What Saturday nights are for

Unfiltered shot of sunset across Lake Washington.

Friends jammed into one vehicle.
Lake Washington.
Sunsets.
Bats disjointedly flying in the air.
Great conversation about love, life and religion.
A late showing of The Odd Life of Timothy Green.

Exactly what Saturday nights are for!

Summer is nearing it's end up here in the Pacific Northwest, yet September has not been a disappointment. No, not at all. The days are indeed getting shorter, but the days are warm and gorgeous.

I live about 10 minutes from the lake, and I kick myself that I don't take greater advantage of my beautiful surroundings. Luckily, a few friends felt the same way. To the waterfront we went.

Walking along the Kirkland strip is one of my most favorite things to do. The memories are rich and plentiful--feeding the ducks and Tim Noah concerts as a kid, cruising with my friends as a teenager (we thought we were sooooo cool), and now, as an adult, strolling and taking it all in. And did I mention the sunsets are spectacular?

I love the Pacific Northwest!

You guys...Canada is cool!

 I love Vancouver! I know as an American, I'm not supposed to admit that I love Canada, but I really do.  I would live there if I could. Gasp! I know. But seriously, Vancouver is like a cooler Seattle (and I probably shouldn't say that either).

I've been up north a handful of times. In high school, my band director was cool enough to let us go there on a band trip. My friend Alana and I were determined to get a picture with some cute Canadian guys. By the time we had the guts to actually ask, it was our last day, right before we had to board our bus. They were definitely cute, but definitely not Canadian. "We're not Canadian, we're Norwegian," the boys told us. Bummer. But not quite.

Three summers ago I attended the LDS Temple open house for the Vancouver Temple. My friend Joseph, whom I taught with in Taiwan, came out from Spokane and we drove up with my lovely friend Lyndsi. We spent most of our time in China-town, which I definitely did not oppose. It felt like I was back in Taiwan.

A few weekends ago I went up again to BC with some of my friends.My friend Kyle is an amazing artist and put together this gem of a video of our experience.

    

Highlights of the trip included"

•  A super cute and tasty creperie
• Catching an awesome sand volleyball game
• Testing my hands-free metro skills on our way into the city
• Everyone crossing the street and leaving me on the other side.
• Empenadas
• An amazing suspension bridge
• Great gelato (I made sure I had some!)
• And an epic geography game on the road trip home
• A drunk 20-something jumping off his balcony (it was on the 1st level) to evade some cops. He landed in some bushes near where we were staking out our spots for the fireworks show, and he couldn't understand why the police would want to arrest him. He was scratched pretty badly, and was oblivious to his wounds. It was funny and sad at the same time. 
• Visiting the Vancouver singles branch
• Eating poutine (it's actually quite good!)

Oh, and did I mention the fireworks? They were better than the 4th of July!! Way to go Vietnam!

Here's to Vancouver and all it's great goodness!

On my day off...

I saw some of these:

Fed this little beggar some french fries:

And ventured here:

And it was glorious!

Last Friday was declared a company holiday, and I did not protest. My mom and I ventured into the city for a day of fun. Those are the very best kinds of days!

To start out, we headed across the good ol' 520 bridge to Madison, the dwelling place of City People's Garden Store. And boy oh boy what a treat this place is!  I'm a sucker for nurseries, and this one did not disappoint. Beautiful (cheap) plants, cute garden accessories--what more could you ask for? And I happened to find some pretty slick cat-eye sun glasses. Always a bonus!

Our next stop was Leschi Beach to stake out a spot for the BIG EVENT. And by BIG EVENT I mean the Blue Angels practicing for their Seafair show (which is pretty much exactly the same as the practice runs). The planes flew right over our heads!  Dogs barked, children cheered, umbrellas were bountiful (but not because of rain), and most everyone got sunburned.  It was joyous!

Because we were already in Seattle, and already paid the ridiculous toll (I'm not a fan), Mom and I decided to head down town, and act like tourists. With our car parked near Pioneer Square, we strolled along the piers where we watched the ferries come and go. We ate fish and chips at Ivar's, and fed the pesky seagulls. We checked out the new Ferris Wheel, and decided it was a little pricey for what it was.  

Then we hiked up the hill to Pike's Place--quite possibly my favorite place in the city. Tourists were everywhere, and I then remembered why I almost never go down town during the summer. What is it about tourists that make one claustrophobic? 

Mom, a true Seattlite, had never seen the infamous gum wall, so it was a must on our list of things to do. It's pretty disgusting, but amazing at the same time. Don't you love how my shorts match the wall?? 

It was a wonderful day spent with my lovely ma. I'm so glad I moved back, so I could be close to her and the rest of my family!

Here's to family, the Blue Angels, and Seattle in the summer! Hurrah! 

Family. Saunas. Boats

One of the major reasons why I wanted to move back to Seattle, was so I could spend more time with my family. This week has been chalk full of memory making. Mon pere was out of the country on business, so ma matka and ma setra and I had numerous slumber parties. Movies were watched, food was consumed, stores were shopped!

I was also able to spend time with my cute grandpa. He is one amazing man! His parents sailed to the States from Estonia and homesteaded on Finn Hill in Kirkland, Washington. G-pa grew up speaking Estonian, Finnish, and English. His father built a full-size sauna next to their farmhouse, and that sauna is now here:

My mom, grandpa, and I paid Ballard and the Nordic Heritage Museum a visit this week. I'd never seen the sauna, and it was a beautiful day to spend in that part of the city.

After visiting the the sauna we headed down to the Ballard locks. It was a gorgeous day to be there. There were several boats already geared up and ready for Labor Day weekend. And there were salmon!

Here's to family and beautiful Seattle days!

All I want right now...

...is lemonade.

Seriously. 

When the weather gets toasty (or above 60 degrees with the case of Seattle), I crave this citrus-y delight. It's so refreshing, and always quenches my thirst. At the amazingly beautiful 4th of July party I attended, they were serving an amazing mint lemonade, and I've been slightly addicted ever since. I found this recipe at marthastewart.com and have been meaning to try it out. Perhaps I will today. But I wanted to share it just in case you wanted to try it out too.

Mint Lemonade Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

4 1/2 cups water

3 1/3 cups fresh lemon juice (about 8 lemons)

1/4 cup julienned mint, plus leaves for garnish (this is Martha Stewart after all)

Directions

1. Combine sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Let stand until completely cool. 

2. In a 2 1/2-quart pitcher, stir remaining 4 cups water, the syrup, lemon juice and mint. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

I guess you could use lemonade from concentrate and add the mint. In any case, it was delicious!

Do you have any favorite lemonade flavors or recipes?

The Haps

So much for keeping up on my blog. And there have been some pretty awesome things of late. I have to say that I love living in the Seattle area. It suits me. Yesterday, I was out golfing with my mom and grandpa and it was absolutely gorgeous! And hot. I love breathing in the clean, sweet, woodsy air--it reminds me of my childhood summers of picking blackberries and huckleberries. And you better believe I'll be all over that this summer, if it ever gets warm enough for the berries to ripen.

 For some inexplicable reason, Washington State is not experiencing the horrors of the Midwest and East Coast. For that I am grateful. If I were in DC at the moment, you better believe I'd be a wilted with absolutely no energy. Me + humidity = death. It's amazing that I was able to live and function and actually do anything active (running and biking) in Taiwan. I think I was blessed for that space of time. 

Still nothing much on the job front, but I hope I find something soon! But I manage to keep myself busy. I have a couple of friends that introduced me to a sorta ghetto karaoke bar in Bellevue, and not it's a weekly event. I look forward to my Thursday nights. It's funny. The bar tenders and the DJ know us as the group that doesn't drink, which is cool. Everyone is so friendly there. This past Thursday we had 7 of us there. If you've never done karaoke, you definitely need to. It's such an adrenaline rush! I think my favorite performance of the night was Matthew singing "Soul Meets Body." He definitely worked that stage! 

It's also been super fun to connect with one of my college buddies! 

Sarah and I have know each other since living on the same floor in Taylor Hall our freshman year at BYU. It's been awesome hanging out with her. The picture above was taken after a fun filled Fourth of July on Bainbridge Island. I bit worn out, but very enthused for the ferry ride home. And yes, she's wearing a Tron jacket. 

That's about it for now. Here's to life!

Summer days and nights

I fear that during my complaints about the sauna-like weather, the weather has turned and there is that fall-something in the air.


Citi jako podzim, as my friend Janca and I would joke. 


While I enjoy the cooler weather (I'll enjoy wearing my cardigans in the mid-eighty degree weather and not sweat like a pig), the end of summer comes a yearning for it to continue.


This summer has been one of change, and I've discovered, much to my dismay, that I'm still not accustomed to change. I don't like it. Not even a little bit. But despite moving across the country, starting a new job, living in a new town with people I don't know surrounding me, it's been a good summer. 


A few things of late:

• Screen on the Green--watching 12 Angry Men on the National Mall was pretty spectacular. 

• A visit from my dear dad
• My first rodeo at the Montgomery County Fair
• Seeing my old MTC bro and mission buddy Brian, aka Jimi

• Lunching with Fenny and Arwyn at the National Sculpture Garden
• Hanging out in Bethesda with Maggie and chatting for hours with Rach at a hotel just because we could
• 7th Hill Pizzeria, Bread and Chocolate with fellow foodie Rach
• Biking around town, and trying to dodge cars and poorly paved side-walks
• Several metro delays because of "sick passengers"
• Letting a friend's bro crash at my place and enjoying a fun filled evening with him and his engaged friends
• Hanging out in the city with Katie, my movie buddy
• Reading too many books, watching entirely too many movies, a listening to a plethora of new music
• Game nights with good friends
• Losing electricity 4 times in the last month

Here's to the last days of summer, in all it's glory!

Baked and Wired

Georgetown.
Three friends.
Missing Kelsey.
Barbecue.
Cupcakes.
A walk along the River.
Letters to Juliet.
A mean game of pingpong at the Barlow.
Bliss.

This was my first weekend in DC where I felt like things are going to be ok...

And how can you not love this fabulous pink bike? 

Summer in Essence

We Summer, Wolfgang Tillmans, 2004

Ever since my eyes first laid upon the prints of Wolfgang Tillmans during his show at The Hirshorn Museum the summer of 2007, I knew I was in love. Since then, Tillmans has become my absolute favorite photographer. His unique, introspective works of art question the traditional meaning of landscape, and captures what it means and how it feels to live in today's world.

We Summer, 2004, is my favorite. To me, it captures the essence of summer. I love the way the bubbles abstract the light, and give life to the scene. I love the energy, the color, the light.

I don't know if it is because Tillmans reminds me of my summer in DC as an intern, or if it's because I somehow link him in my mind to one of my favorite groups--Bloc Party (I think is the whole German/Eastern Europe connection)--but his art speaks to me. The method and the meaning behind his art is something I hope to someday possess.

Wolfgang Tillmans--BRILLIANT I say!