Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon

About two weeks ago I ran my first half marathon. It was awesome and I can't wait to do another one. Although I am super slow, I still managed to beat my trial time by 5 min. I was in one of the last corral that crossed the start line and I feel that slowed me down a bit. I kept dodging walkers and at many points I had to walk, since there was very little space to run. Next time around, I won't make that mistake. The course also seemed to be much easier than I expected.

I felt super lucky to be able to run this race with CB. When I first proposed the idea of running a half, he was skeptical. The Monday after we finished our race, he sent me a link to another half that he wanted to do. He's hooked!


My next fitness goal is to complete a month of cross fit. I start on Tuesday. Wish me luck!

Rockin' out among the apples

The other night while I was shopping at my local QFC, I thought about this funny experience that I had about a year ago at that very QFC. CB teases me about it when we visit that particular QFC.

Story time.

While browsing the massive amount of apples, I am jamming along to some seriously awesome music. Every song that is played is so good and I can't get over how kick A the music is at this QFC.

I turned to CB and said: "The music that they are playing is so rad. I think on my way out I'm going to tell the manager how much I appreciate his taste in music."

CB: "Ahh babe, that is your iPhone that is playing the music."

Me: "No, it is so not!" As I reach into my pocket to check, it is most definitely my iPhone.

CB: "I was wondering what the deal was with your random solo rocking out party at the grocery store."

Me: BLUSH

Delancey

Oh heaven help me if there is a pizza in front of me. I have no control over myself and could eat more than my share, which results in me feeling guilty and strangely weird from all the cheese.

But not any more.

The first time I had a pizza from Delnacey, I didn't feel an ounce of guilt. In fact, I felt nourished and healthy. I kept thinking how is it that I feel so good after eating a pizza?! I've now become a pizza snob.

The ingredients are local, organic and fresh. Perfection. I'm also madly in love with the ambiance of the restaurant. I always feel so comfortable when I am there.


Love that Molly's husband  had a dream and made it happen. You can tell that they have poured their hearts and souls into the restaurant. I am all about making dreams come true these days. So refreshing.

The only downfall is that because it is so dang good there is always a wait. We waited for an hour and 15 minutes. It was worth every minute.

 

Rockin Out Tuesday- M83

If you know anything about me, you know I'm a concert junkie. There is something about the rush of a concert that I can't get anywhere else that keeps me hooked. Whenever I see that a band will only be playing for an hour, I have high expectations that it better be near-perfect. This past weekend's sold-out, one hour M83 concert nailed my expectations. It was beyond perfect. The energy was insane, the set list was brilliant and they rocked out hard. You could tell that they loved what they were doing and were excited to be there to perform. They fed off of the crowd's energy and kept it going. It was completely dazzling.

M83 is a French indie pop band, created and led by Anthony Gonzalez who is insanely adorable and beyond gracious. He was supported by a four member band who rocked out as hard as he did, each part of a balanced formula for dream pop perfection.

They started the show with a figure wearing a monster mask that I am pretty sure was supposed to resemble something from Where the Wild Things Are. The crowd went wild as stars lit the background and the band started playing "Intro." They continued to build up the show with songs from a variety of their past and current album.  Every song was immaculate and dare I say sounded better than their album recordings. Gonzalez would stop every once in a while and engage with the crowd by telling them how thankful he was for them and even said "This is the best crowd I've ever performed for in Seattle!" They had played an earlier sold out show that night at the same venue and I caught the tail end of it. He was spot on about the later show being much more engaging and responsive.

They ended the concert with "Couleurs" that created a massive dance party both in the crowd and on the stage. At the end of the show and before the lights were turned back on, Gonzalez high-fived the front rowers and made a heart shape with his hand as he left the stage.

As I made my way back to my car, I kept thinking about how perfect it was and was washed over with nostalgia. I lucked out by buying my tickets for $15 in July since they were going for about $150 on craigslist that night. Maybe it had to do with their 9.1 rating of their new album Hurry Up, We Are Dreaming on Pitchfork?

Last year, when Gonzalez announced that he was working on a new album that was going to be "very, very, very, epic" his confidence paid off. It is completely epic. Go ahead and be blown away.

Restaurant Week

Every Spring and Fall, some of the most amazing restaurants in Seattle host an event called Restaurant Week. I have found some of my all time favorite restaurants by attending this event. The menu is prefixed (you can choose from 4-5 options) and is a three course meal for $28. It's seriously the best way to experience amazing food for an amazing deal. Appetizer, main course, and dessert!

After an extremely stressful week for both CB and I, we rewarded our selves by going to this event. I sent CB a list of my top 10 and he made the pick. Surprisingly, he picked the only Italian restaurant on the list, he is not a huge fan of Italian food.

I loved everything about Cantinetta; the atmosphere, the food, and the service were all divine. The pasta is made on site and their ingredients are local and organic. If you go, save room for dessert and try the Zeppole with Nutella and Ginger Sugar.

Restaurant Week is long gone and if you missed it you should check out Dine Around Seattle. You will get the same experience as Restaurant Week, but there are less restaurants on the list.

Bakery Nouveau

I have a friend who is nuts over the pastries at Bakery Nouveau in West Seattle and I had to know for myself how good the goods were. I am pretty much in love with Honore in Ballard, and had a hard time imagining anything better.

On a perfect sunny Seattle day, I made my way over to West Seattle to eat my way through Bakery Nouveau. Their almond croissant is amazing but Honore wins with the macaron competition. I just felt that Bakery Nouveau's macarons were far too large. Nonetheless, they still tasted good.

umm manicure anyone?

If you ever find yourself in West Seattle, make a stop at Bakery Nouveau and get their almond croissant and maybe try their  pain au chocolat and let me know how it is.  So worth the visit. Then make your way over to Alki Beach and get lunch at Spud Fish and Chips. Also, don't forget to soak up the view! I am a sucker for amazing views and West Seattle has one of the best of Downtown.

last evening of Summer

On the last evening of Summer freedom for me, C.B. and I drove to my favorite beach to soak in a beautiful sunset and bid farewell to Summer.

It was a rather warm night and the beach was packed with families and fisherman. Beach volley ball games were taking place and the last BBQs of the season were being held.

The Puget Sound was full with stand up paddle surfers and sail boats. It was such a breathtaking view. I asked a fisherman what he was fishing for and he said salmon and he had caught a few already.

I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. If you ever have a chance to visit Seattle, Golden Garden is a must see.

Rockin Out Tuesday- The Flaming Lips

Ok so here is the deal. Right before I left for my NYC/DC trip I saw The Flaming Lips at the fair. I know, at the fair. It was unreal.

The back story. I have always wanted to see them in concert. Not particularly because I am obsessed with them, but I have heard that they perform an INCREDIBLE show. Like blow your mind out of this world incredible.

So one morning I was reading my emails at 6 AM (I know, way too early!) and I got an email from Amazon Local that they had a deal for The Flaming Lips at the Puyallup fair concert series for $15. What the heck, I bought two tickets.

I really was not sure what all to expect. We drove about an hour to some town I have never been to and I hoped for the best. We paid some kid $5 to park in his yard, it was cheaper than paying $20 for parking at the fair grounds. Ghetto Fab.

You guys, this concert was unreal. My mouth was literally open the whole two something hours we were there. They had giant confetti filled balloons, streamers, smoke, laser lights, the whole works. If you can think of it, they had it! On stage they had an entourage and some dudes wearing a sunshine and worm costume. It was so bizarre. During the opening, the lead singer even crowed surfed in some crazy bubble suit that he put on. They even preformed a song using an i phone. What? So cool. The point is, this was UNREAL. They rocked the heck out of it and it was at a fair. Not some huge concert just for them, but at the fair! And they were so excited to be there. Modest Mouse, you should take lessons from them. Ok?

Do you see him crowd surfing in the bubble?

The concert basically went down like the following video but with a smaller crowd.

If you ever have the chance to see them, do it! Please forgive my awful phone pictures.

Bumbershoot Love

I'm obsessed with music and it is all CB's fault. Every month we go see at least one band play, sometimes two. The majority of the time, I have no clue who they are, but leave the show confessing my undying love for my new discovery.

Every year with out fail, we go to Bumbershoot, a Seattle based music and art festival. This year, not a single band that I saw, I had heard of before. Usually, I know a band or two, but this year it was all new stuff.  It really is a great way to force yourself to discover new bands that you might have not have spent much time on before. 

I left with a couple of new favorites and I have played them non-stop since then. School of Seven Bells is a band from NYC that has a mixture of dreamy sounds and danceable beats. "Windstorm" was their opening song and I was instantly hooked. 

I'm also madly in love with Ale's haircut.
  

Summer nights

We went out to dinner in downtown Seattle and CB took these hipstamtic photos. I have such a crush on city life. I still can't get over that I once lived two blocks away from the ferries. One day I will relive it all.

Star Trek in the park

Have I ever told you how much I love Summer in Seattle?  It is the best, if you have never experienced it, what are you waiting for?!

A couple of weekends back, some friends told us about Outdoor Trek and we made plans to go to it as part of CB's birthday celebration. Oh and it was near Judkins park! What?! I had no idea there was a fab park that shared my last name.

Outdoor Trek is basically a bunch of super awesome yuppies that act out one of the classic Star Trek episodes. Before we went we watched the original episode on Netflix just so I can better understand what was going on.

Folks it was awesome! It was 10X better than the original. I had no idea what to expect and I couldn't stop laughing. It was  free to see, but I would have definitely have paid to see it. The best part was that before we left, CB said "I really hope that they have someone playing a xylophone" and boom his wish came true!

I can not wait to go again next year!  What is your favorite Summer activity that your city does?

Girls Camp

4th year awesomeness!

Let's be honest here, I was ready for girls camp to be over long before it started. I'm just not a camper. I hate being dirty, as a kid I had a phobia of dirt. And little creatures out in the wilderness are not cute to me. I'm crazy for a concrete jungle, not so much the woods.

But folks, I rocked it! I slept in a tent, my snot was black from dirt, and I reeked of body odor for days. It was the best week of my whole summer. I would do it all over again if I could.

The camp was jam packed with activities to keep the girls busy nonstop. There were horse back riding, crafts, a rock wall, repelling, archery, and the list goes on. My years at girls camp had  nothing on this.  At one point the girls were required to do a ropes course and by no means was it easy. They had to do activities like climbing a 15 foot wall with no ledges or rope and a trust fall. There was a lot of crying and cheering during that time. They encouraged each other and as a team overcame some difficult challenges. At first I constantly heard "I can't do this" and once it was accomplished I heard "I did it!" It was incredibly moving. Life is hard and challenging and huge obstacles like a 15 foot wall can stop you in your tracks, but it doesn't have to. I left telling myself that I could do hard things and I have been doing hard things.

Love these girls!!

The highlight of my week was bonding with my little unit of ten girls.  We worked well together, and by the end of the week there was a strong friendship developed between all of us. They made me feel like a million bucks, if I could feel the way I did at camp every day from now on, all my little challenges would be solved. Seriously, hang out with the youth for just an hour and you will feel so so good.

There were times at camp where I felt serious sorrow. My heart completely broke while chatting with some girls who expressed that they hoped to be married by 20 and have at least 2 kids by 23 because they would feel less of themselves if that didn't happen. It bothers me that in our Mormon culture, that bar has been set and has brought down more girls than needed. I quickly explained that I was 27 with no kids and while it was super hard (with Mormon culture), I was no less of value than someone who was much younger than me with kids. No where in LDS doctrine does it say that our Heavenly Father will love us any less if we are not married by 20 and have 4 kids by 28. I let them know that life is this huge incredible journey and not to be so hard on themselves if that dumb idiotic expectation that is set upon them does not happen. Can you tell that it just ticks me off? Why do we all have to fit in one mold?

I've struggled for a long time with this expectation that is set by LDS culture. While I did give in and got married super young, by no means was I ready to pop out a baby 9 months later. Hell, seven years later and I don't think I am ready. But I have lived this amazing life in those last seven years that I wouldn't exchange it  for the world. I've traveled, finished a degree, and spent some quality time with my husband. He knows every little thing about me, and for our relationship that is crucial. It has been the perfect route for me, I needed that time to grow and learn. I'm not saying that if you choose the other route that you are dumb, I'm just saying I could have never pulled it off. I also feel that there are other girls who can't pull it off either and feel less of worth because of it. Believe me, it took me years to convince myself that I was ok and normal, what ever normal is. The Lord loves me, and that is all that matters.

So I say, let's celebrate individuality. The world needs a little bit more of it.

Birthday Celebration

Yesterday was CB's birthday and we spent all weekend celebrating it. Saturday night  we went to Star Trek in the park (more to come!) and had dinner at CB's favorite restaurant.  Birthdays in Seattle are the best. The weather was perfect and walking around the waterfront during sunset was magical. Magic I tell you!

Happy Birthday, Love! I hope that your birthday was the best and that all your wishes come true. You are the best!

Urban visit

My 14 year old sister-in-law is in town for the week and it has been such a delight to have her around. She's vibrant, energetic, and has become an incredible young lady. I adore her.

A couple of months back she mentioned to her parents that she would like to visit us sometime because she really doesn't know us that well. CB left home when she was three years old and since that point the interactions have been brief. So the idea of her coming out was proposed to us and we fixed our schedule, tickets were bought, and she arrived on Tuesday evening.

This is her first time ever in Seattle and she is completely blown away with it. She has said over and over, "You have so much to do here!" and "I'm coming here every year, I love this place! I want to move here and go to college." Yes! I knew it wouldn't be that hard to convince her that Seattle is pretty awesome.

Since she has arrived, it has been jammed packed with visits to local spots, shopping galore, and eating at all of our favorite spots. She willingly tries everything we put in front of her and not once has she expressed that she hasn't liked it. Indian, Pho, French macaroons, mochi ,roasted sea weed, and the list goes on. I have yet to cook this week and next week I'll be cooking a health craze storm to make up for it.

Last night instead of playing the typical board game we decided to play an alcohol free drinking game (with Mountain Dew!) while we watched Law and Order. It was pretty epic and I am done with Mountain Dew for a very very long time.

This weekend we have plans to go to Vancouver and blow her socks off with that city. I am so excited!

Whale Watching

One of my birthday gifts from C.B. was a trip to Orcas Island to go whale watching. This weekend we finally had the time to go and it was amazing! We sailed with the Orcas Island Eclipse and it was a total of 3.5 hours of sailing.  The boat was on the smaller side and everyone had assigned seating, which I appreciated. You could bring on your own food and you could purchase snacks on board. The staff was super knowledgeable in regards to the whales and the pods that they traveled in. There are three total pods in the San Juans and we saw the K Pods. Each whale had a name and could be identified by their markings and size.The oldest whale is 100 years old and the youngest was born three months ago. The baby whale was super active and put on quite the show. His uncle, Lobo was also entertaining and made an appearance right next to the boat. He totally took every one by surprise! We were also able to spot some seals, different birds and a couple of eagles. If you ever wanted to do it, I highly recommend it!

You can pull off a day trip to Orcas Island if you board the ferry by foot. If you want to take your car with you, I highly advice making it an overnight trip. The wait at the ferry terminal to take your car on can take up to two hours and the ferry to Orcas Island doesn't come by as often.The whale watching tour boat was right next to the ferry terminal, so we opted to leave our car on the main land. Also we couldn't find any place to stay on the island, not even camping. A lady on the boat with us told us that she was only able to reserve camping because everything else was booked, and she did that months in advance.

The baby whale on the left and his cousins and aunt to the right.

The best picture of me taken on the boat. The wind was blowing so hard and I had to keep a hold of my shirt from flopping up. No I'm not pregnant, just to clear any questions up.

Seals on Whale Rock.

All pictures (except of him) taken by C.B. for The Grass is Greener.

Shakespeare in the Park

Through out the month of July and August, Mercer Island Art Council hosts outdoor Shakespeare plays at The Luther Burbank Park Amphitheater. Admission is free and the plays start at 7PM on Friday and Saturday nights.

We went on Friday night for a friend's birthday and saw The Comedy of Errors. The play was delightful and Luther Burbank Park is beautiful! Families were scattered around the lawn with picnic baskets in tow and it was a perfect scene of a Seattle summer night. I completely adore Seattle in the summer.

Greenwood Car Show

What a busy week! We had family come into town and our 4th was pretty relaxed. I really love showing my town around and love experiencing Seattle through a new set of eyes. The best part of summer in Seattle is that almost every weekend there is something to do, a festival in this neighborhood, a parade in that neighborhood, and always good food to choose from.

The neighborhood that borders ours had a car show a couple of weekend back and it was pretty much amazing. For over ten city blocks, there were rows of vintage cars, some dating back to the 1910's. I was especially in love with the 40's cars. I am pretty sure I grew up in the wrong decade, oh how I love the 40's!

Lunch at Golden Gardens

Saturday was a super busy day for both of us but we had enough time to spare to grab lunch and go to Golden Gardens. Saturday has been by far the most beautiful day of the year with not a cloud in the sky. Naturally everyone had the same idea as we did to go to the beach and not a parking spot was to be found. CB and I decided instead to park our car up the hill in a neighborhood and hike down the trail to the beach. In the summer, this is your best option if you come on the weekends. The hike down is pretty easy and I would say for some going back up is easy too. Not for me though, I haven't really worked out in over a month and it kicked my trash. I should really work on that. 

P.S. Sorry for the blurry iphone pictures. I should really work on bringing my camera with me more often on outings.

SIFF

Over the weekend CB and I went to the Seattle International Film Festival and I'm so disappointed that we didn't participate earlier. We chose to see two screenings of short films, which both CB and I agreed were quite impressive. I really love short films, I could watch them all day. If you don't like a film, it's totally cool because it will end shortly and you can look forward to seeing the next one. I can't bear the idea of sitting through a 2+ hour movie that I hate.

My favorite short film was North Atlantic. It was gripping and real. I found myself completely captivated with it and at the end I was smiling and crying at the same time. If you ever have a chance to see it, do so.

I also gave 5 stars to Danny and Annie, Sign Language, and (a close 5) Cataplexy. I really love the idea of rating a film right after viewing it.

The festival ends in a little less than two weeks and I am already making plans to see other screenings. I think you should too!

Friday, I'm in love

I took Friday off and it was such a perfect day! I got up bright and early to teach Seminary, had brunch with the Cute Boy at Portage Bay, saw his AMAZING office, and got a mani and pedi all before 2 PM. Sigh.

In the evening, we went to the driving range with some friends. Both CB and I have never been and I think we have found a new sport to play. It was so much fun. CB totally rocked it, he was a complete natural.

We finished the night by eating Indian food and watching Pirates of the Caribbean.  It was a lovely day.

Yay for a four day weekend!