It's A Girl!

This was the first time I had ever heard of a "Gender Reveal Party," but apparently it's the latest and greatest thing. Guests are instructed to cast their vote for a boy or girl by wearing blue or pink to the event. (I wore blue... but only because I don't really have much pink in my wardrobe). Then fun little games are played before a mystery cake is cut, the inside color revealing the sex of the baby.

I was invited by our dear friends and soon-to-be parents Jesse and Katie. Luckily the weather turned out to be unseasonably warm and gorgeous that day, perfect for the potluck barbecue. After we played a few games it was time for the big reveal and...

It's a GIRL!

  

Harper Paisley, I can't wait to welcome you to the world. You've got some amazing parents.

Happy Birthday Matthew

Our friend Matt turned 31 last week, so we headed to Brave Horse Tavern in South Lake Union after work on Friday to celebrate. It was a good thing that Matt, Alissa and I got there a little early because the place was completely packed when we arrived. We had to lurk creepily next to a table for a while until a group left before we could even sit down.

Brave Horse has a super fun atmosphere with long wooden tables and lots of shuffleboard in the center of the room. They also have a pretty sweet patio for nicer weather. The menu has yummy specialty brick oven pretzels which I was somehow able to resist, but I did have a delicious spring vegetable salad and probably more than my fair share of hefeweizen. Stew and Alissa both got huge delicious sandwiches and I did indulge in some of their sweet potato fries. 

I had no idea that such a fun place existed in this funky new neighborhood, but I definitely plan to go back. Happy Birthay, Matt!

Life As Always

Hi friends and loyal followers!

Well I'm WAY behind on blogging, but some exciting life events have had me super distracted lately. But I'm finally ready to join the real world again and I'd love to fill you all in on all of the exciting events leading up to our wedding, the big day, the honeymoon, and how we're adjusting to life as a married couple.

To sum up, life as Always is everything we dreamed it would be, and more...

I'm going to retroactively fill in everything that's happened over the last six weeks. I hope you'll enjoy re-living it as much as we will!

~Mrs. Sarah Alway

Crystal's Big 3-0!

Crystal is not one for big birthday celebrations, so for her 30th this year she planned a small brunch with friends at Palomino in Bellevue. I had specifically requested that we go someplace with bloody marys, and boy did this place deliver! The restaurant has a huge Bloody Mary Bar which includes a choice of vodka, choice of mix, and two different types of salt for the rim. Then the bar itself has tons of assorted sauces, house prepared garnishes and pickled vegetables... I was in heaven, and Stewart enjoyed the corresponding Mimosa Bar.

Stewart ordered Classic Eggs Benedict and I got Steak and Eggs. Although the food was delicious the portions were quite small. So really it's a good thing that Stew found a large egg shell in his meal right at the end, because they brought him a second dish (Eggs Benedict Palomino), otherwise we would have had to stop and get fast food on the way home to fill him up. My meal was okay but I had a bite of Stew's second dish and it was probably the best eggs benedict I've ever had with brioche, prosciutto, mushroom-artichoke relish, poached eggs, truffle hollandaise, arugula, pesto, and parmesan... YUM.

Brunch was a blast and afterward Crystal, Stewart, Laura and I just didn't see any reason to waste the rest of the gorgeous day. We headed back to Crystal's house and spent the rest of the afternoon in her backyard drinking champagne, which eventually resulting in ordering pizza and a sleepover. Stewart was very tired the next day for work but celebrating Crystal's 30th was a top priority. I hope she had a good day, because we certainly did!

Happy Birthday, Crys!

Happy Easter from the Always

Easter has never been at the top of my list of holidays, but it is my mom's absolute favorite so Stewart and I headed down to Olympia to celebrate with my family. It was our first official holiday as a married couple!

I've come to the conclusion that Easter is a holiday for children. Dying eggs, Easter baskets and Easter egg hunts are not really adult activities. Don't tell that to my mother though... no matter what, we always have to dye eggs for Easter - it's an unbreakable family tradition. In addition, she usually makes this bunny cake... really too cute to even cut into!

Of course Stewart enjoys Easter for the simple plethora of candy involved, and I always love a good family dinner, so we had a great weekend at home. We also took the opportunity to get together with my grandparents and open the rest of our wedding gifts which was bittersweet because it meant the wedding was really all over.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and unseasonably warm, so we spent the afternoon with my parents and the dog checking out a new local park and walking around Capitol Lake. It was a really relaxing, wonderful day... we hope everyone else had a wonderful Easter as well!

Heather's Nautical Bridal Shower

Our wedding was the best day of my life, but planning it consumed practically every second for many, many months. So I was a little relieved to get home from the honeymoon and just get back to regular life. Because lots of my friends have exciting reasons to celebrate, too!

I attended my friend Heather's bridal shower on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in April at Frency's, a day spa and beauty boutique in Madison Park. I can't believe I've never been here before! The place is completely adorable and it's just perfect for a bridal shower or birthday party or really any sort of gathering with the gals. The shower had a nautical theme and all the decorations, food and beverages were so carefully thought out and adorable. Also, each guest brought along pictures and stories about Heather and Michael which they then put into a scrapbook style book that Heather will be able to read on the plane on the way to Mexico - genius!

Nautical cake pops to go with grapefruit and orange mimosas

Everyone in their nautical-themed outfits... Heather LOVES stripes!

Awesome favors which included a perfect shade of red polish

These chairs were amazingly relaxing

Schedule of services, how fancy!

Frency's is so adorable, I must go here again!

Heather insisted on no gifts and instead asked that each person treat themselves to mani/pedis. I got a dreamy pedicure and overall just had a fantastic afternoon celebrating Heather!

Atlantis Honeymoon

For our honeymoon we wanted to plan an amazing trip to somewhere we could relax, enjoy the sun and the beach, and experience a few adventures while we were at it.

Atlantis is a resort and water park located on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Perched above two gorgeous white-sand beaches, this all-suite luxury resort stands amid lush landscaping, shimmering waterfalls, freshwater pools, and an enclave within the wonders of the Atlantis Resort. Suites at Atlantis have views of the turquoise waters for a feeling of floating between sky and sea.

That sounded just about perfect to us... and it was! We left on Monday morning right after the wedding and flew all day to reach the Bahamas. Then we had eight entire days to relax and enjoy the gorgeous weather and amazing activities that Atlantis has to offer. We'll let the pictures tell the story...

 

 

   

And here we are back in the real world... Life as Always!