Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!  What are you up to this weekend?  I'm looking forward to a semi-normal weekend {with crazy ones all around it} including a show with my mama, some Friday night yoga, and hopefully lots of sleeping in :)  Cheers to a cozy weekend!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Egg Roll Bowls

When I got the Skinnytaste: Fast & Slow cookbook for Christmas this past year, one of the first recipes to catch my eye was the Egg Roll Bowls.  I love Asian takeout and always opt for the salty and delicious appetizer rolls, so I was curious how these roll-less rolls would stack up.  After chopping everything {which you should do before you start cooking} everything came together incredibly fast, and before I knew it I had a big bowl of fresh veggies and pork for dinner.  It is a little salty so you could cut out a bit of the soy sauce, but it's a quick and easy weeknight meal that feels fresh and yummy and definitely hits that takeout spot.

Egg Roll Bowls

Ingredients
7oz ground pork
3 Tblsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 1/2 cups finely sliced napa or green cabbage
2 cups finely sliced baby bok choy {1 head}
1/2 cup shredded/sliced carrots
2 1/2oz sliced shiitake mushrooms
1/2 Tblsp Chinese rice wine
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil 
1 medium scallion, sliced for garnish

Instructions
1. Set large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add pork and 1 Tblsp soy sauce and cook, using wooden spoon to break the meat into small pieces, about 3 minutes.
2. Add onion, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring, until vegetables are soft, 2-3 minutes.
3. Add cabbage, bok choy, carrots, and mushrooms.  Pour in remaining soy sauce, rice wine, and sesame oil.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage and bok choy are wilted but still crunchy, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Serve hot, garnished with scallions.

adapted from skinnytaste

Serves 2

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Wedding Prep Weekend

This past weekend Mom and I headed out east for some wedding festivities {which is coming up in less than a month!}.  Saturday, after driving over the pass and stopping for obligatory bratwurst in Leavenworth, we headed to a shower hosted by Sara's family friends to toast the upcoming nuptials.  They had a full bar and lots of good food - makings of an excellent shower :)  Sunday morning we all got up bright and early and headed up to Mazama to meet with wedding vendors and scout out the wedding location {all the snow was gone - yay!!}.  We wandered around Mazama and Twisp and though we spent an insane amount of time in the car, it was so great to see the venue and be able to picture the ceremony in just a few short weeks.  As you can see above, it's going to be a gorgeous place for these two to get married, and I can't wait for all the festivities coming up soon!

 piles of presents

 rehearsal dinner wine tasting

beer and peanuts at the only restaurant open in twisp

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Happy Birthday David!

Happy Birthday to the guy who knows my deepest secrets, my weirdest habits, and my craziest stories - and still wants to be my friend!  David, you enrich my life with your awesome Bitmoji's, beautiful Snapchat filters, and aggravating but usually accurate advice and I don't know what I'd do without you.  So let's open some wine, eat some good food, and do a little David dance in honor of your 23rd birthday {again}.  I hope it's as fabulous as these moves!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Happy Birthday Stefanie!

Happy Birthday Stef!  This picture was taken on the first of your birthdays we spent together - TEN YEARS AGO!  Which also means we are celebrating 10 years of friendship!  We've gone through so much together but through it all we manage to have a pretty great time - some of my best memories from the past 10 years are with you :)  I can't wait to celebrate everything where it all began later this week, but in the meantime I hope you have the most fabulous birthday.  Love you Smorr!

such babies

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Friday Flowers

Happy Friday!  Luckily, this week has flown by and I am so ready for the weekend.  Mom & I are heading over to the eastside to do a little more celebrating and wedding prep {it's coming up so soon!} and I'm looking forward to some girl time and hopefully sunny weather.  And I'm hoping these tulips from last weekend keep their shape just a little bit longer :)

Have a great weekend!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Opening Day

One of my most favorite traditions {which I haven't missed since before I started this blog!} is Mariner's Opening Day.  There's something about the promise of a new season and the excitement in the air that always gets me pumped for baseball {plus, it means summer is just around the corner!}.  This year Leslie joined me at the stadium for the afternoon game against Houston.  We got there early for our beers and burgers and after doing a quick walk through of the ballpark, we found our seats up in right field and settled in for the game.  In keeping with tradition, they opened the roof for the opening ceremonies but as soon as the game started and those dark clouds rolled in, they closed it for the rest of the game to keep the players dry and us spectators warm.  While the M's didn't start their season on the road very promising, they came away with a 6-0 victory that day that has since been the beginning of a decent first month!  Now I don't want to jinx anything, but I have a good feeling about this season {do I say that every year}?  Regardless, I can't wait for some more games at the ballpark when the weather gets a tad warmer - there's really nothing like being at Safeco on a warm sunny day.  Go M's!

so many celebrations for the 40th anniversary

 blue skies for a split second

 first pitch - 4 decades of Mariners to 4 Mariner Hall of Famers

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Tulip Fields

Saturday night after dinner, Mom and I took a drive out to the tulip fields to see the hometown spectacular.  Since it was just about sunset, most people were heading home so we pulled over at a pretty tulip and daffodil field so I could take a few pics in a not too crowded area.  We then headed over to Roozengaarde as they were closing and took a few more pics out front before the sun went down.  There's nothing prettier than a field full of brightly colored flowers at sunset and even though these pics don't do it justice, we had a fabulous time driving around to see these gorgeous flowers :)

 

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Hoppy Easter

How was your Easter?  The day was absolutely gorgeous - the 60-something degree weather felt downright hot if you were sitting in the sun {which I managed to do as much as possible}.  We started our day off with a quick church service, then had an early dinner at home with the family with dessert out on the gorgeous sunny patio.  No matter how many times I sit out there, that view never grows old and it made me super excited for more sunny days ahead :)

 my most favorite picture of my bro and i that my mom brought out for the holiday - just one picture of her kids in the tulips :)

 dad's pretty arrangement

 we set up an assembly line for golf tournament treat bags and made 160 of them!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Tulip Monday

Since I got home super late last night {damn you, Tulip & Easter traffic!} I didn't have time to upload my pics from this weekend, so instead I'll share with you a Polaroid I snapped Saturday night when Mom & I took a drive through the infamous tulip fields.  No matter how many times I see them, they never get old :)

Hope you had a great weekend!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Hawaii {The Pig & The Lady + Fireworks}

There was one restaurant that I had been dying to go to in Honolulu every since I found a write up on it.  Apparently the Honolulu Chinatown is the cool place to be, and The Pig & The Lady is one of the prime destinations in the neighborhood.  I headed there Wednesday night and as a solo diner, they set me up at their dessert bar {right next to the regular bar} where I could get the full dinner menu while watching their head dessert chef work his magic.  Let me tell you - it's impossible to not order dessert when you are seated at that bar - that guy is a genius.  Everyone at the restaurant was super friendly to the fact I was alone, and since it's one of those places you want to share dishes so you can try just about everything, they offered to bring me {and charge me for} smaller portions of the small plates {1 toast vs. 3} so I could sample more dishes.  They are also known for their inventive and tasty cocktails,and after tasting a few myself I could see why.  The evening was perfect while dish after dish was brought my way, and after the practically required dessert I rolled myself out of there declaring it one of my best meals of all time.  It was that amazing and if you find yourself in Honolulu, it's an absolute must.  I guarantee you will thank me:)

my dining companions

i had the hardest time choosing - everything looked amazing!

twice-fried chicken wing, money sauce, fried shallots, kaffir lime & peanut slaw

big-eye ahi on spanish toast, garlic shoyuzuke, avocado, tomato, olive oil toast {i could've eaten about 10 of these - amazing}

the yummy and inventive cocktails - i had 'green is good' and 'play on'

spring carbonara with green garlic fettuccine, smoked bacon, turnips, asparagus, and parmesan

only good vibes at the dessert bar

sundae funday

To round out the week, the Hilton has a firework show on the beach every Friday night, and since I had nothing to do but wait for an airplane, I joined the hundreds of onlookers on the beach for a quick but entertaining show.  While it's no 4th of July on Samish Island, it definitely was a nice way to end my trip with a bang :)

Until the next time, Hawaii.....

xoxo,
stephanie marie