Cheers

I can't wait to celebrate the big 2-8 with some wonderful friends today.  With lunch at one of the yummiest places in the city and an evening sail around the lake, it's guaranteed to be a great time :)  My friends are the best, and I'm so excited to celebrate with them!

Cheers to many, many more fabulous birthdays!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Happy Birthday, Baby Brother!

Happy Birthday to the bestest little brother around!  I can't wait to spend the weekend with this guy, filled with family, sunshine, golf, wine, and celebrations!  Love ya, Bubba :)

xoxo,

stephanie marie

pic via diana from a golf evening in wenatchee

Petitor {etsy}

A few months back, I saw a post on a blog about an Etsy shop called Petitor.  After clicking on the link, I immediately became obsessed with the simple and delicate jewelry at such affordable prices.  When I came across the Anchor Necklace, I knew it would be perfect for Maddie's birthday (since she loves sailing and has been trying to expand her jewelry collection).  And of course, when placing the order I couldn't help but pick up a little something for myself :)  While recently browsing the website again, I decided that at some point the Gold Nuggets necklace, Wishbone necklace, or Tiny Dangle earrings need to permanently make a home in my jewelry box.  I'm slowly working towards it :)

 the anchor necklace i bought for maddie

my new favorite necklace

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

Last week I was craving pasta (what's new, right?).  I wanted to make a dish that was simple yet filling, and something that wouldn't take a lot of ingredients.  Behold, The Pioneer Woman's Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce.  I've come across this one several times while perusing her website, but when I saw it again in her newest cookbook, I knew I had to give it a try.  The dish was incredibly easy to make and with just a few staples that are almost always in my cupboards (who knew tomato sauce from a can could be so delicious?!?!), I was eating in no time.  I'd highly recommend whipping this one up for a quick mid-week dinner - but unless you're serving a hungry family of 6, you should halve the recipe like I did :)

 tomato sauce with onions and garlic

 add the cream...

 ...until it's the color of a pumpkin - then add some cheese

add basil - and more cheese!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Early Access

 Franco Sarto 'Ariana' flat

Once again, I took advantage of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Early Access invite and promptly made an appointment with a personal shopper almost two weeks before the sale actually started.  While I didn't go quite as crazy as last year, I did manage to pick up a few pieces that I can't wait to incorporate into my wardrobe.  But who wants to wait until fall? :)  Here are a few of my faves that just had to come home with me:

 Halogen seamed pencil skirt

 Halogen chiffon blouse

 Caslon snap front cardigan

 Paige 'Hidden Hills' straight leg jeans

Sperry Top-Sider 'Pearlfish' boat shoe

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Father Daughter Sailing

For my dad's birthday, my mom got him a sailing lesson at Sail Sand Point.  Since I've recently been loving getting out on the water, I decided to tag along and learn a thing or two.  This past weekend was finally our lesson, and though our original instructor never showed up (I was so angry), the dock manager for the day, Celeste, graciously changed her schedule to teach us for a few hours.  After just a few minutes of classroom instruction, we were sailing away from the dock and out on our own FJ to navigate around Lake Washington.  There were many a few close calls where I was fairly certain we were going overboard, but we managed to upright the boat and keep sailing.  After a few hours of sailing around the lake (and tacking to our heart's content), we were soaked, sore - and couldn't stop smiling :)  Celeste was confident enough in our abilities to send us out again - this time by ourselves on a Hobie Cat.  We took the "un-tippable" catamaran out for a quick sail, but after getting even more soaked and tired, we decided to call it a day.  It was an awesome day spent with my dad, and made me so happy to see how happy he was out on the water.  We definitely are going to get out there again soon :)

Love ya, Dad!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Happy {crazy week} Friday

Friends, it has been a loooooong week.  With a crazy (but so far, so good) health scare, waking up hourly throughout the night to take care of the stupid health scare, terrible allergies, and a busy work week, I couldn't be more ready for the weekend.  So I'll leave you with this awesome sign I saw back in the valley a few months ago.  So, so true :)

Happy Weekend!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Hawaii {2009}

I'm so jealous of the girls spending a week in Maui right now.  Since I couldn't make it this year, I'll live vicariously through these pics of my trip with Erika to Oahu back in 2009 (I can't believe it's been almost 3 years!).

 just after the plane landed

 we wanted to take home the little girl on the right (so adorable)

 sunset dinner

 conquering diamond head

 almost to the top (i remember thinking how i wanted to die - then remembered my parents and grandparents had already climbed this)

 pretty rainbow over waikiki

 we were terrible at surfing

 being silly at pearl harbor

 uss arizona memorial

 our new buddies - pearl harbor survivors

 at the obligatory luau

 a creepy kind stranger snapped photos of us learning to hula

 waikiki

 road trip to turtle bay resort

 shaved ice on the north shore

 snorkeling at hanauma bay

 romantic walks on the beach :)

our last night in hawaii

Erika - this was one of my most favorite trips ever!  I'm so glad we convinced each other to go :)  Hope you guys are having a great time in Maui!!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Happy Birthday Maddie!

Happy Birthday, Maddie!  From long talks to car dance parties to random nights out to crazy vacations - I love that you're always up for anything!  Thanks for always being such a great friend :)  Have a great time in Hawaii - and celebrate big!!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

A Saturday Sail

This past Saturday we headed out on Autumn and Ryan's boat for an afternoon on the lake.  Though the day started out rainy (which we remedied by drinking beers at the dock), we headed out once the clouds cleared for a sunny sail on Lake Union.  The wind was pretty sparse so we ended up just floating around for hours chatting, soaking up the sun, and being lazy.  It's days like this where I absolutely love living in Seattle :) 

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Rattlesnake Ridge

Sunday morning, Erika and I set out to cross something off my Summer To Do List - a day hike.  Though the skies were cloudy and spitting drops of rain, we were determined to not let the weather deter us yet again.  Armed with rain jackets, water bottles, and sheer stubbornness determination, we hiked up the almost 2 mile trail to what's supposed to be one of the most beautiful views just outside the city, Rattlesnake Ridge.  Unfortunately, the weather had other plans.  Though we didn't get to see the pristine lake and miles of mountains, the eerie fog still created a breathtaking view from 2000 feet up.  After some snacks and a few snapshots, we headed back down the mountain cold but satisfied.  Though the end result wasn't quite what we had anticipated, I still had a blast catching up with my bestie and taking in the awesome scenery.  Erika - thanks for braving the rain with me (and stopping often on the way up...)!  Your encouragement to get my butt up the trail helped more than you know :)

 rain, rain, go away

 creepy forest reminiscent of the Twilight movies

 which way to go....

 finally to the top! (sweaty and cold.....)

 pretty view

totally bad ass

 the feet that got our bums up the mountain

xoxo,

stephanie marie