Hello 35!

February 12th I turned 35! Yes, hello 35.... here you are and I am choosing to embrace you (I'm convincing myself as I type!). Really though... I consider myself so very lucky this year as I turn 35 and look forward to the year ahead. I have so many blessings in my life - a husband that loves me and that I'm crazy about, my two amazing girls, and family and friends that I adore!

My birthday celebration began the week prior to my actually day. I met my lovely friends Michelle and Noelle for coffee one morning after dropping Lilly off for pre-school. Noelle's birthday was the day before so we were celebrating both of our days. It was so nice to take time to sit and visit with each other, it was a great start to my day.

The evening before my birthday Tony, the girls and I went out to dinner to celebrate. We wanted to do something with the girls since we were going out of town the following day for the night and they were staying with my mom. Lilly kept saying "mom.. I want to go to your birthday". So cute... to her a birthday means party! When we were sitting at dinner Kyla must have told the server 5 or 6 times it's my mom's birthday (even though it really wasn't until the following day). At the conclusion of our meal we were surrounded by our server and his co-workers LOUDLY singing "Happy Birthday" as they delivered a giant piece of Mud Pie. I always get so embarrassed by attention of this kind but smiled and hid as best I could looking at Kyla who was beaming because she knew this was due to her persistence! We all took a spoon and dug in!

The following morning, the morning of my birthday started the best way possible. Kyla and Lilly both came and climbed into bed with me for some snuggle time! Followed by a shower and coffee delivery from the hubby I was off to a great start! We met up with my mom and Larry (my mom's boyfriend) at Panera for breakfast. I have developed a love for Panera over the past few months having met up with girlfriends there from time to time. I really enjoy their french toast bagel with light raspberry cream cheese and a cappuccino to drink... my birthday breakfast of choice (of course!). Tony and I also love their Thai Chopped Chicken Salad.... YUM! After breakfast the girls headed out with my mom for an overnight stay and Tony and I headed to Seattle for the night.

We checked into the hotel, Olive 8. It was a beautiful hotel, contemporary with an emphasis on being "green". The first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified hotel in Seattle. It really was so impressive, a luxury hotel with an emphasis on the environment in the heart of downtown near all of the shopping, dining and theaters. As well, the hotel restaurant Urbane supports a locally grown, in season menu for sustainability of growth in the Northwest. The hotel staff was so friendly when we checked in at an early 12:30. They wished me a "Happy Birthday" and immediately made available a top floor room with a great view. Since Tony is a Hyatt rewards member they also offered up a late 2pm check-out the following day!

Now that we were checked in we headed out to do some shopping. Before leaving the hotel we made a stop at the concierge desk to solidify a reservation for dinner. Chuck, the concierge was the absolute best! He was very knowledgeable and friendly and helped us get a dinner reservation on one of the busiest weekends of the year (the weekend before Valentine's Day).

Out and about shopping we stopped on one of the sky bridges to snap a photo of downtown. We just had my little Nikon point and shoot as I call it because I didn't want to lug around my bigger camera. Tony teased that he could take a better picture than me. My photo is the first one with the Nordy's sign included. Tony's is the second one. What do you think?

After shopping we returned to the hotel before our dinner reservations to find a nice surprise. Chuck, the fabulous hotel concierge, had delivered to our room a complimentary bottle of wine and chocolate covered cherries with a nice "Happy Birthday" card.

Dinner was at Blueacre Seafood. The restaurant was a very short walk from our hotel and had a great contemporary atmosphere. Our meal was wonderful! Our entree had both salmon and white salmon which we had never tried before. Tony preferred the traditional salmon while I really enjoyed the white salmon.

After dinner we headed to the movie theatre downtown and watched Just Go With It starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Anniston. It was a great romantic comedy with more comedy than I expected. We then headed back to our hotel to enjoy our bottle of wine and chocolates.

The next morning after sleeping in we headed out to Starbucks on our way down to Pike Place Market. I enjoyed my free birthday drink (yes... I am a gold card holder).

On our way down to the market we stopped into Sur La Table, a fabulous kitchen store right next to the market. I could have spent hours in this kitchen store that was so jam packed full of kitchen stuff you could barely make your way around. Tony however had endured William Sonoma just the day before so I decided to go easy on him and compromise my time in the store.
The market was beautiful as always. We had a great time picking and gathering an assortment of fresh fruit to take home. I had a special Valentine's breakfast planned for the girls the following morning so I was able to get the strawberries and red grapes I needed.
We decided to take a self portrait with the market in the background. This picture makes me laugh.... I love Tony's smile! I had forgotten my straightening iron and my curling iron.... my hair is far from wash-n-go because it is thick and course. I had to make do with a blow dry, hairspray and pulling it back.

We had grabbed our assortment of fresh fruit and it was nearing lunch time. Tony spotted a stand inside the market with these spicy sticks. He bought one and offered to share. To my surprise it was moist, spicy and delicious! I was not expecting something so yummy from looking at the other fried food to the left and right of it.

We stayed a little longer at the market stopping to enjoy some of the great street entertainment that makes downtown so wonderful. This group outside of the original Starbucks store had drawn a big crowd and the girl standing playing the banjo? was dancing in her tap shoes and singing. They really were very good!

As we headed back toward the hotel we stopped for our pre-planned lunch at P.F. Changs one of our favorite places to eat when we get the opportunity. They had a special meal for two because of Valentine's day so we enjoyed our favorite appetizer, dishes and even a shooter dessert.
The weekend and my birthday was more fabulous than I expected. Much love for my amazing hubby for arranging it and spoiling me! Well rested, I was excited to get home and squeeze my girls!

Father Daughter Dance

This past Saturday evening Tony and the girls went to their first Father Daughter Dance. The girls were so excited to get dressed in their pretty dresses, have their hair and nails done and spend a night out with their dad. Lilly looked sweet and adorable in her dress. Kyla looked stunning in her dress. She chose a beautiful dress with a vintage feel that paired with a petite pearl necklace and hair flower made her look elegant with a slight maturity. I was really taken back by how lovely Kyla looked. You could tell that she felt lovely too, and that was the most beautiful part of it all! Tony and the girls were joined by our friend Davis who was taking his girls Makenna and Emory, as well they met up with Jeff and his daughter Raquel. Before heading to the dance the guys took the girls to an Italian dinner at Amici Italian Eatery. I was a bit worried about the girls eating Italian in white dresses (can you imagine spaghetti sauce on a white dress!) but decided to let my anxiety pass and just really encourage them to have the best time! I have to admit I did jokingly ask the girls if they wanted to take their robes to wear while they ate.... I got a really crazy look and an "I don't think so!" response.

I had a blast taking photo after photo of the girls and Tony before they headed out for their special evening. Michelle (Davis's wife and mom of Makenna & Emory) and I headed out as well for a night out of our own. We started with dinner at The Ram, shopping and ended the evening drooling over Tim McGraw in Country Strong. We were so excited to meet up with the guys and the girls back at our house to hear about their evening. They all reported to have had a wonderful time!

Davis with Emory and Makenna

Lilly, her new owl necklace was a gift to remember this special occasion

Kyla, her pearls were her gift for a keepsake for the occasion

Lilly getting her corsage from daddy

Kyla getting her corsage from daddy

The girls at dinner at Amici's

Dinner with friends before the dance

Official dance photo

Cone Dog

This past Saturday evening we came home to find Gauge limping around and discovered that his paw was swollen up. What we thought might have been an infected dew claw possibly stemming back from when he was a pup and had his removed ended up being much more serious. After taking him into the vet and getting xray results back they thought it was one of two things, either a bone infection or possibly cancer in the bone. They surgically removed the portion of the bone that was affected. Luckily this bone was not a weight bearing bone in his paw so it will not affect his ability to walk, run or jump. He is still recuperating, he had a drain in from the surgery that was removed and will get his sutures removed next week. We have had to limit his activity (which for this active dog is difficult) and he has had to wear an e-collar. Poor Gauge hates the e-collar of course, and is always running into things and people with it on. We received the results back from the lab and were relieved that the bone tested negative for cancer. The vet said that he had a cyst that ruptured causing an infection in the bone so the removal of the bone was necessary as confirmed by the lab results.

We are all thankful and happy that Gauge will recover fully and still be the crazy energy filled dog we love! While wearing the e-collar we have lovingly named him "cone dog" and the girls get a kick out of the nickname!

Girls Like Monster Trucks

On Saturday Tony took the girls to the Monster Truck Jam. One of my mom's clients gave them tickets and pit passes. Even though Lilly loves playing dress-up, barbies and babies she also loves playing with cars and monster trucks. Kyla was the same way when she was Lilly's age. Both my girls are really girly but they also have a tom boy side, they love to fish, catch bugs to feed to their salamander (that lives in the garage), and get dirty. Being able to do "boy" things with the girls has been a blessing for Tony since he thinks that his world has far too much pink in it!

I think Lilly was licking cotton candy off her fingers

Food Blogger Wannabe

Something I love to do when I have "down time" is to scour the internet looking at my favorite food blog sites for new recipes to try. I particularly love the sites that include step by step photos of the recipes that they feature. Many times I often think about and aspire to start a food blog of my very own that would also incorporate party ideas, printables, products and resources. I have much to learn about blogging, using my amazing camera the hubs bought me and cooking in general. It's nice to have aspirations though.... right? That being said, Lilly and I decided to have some fun the other day making White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies and decided to take photos along the way to post. We are definitely amateurs to food blogging.... but still fun to act on our (well my) food blogger wannabe passion! I first made these cookies over Christmas break when we took a family trip up to Paradise at Mt. Rainier to go sledding. They were the perfect treat to have after exhausting ourselves on the sledding hills!

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Here is your line up of ingredients (minus the baking soda because I just plain forgot to include it in the picture... remember.. amateurs!) I think that the lovely ingredient model makes up for this oversight though!

Let me introduce you to Pearl. Pearl is our Kitchen Aid mixer bought for me last Mother's Day by the hubs and my wonderful girls. Kyla decided on the name Pearl, given because of the pearly sheen to the color of the mixer. You will often hear my girls chant "go Pearl, go Pearl" when she is getting her mix on!

Combine the sugar, brown sugar and butter. Mix well to cream together

Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Then add the cinnamon, baking soda, salt and flour and mix well.

Fold in the oatmeal, dried cranberries and white chocolate chips making sure that all ingredients are uniformly distributed

Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 3 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges are slightly golden

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. butter (softened)

1 large egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c. quick-cooking oats (not instant)

3/4 c. dried cranberries

6 ounces white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. In a large bowl using an electric mixer combine the sugar, brown sugar and butter; mix

well to cream together

3. Add in egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined

4. Add the cinnamon, baking soda, salt and flour and mix well

5. fold in the oatmeal, dried cranberries and white chocolate chips making sure that all

ingredients are uniformly distributed

6. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 3 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet and bake

at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges are lightly golden.