And that's a wrap.

We signed the closing paperwork on our lovely condo in Ballard last night, and it was bittersweet. I have so many wonderful memories of living here with Stewart, and it was the first home that we bought together.

I made him take me back into the unit before our appointment so I could take a last look, and it ended up being a great choice because we got to say goodbye to some of our favorite neighbors.

There are definitely things I'll miss, but mostly I'm excited for us to be moving on toward this new phase of our lives.

Farewell, old friend, you've served us well!

 

The BIG MOVE.

I definitely plan to die in this house, rather than ever move again. Or else we're hiring movers.

All things considered though, the BIG MOVE went really super well this weekend and we're officially living in our new house in Snoqualmie! We had tons of friends and family members arrive on Saturday to help us transfer our lives to the suburbs, and even though it was a long, exhausting weekend it was super fun and exciting.

I was absolutely shocked that our belongings didn't all fit into the 14-foot truck we rented, but luckily Stew's dad had hauled up our new flat screen TV in his little trailer, so we used that to do the last couple loads of things from our storage unit.

We had so many amazing helpers that every time I turned around another huge project would be done. Mom and Patty unpacked and organized the ENTIRE kitchen, and Stew, Russ and Dad managed to get all three of the flat screen TVs mounted and working.

Some of the moving crew... we had so many awesome people help us!
We feel so lucky and grateful and honestly could not have done it without them.

Crystal was in town from Oregon and was a huge help.

Me and Mom in the beautiful kitchen that she and Patty spent HOURS making perfect for me.

Some of my favorite guys installing the downstairs TV... an important priority!

The house is still full of boxes and miscellaneous items but we're starting to get settled in. We're finding it a little difficult to be excited and enjoy the house because we're overwhelmed by the amount of projects and organization that needs to happen, but I'm trying to force myself to relax. We both need to realize that it's going to take time to get settled in, and it's okay if everything isn't done right this second.

Our poor little condo is an empty, dusty hole, and I felt a little sad leaving the place where Stew and I have lived together for almost five years. But I sure won't miss living in Ballard. My first new commute to work this morning was lovely and stress-free, and I'm hoping my ride home will be the same.

Daylight savings killed us this weekend and we're both running on very little steam to start the week, but it's DONE... the BIG MOVE is OVER! And I think we're going to love Suburbia.

Home Sweet Home

Our new house in Snoqualmie is officially closed, and we are in possession of a shiny new set of keys (and a lovely 30-year mortgage)!

Technically we'll actually own two homes until the 15th when our condo closes, and then it's goodbye (and good riddance!) to Ballard for us. The BIG MOVE is this Saturday, and we can't wait to spend our first night together in our new home.

I think this is what being a grown up feels like.

Oh, Canada...

After tearing up seeing Joshua Jackson's perfectly executed triple deke for Mighty Ducks back in 1992, my love of ice hockey (and Joshua) was solidified. And actually, my dad used to take me and my sister to Tacoma Rockets games all the time when we were kids, so that probably helped as well. In any case, Stew and I both love hockey, so we were really excited when Cailin and Clint invited us to go to Vancouver for the weekend to go to a Canucks game. It's about time we got to bust out our new Kesler jerseys.

We left early Saturday afternoon for our quick trip up North, just in time to check into our hotel and grab some dinner and drinks before the game.

This was Cailin & Clint's first full night away from Baby Charlie so it was quite a big milestone for their family. We all had a great time though and were back in Seattle on Sunday by early afternoon with plenty of time for Stew and I to get some chores and packing done.

We definitely had to order some Kokanee while we were in Canada...
It really brought memories of my college years... Going to WWU just 20 minutes from the border,
Canada (with it's 19-year-old drinking age) often beckoned to us.

Pretty light show to start off the game... Go Canucks!

Our seats were up pretty high but the arena is so small we still had an awesome view of the game.

I loved spending the weekend on a mini-getaway with my forever-friend, Cailin.
This picture cracks me up because of Clint's evil eye in the background.

The Canucks beat the Kings, 5-2. Woot woot! There were only a couple good fights unfortunately...
My favorite part of hockey is the aggression and fighting!

On our way home on Sunday Cailin and I really wanted to stop and have lunch at one of our college favorites, El Gitano, in Bellingham. Our meal was just as delicious as I remember and being back in Bellingham really made me want to plan a weekend up there one of these days... maybe this spring.

It was only moderately annoying to be on crutches for this trip, and my knee is actually feeling much better, although it's nowhere near back to normal. I start physical therapy on Tuesday and hopefully that will help speed up the recovery process. We've got a big week coming up with the house closing and prepping for the big move on Saturday... wish us luck!

Bonaire Birthday Bash

I think only in very rare occasions do your co-workers become some of your best friends. I was lucky enough to bond with some amazingly talented, hilarious, gorgeous ladies about six or seven years ago at the worst job ever, and we have been close ever since. At one point we formed a fun and slightly ridiculous mini golf team and christened ourselves "Totes Bonaire," an inside joke far too complicated to warrant an explanation here. But the moral of the story is that we've referred to each other as "Bonaires" ever since. Except for Gretchen, who we refer to as Wieners, irregardless.

Heather, Lindsee and I do Breakfast Club every month, but the other Bonaires have all sadly moved to other parts of the country, so we don't get to see them as often. So this month for Lindsee's birthday we decided to plan a fun Friday night get-together. Unfortunately the other girls boned out, but the three of us decided to get together anyway, obvi, because sometimes in life you just really need a cocktail with the girls. And the fact that Lindsee was born is a pretty important reason to celebrate.

Lindsee chose Shelter Lounge in Ballard which is one of my favorites for both food and atmosphere. I didn't take any pictures the last time I was there with my friend Cari, so I just want to share some of our yummy snacks...

PB&J Jalapeno Poppers
Panko breaded jalapeno peppers stuffed with cream cheese
and peanut butter, served with a sweet, spicy jelly.
These things are so strangely delicious I really wanted the girls to try them.

Yummy cocktails... cheers to Lindsee!

Avocado Fries
Slices of avocado breaded and deep fried, served with chipotle sauce.
I honestly cannot get enough of these, they're so delicious!

Shelter Signature Sandwich
Slow roasted pork shoulder, caramelized onions, provolone, serrano
peppers and cilantro, grilled on a baguette.
All three of us ordered this sandwich... it's basically the reason you go to
Shelter Lounge. Heather thinks it rivals the best sandwich ever,
but I'm not so sure about that... although it is ridiculously yummy.

Shelter was pretty dead when we arrived at 7:00, but a few hours and a few cocktails later it was totally packed, the lights had dimmed, and the club music had been turned up. Apparently this place starts poppin' later at night! We discussed perhaps taking some shots and dropping it like it's hot just to prove we're still valid, but sadly husbands, babies, and early morning plans were calling us home, so we decided to call it a night.

It was such a fun evening though (maybe we should start having alcohol at Breakfast Club), and I always love it when we make time to get together. Next time the other Bonaires better make an appearance!

Happy (belated) Birthday, Lindsee!

Everyone have a lovely weekend out there!

A quick update on my knee...

For those who are wondering and haven't heard yet, I saw the doctor this morning to get the results of my MRI following my unfortunate snowboarding accident a couple weeks ago.

First of all, have you ever had an MRI before? It's very strange, and I still don't quite understand how it can see the inside of my body. They roll you into this tube (luckily feet first for me since I'm extremely claustrophobic, but I still almost flipped out as my head approached the opening, even though the guy had assured me my head would not be going in) and then you lie there for about 20 minutes. The room is darkened, and in my case I had been given headphones tuned to the local country music station to drown out the noise of the machine. It didn't really help. For between two to four minutes at a time I listened to an extremely loud jackhammering noise as electromagnetic pulses streamed into my leg (I'm making that part up; I'm not sure that's exactly what happens, but it's what I picture in my head). I got 30 second rests in between to listen to Taylor Swift's whining, and it didn't hurt at all, but it was very... weird.

Anyway, that was on Tuesday and today the doctor informed me, "Well, I have good news and I have bad news."  Thanks buddy. I've been perpetually stressed out this week about needing surgery and never being able to function normally again / having a wooden leg like a pirate, and that's how you start our conversation? Cue anxiety attack.

"The bad news is I'm not going to get to operate on you."  JERK.

Phew! Apparently I have a partially torn MCL, and it should heal up on it's own in about four weeks with the aid of physical therapy and a stylish knee brace. I should be able to ditch the crutches in a week or so, but I may keep using them on the bus so people will feel sorry for me and let me have a seat. I feel no guilt about this.

So I'll gimp along in life for a bit longer, it seems. My biggest disappointment is that Stewart and I are registered to run the St. Patrick's Day Dash, which is obviously now out of the question (although Stew did offer to push me through in a wheelchair). Which reminds me, have you ever gotten the opportunity to ride around the grocery store in one of those motorized scooters for the physically challenged? It's sort of fun humiliating.

Thank you, everyone, for all your kind words and thoughts... here's hoping for a quick and permanent recovery!

Jillian's Dirty Thirty

Jillian is one of my dearest friends from high school and she turned 30 last week, so we met her and some friends for dinner last night to celebrate at one of her favorite restaurants, Mekong Village.

Mekong Village is an authentic Vietnamese restaurant on Aurora, and we've eaten here with Jill and Robert several times... it's delicious! It's a little out of the way, but if you're ever in the area you should definitely stop in. The staff is super friendly and the food is absolutely delicious! It's also not very expensive and you'll be totally entertained by the funky decor and extremely random background music.

It was the perfect place to celebrate Jillian's Dirty Thirty. Please take a moment to admire her amazing birthday headband... adorable.

I just had to throw in a photo of Mekong's eclectic decor...
Purple walls, red and pink napkins, butterflies and Christmas lights... they have it all.

Yummy, yummy, yummy.
We started with Eggrolls, but they were pretty greasy, so I wished we would have gone with our usual Spring Rolls, which are amazing. I got Rare Beef Noodle Soup because I had been craving pho, and Stew got Pad Thai with chicken because it's the only thing he ever orders. Four out of five stars was almost spicy enough for him.

Our waitress gave Jillian a birthday balloon,
which I believe was re purposed from Valentine's Day, but it's the thought that counts.

This is a terrible camera phone photo, but it's all I was able to get.

The rest of the group was headed to Hula Hula in Queen Anne for drinks and karaoke, but since Stew had to work the next day and I was exhausted from crutching around all day we went home like an old married couple. A rockin' Saturday night. Now that Jill is 30 she, too, can look forward to this exciting lifestyle.

Happy Birthday Jillian, we love you!

 

New Home Inspection

We went up to the new house for our inspection on Saturday morning and were so excited to see that almost everything is finished! The appointment went really well and the inspector only found a short list of items that he recommended we bring up to the builder (touch-up paint and caulk, missing fall-safety bracket on the roof, a light missing in the guest bath, etc).

Our pre-closing orientation will be Tuesday afternoon. That's when we can walk around with a roll (or five) of blue tape and mark every teeny tiny thing that isn't just perfect, and the builder will need to fix it before we close in just a little over a week. Tick tock tick tock... it's almost here!

Beautiful stairs in the entryway.
I didn't originally like these black wrought iron spindles, but Stew and Mom convinced me and now I really love them.

The den faces the front of the house, which means it will get lots of light.
This is where my books will live, and I want to get built-in shelves all along the back wall.

The downstairs powder room; I really need to spruce up this space.

Lovely chef's kitchen with stainless steel appliances. Now, if only I knew how to cook...

A few more close up shots of the appliances. We are going to love the water/ice dispenser on the fridge!

 

Downstairs living room. This is where our new furniture will live.

I just can't get enough of this fireplace. Have I mentioned we had to pay extra to get one with "wood"?
Apparently now the standard is these strange glowing crystals... and we definitely weren't a fan of that look.

 

Entryway linen closet with extra storage under the stairs - yay!
Maybe now I won't have to store luggage in the trunk of my car.

A couple shots of the media room upstairs,
but it was hard to get a good angle.

Laundry room with brand new (full size!) washer and dryer.
We discovered that I can't reach the cabinets up above... someone get the short girl a stool!

Guest bedrooms and bathroom. Unfortunately they missed an overhead light above the shower,
so the bathroom is really dark right now, which is seriously going to bug me if they can't fix it.

A couple shots of the master bedroom.
(I had a hard time finding a good photo angle again).

Master bath and walk-in closet. I've looked into having the closet professionally done,
but it's really expensive so that will have to wait for now.

The garage, for those who are interested.

And the backyard! We're really happy with the way it turned out, although we're still not sure what we're going to
do with that bark area up top. The subcontractors made a mistake and poured our patio too small,
so we actually ended up with a much larger patio without paying anything extra... we'll take it!

So now the packing really must begin (Sarah, stop procrastinating). It's going to be difficult with my bum leg, but it must be done. Speaking of, I did go to an orthopedic specialist on Friday morning and he suspects I have a sprained MCL/ACL, but I need an MRI next week to confirm and decide a course of action (the ACL won't heal on it's own and could require surgery). So that's a bummer, but we're taking it one step hop at a time and I'm still hobbling around on crutches with a knee brace... not my best look.

Mt. Baker Ski Trip

We were super bummed when my kidney stone ruined our ski trip to Mount Baker over the holiday weekend in January, so we decided to try again for President's Day weekend.

Stew's brother Mark has a condo just about 25 minutes from the ski area so that's where we crashed for the weekend. Stew, Tara, Jason and I arrived Saturday evening and had a fun day of skiing and snowboarding on Sunday before Andrew joined us for dinner, drinking, and hot tubbing.

I haven't been snowboarding at Mt. Baker in years so I was really looking forward to it. The conditions weren't amazing, but we still had a great time... with one small exception, which I'll explain shortly.

Firefighter building us a fire.

Tara and I made a yummy dinner Saturday night.

Fun on the slopes.

"I just need to rest my leg!"

My first time snowboarding this season. And likely my last (see below).



Hanging out at Chair 9 after a day on the mountain.

And... the aftermath. This is my knee, currently.

2013 has really been a bummer year for us so far. I thought the kidney stone debacle would be enough for a while, but apparently not. I fell coming off the very first chair lift of the day and seriously twisted my knee. But instead of ruining the day for everyone, including myself, I decided to shake it off and fight through the pain. Tara and I did have a great time skiing and snowboarding all morning, but by the time we were done with lunch I knew something was seriously wrong, and it was all I could do to get back down to the main lodge. And now my knee is so painful I can't bend or walk on it at all... not good, obviously.

I've never had a knee injury before and I'm not crazy about going back to the doctor for another CT scan at the moment, so for right now I'm just taking an anti inflammatory and using ice and crutches. If it doesn't start to feel better in a couple days I'll go to the doctor, I suppose. I feel so betrayed by my stupid, frail human body!

Oy vey.