I'm sure it's everyone's favorite considering the amount of people, is the bean. It's just cool. 

Cool bean. 

What's cool is how it reflects stuff. It reflects the skyscrapers. 

It reflects people. 

It reflects off itself. 

We took some photos of ourselves with the bean because it's cool and we're cool. 

It's just reflects everything. And it's in the shape of a bean. The end.

Side note: I guess it's really called Cloud Gate...whatever.

But keep going because it doesn't end with the bean. 

There are other structures there, too. Like the Crown (right) fountain and the somewhat creepy people/faces structures. Lindsay posed...such a model, especially the bottom one.

Nearby was a cool Stock Exchange building arch. And the buildings nearby are cool, too. Umm, Should I stop saying cool? 

Not pictured, but there is also a new addition to the park since the last time I was there. It's thing mega kids land/park. It was pretty wild (see what I did there, used wild instead of cool).

We ended the adventure walking along Lake Michigan. The water was incredible blue. Okay, more like teal. It was quite pretty (and windy, and cool). 

Then we got to our car, which was parked by the fountain. Sadly, the fountain was dry. But cool still. 

And there you have it. A few hours out in Chicago. Plus good sister bonding time. Can't beat that. 

It was cool. 

Grandma Ruth

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I've been debating as to whether to write this post or not. Ultimately, as you can see, I decided to write it. You may have been wondering why my blog has been so silent lately. Well, the reason is that I've been grieving since my grandma passed away the week before last. While we knew it was bound to happen, especially since she's been slowly going down hill, it nonetheless hit me pretty hard when it really happened. 

I was really close to my grandma. She made a point of making such close relationships with all her children and grandchildren. She was the quintessential grandma - sweet, kind, loving, and had that cute grandma hair cut (you know, the one that required going to the salon about once a week). I have such fond memories of our time together over the years. She visited us often out in Encinitas and we spend many hot summer days out in Chicago. She even came out for many Christmas and Easter holidays. So she never really seemed far away.

As she was with me, she was with others - always there. And there was no doubt of the love and connections she made over her lifetime as I witnessed the hundreds that showed up to pay their respect over the course of the two days when I was in Chicago last week for the wake and funeral. I felt so honored to be her granddaughter.

I have some many good memories with my Grandma Ruth. Here's just a few...the list goes on and on. 

  • She taught me how to draw a daisy.
  • She was always joined me for frozen yogurt outings.
  • Her love for Navy Pier and Chicago was totally infectious.
  • When she visited for Easter when I was young, she would play endless rounds of egg hunts.
  • We would take long bike rides together through the park (over crunchy locust, yuck!).
  • I can't eat a Frango without thinking of her. 
  • The time at Heathrow when she insisted on us following her, only for her to turn around moments later to confess she didn't know where she was headed.
  • Driving along in the torture mobile, eh hem, I mean blue Oldsmobile.
  • Her infamous German Chocolate Cake and manicotti - a must when she visited. She always made me a cupcake without the gross coconut frosting. 
  • Celebrating St Patricks Day with brownies that had wintergreen tic-tacs on top as "green sprinkles."
  • Every bit of her was Irish even though her ancestry wasn't really Irish, but she had the last name O'Neill.
  • When she was in town, she's get bagels and cream cheese on weekend mornings and have it waiting for us for breakfast.
  • Johnny Pat, in Chicago when it rains and you have the wind shield wipers on you need to put your lights on as well. Dad turns off the wind shield wipers.
  • On our Hawaii trip, I looked at Grandma and asking why she's wearing the same clothes as yesterday. She gently reminded me that her luggage had be lost. Oh vey!
  • The tiger blankets she had at the Frontage Road home.
  • Grandma told me once that a young man raised his middle finger at her, and then proceed to ask me once if there was road rage in California. I said of course not.
  • While on our Colorado trip as a child, I asked about thunder. Grandma explained it was the angel's bowling.
  • She had no fear of garlic, she would just lather it on at Little Joe's in San Francisco. 
  • During college, she would send cookie packages (with a slice of bread to keep them fresh!).
  • Hooters. We should go there sometime. 

If you knew Grandma Ruth, I'd love to hear your memories in the comments! 

Also, I created a video full of photos of Grandma. As a longer term project (I had to put this together pretty fast), I hope to make a book full of photos of her. If you have any, please send them my way.  

If you'd like to download this video, go to the video on Vimeo. There should be a button to download underneath the video. If you have any troubles, please let me know.

“You are not forgotten, loved one
Nor will you ever be,
As long as life and memory last
We will remember thee.
We miss you now, our hearts are sore.
As time goes by we’ll miss you more.
Your loving smile, your gentle fact,
No one can fill your vacant place. ”

Lastly, here is her Obituary.

Orcas Island Family Getaway

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Let's rewind for a minute, shall we? It may seem like a long time ago now, but really December was just last month. And I have to tell you about Orcas Island. I just HAVE to because it was too beautiful and too fun not to tell you. 

My parents and sister all flew into Seattle to spend my mom's birthday weekend here in the Pacific Northwest. Then we all went together up to Orcas Island, which is one of the San Juan Islands. 

Remember when Josh and I went to San Juan Island (oh wow, that post was pre-blog refresh)? Well, yet again the San Juan's swept us off our feet. We had such a great time, and we lucked out with beautiful, sunny weather...in December...yea, lucky. 

We started out the trip by jamming all five of us into my car. It was a wee bit tight but we made it work. Sometimes it's lucky to be the driver.

Then, like all good Washington trips, our trip started and ended with a ferry ride. Ferry rides are awesome. They make me feel like little kid again - running to the front to catch a mountain sighting or just standing in the front with the wind in your hair. Or, to just chilling inside on your phone - cough cough (ha! caught ya mom & dad).

We stayed the night at Outlook Inn, which was an adorable hotel. With it being the low season, the prices were great. I'd definitely recommend it. It was decked out for the holidays, too. Love it. 

We arrived late in the day, so it was practically dark already. Being more north, it tends to get dark around 4pm in the dead of winter. UGH! Honestly, it's the worst thing about winter. But on the island, it was sort of cool since it was so dark the sky was super clear and the stars sparkled. It was weird to have to use the brights on my car; I do that so rarely so when I do, I get sort of excited. 

Dinner was at Sound Bite, or at least that's the name during the winter. Normally, it's Westsound Cafe. Actually, a fair warning, if you go in the low season, a lot of restaurants close. I tried two other restaurants before getting reservations at Westsound. I was nervous about everyone liking it, but it was really delicious. 

Josh and I capped the night with a drink at The Barnacle. It's a great bar...go if you ever visit Oracas Island. Do it. Do it. 

When we woke up in the morning, we looked out the window to see the fog resting over the water; it was magical. Then the sun started to break through, and the water shone with blues, pinks, and greens. I have to say, it's not a bad way to wake up.

One more photo of the morning fog for good measure.

Breakfast was equally as good as the view at Brown Bear Baking. Oh man, the orange sugar bun was killer. So So good. I'm drooling.

With full bellies, we headed out to Moran State Park and Mount Constitution, which boasts the highest point on the San Juan Islands. Admittedly, the views were awesome.

In good ole John O'Neill style, we stopped at many viewpoints. If you know my dad, and have traveled with us, you know what I'm talking about. I drove, so I had to take on the Captain duties. 

While on the mountain, I convinced a random guy to take a family photo. The sun was a bit harsh (oh boo hoo, the sun was shining), but you can still see how beautiful my family is...we're like models really.

Sure, okay, I'll show one of just the view. It was hard to get the photo to match what we saw. The fog was like blankets in the valleys. 

We went a little photo crazy at this viewpoint. What did I tell you? A good looking family. 

After Mount Constitution, we spent some time at the shops in Eastsound. It's a quaint town with fun shops; my favorite was Darvill's bookstore. Then, we caught a few tastes of wine a the Orcas Island Winery. And that was about it. We had to catch the ferry back to the mainland.

The ferry ride back caught some great views of Mount Baker. Well, that is what I believe it was...definitely not Mount Rainer, though, I know that one.  

As we rode the ferry, the sun started to set. Sooo pretty. Boats and sun and water.

Ah, I almost forgot, on the way to Orcas Island, we spent a few hours in Anacortes. It wasn't really planned, but we had to kill a few hours until the next ferry. My sister found entertainment in taking photos with all the sasquashes. Oh, there are more than just these three my friends. We roamed some antique stores and grabbed lunch at Gere-a-Delis. 

So there you have it. A good weekend getaway to Orcas Island with the family. I can't wait to go back!

Adventures in Death Valley: Part 2

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Here's Death Valley Part 2, which I pinky swore in Part 1 that I would share. When I pinky swear, I mean it. I keep my pinky swears. I'm not sure what the cost is if you don't keep a pinky swear, but I don't want to find out. 

We did a lot on our second day. Well, we did a lot on our first day. I guess we just did a lot on the whole trip. But the second day, we took the road more. We met some locals like Mr. Mule below. He had a friend, Mrs. Mule. They told me to say "hey" to you.

Oh man, the roads were crowded, I mean look at all those cars on the road in that picture. Crazy, right? Heh, got you. It was just wide open road folks, wide open. 

The Open Road & Locals

The locals & Open Road

Scotty's Castle

Out in the middle of the desert, there is a castle. It's Scotty's Castle, but it doesn't belong to Scotty (I should turn this into some kind of riddle). But seriously, it's in the desert and Scotty did live there. It's a long, fascinating story and we heard all about it on the tour. Basically, it's about a con-artis, a banker, and their unlikely friendship. Funny how life works out and surprises us. Here's the story as it was told on the tour (there may be some inaccuracies ; hey, I'm not perfect):

Scotty was from Kentucky and at a young age headed to the West to become a cowboy. He joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Shows. After about a decade with the show, be ventured on his own and started to tell everyone he found gold in Death Valley. He convinced some Chicago investors to support his mining expeditions, but went on to use the money all up in San Francisco pretending to be a rich from all his gold. The investors got smart and wanted to see the gold mine with their own eyes. Scotty took them, but staged an attack before entering the valley. It didn't go as planned and the investors caught on to Scotty's scheme.

Luckily, this didn't phase Albert Johnson, one of the investors, and he went on to become friends with Scotty. When it came time to build a vacation home, Albert picked Death Valley (it helped his health and full of beauty). Albert didn't want to make a ruckus about his vacation home, he just wanted a nice place to relax, so Scotty got to call it his castle. 

Scotty's Castle

Scotty's Castle

There were so many intriquite features of the castle - like the red gate really and the J-S seals. The JS made sense after the tour and learning the history - J for Albert Johnson and the S for Scotty. 

The gates of Scotty's Castle

Funny enough, our tour guide was named Scott - he was sure to clarify that it was not Scotty. The history and the beautiful surroundings made this one of our favorite sites of the park. 

Touring Scotty's Castle

Ubehebe Crater

After Scotty's Castle, we drove to the nearby Ubehebe Crater. Just the name itself is fun to say; try it: Ubehebe. The crater was created from volcanic activity - specifically, a large steam explosion. As a kid, volcanoes both terrified me and fascinated me. I have to say, Ubehebe gave me the hebegebes.

The other photo below was just a random stop on the way to the crater. It's rather funny because there was nobody stopping, but by the time we left about a half dozen cars had also pulled over. People see you looking at something and assume it's cool then they pull over as well. If you ever go to Death Valley, see if it works. Pull over and check if others follow...I bet you it will work. Seriously, though it was gorgeous - the blackened sand was really cool.

Ubehebe Crater & Surrounding Area

Rhyolite

Rhyolite's prime was just a mire six years - from 1904 to 1910. The town sprang up after a prospecting discovery in the surrounding hills. From there it boomed and people from all around flocked to the town. It even had a stock exchange and electricity. But it fell quickly, and is now a lonely ghost town in the middle of nowhere. My pictures show the casino, general store, bank, and a brothel (scandalous!). 

Remains at Rhyolite

There was a random Union Pacific train sitting in the ghost town. It's sort of sad to see a city just die and dwindle to rocks and rubble. I wonder if there are any ghosts hanging around. Oh my!

Roaming Rhyolite

There was even a deserted truck (although, I'm guessing it's not from 1910 - just a hunch). And random cans and rust. But rust is pretty, don't you think?

Rusty Rhyolite

Bottle House 

One place still stands structurally intact in Rhyolite and that's Tom Kelly's Bottle House. No joke, this house is made out of bottles. Can you imagine living in a bottle house? I learned it was made out of about 30,000 bottles, and they were mostly Busch or medicine bottles (you know, Busch as in Budweiser). Pretty crazy stuff.

Bottle House

Borax Train

There are not very many places to stay when you visit Death Valley. There is the Furnace Creek Resort, which if you can afford, looks to be pretty nice (we had dinner there one evening). Or, the Furnace Creek Ranch, which is where we stayed. At the ranch, is the Borax Museum. We didn't go to the museum (there is only so much time!), but we did get a few pictures of the train used to transport the borax. 

Borax Company Train

Red Rock Canyon

It seems backwards, I know, but before we left I grabbed a photo of t he Death Valley sign. Then we drove onto Las Vegas. Quite the change -- nature and nothingness to mega city and everything. We grabbed lunch at Honey Salt. It wasn't in the strip, just outside in one of the suburbs. And oh my it was good. I really loved the decor and the food was great. 

We had some time to burn before our flight, so heck, let's see yet another National park. We did a quick drive through Red Rock Canyon. Yup, it's red. Actually, it's quite beautiful and we all agreed it would require a return but with more time. 

Goodbye Death Valley, Red Rock Canyon

We really fit a lot into two days at Death Valley. I would definitely suggest a visit, but maybe keep it to the winter season. The summers seem a bit hot, to say the least. I was also happy to be proven wrong about it being "just a desert." It's full of beauty and history - two of my favorite things! 

Adventures in Death Valley - Part 1

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I want to tell you something...Death Valley is rad!

Hold up, let's back track a bit so you know where this is coming from. 

After Christmas, my in-laws brought Josh and I to Death Valley National Park for a fun holiday trip. To be honest, I always assumed Death Valley was a large desert with nothing much to see - just hot and boring. Silly me! It's actually like a small amusement park with different "lands" (like Disneyland has "Adventure Land" and so on). There is Badwater Basin, Artist's Palette, San Dunes, and so much more. 

I loved it so much I took over 275 photos. Wowza! So lots of photos to share. But, do you know what I have a problem with? Decisions. You know what's not good for a blog? Lots of photos and poor decision-making. I've had a heck of a time deciding which photos to share. Argh! I wish I could show them all, but that's guaranteed to bore you to death. I'll do my best to limit it, but I really want to show you the awesomeness that is Death Valley (not to mention, show the handsome people that visited it - eh hem, that would be the Brown family). 

Because of all this awesomeness and lack of decision on my part, I'll be breaking this up into a two part blog post. This first post will cover our first day at Death Valley. The next post, which I pinky swear will come soon, will cover the last day. I might even through in a third post, if you're lucky, with some other random stuff. So get comfy, here we go...

Amargosa Opera House

We entered Death Valley from the Southeast entrance (map) since we were coming in from Palm Springs. One of the first attractions is the Amargosa Opera House. This was originally constructed in 1923 as a company town by the Pacific Coast Borax Company. It was abandoned and later discovered by Marta Becket who restored the building and turned it into an opera house. 

We didn't see an opera show, but it was an awesome building and we arrived at sunset, so the lighting was just right. This was my first taste of Death Valley, and I was instantly intrigued. 

Amargosa Opera House and Hotel

Badwater Basin & Below Sea Level

Our first full day in Death Valley started with Badwater Basin. It is one of the lowest places on Earth, at 282 feet below sea level, and it's the lowest point in North America. See Josh in the picture pointing up? No, he's not doing a disco move, rather pointing to the sign on the mountain indicating "Sea Level." (see that tiny sign?!)

 Below Sea Level @ Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin got it's name from a pioneer/explorer that was traveling with his mule, and the mule wouldn't drink the water...hence the name, badwater. All around is salt encrusted ground, likely the culprit for the bad water. We broke off a piece of the salt rock, and sure enough it tasted salty. My favorite part of this site was how the water reflected the surrounding the mountains (as shown in the photo below). 

Badwater Basin

Devil's Golf Course

Devil's Golf Course is similar to Badwater Basin except that the salt flat is more jagged and has all these crazy holes. The name comes from a guide that stated, "Only the devil could play golf" on its surface (according to Wikipedia). 

As we looked around, there was a kid that kept saying that it reminded him of Frosted Wheat. I could see what he was saying with the white salt layer and ribbed-like ground. Clever kid, although he got annoying after the tenth time yelling this to his dad...

Devil's Golf Course

Artist Drive & Palette

The colors here were awesome. Unfortunately it was mid-day, so not a photographers dream; however, you can still see the various colors from teal to pin to red. I'm no geologist, but apparently this is due to oxidation of different metals and from volcanic ash.  

We got out and hiked around a bit, but the drive through is also a must. This was one of my favorite sites of the park. 

Artist Palette

Devil's Cornfield

Another "Devil" named place. I guess the Devil comes to mind when you're at a place called Death Valley. Uh, hello, Death. Death...Devil...Hot....so, here's a fun fact: Death Valley is one of hottest (if not the hottest) place on Earth. On July 10, 1913 a reading of 134°F was taken, the world record hottest air temperature. Some other records say it's Libya is the hottest at 136.4°F. Oh snap! 

Back to Devil's Cornfield. These are actually Arrowweed plants. The are left with there roots dangling out after the wind blows the sand away. Poor things; roots all exposed. How embarrassing. 

Devil's Haystacks

Mesquite Sand Dunes

Sand dunes, now that's what I'm talking about. This is how I imagine Egypt and the sand near the pyramids. I love the ripple the wind creates on the sand. Sadly, there were so many tourists stomping around that finding a clean patch of sand was tough. But I found it! 

Get this, people were actually sledding down the dunes. Crazy. How dare they mess up the sand! I hope they got sand in their underwear. Just kidding...it looked fun.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

It was sunset as we explored the dunes, and I thought the silhouettes of the tourists was pretty rad. 

Dusk at the Sand Dunes

Harmony Borax Works

You might have picked this up when you read about Amargosa Opera House, but Borox was a big deal in Death Valley. You might have used 20 Mule Team Borax at home for cleaning. I used it to get rid of fleas once. Yea?

Well, back in 1883-89, Borax was mined in Death Valley by Harmony Borax Works. Guess what they used to haul the borax around? 20 Mule Teams and wagons. Yup, that's right. Borax is no longer mined in Death Valley, but the mines and wagons are around for tourist to view. 

Harmony Borax Works

So that ends our first day. Did you know you were getting a history lesson with this post. No sir ye. I surprised you, didn't I? But, not joke, we did all this in one day. There is still another full day to share with you. And as I pinky swore above, I will share it. 

Christmas 2014 Flashback

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Dude, Christmas was sooo totally six day ago (in my best beach dude voice). It's like New Years now, dude. Ok, I'll stop the "dudes" but I do want to do a quick flashback to my Christmas. Dude.

Josh and spent Christmas down in California with family. The first half (the days up until Christmas) was with my parents and sister. It was nice to see the fam and just chill out (not to mention, nice sunny weather!). We did lots of fun things like mani-pedis with my mom, walked along the Batiquitos Lagoon, ate some great food (In-N-Out, Q'ero, El Nopalito tamales, Honey's muffins, Lofty Bean lattes!!), played with the pooch, shopped, baked Christmas cookies - never a dull moment with the O'Neill family. It was a blast.

Then Christmas rolled around, and we got to opening gifts. I got some great things this year including a snug, puff jacket, earrings, booties - apparently, I was a good girl. Josh got some gift cards to go shopping (that's like two gifts in one - getting the card, and then using it!), t-shirts, and some other awesome gifts.

My parents and sister enjoyed the gift opening as well. My dad really likes the Geico Hump Day commercial (especially, the "Mike Mike Mike" part), so he got a t-shirt. My mom liked the fox wrapping paper I used (I'm a sucker for cute wrapping paper, darn you Paper Source!). Lindsay also liked the wrapping paper. Yay, foxes!!!!!

Sadly, Josh and I didn't get a Christmas tree for our apartment this year. Luckily, my parent's Christmas filled the hole in my heart and was really quite stunning.

And we can't forget the stockings. They are BIG for my family - both literally and figuratively. We have to go around a circle and open one-by-one. It really is a lot of fun. My stocking was made by my grandma, and I've had it since I was a little girl. 

Around 2pm, we transitioned families. Christmas Day evening was with the extended Brown family in Temecula. It was great to see Josh's aunts, uncles, and cousins. 

All in all, it was a darn good Christmas. Next, I'll tell you about my time with the in-laws in Death Valley. I just had to share Christmas before it turned to 2015! 


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Baker's Corner: Christmas Cookies 2014

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It's Christmas Eve and my cookies are ready just in time to set out for Santa tonight. And I tell you, he's got a lot of cookies to eat! Funny since at the beginning of December I was extremely worried I wouldn't have time to make barely any cookies. But somehow I managed to squeeze in several. Yay for cookies!

Gingerbread Macarons

Of course, I wanted to make macarons, my current favorite. Making macarons takes a quite a bit of time, but I divided it out between days. I made the shells on a Sunday (letting them dry before baking while grocery shopping), and then the filling later. The shells freeze nicely, in fact, the cookies freeze well which makes advanced baking a breeze.

Although I made gingerbread macarons last year, I tried a different recipe out this year. I think I liked these even better. I was more than ecstatic to see I had zero cracks in the shells. No joke, this fact made my day. Better yet, these were absolutely delicious. Huzzah!

Get the Recipe from It's Just Chicken

Peppermint Crinkles

I coordinated a cookie exchange at work this year, which I still hope to write about. I called it the Great Oracle Christmas Cookie Swap. For the swap, I made these peppermint crinkles. I hadn't made them before, but they turned out great (whew!). The batter seems super runny, but after refrigerating them, it works. Trust me. Another interesting thing with these cookies is that they only have 1/3 cup flour and include nutella. Beware, these are crazy chocolately.

Get the Recipe from Baker's Royale

Gingerbread Biscotti

This was the year of gingerbread I guess since I made the gingerbread macarons, pepparkakor which are gingerbread-like, and then these gingerbread biscottis. What's great about biscotti, is it's pretty easy. You make a log with the dough, bake it, slice it, and bake it again. Yes, biscotti is a twice baked cookie which makes them great for dipping in coffee or tea. I dipped mine in Trader Joe's Peppermint tea. Yum!

Get the Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Pepparkakor

No Christmas passes without making Pepparkakor. I have to carry on the tradition from my Grandma Norma who always made these. They are a Swedish cookie, and have lots of delicious spices like cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. This time I added a tad of cardamon and allspice. These are similar to gingerbread cookies, but thinner and crispier.

Recipe is a secret! (If you're nice, maybe I'll share someday!)

Krum Kager

This is another Grandma Norma cookie. For the longest time my family said these were Swedish cookies only to learn that they are actually Norwegian. Still they are Scandinavian, so we're covered. These are like a wafer-thin butter cookie that is made with a cookie iron and then rolled - sort of like a waffle cookie! They are pesky cookies since they are delicate and break easily, but they are so pretty. I didn't make the dough, my mom did that, but I did the cookie creation - pressing, rolling, and sugar sprinkles.

Another Handed down recipe, but this one is pretty similar from Recipes from Grandma.

Spritz

This is a John O'Neill favorite. He literally took the tin after dinner and started eating them. I'm not going to lie, but it was quite the battle with the cookie press. My mom had two cookie presses, and I killed the first part. Then the other one was battery operated and just worked poorly. But I conquered and managed to make these gems. Normally, I like to use green sprinkles, but we only had the colorful ones so just imagine they are ornaments on the trees.

Get the recipe below! You're welcome.

Spritz Recipe

From the Kitchen of Grandma Norma, Jan O'Neill, and now Heather Brown.

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Colored Sprinkles - Red & Green for Christmas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees/

Cream butter, add sugar and cream thoroughly. Add extract, egg, and then flour. We recommend refrigerating this for 2-3 hours.

Push dough into cookie press, and then press onto a greased baking sheet. Shake on sprinkles before baking. Bake 7-10 minutes in 350 degree oven (Note: watch the temperate, the original recipe called for 400 but we found that too hot and burning the edges).

Let cool 1-2 minutes, and then remove from pan. Let cool and enjoy!

Weekend Visitors

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Back in September, my in-laws visited for the weekend. It was an awesome weekend and ended with a beautiful sunset. We had a great time sharing Seattle and the surrounding areas with them. 

For starters, we took them over to West Seattle's Alki Beach. There was a blustery wind, but the sun was shining. We enjoyed a walk on the beach, breathing in the salty air. Nada, my mother in-law, loved Alki - it reminded her of Surfside where she grew up. 

Then we enjoyed lunch at Luna Park. We all split an Oreo shake (yes that was one shake split between the four of us). It was quite delicious. Fun fact: Cookies 'n Cream is my favorite ice cream. 

We also got to celebrate Nada's birthday with family friends Vince and Jonita. I picked out the restaurant, Tanglewood Supreme, which was a big hit. It's a hidden, little bistro in Magnolia. Oh yea, and then we enjoyed decant molten chocolate cakes at Hot Cakes later in the evening. BAM, that's how you celebrate.

Sunday we went northward and hit up Edmonds and then over to Snohomish. We ended the day with dinner on the patio of Little Water Cantina watching planes land on South Lake Union. BAM, that's how you have an awesome weekend with your in-laws. 

Some Cali Time & Parental Digs

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In September, Josh and I headed to SoCal to visit my parents. The visit was to see my parents and sister, but also to check our their new home in San Marcos. Last year my parents rented as they transitioned from my childhood home to a smaller, no-kids-at-home home. It was nice to finally see their new home. Silly me forgot to take photos, but I can try to paint a quick picture: it's a great one story home with a pleasant atrium and a nice location near a golf course. Most importantly, they seem happy. 

Funny, most of the interior was familiar. The furniture, decorations, and photos were all the same - just in different arrangements. It was that aspect that made me feel at home. Not to mention, home is where my family is (bleh, corny...but true). Like these photos on the wall, they used to be on the stairs at my childhood home.

We had a pretty chill time, which was great. Saturday we found a great dog park called Buena Visita Park, for my mom to take Keely, their golden retriever. Here's a selfie from our walk:

We had a lovely family dinner at Bleu Boheme in an area called Kensington. This is my parent's current favorite restaurant. It was really quite good. I still remember my flakey and delicious fish. We enjoyed our time together on the patio the most...

We also convinced the waitress to take our family picture. What a beautiful family! Striking I must say.

Sunday we venture out to La Jolla and enjoyed a beautiful day with the sunshine and ocean. Of course, we ate breakfast at The Cottage. 

La Jolla is such a beautiful place. It's not wonder the rich and famous chose to live there. We soaked in the sun while meandering along the water. We even spied some seals hanging out on the rocks. 

See what I mean? Beautiful. 

And then we had to fly home and back to reality. But I'm glad I got to see my parent's new digs and enjoy some Cali time with the fam. 

Summer's End Sunset

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They are saying that this weekend was the last hurrah of summer (boo). But if there was a way to end it, it would be with tonight's fabulous sunset sitting next to ones you love.

To set the scene: My in-laws were in town this weekend and we had a great time wandering Seattle & the surrounding areas (more on that later). Sunday night, to wrap up an already great weekend, we had dinner at Little Water Cantina. This is one of my favorite summer restaurants because it has a great patio on Lake Union....and it didn't disappoint today. We watched a fabulous sunset as we enjoyed each other's company, a cocktail, and delicious tacos. Can't beat that. 

And here's another. I couldn't stop taking photos!

We also saw the sea planes taking off and landing. Too cool for school.

Oh and here's us. I tried with two waiters to get us with the sunset...no luck. I desperately wanted to be a control freak and tell them exactly where to stand, how to angle the camera, etc. I thought they might spit in my food, so I ended up letting it go (queue the song).

Great end to the weekend. Thanks sunset. And goodbye summer.

Georgia on my Mind

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Georgia, oh Georgia...sing it for me Ray...

Now, that I've got you singing about Georgia, let me tell you about it. I can because I as just there. Yup, I did a last minute trip to Georgia for work last week. It was for a meeting with my client out in Alpharetta (in the 'burbs of Atlanta). Then I managed to tack on a extra two days in order to see some family. 

I few out on Wednesday, which took all freakin' day. We left at 10am and arrived at 6pm. Such a shame to spend your whole day on the plane (luckily I made up that lost time on the way home. Anyway, my first taste of Georgia was dinner. My co-worker that joined me had been to Alpharetta before, so he suggested the restaurant. We landed at a charming restaurant called Table & Main in Roswell. This place knocked my socks off it was so good. No offense, but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It was delicious "farm to table" Southern food. Dang! 

Thursday I spent the day with my client, and our meeting went well (whew!). Then I joined a few of my clients for dinner at another great restaurant called Miltons. Combined these two restaurants challenged all my preconceived notions of Southern food. Well done, Georgia.

With my client visit behind me, I drove out to Burford to visit my Aunt Pat and Uncle Ron. They have a lovely home and I got a true taste of Southern hospitality. They treated me like a queen (or should I say Southern Belle?). 

Aunt Pat & Uncle Ron's Home

I lucked out and got to meet their cat, Mr. Ford. He was a rescue cat and I think I made a breakthrough since Mr. Ford came out from behind the boxes and looked at me, which apparently he never does. I guess I am the new cat whisper. Okay, maybe not, but let's pretend. Sorry, no photos since Mr. Ford is camera shy.

Not to bring up food again (heck we do eat at least three times a day, so why not!), but of course we ate at the Cracker Barrel. What good is a trip to the South without it? Cracker Barrel is more than food, it's an experience. As a kid, I loved the jumbo checker board, the wooden peg game (oh man, if only I had this video as a kid), and the candy sticks from the stop after the meal. If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about. Oh, and you can't forget those rocking chairs out front...classic. 

I actually have a cute story about Cracker Barrel. When I was a kid, and we visited the East Coast, and I found out I loved Cracker Barrel. I loved them so much I wrote a letter to headquarters and told them to open shop in San Diego. Well, no such luck for little Heather, but it was worth a try.

Cracker Barrel experience

Saturday we enjoyed some R&R at home, but by noon we headed out to the town. I was introduced to Von Maur, a department store from Iowa, which hasn't made it's way to the West Coast (yet). I also got a tour of Dillards, a Southern department store. My favorite thing in the mall was the fact that Starbucks had sweet tea. 

Perimeter Mall

The day ended at my cousin Debbie's house. Another lovely Georgia home. So big! And I met their sweet pooch, Sammy. Sammy was a cutie and cuddled on my lap. It was great to catch up with my cousin and her husband, Dave. No joke, it has been twelve years since I last saw Debbie. Craziness. 

Family & Sammy, the dog

Sunday I flew back home. I did make up that lost time on Wednesday after all. 

And that was my quick, but sweet trip to Georgia. That's it, y'all.

Pre-Christmas Look Back

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I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Dang, Christmas came quickly! I barely got everything done. Somehow I managed to get most of the pre-Christmas activities and decorating done. I did miss a few things, but given the short time we accomplished a lot. Let me give you a peek at our Christmas preparations.

Let me share some of what you're seeing in the collage. (Note: My counting starts in top-left and goes across & then down)

  • Buying our Christmas tree (pics 1, 3, 5): We stopped at three lots this year, and we ended up at the same lot as last year. Figures. We got a Douglas fir at about 5 feet tall. We got it all decorated and it just glowed. We always use a little fresh babys breath (Brown family thing) and some good-looking, but fake poinsettias (O'Neill family thing). Then you add ornaments and lights. It's magical. And it's a great scent for the house.
  • Shopping (pic 2): Got to get those gifts! We did some shopping at local shops, Seattle's Urban Craft Uprising, and the Bellevue Square mall (shown). I love seeing the stores all decorated. 
  • Gingerbread Village (pic 3): Every year the Sheraton hosts a Gingerbread village. I heard about it before, but this was our first year going. I imaged it being a large gingerbread house, but it was actually about five gingerbread creations all following a theme. This year's theme was There's a Rhythm and a Reason this Holiday Season. All the gingerbread was in nursery rhymes like London Bridge is Falling Down. The one I have pictured is Hey Diddle Diddle. It was cute, and better yet free.
  • Swanson's Nursery (pic 6): Yep, I saw Dasher! The nursery up in Ballard gets all decked out for the holidays. They have reindeer and a camel. We needed a new tree stand, so we swung by. It was a fun little Christmas visit.
  • Responsys Holiday Party (pic 7): My office holiday party was on 12/19 this year. It was at a trendy place called Fred's Wildlife Refuge. No, it wasn't a zoo or have any animals roaming around - it is just an event space, They did up all cool with a video wall, which basically projected different scenes onto the walls like snow falling & doves. We all had a great time.
  • Snow! (pic 8): It snowed the day before Josh and I headed to SoCal. I totally didn't expect it, but it was there in the morning. It only stuck around until the afternoon, and then melted away. Fun but it totally messes up commutes.
  • Baking (pic 9): Ahh yes, my baking, I can't let Christmas pass without some cookies. I made some gingerbread macarons, chocolate peppermint cake balls, and peppakakor. All I can say is...YUM.

The first picture collage was more activities, and this one is more about decorations. I didn't nearly get as many decorations up as I'd like, but I still got some Christmas spirit in the house.

  • Christmas Card ribbon: I really wanted to hang the Christmas cards on the ribbon horizontally, but our tiny apartment didn't have enough space. So I took it vertical! Then overflow when over to our cabinet thing in our living room. I love getting Christmas cards in the mail and hearing from all our friends and family. 
  • A Christmas Story Lamp: FRAGILE (FRA-GEE_LAY) it must be Italian! // Do you know what this is? This is... A lamp! // This is a major award! // Yes, Josh and I have the “Soft Glow of Electric Sex” in our apartment. Please watch the movie, then you'll understand.
  • Table Centerpiece: I tried to get creative this year. I got some winterberry while at Swanson's Nursery and put it in a vase with babys breath. Then I added some pine cones, a candy cane swirl candy, and my little owl (I just love owls!).
  • Lights around the door: Not pictured! But yes, we got some lights up, too.

That was our pre-Christmas. Christmas is the best time of year! Love it! I hope you had a nice holiday season as well.

Top 10: The In-Laws Visit

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Goodness, it's almost Christmas, and I've hardly told you anything about Thanksgiving. I was totally focused on Thanksgiving that I didn't realize how soon Christmas was as well. When Thanksgiving ended Christmas came out of nowhere and smacked me in the face. Snapped to reality. I need to get moving. Now I'm cramming in Christmas - gift hunting, shopping, decorating, music, lights, baking...ahh! 

Deep breath. I feel better now. 

So Thanksgiving. It was really quite nice. My in-laws flew up to celebrate with us. It was the first time I had to organize, prep, and cook a Thanksgiving feast for more than just Josh and me (hence why I was focused on Thanksgiving). It went swimmingly. I'll tell you more about the food later. The more important stuff first: the in-laws visit. 

Here's the top 10 highlights from their visit: 

1. Don's 70th Birthday

We celebrated with dinner with Vince & Jonita (good friends).

Don's 70th Birthday

2. Cooking & Baking with Nada

I was the chef and Nada was my sous chef - we were quite the team.

Nada & Heather cooking the Thanksgiving feast

3. Thanksgiving Feast

More to come on the food. For now you just get to see the table with food. Yum!

The Thanksgiving Table

4. Helix Bridge

I've shared this bridge with you before, but I think it's just too cool. This team it gets bonus points for the fog.

Helix Bridge in the fog

5. Walk in the Fog

The fog while we walked at Myrtle Edwards Park was so cool. I will try to share a post with you soon with more photos. 

Walk at Myrtle Edwards Park in the fog

6. CB Nuts

We drove over to the Olympic Peninsula and came upon CB Nuts. Another awesome, local company. Washington rocks. 

7. Meandering Pike Place Market

Breakfast at Lowells. Coffee at Storyville. Gum wall. And a cool Pike Place Market truck.

Pike Place Market Truck

8. Port Townsend

We also stopped by Port Ludlow. Drove by Port Gamble. Lots of ports.

Adventures in Port Townsend

9. Boats

Don, my father in-law, loves boats. Shh, we trespassed to the boatyard - we're wild & crazy. He made me do it.

Boats at Lake Union

10. Being with family

Great to see the family. Nada seems to bring the sun with her, too. (Thanks for that)

Brown Family

Brown Family

Thankful on Thanksgiving

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You know what I'm thankful for...Thanksgiving. It's frustrating how lots of retailers just skip right over Thanksgiving. But Thanksgiving should not be skipped over. It's a time to remember what's important in life - family and friends (and food, you need it for survival, duh). It's a day to step back and put things in perceptive and remember these important things in your life.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'm going to share some of the things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving.

1. A Loving Husband & Happy Marriage

2. Family - Parents, Sister, & In-Laws - that are always there for you

3. Friends that make you Laugh

4. A Beautiful City

5. Good Job with Fun Co-workers

This list could go on and on, but I need to get back in the kitchen to continue the Thanksgiving feast. My in-laws are in town, and we're planning a awesome dinner. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo, Heather

Top 10: Parents Visit

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The weekend before last, Josh and I enjoyed a visit from my parents. We really lucked out and had some awesome Seattle fall weather. We ate at some great restaurants, and did some fun activities. So I'm happy to report we all had a pretty fantastic weekend. Here's the top 10 from the weekend ... in photos! (so you don't have to listen to be babble so much). 

 

 

 

1.  Ferry to Bainbridge (and back)

 

Ferry Ride to Bainbridge & Back

3. Beautiful fall colors (Nothing you'd see in San Diego)

Fall leaves

4. Standing around a BIG-ass pumpkin

 

Standing around a BIG-ass pumpkin

5. Celebrating Josh's Birthday! 

Celebrating Josh's Birthday

6. Round and Round in the Great Wheel

(with a scared mom)

Seattle's Great Wheel (aka Ferris Wheel)

7. Roaming the Ballard Farmer's Market

 

Ballard Farmer's Market

8. Touring the Chihuly Glass Museum

Chihuly Glass Museum

9. Drinking Coffee

(except for Dad, he drank tea) 

10. Wearing funky flip flops

(a gift from the nail salon) 

Jan & Heather's funky flip flops & pretty nails

For more photos - go here.

Weddings & Family in Chicago

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Wedding + Grandma + Family = Trip to Chicago

That's the formula for a visit! And so between August 23rd and 26th, I was in the Mid-west. 

1. Wedding

One of the main reasons was to see my cousin Jeremy wed. The wedding took place in Milwaukee at the Pabst Brewing Company factory. I have to say, the venue was pretty cool. Pabst has been around since about 1884, and I think the factory building since 1880 (I figured it's 1880, since that's the year on the building. I'm so clever).

 

But this visit wasn't about the building or the factory, it was about my awesome cousin Jeremy marrying Nikki. The ceremony was short and sweet and was in a courtyard. The reception was on of the larger rooms in the building. In a nutshell, they were very happy and everyone had a lovely time. {More Photos in the album here}

2. Grandma Ruth

My Grandma Ruth is 92 years old and still chugging along. I am so glad to see her every year as she is very special to me. We visited her for lunch on two days during my visit. She was so happy to see us, and even mentioned how we'd traveled all the way from California (I'll give her the California thing, 3 of the 4 of were from Cali; Seattle would be hard to remember). 

We took her to Hackney's for burgers (Hackney's is a favorite of the family. It's one of the places we visit on every trip). She still has a hardy appetite, which always amazes me. (In the picture, she is waving to the camera!)

 

Grandma and Family at Hackney's for Lunch

3. Family

Did you know that the majority of my relatives are from Chicago? Both my parents were born and raised there. We were the runaways of the family that moved to California, but the rest remained in the general Chicago area. I have many good memories of summers in Chicago. So it's always great to visit and catch up with the family. 

Being that my parents were raised in Chicago, there are a lot of memories there. On Sunday night on our visit, we visited on such memories. We went to Ravinia, the site of my parent's first date. Ravinia is a concert venue where people can picnic and watch the band/artist from their picnic site on the grass. They saw Dionne Warwick (you'll recognize her songs), and when it started to rain she sang Rain Drops Keeping Falling on my Head. 

But we didn't see Dionne. Instead, we saw another favorite band of my parents, Chicago.  Yes, we saw Chicago in Chicago (you'll recognize their songs, too). We had a nice picnic and enjoyed the music.

John & Jan at Ravinia

Chicago

And that was my visit to Chicago. Good time with the family.  

For more pictures, go to my Summer Photos album on my blog! (I'm going to move away from Flickr albums, FYI).