November 02, 2013

Mo Bros

November 02, 2013/ Heather Brown

This year Josh is s going to be a Mo Bro, which I guess makes me a Mo Sista - we're a Mo Fam! We don't Mo alone.

Who is Mo? What the heck am I talking about? Movember! It's pretty simple Moustache + November = Movember. For the month of November, men grow mustaches to help change the face of men's health (get it - change the face). Here's the websites description of the mo-vement:

“Movember is the month formerly known as November, where men and women across the globe join together to raise awareness and funds for men’s health. Men grow and women support a Mo (moustache) for 30 days becoming walking, talking billboards. Movember supports world-class men’s health programs that combat prostate and testicular cancer.

Men who support Movember, called Mo Bros, start by registering at Movember.com. Mo Bros start Movember 1st clean-shaven, then grow and groom their Mo, for the rest of the month, raising money along the way. Women who support Movember, called MO SISTAS, also start by registering at Movember.com. MO SISTAS champion the Mo by registering and supporting the Mo Bros in their life, spreading the important message of men’s health, leading a team and organizing events.”

On November 1st, Josh shaved. When I saw him, I didn't quite recognize him. I've known him with a beard now for three something years. Then all of a sudden he gets a shave and cuts his hair. Funny how my opinion of the beard has changed. When we first met, I refused to let him grow a beard. But when he moved to the Northwest before me, and grew a beard, I suddenly think it's great. So I was sad to see the beard go. But I'll survive the month...I think.

Prior to the shave, he let the bread grow. It was pretty...uhh, how shall I say this, it was luxurious. Here's a before and after:

Josh is the Captain of Team Logic 20/20, his office's team. And I'm joining a team at my office, team name is TBD. If you're wanting to help the cause, donate to Josh's team here. I'll write some follow-up posts to keep you posted on his moushache progress. Maybe he'll grow something like Mr. Pringles.

October 24, 2013

Top 10: Parents Visit

October 24, 2013/ Heather Brown

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)

2. Drinking on Bainbridge

(Bainbridge Organic Distillers and Bainbridge Island Brewery)

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

4. Standing around a BIG-ass pumpkin

5. 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

8. Touring the 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.

October 15, 2013

Across the Sound to Victoria

October 15, 2013/ Heather Brown

Life has been pretty hectic lately, especially with work. But fear not, I'm am dedicated to telling you about my exciting life. The latest edition in my exciting life is the trip Josh and I made at the end of September across the Sound to Victoria, BC.

My good friend, Irene, from Holland, and her boyfriend, Jochem, were journeying through Canada and we decided to rendezvous in Victoria. Josh and I took Friday off to make it a nice, long weekend. To get us there, instead of driving and all that crazy hassle, we hopped on the Victoria Clipper. The Clipper zips you from Seattle to Victoria in just under 3 hours. Easy breezy.

We arrived by 11am in Victoria, and we were ready to explore. Oh wait...make at 1pm because we got trapped in a random security check at the border control. Wah-wah-wah.

We met up with Irene and Jochem at our "hotel" - an apartment we booked through Home Away. Then we began exploring the city together. We began with a stroll through Beacon Hill Park. We saw peacocks, dogs, dogs chasing peacocks (no joke), ducks, and pretty views. We also cross a "medieval bridge" (in photo below). Not quite sure how it was medieval, but whatever, we get it...very old.

The exploration continued on past Thunderbird Park (aka a bunch of totem poles), Parliament, Fairmont's Empress hotel, and then along the waterfront.

Thunderbird Park, The Empress, and Parliament

After all that walking, we needed a tea break. We found ourselves enjoying a spot of tea at Silk Road Tea near Chinatown. (Fun fact, apparently Victoria's Chinatown is Canada's oldest Chinatown.) After our tea, we explored some more - you guessed it, in Chinatown. There was a cool, narrow alley called Fan Tan Alley. (Another fun fact, Fan Tan Alley is Canada's narrowest street. Boy, am I full of facts, or what?!)

That pretty much sums up our first day. Now on to the second day, Saturday. Saturday brought rain. Lots of rain. We heard it was the end of the cyclone that hit Hong Kong. But we were troopers, and we will have fun even in the rain. So take that rain!

Jochem and Irene had a rental car, so we drove out to Duncan for some fun outside of Victoria. Duncan has a very nice farmer's market, even in the rain. In fact, when I stopped to look at the Victoria Island Salt Co. stand, the guy said we would take whatever salt we wanted because it was wet and would never re-sell. Score! (got some fleur de Sel and flavored salt - our lucky day). So my favor in return is to tell you now...to buy salt from them -- debts are now returned.

Next, we found ourselves some lunch, cookies, and a view into the rainy bay at Cowichan Bay. After lunch, it was still raining, so we took a scenic route back towards Victoria. We stopped for a quick look at a scenic lake - and a 5 minute break in the rain!

Happy Heather & Josh at lake near Cowichan Bay

We made a pit stop at Mattick's Farm, which we thought we be more of a farm than a shopping center. Turned out to be the latter (dang it, I hate not having Internet Internationally for reasonable prices - raise fist up in anger). And we wrapped up the day with a cocktail at the famous Bengal Lounge in the Empress hotel.

Sunday was our last day. And it was still raining. We started our day with some munchies at Murchie's (sorry had to). Then we checked out the new Victoria Public Market. And by new, I mean, opened just a few weeks ago. And best part - it's inside! No wait, the best part was the cheese. Nom nom nom, cheese in my belly. We had to take some home.

Bengal Lounge, Murchie's Tea, and Victoria Public Market

We left Victoria via the Clipper at 2pm Sunday. And so ended our exciting weekend with friends. We did have to take some dramamine on the boat back - as advised by Victoria Clipper team members - because of the choppy, stormy weather. But we got back to Seattle without a scratch (or anything of that sort).

In conclusion, it was a fantastic trip.* And we give Irene's boyfriend, Jochem, our approval as a new friend.** And of course, it's important to get our approval since I mean...it's us. (I'll get off my high horse now).

Good trip, good friends, good times!

P.S. Didn't get enough pictures. Check out the album.

*Wow, I sound like I'm writing an essay. It sort of feels like an essay with the amount of writing I did here. Hope that's okay. Do you like essays? Wait, let's call it a novel, that sounds better

**Sorry, I didn't mention, we hadn't met him yet. Holland is a bit far away.

September 29, 2013

2 Year Anniversary

September 29, 2013/ Heather Brown

Josh and I have been together two years now. No. Wait. That doesn't seem quite right. Make that 10 years. Yes, that feels more like it. Have I confused you, yet? No, I'm not saying the past two years feels like ten years. Rather, Josh and I have been together for 10 years this fall, and as of today, we've been married for two years. That's my long winded way of telling you we're celebrating our two year anniversary together.

It's been a great two, I mean ten, I mean two years.

Holy cow, looks at us back then...here's a photo of us now and then.

And because it's our anniversary, I can't help post a wedding collage. All day today I was playing the game, "two years ago today, we were...." Awwww, such good memories. And no joke, our wedding day was the best day of my life (to this point).

Check out more...

{Sorry, when I transferred to my new blog (software update), so of my past blog posts lost there "look" and got a bit wonky. But remember, it's all about the content.}

September 24, 2013

Summer Look Back

September 24, 2013/ Heather Brown

As a farewell to Summer (because let's just all admit it, summer is over), I decided to do a look back with pictures. Here's a trip down memory lane.

Starting from top-left...

Starting at the top-left...

Random Lunch in downtown
Josh's dream...we found a Sonics
Take me out to the ball game
Discovering Snohomish
Lucha Libre
Visiting Chicago & Grandma Ruth
Jeremy's Wedding
Happy Hours on Patios - cheers!
Kayaking on Lake Union

Wow, when you look at this way, we did quite a lot this summer! And I didn't even post about everything -- missing stuff like the awesome day kayaking on Lake Union, the Mariners game, hiking, happy hours, and roller derby. Man, we're awesome!

Not enough photos? Check out my Summer gallery on Flickr...or, since I'm slowly transitioning my photos to just be on my site! So you can find even more photos here!

September 21, 2013

Wayzgoose

September 21, 2013/ Heather Brown

When you first get to know someone, you ask them where they work, or what they do. When I say Responsys, I usually get a quizzical look. Or an "oh, okay." It's not like Google or Facebook. If you're in the industry, you probably know us...otherwise, I just end up babbling about how email is not spam.

The next step is telling someone about what I do. I find this rather difficult, too. I am a Program Manager - not a programmer (lots of people seem to jump to that conclusion). Ohh am I far from being a programmer (trying to picture that - ha!). What I do, in a nutshell, is manage projects. Specifically, I manage creative projects. I mainly work with the creative team who designs and writes emails for our clients.

That was a long winded way to lead into this post. The main purpose from all my babble above is that I work with creative people. And I think they are super creative. Sadly, lots of people don't know them as creatives because we are not at a company that's only creative. But my creative peeps shined the other week, and I was so thrilled to help (hey, I have a creative streak too!).

The event was Wayzgoose (I think I say it differently every time). And we rocked it at Wayzgoose. Now, more people learned about Repsonsys and it's awesome creative folks. Booya! Go us.

Basically, a bunch of local design/creative/print companies get together to make large poster prints. It's an annual event, and the theme this year was museums. Each company got assigned a museum then designed a poster for that museum. We, Responsys, got The Museum of Glass (remember when I went there?).

Before the event, everyone made a linoleum "stamp" of their design. Then the printing happened at the event.

Starting with the top, left photo, here's how the process goes:

Make your stamp.
Paint it - Here's where I helped.
Place it on the ground.
Lay down a large piece of paper over the stamp.
Put a piece of wood down to secure the paper.
Take a steamroller and roll over the print.
Lift up the paper...(insert "ohhs" and "ahhs" here).
Hang it up for everyone to see.

You saw our finished poster (pictured above), but the competition was fierce. There were some other crazy awesome posters. The best poster, besides ours obviously, was the Pinball poster (which also got first place). Here's a few I liked:

Everyone hung there poster from the building (the School of Visual Concepts puts on the event) . It was cool to see all the posters hanging.

Lots of talented folks where at the event, and it was pretty great to see. And the cherry on top was that we got honorable mention. Three of us got honorable mention actually (equally placed), and then the Pinball poster got first place. We were pretty stoked about our win. Like the dark horse riding in. Boom.

Yay Team Responsys (photo credit to some of these to Henry Alva)

My co-workers are the bestest (one of the copywriters probably just cringed there). Fun times!

P.S. My co-worker, Henry Alva, took some excellent photos - they're up on Flickr here.

September 15, 2013

Vashon Sheepdog Trials

September 15, 2013/ Heather Brown

Have you seen Babe? It's a movie based off Babe, the Gallant Pig, which I read when I was in elementary school. It was through this book and movie (and our family dog, Maggie, who was a border collie) that I learned about sheepdogs. Yes, I learned about sheepdogs at a very young age. And I believe it was all preparation for this weekend when Josh and I when to the Vashon Sheepdog Trials this past weekend at Misty Isle Farms.

Although I knew about sheepdog herding and that they did competitions (like in Babe!), I didn't know much beyond that. This weekend, my berth of knowledge on sheepdog herding was vastly advanced. Let me share some of this new found knowledge with you.

First, the sheepdog itself. Generally it's a herding dog, like a Border Collie or Australian Shepard (more here) who are naturally inclined towards herding. It's in their blood. With some training, you can get these dogs to herd animals (fear not, nobody gets hurt in the herding).

The handler, who is the dog owner, trains the dog to herd the sheep. The handler actually plays a big part in the herding because they are watching the dog and the sheep. The handler will give commands to the dog using a whistle, or sometimes yelling out to the dog. For instance, we heard them instruct the dog to "lie down" a lot to help slow the sheep and dog down in order to make the next move on the course.

For the competition, the dog must through the field, fetch the sheep, bring them through fences and gates, and then get in the pin, all directed by their handlers commands.

To start, the dog would run down the field to the sheep that were on the opposite end. As you can see, it's a large field. Probably why a whistle is needed!

Then the dog must round up the sheep and bring them back down the field and bring them through the gate. As you can see in the video, the dog & sheep were going pretty fast and missed the gate they were supposed to run through.

Dog Trails - Racing Down the Field from Heather Brown (O'Neill) on Vimeo.

Once the group is near the handler, then they need to circle a tree, and then bring the sheep through two more gates - a gate on each side of the field. If only the dog's had the sheep's password - bah ram ewe!

After the two gates, they come back around to where the handler is standing. The handler picks two sheep, and the dog needs to sort them. Then they put the herd together again, and then round them into the pin. Here's another video where they dog and handler successfully get the sheep into the pin.

Dog Trails - Into the Pin from Heather Brown (O'Neill) on Vimeo.

And they need to do it all in 11 minutes! These dogs are super smart, super speedy, and super cute! And I'm sure the handler says, "That'll do Pig" eh hem, I mean, "That'll do dog" at the end.

We had a great time watching the event!

(psst! More photos in my gallery - just scroll down)

September 11, 2013

Stop and Remember

September 11, 2013/ Heather Brown

As I was driving home from work Tuesday, my mom asked if I remembered 9/11. I said, of course! But then we realized, it's been twelve years - an entire decade! Someone that is a teenager today, about 16 or 17 years old, would only have been like 4 or 5 years old when the attacks happened. This just blows my mind! They probably won't remember where or when they were when they heard the news. They don't remember watching the television in shock & horror. They don't remember the lives that were lost and the tragedy. Do you remember?

So, for those of us that do remember, let's put so much brainpower into it that we make up for all those that are not able to remember. Stop and remember - just take a minute today.

God Bless America!

September 07, 2013

Weddings & Family in Chicago

September 07, 2013/ Heather Brown

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.

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).

September 03, 2013

Lucha Libre in the Park

September 03, 2013/ Heather Brown

To me, "lucha libre" sounds like free lunch. I know it's not (I didn't take Spanish for six years for nothing!). In fact, it's far from it. It's wrestling, but an entirely different kind of wrestling. I had actually never heard of it before, so this was an entire world of sports I did not know existed before August.

I learned that lucha libre means free wrestling. It's a type of wrestling that's much, much more than just arm strength and grappling on the floor. It's gymnastics meets wrestling - it's jumping, and acrobats. It originated in Mexico, and is second to soccer in popularity. And not only that, but they wear awesome costumes and masks...at least the luchadores in Mexico do - some other luchadores skip that part (lame).

As it so happens, there was going to be lucha libre right here in Seattle. Honestly, I didn't really want to go (side note: I don't think I really understood what it was until after I witnessed it). Our friend Aaron and Josh talked about it, and how awesome it sounded, and for me...meh. But being a good sport, I decided to give it a whirl. What else was I doing that afternoon anyways? Plus, Josh is patient with my TV shows and frozen yogurt needs, so I figured I could do this for him.

The event was down at Duwamish Waterway Park - near West Seattle. It was a nice, sunny day. A perfect day for some lucha libre. They had two guys introduce the wrestling match. The first match was the Mexican luchadores. There was Sonic and Blue Steel. I gave them those names...but they did have names, I just don't remember.

Then came the couples match (note: that's not a technical luchador term). One was wearing a crazy tiger costume and the other a red, white, and blue eagle costume. Then there was a girl in black & yellow, and a guy dressed like a girl with a wig and all.

It was quite hilarious. The luchadores would taunt each other - like "I will crush you" and then they'd involve the crowd to cheer or boo. The kiddos loved it, and there was quite a bit of cheering.

The one girl (the real girl) was crazy. She'd climb up on the side and then jump.

Then there were a few matches with American luchadores that didn't wear masks. Booo. The masks are way cooler. There was one guy that was like Mr. Machismo. He basically wore a speedo with a bow tie. No pictures of that one for you - this is a family blog people!

I probably should have bought a mask for Halloween. Dang it!

And that is Lucha Libre.

Oh, and if you're here in Seattle, you can train to become a luchado. That's right; the people that brought the event are Lucha Libre Volcanica, and they're waiting for you to sign-up!

August 31, 2013

Hanging the Jewels: DIY

August 31, 2013/ Heather Brown

I don't actually do that many DIY projects. I would like to, but I never seem to just hunker down and do them. The last real project was last year (remember this)! Usually it's because I'm slightly intimidated by them.

I go on Pinterest, and see all these folks pinning awesome DIY projects. Do people actually do those projects? I wonder. Am I the only gal that's looks at something and thinks it just too much work?

When I came across this jewelry board on Jones Design, I thought that this might actually be one I could take on. Not too complicated, and the materials & tools seemed simple enough. Although the post didn't actually explain the project step by step, I though I could swing it. Plus, I had the cork board just sitting here - it has been in our office since we moved here (so for 3 years).

Not to mention, I've been wanting to organize my jewelry for ages. I've been eyeing cute organizers on Etsy. Like this one, and this one. Oh, and then there is this DIY project, too, but the wood and knobs ... yikes!

I decided why spend so much, when this one could actually created, by me, on the cheap... challenge accepted.

And guess what? I DID IT. It was pretty easy, too. Let me tell you how this is done...

First, you need supplies. Here's what I got:

Cork board - IKEA for $5.99
Burlap Fabric - Joanns for $3.99/yard (like 2-3 yards)
Decorative Nails - Joanns for $2.99
Ribbon or Lace - Joanns (can't remember)

As for tools, well, I thought I didn't have a staple gun, but I did. Woohoo! Otherwise, I was planning on glue - like the glue gun. I bet it would work, too. And that's the only tool you need.

Lay the fabric on the floor, and place the board cork down. Then, staple on the back. I got the staples as close to the wood frame as possible. Make sure to tug the fabric to make sure it's all snug.

When you get to a corner, just put in lots of staples. I tried to be tidy, so I folded the fabric - just like you would like when wrapping a gift - at the corners. Go all the way around. Remember to keep pulling to ensure it's tight.

Then I placed the ribbon in diagonal stripes across the board. And staple some more. Lastly, put in the decorative pins all around. I tried to visualize the board as a grid to make it even spacing, but I didn't go crazy. Just eye ball it. Nobody will judge.

That's pretty much it. I had a fabric flower thing on my dresser that I never use, so I put it in the corner. Then just grab some push pins and hang those necklaces! Voila!

After I made this board, but before I wrote this post, I noticed Jones Design came out with her own step by step instructions. You can check it out, if you think my instructions aren't good enough (which would make me sad). But I like the fabric option she shows, so you can check it out for idea purposes (and that would be okay; my feelings won't be hurt).

It took my like an hour, or less, and now my necklaces are on display. Benefits of this board:

I can quickly access which one I want to wear.
They are kept from getting tangled up.
They make the room dazzle.

I think you can totally do it. Totally!

Or, if you're nice enough, and you really want one, I might just make it for you for a birthday or Christmas.

August 15, 2013

Fight & Win, Go Sounders!

August 15, 2013/ Heather Brown

After living in Seattle for 3 years, Josh and I decided it was about time we go to a Sounder's game. We heard that the games were a lot of fun, and we definitely found out why!

We went to our first game on Saturday, 8/3. I was excited to see what all the hub-bub was all about with the Sounders. Generally speaking, I'd rather play the game, than watch it. Although I do remember enjoying the Real Madrid game I went to Madrid (which I later learned had some very famous player involved - ha, I just went to be social - sorry soccer fans). But I was curious if I might enjoy watching soccer since I did play it competitively during my younger years.

We parked in Pioneer Square, which is apparently the "thing" to do. Everyone that walked beside us to the stadium was geared up in their Sounder's paraphernalia - all pretty much green.

Then we arrived.

I could feel the excitement buzzing around me. There was a band playing, people were crowding around drinking and eating, and just a overall all cheery jive.

We found our seats, and we were very impressed with how close we were to the field (section 105, row U). I almost felt VIP. Almost.

Once seated, the real excitement began. Now, let me tell you, there is a ritual to being a Sounder's fan. And somehow everyone knows about it. Josh and I just rolled with the punches and followed the fans around us.

First, the clapping. Suddenly people raised their hands up. Just raised them, and after about a minute, the hands all slowly started to come together. Slowly the clapping began - the whole stadium coordinated, mind you. Then it grew faster and faster, until it began a wild, rage of claps.

Next, the announcing began. Players from the other team were announced. And after each name of our opponents, there was a big "boo" from the crowd (aren't we good sports?! ha). Then our team was announced. Again there was a ritual...the announcer would say the players first name, and the crowd would follow by shouting of the last name.

Time out: okay, and this might be the exact order of events, but you get the general idea.

Then, came the fire from the goal posts - yes fire. There were two blow torch type things on the end of each goal post, and those fired off at the very same time that the field (and I learned later that both the goal post fire & fireworks boomed when the Sounder's scored).

Oh, and the fun doesn't stop there.

One thing that the fans loved to do was hold up their Sounder scarves with "Sounders FC" facing the field. My favorite was the scarf that said, "Pride of the Northwest." Guess I need a scarf now.

Of course, there was all the National anthem. They brought out a flag and everyone. I love that!

More cheering. There was also a moment when they let off a bunch of green streamers.

Now, here's the kicker.... Little did we know, we chose THE game as our first. The latest Sounder player was announced before the game. The new guy came out with a announcer wearing a hoodie. Funny thing: Before I caught on to what was happening, I thought he must be some famous rapper because they played this video. But this was an incorrect assumption.

The announcer dude said, "So Dempsey, we hear you've been touring the West coast looking for a new home. Did you find anywhere you like?" Then Dempsey unzipps his hoodie to reveal the green Sounder's jersey. The crowd went completely wild. Even a flag that said "Keep Calm and Dempsey Watch" was raised. (This guys must be good. I bet he probably has a pretty big ego, too. I would too if people held up signs and cheered for me like that - ha!)

After all that, the game started. And we stood the whole time. Everybody stood the whole time. I felt I might be shunned if I sat. That, and I wouldn't be able to see anything. But it all added to the fun & excitement. Look at us having a good time:

In my opinion, we owned the game. We had control most of the time. We saw some penalties, some yellow cards, some corner kicks, and some good passing.

Sorry, here's Soccer for Dummies if you don't know what I'm talking about.

The cheering kept up throughout the game. There was one section at the end of the field, which I believe is called "the nest" that cheers the whole time. You look over there and the fans are bouncing up & down the entire game. They hold up flags, and then did some crazy arm "wave" thing where they held up their arms to the left, and then to the right. It was like a sea of arms waving. Pretty wild stuff.

At the end, we beat Dallas FC (btw, we played Dallas), 3-0. Booya! There was even a great penalty kick at the end.

We left the game as Sounder's newest fans. I definitely want to go again this season. It was a fantastic time (probably helped that we won, but hey). I even have a Sounder t-shirt that I wear proudly.

Gooooooo Sounders!!!!!

August 08, 2013

Farms, Barns, and Root beer in Snohomish

August 08, 2013/ Heather Brown

First and foremost, let's get this pronunciation correct...it's snow-hoh-mish. Or, at least that's how I think you pronounce it. HA! I'm not a Seattle native, so I'm still learning. But I'm pretty dang sure that's how you say it (not to mentioned, I looked it up).

I'm glad we got that covered. I feel like I can tell you about Snohomish, now we both know how to say it.

The other weekend (to be exact, I'm talking about July 27th), Josh and I adventured up to Snohomish. We didn't go out with the plan of exploring Snohomish, but that's the beauty of it, we just sort of ended up there. Here's how...

We started off just going to taste some root beer. Now this, we had every intention of visiting. It's a root beer store in Lynnwood (which happens to be in Snohomish County) that has over 100 different types of bottled root beer. Yes, over 100 brands of root beer exist in this world. The store is called (believe it or not) The Root Beer Store. Clever, eh? We learned of this awesome store from a show in the evenings here called Evening Magazine (yet, another clever name) where they featured the store. Maybe it was hot when we watched the clip, but that root beer looked delicious.

We discovered they were not joking about the 100 brands of root beer. There were rows upon rows of root beers. The staff really knew their root beer too. We'd both never really thought about there being different root beers, and the differing tastes. It was quite entertaining. The main differentiator seemed to be strong versus sweet. The two they steered us towards were the Dang! Butterscotch and Frostie Vanilla root beers. So we bought those and a few others. Before we left, we shared a tasty root beer float in a frosty mug. Slurrrrrppp!

And the root beer is where the afternoon plans ended. Yet, it was still around 3pm, and weren't ready to go back home. Josh realized we were in Snohomish, and suggested we go visit a veggie stand. I was doubtful - a veggie stand? Really? We want to visit a veggie stand? Alllrighhhty then. So Josh plugged it into the GPS and off we went.

I drove doubtfully still unconvinced of Josh's veggie stand plan. But I drove onward trusting him and my GPS.

We reached a road that winded down and then suddenly before us was open farmland. The sun was shining down, and my doubtfulness vanished. I secretly smiled to myself at the beautiful scenery (I say "secretly" because I was not quite ready to tell Josh he was right about this adventure to a veggie stand).

Soon after reaching the farmland area, I saw a super-cool barn. I thought to myself, "oh man, I bet that'd be a great photo." But I whizzed right by in the car. Then another thought came to me, "what would Don Brown do?" And I knew the answer immediately without question: I had to pull over.

Now pulling was another thing. It was a single road with barely space on either side. But I wasn't going to let this opportunity slip. I found an open driveway, and pulled in. I turned around, and managed to finagle my car in a small dirt spot along the road just down from the super-cool barn.

Before reaching the barn, I was greeted by some calves. Hello Norman! I started to snap some photos, and Norman made his way towards me to say hello (or maybe in hopes of more food). Norman #296 was licking his chops in this photo (or was he picking his nose...hmm).

After the cows got boring, I moved on to the main event, the super-cool barn. I really don't know why I think this barn is super-cool. I think it's just that it's old, and has a cool picture on it (dude, that's deep).

As I was snapping shots of the super-cool barn, a lady started yelling at us from a window of the house across the street. I thought for sure she was mad that we were taking photos of her property, and was going to tell us to leave (sad that I jump to that conclusion). To our surprise, we weren't getting shoo-ed off at all. Instead, she was directing us to go down the road further by the wheat for the best shot. Still shouting over the road, she explained that the wheat with the field and barn made a perfect shot. What do you think? A perfect shot?

As were were by the wheat, the lady came over to chat (whose name we learned was Barbara). We learned that the barn has been in her family for over 100 years, and the farm homes (e.g. the one she was shouting from) were built in 1910. The farm had cows (as we saw), sheep, and pigs. The two farmhouses were also hers and she rented them out for long stays (through VBRO). The one house, the one she shouted from, was her "White House" and was so cute & quaint.

We chit-chatted for a bit, and since we had never been to the area before, she steered us to downtown Snohomish where there was a river and nice boutiques and pubs. So the adventure continued onward.

Following her directions, we landed in the downtown area - it was cute as a button. Antique shops, boutiques, and pubs (just as she said) lined the main street. The buildings were older, and had so much character.sd

Josh and I roamed the town, and enjoyed the evening. We stopped in a few shops like the Uppercase Bookshop and Faded Elegance (those were my two favorite shops of the day). Then, we wrapped up the evening with dinner at Fred's Alehouse. Before heading home, we took a peek at the river.

And that was our unexpected adventure. Who would have thought at a random idea to go to a veggie stand, would lead to a barn, that would lead to a nice lady, and would land us in a new part of Washington. Oh life, you're crazy! But I do love these life surprises. It's just nice to come across such unexpected treasures.

I urge you to jump in the car, and see where it takes you!

August 03, 2013

A Lovely Day: Kirkland Uncorked

August 03, 2013/ Heather Brown

How the heck is it already August? Holy moly! I think I say this every month, but seriously, how is it already August? Summer is going way too fast. And it also makes me feel somewhat guilty that I'm only just now writing about something we did in mid-July. I feel like such a slacker. Ugh. I swear, I've been busy. That and generally after being on a computer for 8-10 hours a day, I really don't want to spend more time in the evenings at the computer. It's for my eyes, they need to look beyond the screen.

Okay, no excuses. And I'm here now. That has to count for something. Right?

Let me transport you back a few weekends to Saturday, July 20th when Josh and I went across the bridge (here in Seattle that means we went to the East side - Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, etc). Okay, joke:

Why did Heather and Josh cross the bridge?

To get to the other side. (Hmm, that was so much funnier when I was 8 yrs old...)

Sorry, I won't use that joke again. Lame. Let's be adults again. We went to go to Kirkland Uncorked. Kirkland Uncorked is basically a food and wine festival where local wineries and restaurants come and you can sample all their stuff.

To my dad's disgrace, I'm not a huge wine fan. So I'm not sure why this festival appealed to me so much. Maybe it was because I saw that Diane's Delights would be there with Lemon Riesling cake pops. Yea, most probably that. But I did see that there would be quite a few rieslings. And sometimes those can be sweet, and I do like myself a sweet wine. So we decided it would be fun.

We went on Saturday around noon with the plan of eating the restaurants samples for lunch. Good plan. There were about 10 different restaurants sampling out pulled pork sammies, grilled salmon, chicken kabobs, shrimp salad, etc. And it was all quite delicious. And to finish it all off, I did get a Diane's Delights cake pop. It really did make the whole visit to the even worth it. Those cake pops are just too good (Diane is the gal that taught me to take cake pop, so in my mind she's the cake pop master).

Diane's Cake Pops (photo credit: Diane's Delights Facebook page)

Although the day started out gray, the clouds burned off and we had a very sunny, nice afternoon. We watched a cooking class, but by then it was too hot to sit in the direct sun (and surprise, Josh and I got burnt). It's okay, we'll tan (bahahaha, me tan? That'll be the day). The cooking class was a calamari salad. Given that I don't like calamari - it's the tentacles; they scare me - it haven't tried to make the dish at home. But I sense I might be boring you with the details now. Let's move on.

We did sit and enjoy the festival. See our smiling faces...(notice Josh wearing sunglasses? They're new. This is the first pair of sunglasses he's owned since I've known him - so that's like 10 years. Isn't he hot in those glasses?)

Really the rest of the story is that we went from booth to booth tasting different wines. My favorite was Silver Lake Winery's 2012 Roza Riesling. It was nice and sweet, but not dessert wine sweet. Just something nice for a warm, summer day.

Runner's up include:

Sky River Meadery: Sky River Solas mead *
OS Winery: 2012 Riesling

* Funny story about my mom and mead at Bunratty Castle. Ask me about it someday.

We ended the day at the Boat Show and touring some cool boats. Wish list: a yacht. Please Santa?

So that's that. A nice day in Kirkland eating, drinking, and looking at boats. Can't get much better than that.

July 29, 2013

A Spot of Tea: Cederberg

July 29, 2013/ Heather Brown

New idea! New idea! (oh alright, give credit where credit is due...Josh came up with the idea). But I'm adding on a new category on my blog called Local Spotlight. If I encounter an awesome place / activity / person in Seattle, or the nearby area, I'm going to share it. This will mostly be for my Seattlelite friends, however, it could also serve as a way to convince friends & family that read this to come visit me. Excited? I am!

Local Spotlight: Cederberg Tea House

As some of you may know, Josh and I enjoy a good cup of tea. Remember my Tale of Teas, or Tea for Two posts? Well, if you didn't know, you know now: Josh and I like tea. Oh sure, you think because we are in Seattle we should only like coffee. Well, phooey!! You know we do like other beverages besides coffee. Tea being one of the top! In fact, I liked tea before I liked coffee (insert gasp!).

Let's take a moment down memory lane, shall we? I'll always remember when I realized I liked tea. It's actually the perfect tea-spirational story. I was in London visiting my sister, and we stopped for an afternoon tea. We didn't stop because we were trying to be all British and have a "spot of tea," but because it was cold, dreary, and we were tired. I ordered tea since that seemed like the right thing to do. Then, I noticed my sister adding milk and sugar to her tea. I shrugged to myself and followed suit. Boy was I glad I did that! I finally discovered the trick to making that tea "oh so good" (in my humble opinion).

Anyway, tea is good. I like tea. You get the idea. Now to Cederberg...

The other day, when I was looking through my blog reader, I came across an article on Serious Eats about a new tea shop in town - right in my very own neighborhood, Queen Anne. Tea, you say? In Queen Anne? I must read on! My interest was sparked even further when I learned it was South African. Say what? Tea from South Africa? This crazy cool. I need to try this place pronto. (Not to mention, the lack of tea shops near home ever since our dear Tea Cup left town...that definitely upped the ante).

After reading a bit more, I learned it was roobios tea. I had chai roobios before, and really liked it. But Cederberg does something very unique - shots of roobios. Yes, you heard me...shots of roobios. Apparently they grind the roobios so that it's super fine, then they pull a shot through an espresso machine just like you would a coffee espresso shot.

Extremely curious, I sent the article to Josh with the intent of taking us there over the weekend. And that's exactly what we did.

When we walked in, we were greeted with friendly welcomes. It was a warm day, so we both opted to try something iced. Natasha, who we learned was one of the owners (alongside her mother, Cecile), kindly walked us through our options. Of course we got the roobios. I ordered an iced roobios latte, while Josh picked the Rooios Fresh (roobios shot + apple juice).

Roobios Fresh (left) and Roobios Latte (right), and Malva Pudding (underneath).

After picking our beverages, we decided we should fill our bellies with something sweet. I was thrilled to hear South Africans have a sweet tooth (if you know me, you'll know that I have a big sweet tooth, so big as to say I have sweet teeth even). But looking in the case, there we so many decisions! And I didn't know a single one of them (ok, except maybe the tart), but Natasha patiently explained each one to us. We ended up with the malva pudding.

So this malva pudding, it looks like just a plain old loaf cake. But wait until you taste it. It's magical. Suddenly your taste buds are melting in pleasure. After Josh took a bite, he looked at me with his eyes wide open and pointing at the cake. Being that l've known him for 10 years, I knew this was the "This is so good, I can't wait to finish my bite to tell you" signal. I agreed; this cake was mighty fine. (Note: Malva pudding is int he bottom left of the pastry case photo).

As we finished up, Natasha came out and asked how we were doing. The answer: super, great, & awesome!

One trip wasn't enough for us, though. We returned for breakfast the next weekend. This time, I tried out the hot roobios latte. Josh got the same. Another winner! They are so cute when you dine in. They bring your tea on a little tray. Isn't that nice? Along with a little cookie - yum!

I love the look of the teas with the layers. (Josh wants you to know that the sausage roll is also quite delicious.) The roobios tea is hard to describe. It reminds me of a Thai Iced Tea in a way, but the taste is obviously somewhat different. It's sweet, but not crazy sweet (they do add honey & cinnamon, mind you), somewhat earthy, but totally smooth. Not sure if that does it justice, so why don't you just try it?

Did I mention yet how nice they are? Oh? I did, did I? Well, they are! Look at their smiling faces (below). Oh, and here's a peek inside. (Sorry for the blurry pictures, I forgot my camera and just had a iPhone). Oh yea, they are indeed both from South Africa, so you can't get any more authentic. Okay, maybe you can...the ground roobios tea is from Cederberg, the region in South Africa where the roobios tea is grown.

You know when you hear of something, how it then just starts coming up? That's what happened here. After our first visit, Josh came across an article. Then I saw more articles. So popular, check them out in the news:

Seattle Coffee Works: A Tea Lover in a Coffee World
Serious Eats: First Look Cederberg
Seattleite: In the Know: Cederberg Tea House Brings a Taste of South Africa to Queen Anne
Daily Candy: We're All Steamed Up Over the Cederberg

July 17, 2013

Something Fishy

July 17, 2013/ Heather Brown

Something is fishy, something is very fishy...

That something fishy would be the Ballard Seafood Fest. Surprise! It's supposed to be fishy; it's a seafood fest. The very name has fish in it

That's where we spent our Saturday afternoon this weekend with my friend Beth. We all went together last year, too, but oddly enough we didn't do anything seafood related. In fact, the post was called Fried Goodness because Josh got a fried Twinkie. (Side note: did you know Twinkies are back?). This year we went with the purpose in partaking in the festival's name: seafood fest.

Our first seafood experience was to eat it. Beth and I got halibut tacos, while Josh got oyster sliders. We all gave it two thumbs up...or would this we six thumbs up?

After lunch, we went to the lutefisk eating contest. Maybe not such a great idea after eating, but it all ended up okay.

Okay, lutfisk. Now this is interesting. I know about it from my Swedish heritage. I'm 25% Swedish - on my mom's side, and more specially my grandmother. I grew up hearing the tales of lutfisk (I guess Swedish spell it without the "e"). My mom always brings up her Uncle George and how grandma would make it at Christmas for him. Uncle George apparently liked to let it slither down his throat. Ick! Let me tell you, it doesn't sound pleasant to let something "slither down your throat," does it? Lutefisk is basically a white fish that's dried, and then reconstituted in lye. I'm sure you're springing off your chair to go try some. ; )

Anyway, we decided to watch a lutefisk eating contest at the Seafood fest. There were three rounds where each contestant was given a portion of lutefisk. The person that ate it the fastest, wins. I know you're dying to see the video, so I capture it for you (this was the final round)..

I knew you'd enjoy that video. The grey haired guy won. He engulfed that fish. I think the trick was to not breath in the lutefisk fumes and just open your throat, and let it slither down. Hee hee.

The rest is less exciting. We roamed around the booths, which had all sorts of goodies. Basically more like a regular festival or fair. But we got our fish experience, and now I feel complete with my Seafood Fest experience.

On an ending note, here's a close up look at lutefisk along with the O'Lutefisk Christmas song we listened to when I was growing up - enjoy!

July 16, 2013

Into the Wild

July 16, 2013/ Heather Brown

Elf, Bison, and Bears! Oh my!

That's right, Josh and I had a wildlife encounter the other weekend (yes, I'm a bit behind on my posts - deal with it). There is a wildlife park (or is it a wilderness preserve?) about an hour and half away from Seattle called Northwest Trek. We decided to leave the urban life behind for the day, and get up close to nature and animals.

I think the best way to describe this place is to say it's like the Pacific Northwest's answer to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego.

Wait. Whoa whoa whoa. Time out people. This is serious. The Wild Animal Park is now called the Safari Park? What? I was just about to hyperlink that for you, and found this out. My childhood. My memories crushed. How could they? Why would they? They should have called me first before making such big decisions. Tear. Okay, back to the post...

It's like the Pacific Northwest's answer to Safari Park (just doesn't feel the same). If you don't know what that is, then I just don't know what to say to you. Oh alright, for your sake, I'll give is a whirl. It's basically animals in a huge enclosure where animals roam freely. Then they put people in a tram and bring you though for a look at animals in their natural habitat.

Now, the Northwest Trek doesn't have quite the diversity of animals as the Wild Animal Park (I'm sticking to it), but you do get to see some pretty cool animals.

Before Josh and I went into the wild, we had a nice picnic lunch. We picked up sandwiches in Columbia City on our way down to the park . I got my sandwich from the Columbia City Bakery, and Josh got his at the Jus Bar. I thought mine was better, and he thought his was better. That's how we are.

We took the 2pm tram and Sadie was our guide. The tram was a bus (I tell you this because I had envisioned a train type of tram). Josh and I were second in line, so we got prime seats in the first car on the left (note: if you go, sit on the left, better viewing on the ride). The tram ride was an hour long, and I never once got bored.

The tram doesn't just go around the perimeter, but takes you though the enclosure. At one point, the Roosevelt Elf were right next to the tram, and crossing the road in front of the tram. I could have reached out and petted the darn thing. I decided not to since Sadie said not to, and I didn't watch to get a elk bite. But, it was pretty cool.

When you go on tram rides such as this, rarely do you get to see all the animals in the enclosure. Uh hello, they are supposed to be in their natural habitat, so it should somewhat be like real life, right? I don't see you walking by a bison everyday...

Well, lucky us, we got to see every animal on the tram ride. That means we saw: Bighorn Sheep, Bison, Blacktailed Deer, Mountain Goats, Moose, Roosevelt Elk, Woodland Caribou, and Trumpeter Swans. Bam! All the animals.

After the tram ride, there were still plenty of animals to check out on the walking tour. Although we had luck with the tram ride, we must have caught animal nap time. We didn't get to see the cougar, lynx, or wolves. Although, we did see the beaver & otter swimming, the porcupine & badger sitting, some owls perching, and the wolverine & fisher sleeping (we saw some others sleeping & sitting animals, too).

All in all, a fun day, in nice weather, looking at cute (and sometimes interesting) animals. Can't beat that! To round out a great day, Ion the way home, I got a taste of a new frozen yogurt shop, Black Bear. It was like froyo Pacific NW style (in that the decor had a wooden bear, antler chandelier, etc) . Oh, I loved it. Yum! And Josh was happy with a Sonic limeade.

Then, on the way home, we stopped for a sunny view of Mount Rainier at Clear Lake. That was that.

July 12, 2013

Rewind to the Fourth

July 12, 2013/ Heather Brown

Obviously since I blogged early on the actual Fourth of July, I didn't get to tell you anything about my day. Obviously. No, that doesn't mean that what I shared that day wasn't important (and if you haven't read it, what are you waiting for? READ IT). But I know what you really wanted was to hear about me. I mean, isn't that what everyone wants? To know what I'm up to? (Hmm maybe that's just me that thinks that....) Well, you're wish is my command.

Josh and I didn't do all that much in the beginning of the day. We were invited to our friends house for dinner and fireworks, so I decided to bring dessert. As you know from Baker's Corner, I love to bake and I seize any opportunity to try out a new recipe. However, I'm going to save the details for my next Baker's Corner post (oh, the suspense!). I will tell you what I made, though, and that's a peach galette.

Our friends, Tricia, Torrey, and Kaia, invited us for dinner. Actually, they invited us to a BBQ to be more precise, which is a very important detail since this is a Fourth of July post, and what's Fourth of July without a BBQ really. I'll tell you...just a plain old BBQ. So we enjoyed some burgers, hot dogs, and sausages. Oh, and corn on the cob, broccoli salad, and baked beans. Can't get any more American than that! Nom nom nom.

Then there was dessert. Tricia made a very cute, and patriotic flag cake with the most delectable frosting (I like that word, delectable). How to describe it...hmm....oh, I got it, like marshmallows & buttercream frosting's baby! HA! On top of that, we had the peach galette. Needless to say, we were not lacking in the sugar arena (no complaints here says my sweet tooth).

After food came fireworks. As you can see, we had some of our own to play with (thanks Tricia & Torrey). Kaia, however, did not like the loud cracks from the fireworks. She was too cute covering her ears! But the big show came later at 10:20pm. Yes, it stays light out late up at this latitude! I tried to take some fabulous pictures, but it just didn't work out. The best I got was with my phone, believe it or not. I know someday I'll be able to capture those fireworks for you like a pro. But this time, I just sat back and enjoyed them.

And that there was a true blue Fourth of July holiday. I even work red, white, and blue. Go America!

July 04, 2013

America the Brave

July 04, 2013/ Heather Brown

I'm feeling extra patriotic this year. I think this is due to a direct correlation to the amount of U.S. History I've been reading and watching lately. This sprung up a few months ago after I finished reading my third-something World World novel. I realized I'm always reading about the history of other countries, but I never really read much of things closer to home. This moved me to start reading about my country.

Motivated by my new mission, I started asking for recommendations on Civil War books. My family, being history buffs, had a bunch of recommendations. I landed with Confederates in the Attic because both my mom and a co-worker mentioned it. So that's where I started.

If you don't know anything about this book, let me lend some insight. The author, Tony Horwitz, is a war correspondent who is back living at home in Virginia. He wakes up one morning to find a reenactment happening in his backyard.

This triggers his boyhood passion about the Civil War, and he embarks on a trip throughout the South. He visits battle sites, participates in reenactments, and makes conversations with all sorts of folks on his way. The funniest part is when he goes on a Civil wargasm -- Tony and a diehard enactor follow the war in a week dressed the part.

While reading, Josh and I started watching the Ken Burn's series The Civil War. This series is jammed packed with facts and stories. Although, I have to admit, it's pretty slow. And they do play a lot of images with music and quotes. Not quite action-packed, but interesting nonetheless.

Oh, and we also watch Lincoln recently, too. I thought the movie was very good, but should have been called the Thirteenth Amendment instead. Daniel Day-Lewis does a great job, too. As a kid Lincoln was my favorite president. I don't think much has changed.

Side Note: Doesn't that man look angry on the cover? Geez.

About a week or two ago, Josh and I finished Mad Men, and were in a TV dry-spell. Did I ever tell you we don't have cable? Well, now you know.

Josh mentioned John Adams, and after watching a preview, I was onboard with the idea. We watched the first episode on Sunday. I was hooked.

Wow, I never KNEW all this about John Adams. What an amazing man. And I'm learning so much. I can't believe how much I have not retained from my education. It's sad. Luckily, I have great parents that took me to historical places on trips, so I remember more from those experiences than anything. But, still, I have a lot to re-learn!

I keep thinking about how brave our founding fathers must have been. Think about it - Britain versus the 13 colonies. Holy cr*p. That's like a chihuahua going up to a great dane (or Josh's analogy - David & Goliath). It's like rebelling against your parents. They protected and financed you, but they punished you as well (ha!). It must have taken a lot of guts to declare our independence.

I really thought that there was just a bunch of patriotic guys running around deciding to go to war. But in reality, they tried to be peaceful and the decision weighed heavily on them. It also makes me realize how glad I am that I live in present time - can you imagine!?

Anyway, I won't go on much more about it. I love how when I watch or read history it inspires me to go online and learn more. It's like a learning domino effect. You should try it!

So, as I said before, I'm feeling very patriotic. The lengths our ancestors went through to give us the country we live in today. I'm so proud of our country and what we have built.

God bless America! And Happy 4th of July!

June 30, 2013

Goodbye Reader

June 30, 2013/ Heather Brown

Warning! Google Reader is going away. Why Google why? So if you follow a bunch of blogs on Google reader, be sure to get a new system rolling. But fear not, there are a bunch of options out there. I've already started using FeedBin, which is not free but not expensive either. So far, so good. But if you'd rather try something else out, here's some options:

I'm also using Readkit along with my FeedBin. This way I don't have to use a webpage, but can have an app to read my blogs on my desktop. Then for my iPad, I'm considering getting Mr. Reader. FeedBin should be getting it's own for both eventually, but it's still being developed.

I can't vouch for the above, except for Feedly which I used briefly a few months ago for work - pretty good. But I'm preferring FeedBin so far. Good luck, and let me know what you find works for best you! Whatever you choice, be sure to add my blog back to whatever reader you choose (wink wink) .

Or, if you don't have a reader yet, and you follow blogs, you should get with the times my friend. And I think you'll appreciate the convenience of them.

P.S. The cute picture was on a Feedly email I received the other day. I thought I should give them credit.

Heather Joy