Gone Crabbin'

Since I hadn't been home since the 4th of July, meaning I hadn't been crabbing all summer long, I forced my family out on the boat this weekend to catch our after dinner snack.  Lucky for us, the waves died down just before the sun set so we had a calm ride out and a gorgeous setting.  Crabbing out on Samish Bay has been my favorite summer activity for as far back as I can remember, and the taste of a freshly caught, still warm crab cannot be beat.  It was the perfect evening - one of my favorites all summer :)

Aunt Gretchen and I ready to head out

brother-sister teamwork

this one was getting a little ornery

one of the five we caught

holding it a little close to my hand, dad

beautiful sunset on the ride in

our trusty vessel

poor guys didn't know what was comin'

now he's alive...

...and now, not so much

my first crab of the year - straight from the cooker

tastes delicious

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Dinette

A few weeks back, Stefanie and I decided to finally try Dinette, a cute little restaurant just up the hill from work that we've been walking by for years.  It was a Wednesday night, which unbeknownst to us was half price bottle of wine night, so we decided to share a bottle of rosé and some appetizers.  The food was really yummy and such a great deal when paired with the wine special.  I definitely want to go back and try the other delicious looking items on the constantly changing menu, and maybe even one of their family-style Sunday Suppers.

rapini pesto toast

chilled seafood salad

tapas plate

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Meet David

About a month ago, David invited me to be his date for the launch party for the new Kinetix site, a health and fitness program he participated in and documented for them.  It was such a fun night, getting to watch all of the "success stories" and mingling with the Kinetix employees.  More than once I was told that David was lucky to have me around, and that I should've been in the video with him :)  It was great to support him, and I felt so proud watching his video and listening to everyone congratulating him on how well he did.  Click on the link and go to "Meet David" to see how well he can drink a bottle of water and eat an apple.  Congrats, Lobster - you're famous!!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Pico de Gallo

For our Labor Day bbq, I wanted to make something that would be quick, fresh, and a definite crowd-pleaser.  I went to my go-to lady, The Pioneer Woman, for her oh-so-delicious pico de gallo.  With fresh ingedients and summer-y flavors, it was gone in minutes :)  And the best part?  Just add avocados and you've got guacamole! 

Ingredients
Onion
Roma Tomatoes
Cilantro
Jalapenos
Lime
Salt

Instructions
1. Finely chop onion, tomato, and cilantro so there are equal parts each
2. Cut jalapeno in half and remove seeds and ribs.  Chop finely
3. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl
4. Squeeze in juice of half a lime, salt, and mix thoroughly
5. Test with chip and adjust flavors to taste
6. Eat within one day

xoxo,
stephanie marie 

Labor Day Weekend

After a long weekend filled with sleeping in, run/walks around Greenlake, and lots of catching up on bad reality tv, it was time to head north for an end of summer bbq at Erin's.  Since she'd never tried her deep fryer before, it was a great opportunity to test it out with homemade french fries and onion rings to accompany our bbq burgers.  They were super easy to make, and we can't wait to try it out again (mini-corndogs, anyone?).  The meal was followed by a strawberry shortcake bar, grilled peaches (so delicious!), and lots of laughs and stories while we let our bellies settle from the massive amounts of food.  It was great to end the weekend with friends, and I can't wait for a sunny and warm week to come!

maddie and erin deep frying

deep fryer in action

onion rings

casey and zeke grilling

strawberry shortcakes

grilled peaches

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Give Scott A Shot

Stefanie's brother Scott made this video for his good friend Lauren, asking her to "give him a shot".  They're dating now :)

Happy long weekend!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

San Francisco {Eats & Treats}

Though the Taco Crawl was probably the best (and yummiest) thing we did in San Francisco, we still managed to go to some pretty amazing restaurants for the rest of our meals.  Here's a quick look at the delish places we dined at - I still can't believe we ate all this in just 2 days!

Tartine

The line wrapped around the building is definitely worth the wait, but make sure to share the huge sandwiches to save room for the Passion Fruit Lime Bavarian Cake and Lemon Bars.  Divine.

Nopa

We didn't think we'd be able to eat dinner after our late lunch at Tartine, but one look at the menu of this simple and modern restaurant and we were all drooling.  Pictured here: my Moroccan Vegetable Tagine (amazing) and our shared Apple Crisp with Smoke & Whiskey Ice Cream.

Absinthe

Highly recommended by Stefanie and we could see why.  Though I had been drooling over the Breakfast Burrito ever since I first laid eyes on the menu, Erika's Brioche French Toast w/ Roasted Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote, Whipped Mascarpone, and Almond-Maple Syrup was the table's hands down favorite (accompanied by, of course, yummy bellinis).

Pizzeria Delfina

Our last stop before the airport, this was some of the best pizza I've had in a loooong time.  Sharing a Margherita pie and Prosciutto pie, it was the perfect meal to send us on our way.  Again, a long wait, but if you have the time, there's no reason not to stop and sip on a Dublin Dr. Pepper.  Trust me, it's worth it.

Until next time, SF....  :)

xoxo,

stephanie marie