Today... I Start Documenting my Life.

And… look what my sweet fiance got me for my birthday! ...

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 22:00:00 -0700

And… look what my sweet fiance got me for my birthday! I’ve been wanting a SLR camera and finally I have one - yay!

Because I am a huge nerd, I might a little map of our trip route… We got in so much great...

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Because I am a huge nerd, I might a little map of our trip route… We got in so much great sailing and saw so many fantastic places! I already can’t wait for next summer’s trip.

Our last night, Thursday, was spent at one of my favorite places - Rosario. We had our first...

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Our last night, Thursday, was spent at one of my favorite places - Rosario. We had our first mooring buoy experience - look how cute our boat Sea Eagle is on the little buoy!

We loved our last day there before we had to head back to Bellingham the next day. We swam in the marina pool, ate dinner at the resort and enjoyed some after-dinner wine back at the boat. Perfection! It was also great lighting to take the dinghy around Sea Eagle and take lots of pictures.

On Wednesday we found ourselves on Jones Island. We initially just stopped to do a hike around the...

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

On Wednesday we found ourselves on Jones Island. We initially just stopped to do a hike around the island, but it was so wonderful there we ended up staying the whole night! We bbq-ed, went crabbing and just all around LOVED Jones Island. Here is Kevin in front of our cutie boat on the dock at Jones…

After having an overly exciting Monday on the water while whale watching in 30 knot winds…...

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

After having an overly exciting Monday on the water while whale watching in 30 knot winds… Sarah and I were rewarded the next day with lots of sun - but not so much wind. You win some, you lose some!

After dropping Sake Bomb off at the Orcas Island ferry, Kevin and I headed to Lopez to stay the night at Fisherman’s Bay - the most challenging little marina to get to. We put our navigation skills to the test!

After picking up Sake Bomb, we stayed in cute little Roche Harbor (aka: our wedding venue!!). On...

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

After picking up Sake Bomb, we stayed in cute little Roche Harbor (aka: our wedding venue!!).

On Monday we headed out to do some whale watching on Haro Strait. We were greeted with 30 knot winds which resulted in two very uncomfortable girls and two boys having the time of their lives. We saw lots of orcas so I suppose it was all worth it!

After staying the night at Sucia Island, we headed down to Friday Harbor to pick up Sarah &...

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 14:00:00 -0700

After staying the night at Sucia Island, we headed down to Friday Harbor to pick up Sarah & Jake (aka: Sake Bomb!)

Enjoying some vino after a successful sail to Sucia Island.

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:33:09 -0700

Enjoying some vino after a successful sail to Sucia Island.

On the way from Bellingham to Sucia Island!

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 14:00:00 -0700

On the way from Bellingham to Sucia Island!

30th Birthday - Party 3 of 3...

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:11:00 -0700

For my final birthday party on my actual birthday, we had a little mini Duck Dodge birthday celebration. I was so stoked that my birthday actually fell on a Duck Dodge sailing race, which is pretty much my favorite summer activity. Most Duck Dodges have a theme and this theme was ‘80’s Night’ which was perfect for a birthday girl born in the 80’s!

Birthday girl on the Duck Dodge committee boat…

(Picture taken by Coffey). I was so lucky to be able to have a few girlfriends join me for the celebration and also my wonderful fellow Duck Dodge race committee members. My girl, JOAT, made her signature red velvet cupcakes (they went so fast I didn’t even get one!) and a committee member, Paul made a chocolate-chocolate-chocolate-chocolate-chocolate (yes, five different kinds of chocolate) cake! I felt so spoiled by my wonderful friends. Thank you all for such a wonderful and unforgettable birthday!

A Duck Dodge friend also got some footage of birthday party on the bow during the raft-up…

30th Birthday - Party 2 of 3...

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 08:06:00 -0700

For my birthday dinner Kevin took me to Maximilien, a cute little French restaurant in Pike Place Market. We had oysters, escargot, champers, Bordeaux, canard, boeuf, creme brulee - pretty much everything that a girl obsessed with all things French loves!

4th of July in Seattle - Not Quite Summer...

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:07:00 -0700

Well the usual gripe of Seattleites that ‘summer doesn’t start until after the 4th of July’ was VERY true this year. This year’s 4th of July was filled with promise - we were boating out on the lake ready to swim and enjoy being in Seattle. However our little city had other plans. Long story short - it was gloomy, then sunny, then drizzly, then DOWNPOUR, then drizzly, then just gloomy. However, we didn’t let Seattle’s bipolar weather get the best of us.

We began the day like this:

But luckily ended like this:

We did everything we wanted to do… swam in Lake Union (but brrr it was cold!) hot-tubbed on top of a houseboat, bbq-ed dinner and watched the fireworks from the boat. All in all, it was a great fourth - the Seattle gloom can’t keep this group down!

30th Birthday - Party 1 of 3...

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 17:45:00 -0700

Normally I am a person who plays down my birthday. I intentionally tell people not to do anything, I don’t let anyone at work know… and I end up feeling terrible every year! This year, mainly because I have the most wonderful fiance ever, I did the exact opposite. I had TWO parties and a wonderful dinner out. If you’re going to go all out for a birthday it might as well be for your 30th, right?!

The first party on Saturday started with my dad coming to town. I LOVE whenever he comes to visit and it made me feel so special that he came just for my birthday party. In addition, my favorite couple from Bellingham, Sarah and Jake (aka: Sake Bomb) came to town too. During the day we started with my favorite activity - sailing! It was a perfect day for sailing on the Sound…

Our view from the boat… somebody queue up Christopher Cross.

My peeps Sarah, Diggy & Jake enjoying some Seattle sunshine.

After sailing, we raced back to downtown to get ready for my birthday party at Black Bottle.

The birthday girl with the cupcake tower of power! They were delicious! Also… thank you to Mama Sue Kirn who treated me to my birthday dress! She instructed me to get ‘something girly’ so what could be more girly than a new birthday dress?! Thanks Sue!! :)

We had a great turnout of friends who came celebrate with me, and naturally towards the end of the night there was lots of weird dancing and of course… a rap-off. You might know, this birthday girl likes to rap! Although I chose the wrong person to rap-off against…

Karthik (aka: DJ Tik) absolutely handed it to me in our rap-off. I am not sure what I was thinking going against a former DJ in a rap-off! This guy knows his stuff and doesn’t even get out of breath (unlike myself!). I do have the gangsta hand down though… so that counts for something I think.

Patriotic Cupcakes

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:52:00 -0700

I usually leave the cupcakes to my girl Jamie, but I couldn’t resist when I had an idea for patriotic cupcakes and multiple 4th of July occasions to bake them for! I’ve already made two batches of these cupcakes, one for a red/white/blue themed Duck Dodge and one for a 4th of July feast at my office today.

For the cupcakes, I made a white batter and then divided the batter into three separate bowls. I used food coloring to dye one bowl red and one bowl blue. I then layered the three colors into the cupcake pan and used a toothpick to create a ‘tie-dye’ effect. Here’s the end result…

Colorful cupcakes just out of the oven:

Here’s what they looked like inside:

All-American Laura enjoying a cupcake on Duck Dodge - she said they went excellent with her Corona. :)

Happy 4th of July!!

Ha! My girl Laura just sent me this SomeEcard and I love it! ...

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:44:42 -0700

Ha! My girl Laura just sent me this SomeEcard and I love it! It sums up how I feel about having a birthday over a holiday weekend…

Kitty videos never get old! I think I laughed for 2 straight...

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:18:36 -0700

Kitty videos never get old! I think I laughed for 2 straight minutes at this!

(via meghanasha)

Finally! For the first time this year Seattle breaks 75...

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:33:29 -0700

Finally! For the first time this year Seattle breaks 75 degrees!! About effing time.

Lots to look forward to...

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:18:15 -0700

I can’t stop thinking about all the fun activities coming up over the next few weeks!

First, one of my favorite holidays is coming up - Fourth of July! My preferred way to spend the fourth is floating around Lake Washington and soaking up the sunshine, followed by watching the fireworks show in Lake Union. Which, thankfully, was saved due to a handful of Seattle donors.

Second, my 30th birthday is coming up! I’ll be saying goodbye to my 20’s and hello to my 30’s. We’ll be celebrating with some more lake floating time (see above) and afterwards having some sippers and tapas at Black Bottle. In addition, I get to have my bestie Sarah in town for the entire weekend to celebrate with me! I couldn’t be happier!

Photo via my girl JOAT

Third, my actual birthday just happens to fall on a Duck Dodge Tuesday, so the celebrating will continue with a 80’s themed Duck Dodge - my perfect way to party!

And finally fourth, to further celebrate the entry to my 30’s, we’ll be taking a sailing vacation through the San Juan Islands! We’ve rented a gorgeous 34’ Jenneau (below) and we’ll go where the wind takes us…

Here’s to Fourth of July, birthdays and multiple celebrations!

Preview of all the things Google TV can do. WANT. (via brit)

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:22:36 -0700

Preview of all the things Google TV can do. WANT.

(via brit)

Best error message ever.

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 10:00:00 -0700

Best error message ever.