Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me! We celebrated early yesterday with some pre-birthday ice cream and I’m excited for a very low key day today of relaxing and doing a lot of nothing. That’s what birthdays are all about, right? Cheers to the last year of my 30’s - I think it’s gonna be a good one! :)

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday! It’s been a busy week over here with get togethers {pic above from celebrating Maddie’s 40th with the girls}, wedding planning, and hosting friends, and I’m excited to keep the celebrating going with a fun shower with my girlfriends this weekend and maybe a little pre-birthday celebrating as well. Have a great one!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Happy Birthday Brother!

Happy Birthday to my favorite brother!  Brother - I can always count on you for a hearty laugh, a cute kiddo pic, a fitting meme, and random music and sports trivia that I never knew.  I know it's been a busy year adding another little to the mix, but I'm so grateful that you'll be by my side in less than a month to help me say I Do.  Have the best birthday, kid - I hope you're celebrated as much as you deserve to be {a lot!}!  Cheers to you!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

San Francisco {Part II}

my last day in San Francisco I woke up thinking I'd grab breakfast in the hotel, but since I felt the need for a walk I found a cute Vietnamese coffee shop and breakfast sandwich spot with great reviews just a few blocks away, so I headed that way to grab takeout.

the prices were reasonable and the wait really short at Fresh Brew Coffee.....

.....and though it didn't look like much from the outside, it was the perfect breakfast and coffee to start my day.

i made the steep walk back up to my hotel....

then promptly got back in bed with my breakfast and laptop to work a bit while watching the Today Show.

later that afternoon my boss came to pick me up at my hotel, where she insisted on taking a photo of me {which would become a theme for the rest of our day together}.

we headed down to the ferry building and since the sun was shining, we had our Peruvian lunch {which ended up being giant} outside by the water.

after lunch we went for a walk and she insisted on taking a picture of me in front of the Bay Bridge....

.....then asked some friendly people to take one of the two of us!

we then got back in the car where we continued our tour of SF, stopping by the Chase Center which is right near our office.

we took pics in the giant spheres outside.....

....which were a pretty fun photo op, especially with nobody around.

we then headed up towards one of our hospitals, where she insisted we walk around a bit.....

.....and we discovered these cute heart statues all over the campus.

she was kind enough to drop me off at the airport before my flight, where I had a glass of wine and continued working until it was time to board the plane.  The trip is such a quick one from SFO and once home we did a big loop over Seattle seeing some beautiful views....

.....and flew right over the Home Run Derby at the All Star Game!

It was such a fun trip and I'm so glad that I decided to extend it for one extra day exploring San Francisco.  I can't wait to go back!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

San Francisco {Part I}

Since I technically work for a San Francisco company but have never actually been there since I started my job, I decided to stay on an extra day from the Bachelorette party on my own to meet up with my boss before heading back to Seattle.  The girls dropped me off at The Fairmont in the afternoon on their way to the airport, and after a little snafu with my room, I was given an upgraded room with a cozy bed and city view.  Even though I was exhausted I didn't want to waste my one afternoon alone in the city, so I got ready and headed out on foot for an adventure.  I slowly walked through Chinatown, one of my favorite parts of the city, on my way down to the Ferry Building where I checked out the cute shops before grabbing a burger and a beer at Gott's Roadside.  It was just the fuel I needed for the uphill walk back to my hotel, where I promptly got ready for bed by 7pm and was snuggled into my bed for some hotel tv and an early night.  

xoxo,

stephanie marie

The Weekend {In Pictures}

{late night drinks at an old fave}

{the nursery is in full bloom and it's beautiful}

{bug cruisin'}

{beer tasting}

{the prettiest place}

{lunch from washington's best tacos}

{wedding crafting}

{sunday dinner - thanks for cracking the crab, mom!}

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!  What's the plan for the weekend?  I'm excited to cheer on the M's tonight {nothing better than the ballpark on a sunny summer evening!} then head up north to finalize some never ending wedding plans.  Have a great weekend, and enjoy the sunshine!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Bachelorette Party {Pool Time & Brunch}

for our last night in Sonoma, we decided to have a pool/spa party at the house.

autumn had come with a suitcase full of floaties and bridal goodies....

....and I took advantage of this ring floatie right away in the warm and inviting pool.

they decorated our cute outdoor space with all things bridal....

....and because of our earlier issues with the fridge and losing food, we decided to order takeout Mexican food which was absolutely perfect and gave us more time just to hang out.

we spent much of the evening floating in the pool.....

.....then when it got too cold we hit up the hot tub.

i was so in awe of all the planning and thought put into this weekend getaway by my friends that I won't soon forget!

after it got dark we put on our cozies and had a spa night, doing facemasks and playing the Newlywed Game, where unbeknownst to me they had met up with Christian and recorded his answers, seeing if ours would match!  It was so much fun and so thoughtful {and awesome to see videos of Christian talking about our favorite memories}.

sunday morning it was unfortunately time to pack up our suitcases and head back home, but I'm pretty sure none of us were quite ready to leave.

we stopped in Santa Rosa at Bird & The Bottle for a yummy brunch....

....and everything hit the spot after a long day of wine tasting.  I didn't want it to end and have to say goodbye to this amazing weekend, but unfortunately after brunch it was time to go.

after brunch, we dropped off Suze & Merith at the Santa Rosa airport, then Autumn, Erika and I made our way back to SF where they could catch their flight home {but I wasn't quite ready to leave CA yet....}.

It was the most fun Bachelorette weekend with some of my most favorite people and I'm so grateful that I got to spend this uninterrupted time with my girls who are simply the best.  I am so lucky, and I wish we could do it again this weekend!

xoxo,

stephanie marie