Happy Friday!

It has been a week and the only thing getting me through is the thought of a long weekend ahead and this pint of blackberry ice cream we picked up from Molly Moon’s the other day that is maybe the best ice cream ever. Cheers to the long weekend, friends - we deserve it!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Anniversary Dinner {Delancey}

For our anniversary on Sunday we decided to keep it low key and head to dinner at one of our favorite places, Delancey {and I celebrated by wearing my wedding shoes which I still absolutely love}. Of course there was a wait so we grabbed some cocktails next door at Essex and sipped them outside while we waited. Dinner was excellent as always and we got to have my favorite peak summer tomato salad with feta alongside the white pie and the sausage with a seasonal topping of Walla Walla sweet onions - delicious! Afterwards we headed home to crack open a bottle of bubbles from my bachelorette trip last year and toast a crazy year together. Man I love this guy :)

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Walla Walla Birthday Trip {Driving Home}

Friday morning, after having some lackluster breakfasts throughout the week in Walla Walla, we decided to keep it simple and grab some coffee and a yogurt parfait at Carte Coffee which hit the spot, then headed out of town.  We stopped in Kennewick for a Costco trip {duh} and a surprisingly delicious lunch at Tomatillo, which if you're in the tri-cities I'd highly recommend.  We weren't ready for our vacation to end so we decided to drive home the long way, going over the north side of Mount Rainier and Chinook Pass {the south route was closed due to fires nearby}.  We made a few roadside stops to take in the views {we even found a patch of snow!} and made a pact to definitely come back when it's not so smoky and explore more.  It was a great way to end the trip - a summer highlight for sure!

checking out the river at whistlin' jack's

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Walla Walla Birthday Trip {Revelry & Passatempo}

Our last winery stop of the day was at Revelry Vintners where we were greeted in the parking lot with a glass of rose and led to a gorgeous air conditioned tasting room with a view set up to look out at their inviting {but roasting} patio.  We were the only ones in the winery {perks of weekday tastings} and were walked through glass after glass of delicious wines - our guide even snuck us a few extra tastings as we were inquiring about a few of their bottles.  After we left Revelry we headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner at Passatempo, a fun Italian restaurant in town where we luckily had reserved a table inside {most patios were closed due to the heat} and were treated to one of our best meals of the trip {though honestly, all of our dinners were outstanding in Walla Walla}.  It was such a perfect way to end our last full day east of the mountains!

burrata caprese + homemade focaccia

bread + cheese + tomatoes = best meal

smoked pork belly pizza + rigatoni bolognese

xoxo,

stephanie marie

One

I can’t believe it’s been a full year {yesterday} since our most favorite day ever - the year has absolutely flown by and while it’s definitely been full of ups and downs there’s no one I’d rather navigate life with than this guy. Cheers to a year of marriage and many, many more :)

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Sweet Friday

Happy Friday!  I happily was pulled out of a call the other morning to a smiling Erika with a box of pastries at our doorstep.  Sometimes sweets are just what you need to get you through the rest of the week :)  Hope your weekend is sweet and wonderful!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Walla Walla Birthday Trip {Kinhaven & Valdemar Estates}

The next day started bright and early at Bacon & Eggs, a popular breakfast spot in town where I had a yummy breakfast burrito that really hit the spot.  Afterward we headed to our first winery of the day, Kinhaven, where we tried to sit outside in the shade but only made it thru about 1.5 tastings before we had to go in to the air conditioning.  Regardless, this was one of our favorite stops on the trip - the wine was delicious and the atmosphere inviting, and we were super stoked when we found out they have a new tasting room in Woodinville!  After Kinhaven we headed over to Valdemar Estates where we were able to sit outside due to some shade and misters and enjoy side by side tastings of their Walla Walla wines with their Spanish wines.  We had a yummy tapa at this one and they even brought me a free slice of basque cheesecake since I had put in the reservation it was my birthday - such a fun and celebratory gesture that we really appreciated!

xoxo,

stephanie marie