Summer Evening on the Island

Saturday afternoon, after I got up to the valley, we headed out to the island for dinner and drinks with the grandparents.  It was a gorgeous evening on the water with the sun shining and a slight breeze blowing, and we sat on the deck with glasses of wine and a big bowl of crab to crack for appetizers.  It's one of my favorite things to do, and while I don't get to enjoy it that often anymore, it always makes me so happy to be there at my favorite place :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Weekend Flowers

How was your long weekend?  I spend most of it up at home, relaxing with mom and dad and the kitties :)  Yesterday afternoon as we were driving back up to the farm, I made mom pull over on the side of the road so I could pick up some dahlias from my favorite little stand {4 for $1!!}.  I'm going to enjoy this summer for as long as I can, and nothing is better than some fresh flowers to brighten up the place :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Congrats, Gramps!

Congrats on your official retirement, Gramps!!  You have now survived your first week of not working!!  I know we already had our big celebration in Alaska, but I just wanted to tell you how excited I am for you and this new chapter in your life.  I know how many memories were made there at SVC, but I also know there are many more to come!  Love ya!!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Roaming the Garden {Clematis}

I have this little tree/shrub on the pathway to my front door that is completely dead on one side because it has been taken over by clematis.  Dad and I tried to cut this pesky vine back this spring, but it kept overtaking the tree so I decided to let it go.  This past week, while walking by, I noticed it had two perfect purple flowers that it definitely did not have last year.  Now I can't bear to cut it back, knowing how pretty it is.  I think the clematis is here to stay :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

The Pantry

Sunday morning, Maddie took me to The Pantry for a cooking class as an amazing birthday present.  I've always seen these advertised and heard stories about how awesome they are, but I've never actually pulled the trigger and signed up.  Well, apparently when Maddie saw they were having a Fish Taco class, she knew that was right up my alley and signed us up.  The classes are cool - very small and hands on, so everyone was helping out making something as we followed along with our instructor Laura on how to make all the fixin's for many kinds of fish tacos.  At first I was a little hesitant {what if I didn't cut the tomatillos correctly?!?} but everyone was so friendly and helpful that it was such a fun experience for us all to make this meal together.  Once everything was prepared, we all sat down together for a delicious lunch - made by us! - along with a glass of wine in the most beautiful and rustic kitchen.  I'm already scheming as to which classes I want to sign up for next {if I can get in!} and Maddie and I are insistent that we are going to replicate this meal for our friends one day soon {it really was so easy to make!!}.  Thanks again Mads - what a perfect birthday present!

 homemade tortillas {both flour and corn} are surprisingly easy to make!

 our family style lunch

the finished product!  shrimp in tomatillo sauce, cornmeal crusted calamari, and beer battered cod tacos 

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Queen Margherita

This past weekend, Mom and I saw Matilda at the 5th Avenue {so awesome!!  But so dark for a kid's play!  I totally forgot how scary that book is.}.  Afterwards, we headed back to Magnolia during the epic wind and rain storm and decided to take cover at Queen Margherita, a hidden little neopolitan-style pizza place in the village.  Luckily, they were playing the Seahawk preseason game, so we settled in with some glasses of wine and watched the game.  We decided on a few salads and one pizza to share, and it was the perfect amount of food to share while we watched the game.  I love this little spot in Magnolia that you would never think of coming too - it's definitely one of my favorite pizza places I've come across in the city.  Thanks for dinner Mom - and Go Hawks!

 salad mixta and the watermelon salad

 pizza romana with mushrooms

the cutest little place :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Seahawks Preseason

A few weeks back I had an unexpectedly free weekend, so Nicole offered me her tickets to the Seahawks preseason game.  Since Maddie and I had already talked about going to dinner that night, I instead decided to take her to the game for some beers, weird noodle-dishes, and to cheer on our Hawks.  After the craziest thunder and lightning storm and pouring down rain, and traffic that took hours to get anywhere in the city, we finally made it to the stadium not long after kickoff.  We had a great time laughing, catching up, and cheering on the Hawks before heading up the Hill to play a rousing game of shuffleboard at The Canterbury.  Though the Hawks couldn't pull this one off, I'm confident it's going to be an amazing season - they're just getting the losses out of their system now :)  Go Hawks!

xoxo,
stephanie marie