black friday vegas

Instead of shopping, we went to Vegas on Black Friday.  We met our "out of town" friends for 2 days.

ryan and "seattle" jared

me and tara with "charlotte" melissa

the girls posing inside one of our favorite things to collect

and, me with "german-charlotte" heiko

(i had to give him some love as i was reminding him of a time when he 'taught me how to dance')

never again

Note to self:

Dear Self,

If you are going out of town the day after thanksgiving, and you realize the evening before that your coffee pot is broke, the prilosec is gone, and you need a multi-vitamin... maybe you should re-think venturing out to fetch those 3 measly items.  It won't be worth it.  I promise. 

I had my 3 items in hand.  But I had to fight all this to pay.  It wasn't worth it.  I went home empty handed.  (sorry store workers, I left my stuff on top of the coke by the exit)

Those people were animals!

happy thanksgiving

  Have a grateful heart, atleast for one day...

jelly to my pb

Kinda cheesy... I KNOW!  But, it still made me smile. 

And today, as we said good-bye to old condo tenants, and hello to a new, someone at the beginning stages of a divorce after 35 years of marriage....Just meeting him made me once again realize how grateful I am for the "laces to my sneakers", and the companionship that Ryan and I have.  It's not easy all the time to be in a relationship, a marriage.  But, I wouldn't have it any other way, and it's those challenges that we have faced and conquered, that cause pause within, and remind me how grateful and happy I am.

...and I wasn't even trying to be grateful cuz of Thanksgiving... but gratitude must be in the air. ;)

mike and lo

On 11.11.11 it was my good friend Lo's husband Mike's 30th b-day.  She deciced to throw him a party downtown at Bourbon House.  It was fun to hang out in a different setting, as most of our socializing happens at Private Design. 

me and lo

mike's cake

friend clint's cake

lauren gently feeding mike his first bite

(she wanted to shove it, but he would have nothing to do with it...what a good wifey)

five pieces of my heart

I couldn't resist.  My little sis just got back from a visit to my brother Jakes' house to pay a visit and give some warm auntie fuzzies to his kiddies.  He is doing his duty overseas at the moment, so any help to their mom is a welcome.  I cannot believe just in 3 months time since I've seen them, how much bigger they have gotten.

Chance, Ruby, Sierra, Stan, and Gideon

xoxo,  love you kiddies!

Ps:  thanks rocko for sharing love and photos

just cous

it must be something to do with cold weather cuz i'm in the mood to create in the kitchen.

ever heard of this?  i changed the recipe on the back a bit.  and, even mr. bailey likes it.

heat

It's firetime. It's snuggle with blankie time.  It's Sunday football time.

I love being warm.  And since I can no longer sun myself, I'll just lay next to this.

first snow

Our first snow

Bogey L-O-V-E-S it. 

It's a pain cuz he gets so wet when he goes out, but he prances back into the house wagging his tail, all excited.  It's hard to not be happy for his new found fun, even if it is a mess.

in the basement on friday

My Friday night was spent organizing the basement.  I went to Ikea earlier today and purchased a bunch of canvas bins and supplies.  I was so excited for my project.  Here is the result:

the necessities

"food storage"

bins labeled

mostly Ryan's stuff

my wrapping table

another comfort food

I'm so proud.  In a joint effort tonight, Ryan and I made creamy chicken enchiladas for dinner.  A first for us both.  Although they were tasty, and I am so excited for leftovers tomorrow for lunch, we both decided that the recipe could use a little further tweaking.  But, for first-timers, I give us a high five.

birthday dinner

And, on our last night we celebrated Jared's birthday at a nice and quiet Italian restaurant in downtown Bellvue. 

Cheers to a really fun visit, and to our friend, the birthday boy.

Thanks Jared! You're a great host.  It was a good time!

halloween

I've changed my mind about Halloween.  I used to not really care for it much.  But, I've decided that it is the coolest.  It brings out the inhibition in even the most shy, the fun and lively sides of the more serious, and the silliness in most everyone. 

getting in character before we leave for the night

Jar Po with Karla

Upon entering "Seduction" they were putting the final touches on her painted costume

In their DWTS pose

 

pikes

Our trip to Seattle to visit Jared.  We began with a visit to Pikes Place.

such pretty, fresh flowers for sale everywhere

The Original Starbucks

I loved the colorful pepper displays

The fish market

"the gum wall"

Y-U-M !