Summertime

Funny how the time flies when you're having fun. This blog became completely neglected what with the start of my new job, moving, living, etc. Alas, here I am, back at it again! Sadly, I missed telling you about most of my trips to the farmers market this year, my amazing honeymoon in Hawaii, my busy summer days, and the start of another beautiful Northwest Autumn. Hopefully, over time I will be able to share some of those memories with you as I look back on them myself.

I did have an amazing summer and I do want to share with you some of the photos I took over those few months.

This is a view of The Big Four Ice Caves located a few hours north of Seattle. This amazing valley has a huge glacier formed over the many years into several ice caves. Unfortunately the  caves are extremely dangerous and it's never a good idea to go inside, but the breeze coming off the ice on a hot summer day is magical.

I love how green everything is here in the summertime. Still at Big Four Ice Caves, but peering across to the other side of the valley, and getting a glimpse at these little flowers growing out of a cliff wall.

My very favorite hike to take is to Ebey's Landing on Whidbey Island. This trail goes up a steep slope, then follows the coastline ridge a couple hundred feet above the ocean shore. At the top you can see this sign, then slide down a sandy slope to get back to the beach and follow that back to the trail head. I've been on this hike a million times, and every time I'm still amazed by how beautiful it is.

Of course there were several trips to the farmers market this summer. I purchased everything from Friar Plums to Oyster Mushrooms and cooked them all! Not to mention countless bouquets of the seasonal flowers. Luckily I still have two weeks left to visit and hopefully will be able to share with you a few more photos!

Phew! Chance had to take a few naps after all the hiking he did. I almost just laid down right next to him.

That's all for now! I look forward to sharing more with you as the time comes.

Life.

It's been quite some time since I posted on here, and a very busy summer overall! Luckily I've returned to you unscathed and ready to start fresh. Last month I was finally married to the love of my life, and I can now say it was the most wonderful, terrifying, and thrilling day of my life. Being married gave me a sense of relief and surety I hadn't felt before. Without getting to personal, I wanted to give you all a peak into my special day and share some of the details that both myself and my friends put together to make the day extra special!

We were married on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the beautiful town of Port Gamble, Washington. This is a haven on the coast of the Olympic Peninsula that has an amazing view over the Hood Canal and Puget Sound. All of our guests got to experience taking a ferry across the water and driving in to this vintage styled town. If you're ever visiting the area it's a great little day trip, and there's no where quite like it.

I was fortunate enough to be able to use my grandmother's vintage dress from the 1940s, which was refitted and modified by a dear family friend. It was worn by my grandmother before my grandfather was sent away to World War II and then again by my mother. I can happily say that the dress is still in amazing condition and I hope that future generations will be able to use it and will love it as much as I did!

 

Our theme was "Blackberries and Cream; A Vintage Seattle Wedding" and we had a huge spread of food that fit that theme exactly. Among some of the treats was our candy bar with homemade blackberry macaroon courtesy of one of my bridesmaids. We also had a delicious blackberry and chocolate cake topped with my grandmother's cake topper. Our dinner was created and served by the amazing company Sunshine's All Naturals. It was a complete locally sourced, organic menu that included a cheese platter, fresh salad greens, trout, and pork loin that was probably everyone's favorite part of the evening.

To be completely open and honest, almost nothing went like I expected and the entire time before ceremony every thought of centerpieces, flowers, or schedule completely left my head. With the help of my friends, parents, and a very awesome wedding coordinator, I don't know how the event would have happened at all, but it did, and everyone had an amazing time. My advice to future brides? This is still going to be an incredibly happy, joyful day and your guests will know that no matter what. Enjoy the celebration, and enjoy your loved one. Nothing it more important than that. 

All photo credit goes to Alexa Rae Photography

Pause.

Readers... Getting married is not easy. The only thing that's easy about getting married is pinning things on Pinterest so that you feel like you're actually doing something to help with the planning. So despite difficulties and numerous headaches, I am incredibly excited to share this big day with you. I know in the end, however "bloggable" it may or may not be, I will be happy with it and my new husband.

OKAY now that we covered wedding headaches and more, lets move on to something more fun... like food, and vacations! Summer is definitely making an appearance here, and that means farmer's market is back! The agonizing wait for farm fresh produce is over! And I enjoyed my visits there so far immensely. I have had fresh rhubarb, strawberries, radishes, and arugula aplenty. (In fact my next post will be on pickled and roasted radishes, yum!)

 I also went on vacation to beautiful San Diego where the Hillcrest farmer's market was one of my favorite points in the trip. I literally ate fresh avocado and sprouts every day. They also had fresh sea urchin to crack open and spoon out right there! Amazing!
So for your viewing pleasure, enjoy some photos I managed to snap on my trip.

Fresh greens ready to be planted from the Farmer's Market.

Asparagus, swiss chard, rhubarb, and parsnips all are part of the spring bounty.

The view from our San Diego hotel, bliss!

Obligatory trip to Sea World was amazing, I could have stayed there forever!