Dolls Gone Wild

We began questioning Lula's parenting skills when, after watching a movie, Jay and I turned to find one of Lula's dolls passed out on the front doorstep of her play house completely naked and in a drunken milk coma. Lula has left her dolls unattended for the night so she can enjoy the pleasures of Grandma's house. Meanwhile we're left to tend to Lula's duties and take care of her responsibilities. Since the doll is currently intoxicated and unresponsive, we will wait until morning to provide discipline and guidance. We can only hope that we are training Lula better than she is training her dolls.

Monday in Seattle

(By the way, not all of the pictures on these Seattle posts were taken by me...just in case!)

Monday morning began Jay's work week, but I was determined to make every second count. So waking early we ate breakfast and headed out to hit Nordstrom's Rack when it opened at 9am. It was a major disappointment. I didn't try anything on. I don't really like the "garage sale" vibe in stores like this. I just don't enjoy picking through crumbs to find a piece of bread. So we didn't stay long.

Instead we headed back towards the market. I scoped out some shops I wanted to look in after Jay had been picked up, and we went back to Le Panier. Le Panier is just a small little cafe that sells coffee, sandwiches, and pastry, but oh my! It was still early. So we settled on some pastries. Jay got a croissont almondine and I got a vanilla eclair and a chocolate macaron. All I can say is I thought I was in heaven. I've never tasted anything so good in all my life. Everything was absolute perfection. Usually I'm not a big croissont fan...they're often dry and crumbly...but not this one. It was oh so buttery and sliced open to be filled very subtly with an almond filling. Nothing was overdone or too sweet, even the eclair. I felt sensual taking each bite and I savored every moment. The textures of the macaron were amazing. Crispy and light on the outside with just the right amount of rich, velvety chocolate in the middle. Need I say more? If you go to Seattle, you must get some pastry at Le Panier. But go early!
After our little indulgence, we went to the market so Jay could get lunch before leaving. A little backwards. Oh well! Unfortunately Jay likes a good sausage and we'd seen a German place the day before that sold only sausages. So we headed back and that's what he had for lunch while I played Angry Birds on my phone!

Then his coworker came to get him and I was on my own for the afternoon. I looked through several shops, just enjoying browsing. There was an amazing antique market nearby. They had great stuff, but again, nothing I could take home with me on a plane except a couple scraps of fabric.

After browsing for a while, it was time to eat again. Since I was in the same area, it seemed quite obvious to go back to Le Panier! I had brought my book with me that morning knowing I'd have some alone time, and arriving past the normal lunch crowd, I was able to find a little table where I enjoyed a Mocha, vanilla macaron, and Swiss Puff Pastry. Again, all delightful. I was looking forward to a croissont, but they were all gone! Thus the reason for arriving early!

After this I headed back to the car and met Jay in another shopping district in the University area. There was a clothing exchange I wanted to check out. It ended up being pretty amazing with lots of good brands for great prices. Alas, with my swelling belly, most of it did not fit! But it was fun looking around anyway. I found Lula a cute little vintage top and a couple of things for myself.

Then we headed to Mukilteo. Mukil...what? Exactly! This was the tiny town (population: 18,000 people) where Jay's conference was to be held. It's about 40 minutes north of Seattle. We went to our hotel, settled in, and then headed back south to another small coastal town where a restaurant had been recommended. We were a bit nervous upon entering as the decor boasted an 80s style that hadn't been updated in a while. However, we were pleasantly surprised with the rich gourmet flavors and freshness of the seafood. The view was beautiful and it was a pleasant experience. To top off the wonderful food, it was the height of peach season. So their boasted dessert was sort of a peach cobbler. It was huge and delicious and we didn't even get close to finishing it all! And that was our Monday in Seattle...and Mukilteo!

Sunday in Seattle

Sunday morning we woke up early, but not too early, and had a very nice breakfast complimentary of our "executive" status...perks of Jay traveling so frequently. Then, since none of the stores were open so early on Sunday, we went to the Seattle Aquarium situated on the wharf. We decided to take the car this time! There were a surprising number of people out for a Sunday morning, but I guess in big cities Sundays are pretty much like Saturdays.

The morning was so wonderfully chilly. I loved bundling up for the first time in months. We made our way into the building and navigated through throngs of kids and parents, most who had member passes. The aquarium was definitely focused towards kids, but we had fun just strolling through all the displays and looking at the amazing underwater creatures. The otters were fun to watch as they swam on their backs with fish on their chest and ate while gliding through the water. It was pretty hilarious. We stuck around through the octopus feeding, which was really amazing. The creature had been sitting there half dead all morning until they wafted a fish under its nose. Then it came alive, changed from white to red almost instantly, and stretched out to get that fish!

And by that time I was hungry again. We had driven through the famous Pike Place Market on our way to the wharf, and I wanted to go back. So we walked up to the market and again just browsed through all the stalls and shops. There were people everywhere! Apparently the market is open all week, but Sundays are the busiest. There are shops and stalls in an inside area with several floors of shops below, and then there is an outside area with booths and permanent shops.

It was among the permanent shops that we found some gems. Le Panier was the most wonderful French pastry shop I've ever come across. I just stepped in to see what they had, but I'll talk more about that place tomorrow. On the hunt for lunch, we also came across Beecher's where they make their own cheese right there for all to see. Then they mix it into the most delicious mac and cheese you'll ever put in your mouth. Divinity. We placed ourselves at the end of a ridiculously long line to get a taste and enjoyed our little cups of heaven while watching the workers stir cheese curds (which apparently contain 25 g of fat per cube!) in a large silver tub.
After our cheesy lunch, we walked to a coffee shop (it's true that there's literally one on every corner)and took a little break from the crowds. Then we decided to take our car back to the hotel and go on foot to the shops in the downtown area. Jay dealt with insurance claims (the hotel valet put a huge dent in the side of our rental :)) while I went up to the room to rest for a minute.

Then we headed back out and hit some normal, but favorite shops very quickly before their early Sunday closing times. Hungry again :) we searched for a dinner place and settled on Blue C Sushi which is a chain. It's a sushi bar where they have the conveyor belt that brings dishes around and you grab what you want. It was good, but they didn't really have any specialty sushis.

After that, we went to a movie theater to catch a flick, but the one we wanted to see wasn't showing for another couple of hours. So we returned to the hotel and ordered one on TV. I prefer to watch movies in bed anyway! And thus concludes our busy, but very nice Sunday in Seattle.

Saturday in Seattle

After arriving in Seattle Saturday afternoon around 1 and picking up our rental car, we headed into town. I had already scoped out the major shopping districts online (there are about 7) and was ready with instructions. I wanted to hit the Fremont shopping district first. This area was sort of labeled the Bohemian district with funky music, vintage, and clothing stores. I was hoping to find some quaint boutiques with lower prices, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. However, there were plenty of unique stores to browse through and we had fun just looking around and enjoying the amazing weather. I did stumble upon some brands that I fell in love with and will be looking out for online, but that will come later!

I did find a great little $5 t-shirt at this awesome vintage/antique store. I found a lot more too, but traveling by plane puts a damper on buying furniture!
Of course it wasn't long before I became hungry and our parking meter was about to expire anyway, so we headed towards our hotel. Our hotel was older, but very nice and we were placed on the executive floor situated high above the downtown area. Here was the view from one of our windows.
After freshening up, we decided to walk down to the wharf and find something to eat. Thinking it was just a short walk to the water since our hotel was on 6th Street with the numbers going down towards the water, we headed off on foot. As we made our way down the hill (see picture below), we realized that at some point we would have to climb back up the hill to get to the hotel! I immediately started worrying about this situation! I told Jay he might have to go get the car while I hung out on the pier.
It was such a gorgeous night though, deliciously chilly, that the walk down was lovely. We walked along the wharf for a while amongst throngs of people. Jay couldn't remember where he'd eaten before and called a coworker to find out while we cringed at the lines waiting outside some of the more popular restaurants. Apparently there was a football game that evening. So people were out in full force. Finally we made it to Ivar's on pier 54 and were pleased to find the wait was only 5 minutes. This restaurant was a little nicer than the others and so wasn't catering to the pre-game crowd.

We were quickly seated and then enjoyed a meal of fish and chips, scallops, and a crab and goat cheese dip. Everything was wonderful and hit the spot.
And then it was time to climb back up the mountain! People who live in Seattle must be in excellent shape! I know I would be if I lived there just from walking around. It nearly killed me to get back to the hotel. We stopped at every block so I could catch my breath. (Hey! Give me a break! I'm pregnant...not just out of shape!)

Having woken early, traveled all day, and then walked around for hours, and considering the two-hour time difference, we were exhausted. So we watched TV for a few minutes in hopes of making it to 9pm so we wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night wide awake! And then we called it a night.

Riding in High Class

Friday was a busy day as we packed up and got ready to leave for Seattle. Jay has business meetings there so we decided to tag on a little vacation. Getting all of Lula's things together was the biggest task, and I slowly worked on it throughout the day. Finally, we dropped Mollie off at a friend's house, then took Lula to another friends' house where she'll stay until Grandma Pat picks her up on Sunday. It was hard leaving that sweet little thing, but we knew two legs of flights and what is supposed to be a vacation would not have been so relaxing with that active little thing!

Saturday morning we left early to catch our 8am flight and were relieved to finally be on our way. We flew to Chicago together without event and enjoyed our hour long layover with coffee and Dunkin Donuts. Why are donuts so good?!

Then we boarded our flight to Seattle. By some fluke, we were given one first class seat and one coach seat. We knew this beforehand and had been joking about who would take it. Me being pregnant, of course, and never having enjoyed first class before, Jay graciously let me take it. I was thoroughly excited and enjoyed every minute of it.

The attendants were so polite and pleasant. We were offered warmed nuts in tiny white bowls with silver trim with our choice of drink in real glass tumblers, a free meal which was not amazing, but definitely better than the average airline meal, and finally warm cookies on little white plates. Trash and anything finished was whisked away immediately.

The roominess of the seats was wonderful, and to be able to recline without worrying about the person behind you being squished was heavenly. I had bought a turkey sandwich before boarding knowing that I would be terribly hungry at some point during the 4 hour flight. But once I realized I received a free meal, I tiptoed back to coach...all the way to the back...to give Jay my sandwich. I felt really guilty when I saw his long legs scrunched up against the seat in front of him practically hanging in the aisle to avoid touching the guy next to him. What misery! Why can't the whole plane just be first class? So though it was a wonderful experience, my view of flying has now been tainted and since this was the first and possibly last time I'll ever ride First Class, I'll be miserable in coach from here on out. Like a fallen princess, like Cinderella who never gets to return to the castle and knows what she's missing. Woe is me! (sigh)

Doors and Other Adventures

As I said before, Jay jumped into house projects with both feet and I barely had time to take pictures before he started doing things. Here is his to do list with costs, etc. I'm surprised he didn't create a spreadsheet for this!

Here is our lovely dumpster which was nearly filled in the first couple of days. It has finely been taken off the premises, but many flattened boxes remain. Anyone know where I can drop off boxes for recycling? Jay piled some of them in my trunk and I can't get to my stroller!


One of the pictures I missed was the lovely dirty white plastic trellis that surrounded our tiny deck. This bothered Jay so much that it was one of his first projects. Of course it took him no time at all to rip off the trellis and replace it with basic decking posts. It definitely made a huge difference. The yard has also been heavy on his mind, and so one day while I tried to nap, he destroyed all the plants on the side of our house and put black plastic on a section behind the porch. Despite the chaos of our little jungle, I do really enjoy all the greenery (which we literally had none of at our other house) and all the wildlife that it brings: birds, squirrels, butterflies, and huge bumble bees (very pretty to look at through the window :)).

Another quick project was changing the back door. The original one was mostly glass and not very private. It was also rather rickety. So we took down the screen door and replaced the old door with a half glass door. I'll paint it eventually: "Turquoise Mist" as well as the front door. And probably put some sort of shade on the top for more privacy at night. Jay also installed a doggie door...now if Mollie will just figure out how to go down the three steps to the yard. She's so weird!

A Beautiful Disaster

Sometimes an "accident" can turn into something beautiful. While moving, my dad put our candelabra in his car to move to the new house, but left it out in the 100 degree weather just a little too long! The results were spectacular! We're thinking about just leaving it as is...or spray painting the whole thing one solid brilliant color. Any ideas?

Before:

After: