Monsoon

Friday night I finally got to introduce Christian to my most favorite restaurant, Monsoon.  I can't believe we've been together almost a year and I hadn't taken him there yet, but I guess I had to wait to really make sure he was worthy :)  I suggested it as an early birthday dinner so Friday night we headed up the hill on a warm and sunny Seattle summer evening for dinner.  I had two must-haves - the crispy imperial rolls and the catfish in a clay pot - then I let Christian chose the rest, which he did a great job doing with the drunken chicken {classic} and spicy green beans.  We each started out with some delicious cocktails and as the plates kept coming he was more and more impressed that this restaurant I've been talking about probably since our first date actually was living up to the hype.  I haven't been back there in awhile, but everything was just as good if not better than I had remembered, and it was so much fun to share my favorite place with my favorite guy - and even better that he actually loved it too!  I'm taking the week off to chill out for my bday and go on a fun weekend getaway, but I'll see you next week with lots more to share!

 that catfish though

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Happy Birthday Brother

Happy 32nd birthday to my most favorite little brother!  Thank you for always being around for an encouraging phone call, a funny text, or a perfect meme on Instagram that really sums up our lives.  I'm so proud to call you my brother and am so excited for you to be heading off on this amazing journey halfway around the world with your beautiful bride {and insanely jealous}.  Have a great birthday brother - I love you!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Afternoon at Safeco

Yesterday we all headed out of work early for what is becoming our annual afternoon at the Mariner's.  The weather is HOT right now so we lathered up on sunscreen, got into our best Mariner's gear, and headed down to the ballpark where we sipped on beers, soaked up the sun, and did our best to talk about anything other than work.  It's always nice to have a day where you can hang with your coworkers and not worry about what's going on at the office, and here's to hoping I can spend a few more days and evenings down at the Safe before the season is over.  Oh, and the M's won!! :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Skillet Turkey Taco Cauliflower Rice

I feel like most of our meals lately have involved throwing some protein on the grill and making a big salad to go with it.  With this beautiful summer weather there certainly isn't anything wrong with that, but I've missed finding a new recipe and making something easy and delicious, so when I stumbled upon Skinnytaste's Skillet Taco Cauliflower Rice, I knew it was my kind of meal.  I've already made it several times in the past few weeks and it's fast becoming a delicious staple in my kitchen.  It's super fast and easy to put together, and the toppings can be adjusted to whatever you have on hand.  You could even throw everything into a tortilla and make a burrito if you're feeling super adventurous :)  What I'm saying is, make sure to make this the next time you're looking for something yummy to whip up and I guarantee you'll have some happy mouths in your home.

Skillet Taco Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 small onion, minced
2 Tblsp bell pepper, minced
3/4 cup water
4oz canned tomato sauce
4 cups uncooked cauliflower rice {I use the Trader Joe's frozen version and just heat up a little on the stove so it's unfrozen}
Toppings {avocado, cilantro, chopped lettuce, cheese, jarred salsa, radishes, sour cream/greek yogurt, limes, etc}

Instructions
1. Over high heat, brown turkey in large skillet, breaking up as it cooks.
2. When no longer pink, add 1 tsp salt and the rest of the dry spices and mix well.
3. Add onion, pepper, tomato sauce, and water and mix well.  Simmer on low about 15 minutes.
4. Add cauliflower and 1/4 tsp salt and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
5. Transfer to plate and serve with desired toppings.  Makes great leftovers!

Serves 4

adapted from skinnytaste

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Farmer's Market Weekend

Saturday morning I introduced Christian to one of my most favorite things about my neighborhood, the Magnolia Farmer's Market.  It's so tiny spanning just one block but is filled with fresh produce, flowers, and even beer and wine tastings from local makers.  We gathered up a bunch of fresh veggies along the way, then after a quick stop at Costco to pick up a few more items, we made a delicious dinner of flank steak on the BBQ  with a big salad paired with margaritas {we have so. many. limes.}.  We ate dinner up on the roof soaking up this beautiful weather we're having and it made for a perfectly chill Saturday - exactly what I was hoping for :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Happy {Nina} Friday!

Happy Friday!  Christian has been out of town all week for work so I've been staying at his house all week because 1. Nina and 2. He has air conditioning and earlier this week it was HOT.  Nina and I have had a great week going for long walkies, having lots of treats, and taking up the entire king sized bed :)  Hope you've had a great week as well and cheers to the weekend!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Bill Clinton

The reason for our Taylor Shellfish date a few weeks back was because we had tickets to go see Bill Clinton speak at McCaw Hall.  I had heard about the event several months ago when I received an email saying that the former President had written a fiction book with James Patterson and would be on tour to promote it.  I've always been a fan of President Clinton and thought it would be such an amazing experience to see this charismatic and extremely intelligent man in person.  The talk was about an hour and a half of the President answering questions about everything from how he came up with the book ideas, what he's up to now, and what he thinks of the world today.  He is such an amazing storyteller and wonderful speaker - it makes you wonder how we ever got to this place we are in our country now.  He had great advice - when asked "what can I do in today's world?" his simple answer was "Show up."  I could've listened to him speak for hours and hours, and when we stumbled upon his secret service and motorcade waiting outside the hall, I convinced Christian that we had to wait for him so we could glimpse him up close even just for a second {the pictures are blurry but it was so worth it}.  I'm so happy we had the opportunity to see such a strong and smart leader in person, and it gives me hope that perhaps there are more like him out there to lead us on to better days.

\

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Happy Birthday Maddie!

Happy Birthday to one of my most favorite people in the whole world!  Even though I don't see you nearly as often as I used to, I still treasure our time together and all of the awesome memories we've made around the world.  Cheers to you Maddie - I hope you're out celebrating with your sweet little family and I can't wait to celebrate you soon!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Eve

Last week I got an email saying Nicole was in town and she wanted to grab dinner- yay!  After our first attempt at a restaurant was closed, we ended up at Eve in Fremont where we grabbed cocktails {my Palomita was excellent} before being seated for dinner.  I didn't grab pics of all of the plates we shared {my absolute fave being the squid} but the pork tenderloin below was was definitely pretty enough for a picture.  It was so fun catching up with this girl that I rarely see anymore and it made me realize how much I miss her {and our old crew}.  I love that no matter how long it's been we can always catch up right where we left off, and combine it with a great meal and yummy drinks and we are definitely in our happy place :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

The Weekend {In Pictures}

 {new (to me) bike!}

 {practicing in the street and trying not to hit my car}

 {happy dog}

 {dog-sitting + dinner on the roof}

 {sunset walks}

Hope you had a great weekend - and happy birthday to Merith {yesterday} and Kelli {today!}!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Happy {Summer} Friday

Happy Friday!  It's really feeling like summer here in Seattle so I decided to make a list of some of my favorite summer things to remind me of how awesome this season really is.  I think some popsicles and rosé are in my future this weekend - how about you? :)  Have a great one!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Taylor Shellfish

A few weeks ago, we had a date night on Saturday night {as opposed to the usual order Thai and watch Netflix} so to start the night off, we headed down to Taylor Shellfish in lower Queen Anne.  I've never actually eaten at Taylor even though they're scattered around the city so I was ready to try just about everything on the delicious menu.  We started with an assortment of a dozen of oysters {paired with some delicious beer and rosé}, then continued with shishito peppers, sockeye salmon gravlax, and classic steamer mussels soaked up with a delicious Macrina baguette.  Everything was absolutely delicious and we followed it up with a walk around Seattle Center, which made for an excellent start to a fun date night.

xoxo,
stephanie marie

4th of July {part 2}

After the parade, we spent most of the afternoon eating, drinking, and alternating between sweatshirts and tank tops since the weather could not decide what it wanted to do.  We took our obligatory pictures {girls + babies on the bulkhead, everyone on the beach} and even convinced dad to make a second round of oyster nachos for those that missed round 1.  As afternoon turned to evening, Christian and I decided to head back to the city to check on Nina, but as we were arriving on Queen Anne right as the sky was darkening, we took a detour and followed the hoards of people heading to the top of the hill to watch the Lake Union fireworks {we had no idea where we were going but ended up in a group of probably thousands where the streets were closed for the festivities}.  It was such a fun day with some of my most favorite people and I can't wait to do it again next year!

sweet charlie

annabelle photo bomb

 linnea & lila

 our annual girls picture keeps getting bigger and bigger

 erika and me

 such a trooper all day long

 awesome fireworks on lake union

Hope you had a great 4th!

xoxo,
stephanie marie