Love

Happy Friday!  What's everyone up to?  I'm excited to go see these guys play tonight - I can't believe it's been almost a year!  Other than that, hoping to soak up some of that Seattle sunshine :)  Wanted to share with you this little paperweight I recently purchased from West Elm {I seriously waited months for it to come back in stock - going to the store weekly.  I really do "love" it}.  I have it sitting front and center in my living room, reminding me everyday that love is always close by:)

Have a great weekend!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I've had this recipe pinned for almost a year now, and I finally got around to making it a few weeks ago.  OMG - it was so easy to put together, and so amazingly delicious.  And it made awesome leftovers!  While nothing will ever compare to Stephchiladas {come on now} these are a pretty great way to make enchiladas in a pinch.  I halved this recipe, but could easily make the whole thing and eat the leftovers all week long :)

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients
3 cups red enchilada sauce
16 corn tortillas, halved
2- 15oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1- 15oz can corn, drained
6 green onions, thinly sliced
4 cups shredded cooked chicken {I use this recipe}
3 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 and spray 9x11 inch pan with cooking spray.
2. Pour about 3/4 cup enchilada sauce in baking dish and spread coating the dish.  Top with a layer of about 8 tortilla halves, covering the dish.  Sprinkle evenly with about 1 cup black beans, 1/2 cup corn, and 1/4 of the green onions.  Sprinkle with heaping cup of chicken and about 3/4 cup shredded cheese.  Repeat layering twice.  
3. End with final layer of tortillas and sauce.  Cover pan with aluminum foil, then bake for 20 minutes.
4. Remove pan and aluminum.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese then return to oven uncovered and bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted.  
5. Remove pan, sprinkle with avocado, cilantro, and remaining green onions.  Serve warm.

Serves 8

adapted from Gimme Some Oven

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Boat Street Cafe

I'm not sure what's more sad - that Boat Street Cafe is closing this week, or that it's taken me this long to actually visit this amazing restaurant.  Either way, it's a loss.  When we heard that Boat Street was officially closing at the end of May, Maddie, Autumn, and I decided to make a reservation weeks in advance to try out the place that everyone was talking about.  The dim and cozy space instantly made us feel at home  - and the 20 bottles of rosé housed next to our table didn't hurt either :)  We did it the best way and got plates to share, including the smoked trout, steamed manila clams, pork rib chop, and extra helpings of bread.  When we didn't think that we could eat anymore, the waitress told us that the bread pudding was their signature, and since it was our last chance to try it, we forced ourselves.  Oh my god - it was heavenly!  While I'm so sad that I'll never again get to have dinner at this new favorite, I'm comforted knowing that we got to try it before it was gone - especially that bread pudding :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Urban Family Brewing

How was your long weekend?  Mine was way too short :)  Besides just a few outings to see friends, I spent most of the weekend doing house chores, which was boring but amazing once finished :)  Saturday afternoon, Leslie & Cullen drug me out of the house for an impromptu visit to my local brewery, Urban Family Brewing.  I've seen the signs in the neighborhood since they opened last fall, but besides a few quick drivebys, I've never actually visited the brewery.  We waked in to the almost completely empty warehouse {the guy working the bar said it was the slowest they've been since they opened} and decided to do a little tasting menu of sorts from their 5 beers on tap.  The tasting room shares a warehouse with the brewery, so it's very industrial and open.  It does offer, however, a huge selection of board games, a few arcade games, and tons of tables and chairs to gather around with friends or by yourself with a book {they even have takeout menus from local restaurants for ordering}.  Oh, and the beer was insanely good {my faves were the Citron Noir Farmhouse and the Babycakes Pale with Peach}.  I'll definitely be heading back here now that I know how great of a place it is - thanks for trying out a new local place with me, friends! :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Scandal

I was so sad last night, as there was no new Scandal episode to watch :)  However, we more than made up for it last week with our Scandalicious party at Sue's condo downtown.  Several of us from work had been planning to get together to watch the season finale in the theater room at her building, and once she found out my mom, Patti, and Merith were all "gladiators" as well, they were instantly invited too.  We spent the gorgeous Seattle evening on her deck overlooking the sound and downtown, drinking champagne and snacking while taking in an amazing sunset.  After that, we were whisked down to the theater room with our glasses of wine for a surprise Scandal trivia game {SAX won}, awesome Scandal-themed gifts, and the coziest chairs for watching the finale.  It's so much fun to watch these things with a group of loyal fans {even if Mom is Team Fitz} and we left making plans to replicate this night for the season premier in the fall.  Thanks, Sue - it was a fabulous night!

 patti and mom

 not a bad view

 enjoying champs in the sun

 best place for watching

 my david & abby notebook for the trivia game!

 our scandalicious hosts

 my prize for the evening

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Machiavelli's

Before POTO, David and I had dinner at one of my most favorite spots in Seattle - Machiavelli's.  This iconic Italian restaurant sits just up the hill from The Paramount and serves some of the best {and cheapest} pasta in the city.  It's a tiny space that doesn't take reservations, so you must go early {or plan on a loooooong wait}, but luckily for us, we got there right as they were opening so were seated right away.  We shared a half carafe of Chianti, then each finished off our plates of pasta like we hadn't eaten in weeks.  I tell ya - if you're heading to a show and don't mind a quick uphill walk, this is the best place in the area to go for a relaxed and yummy dinner.  It's definitely worth the hike :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

POTO

It's hard to believe that with all of the shows I've seen in my life, I've never seen The Phantom of the Opera {or, POTO, as David and I like to call it}.  But that all changed two weeks ago when David and I headed down to the Paramount for a showing of this amazingly 80's Broadway spectacular.  I had been excited for months to see this incredibly iconic musical about, well, a phantom who haunts an opera, but I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.  Well, it definitely blew my mind!  I think I was expecting more of a Beauty and the Beast type love story - you know, beautiful girl falls in love with crazy hideous guy and they make it work.  But POTO isn't quite like that.  It's so dark and evil, but with amazing songs and sets.  While not quite what I expected, the show was thoroughly entertaining, and while I kept finding myself giggling at some of the overly dramatic scenes, it was an experience I won't soon forget, shared with my favorite date.

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Mad Men

Did you watch the Mad Men series finale on Sunday?  While it was a long weekend with not a lot of sleep, I definitely made sure to stay up Sunday night and say goodbye to a show I've adored for the past seven seasons.  Mad Men is one of those shows where you hope the characters live on forever and ever and that you really never want to end.  While I have mixed feelings about the final episode, I thought that it was incredibly "Mad Men" - poetic, emotional, confusing, and a little bit funny.  That last call between Betty & Don broke my heart, and Peggy finding love, while cheesy, was a true happy ending.  And fade out on a smiling Don Draper?  That's the best ending of all :)

If you haven't watched Mad Men before, get on Netflix now and get started.

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Morning with Ryley

How was your weekend?  Mine was pretty great!  I spent Saturday morning having breakfast with Ryley {and his parents}, and I can't believe how big this kid is getting - he's almost 8 months old!!  We spent the morning with Ryley showing me how he can army crawl, drool like a champ, and scream louder and longer than any other baby :)  It was a pretty great morning - one I need to replicate again and again.

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Flowers

I was having one of those days earlier this week, where everything seems to be going wrong and you're on the verge of tears.  But then, when I got home that night, I opened the gate to my yard and found that all of my pots had been filled with beautiful flowers, and the tomato plants that I had loved so much last year had magically been replanted.  That sneaky brother of mine spent the morning shopping and planting while I was at work and surprised me with fresh new flowers in the yard because I had complained that I hadn't had time yet this spring.  My mood was instantly lifted - if that's not the best brother in the world, I don't know who is :)

I hope you all find something like this that makes you smile this weekend!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Arts & Sciences Night

A few weeks back, a group of us from work {past and present} met up at John's condo for Arts & Sciences Night.  Let me explain - John has started to cover his stairway wall in 4x5 canvases painted as elements of the periodic table {read more about it here}.  It's been a bit slow going, so the group of us offered up our services for a night of wine, pizza, and painting to help the project along.  We each picked an element, and the only rules were that the symbol and number had to appear somewhere on the canvas.  Other than that, we basically had free reign.  I obviously picked gold {if you've been to my house or seen my jewelery, you know I have an affinity for the element}, but not being very artistic {to put it mildly} I needed a little guidance {I showed up with gold paint, gold glitter, and no idea what I would do with them}.  Luckily, Cullen didn't have any ideas either, so we partnered up and came up with, in my opinion, a pretty awesome Gold Medal Man.  I had to leave the party early, but I entrusted the finishing touches to Cullen, and he did not disappoint.  Pretty awesome idea, right?  I can't wait to try out my next one...... :)

 the wall

 my gold canvas

 the real artist in the bunch, delila

 my partner

 our finished product!

 nicole, cullen, john, & leslie

our finished art!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Roaming the Garden {Bluebells}

Last spring, when these leaves first started popping up, I was so excited because I thought they must be tulips or daffodils or some other beautiful bulb.  But no - they are bluebells that have taken over my entire yard!  I can fill up an entire yard waste container full of these things and you'd never know it by looking at the yard - they are everywhere.  While the blue hue of these flowers is very pretty, I secretly look forward to the time {now!} that they start to die and I can rip them up.  When they are gone, it feels like a sense of calm in the garden.  But since I will never fully get rid of them, I must embrace the blue and just be happy they're covering the weeds :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie