my trip to the rainy city that was actually sunny and hot.

a few weekends ago i took a quick trip up to seattle to see this lovely lady in a play.


jessica martin as marianne dashwood, kjerstine anderson as elinor dashwood.
photo by alan alabastro photography

sense and sensibility, to be precise. it was a great trip and such a wonderful play. i had never read the book or seen the movie so it was a total surprise.


kjerstine anderson as elinor dashwood, jessica martin as marianne dashwood,
and aaron blakely as mr. willoughby. photo by alan alabastro photography.
very dramatic and heart-wrenching. now i'm reading it and really loving it.



i loved the design that the theatre, Book-It, used for the programs. it reminded me of these embroidered covers by jillian tamaki

i also got to hang out with the actors afterwards at a karaoke bar. i had only done karaoke at someone's house so it was quite the experience. i agonized over which songs to choose and was so nervous to perform--especially in front of professionals! i ended up choosing Dixie Chicks' "If I Fall You're Going Down With Me." it was a good choice because i knew all of the words and it was fun and upbeat. my back-up was the acoustic/glee version of Pokerface but i didn't get the chance to use it. next time!

i stayed in the Ballard area of Seattle and enjoyed walking around to all of the cute shops and restaurants. we ate lunch at a burger place that had the best fries i've had in ages. i can't remember the name but i'm sure jessie can help me out. it was such a beautiful, sunny day and i hardly recognized the city from previous trips. we even drove out to the beach and walked around. i was slightly confused as to how there could be a beach in seattle, but i was kindly reminded that there is this little body of water called puget sound. right.

the drive up was so beautiful and went by so quickly. i really should take trips like this more often. thanks for hosting me, jessie!

trip of a lifetime

Jordan from Oh Happy Day is hosting the best giveaway ever--a trip to Paris! I get an extra entry if I repost here, so it's selfish, really, but now you know about it too. Click to go to the official contest page.

I just saw the House Hunters International episode featuring Jordan's sister, Gabrielle Blair, buying a house in Normandy for her family. Totally fell in love with the idea of living abroad. Where would you live if you could live anywhere?

what i ate this week

trying something different. i tried a bunch of new recipes this week and thought i'd share those instead of a weekly 10. sound good?

honey goat cheese and caramelized onion pizza- from this week for dinner


photo from thisweekfordinner.com

i had never made caramelized onions before so i was a little nervous but they turned out great! they really put this pizza over the top. i used fresh pizza dough from trader joe's and followed the recipe pretty closely. nearly everyone liked the pizza, even the skeptics. i saved the extra caramelized onions and put them on a veggie burger today. still good almost a week later.


arugula salad with grape tomatoes and parmesan cheese

i have been frightened by arugula in the past. it looks like weeds and every time giada uses it she makes sure to point out how "peppery" it is. yum? anyways, i started eating it at the whole foods salad bar and really loved how interesting it tasted. i bought a bunch, tossed it with fresh tomatoes, lots of parmesan, and a herb ranch. so delicious. i've had it for lunch almost every day this week, until i ran out of tomatoes. try it, you might be surprised!


spring salad with new potatoes- from smitten kitchen


photo from smittenkitchen.com

i thought i hated potato salads until i tried one made without mayonnaise. friends for life. i tweaked this recipe slightly because i couldn't find radishes and i only had fingerling potatoes. i used green beans instead for the pea ingredient and discovered what spring onions are. and let me tell you, those pickled onions were incredible. i loved this salad and it would be perfect for a barbecue or picnic.

cream cheese frosting- from barefoot contessa

i was watching ina make red velvet cupcakes the other day and mentally filed away her cream cheese frosting recipe for future use. flash forward to my piano/violin recital and needing a frosting for some devil's food cupcakes. it would have been easier if my cream cheese was a little more room temperature, but it turned out so nicely. it made way more than i needed for 24 cupcakes, though. i now have a bowl of frosting in my fridge. someone please take it off my hands.

next up:

caprese grilled cheese


from foodgawker via pinterest.

and pasta with arugula and white beans


from this week for dinner

ouch.

7 things that made me happy this week . . .

one: on my flight home, we stopped in boise and half of the plane got off. then i had a whole row to myself. perfect for my minor freakout during the descent.

two: the lovely baby shower i attended on saturday. on the hottest day of the year since september. gorgeous.

three: running in my very first organized race, the starlight run. it wasn't easy, and i thought i was going to die from the stitch in my side, but i ran through the finish line. loved seeing all of the friendly faces from the sidelines cheering me [and dad and sister] on.

four: my post-run bath. guys, i'm so not a bath person, mostly because i don't have the patience to wait for one to fill up and then i don't know what to do once i get in, but it was sooo good. i get it now.

five: this video. i'm still not tired of this song or this lady.



six: this gem from pinterest. love it.


from jackcards.com

seven: catching up on all my tv season finales before my favorite summer shows come back.


. . . and 3 that didn't

one: being woefully unprepared for my first 5K. at least now i know how much more work i have to do before i'm ready for hood-to-coast.

two: every part of my body hurts. except my arms. at least now i can lift my right leg up all the way. totally couldn't this morning.

three: coming back to regular life after the best weekend away ever. it is so much better to wake up on my own then to an alarm. phooey.

the rest of the trip

here's a quick rundown of my utah trip.

first stop: sweet potato fries and waldorf salad at guru's. of course.

crazy huge party at my sisters'- lots of cute boys that were way too young, scary games in the dark, guests staying well past 1:00.

french toast breakfast at guru's

shopping and running into this lovely lady.

finding these gems at target. super comfortable and easy to walk in.





dinner at pizzeria 712. marinated feta cheese and hummus. asparagus and endive salad with green goddess dressing, scallion, goat cheese and sundried tomato pizza, and chocolate cheesecake. plus an adorably quirky waiter.

rewatching of easy A, still a favorite.

delicious homemade dinner of tomato mozzarella paninis, and pea pesto.

justin bieber's never say never. a cinematic triumph.

overpriced crepes at roll-up crepes.

superfancy lunch at la jolla groves. felt like eating in a lemon grove. kinda cool but also overpriced. this is a college town, people!

visiting dearly missed friends.
>
les madeleines bakery in slc. tried the signature pastry, kouing-aman and valrhona hot chocolate. marvelous.


kouing-aman from les-madeleines.com

>tulie bakery in slc. enormous grilled cheese and a pain au chocolat for the plane.


photo from tuliebakery.com

successfully navigating our way to the slc library. whoa. didn't have much time to explore, but it was awesome.

can't wait to go back!