Seattle in November

Pikes Place Market | Seattle Art Museum (visited the Picasso Exhibit)


Ballard Market | Monster Art and Clothing


Cupcake Royal - Yum!!


Tandoozy at Fremont Market - Delicious Naan!

The weekend before Thanksgiving I went on a road trip from Northern Idaho to Seattle with friends, we had a fantastic time together exploring some new and old favorite places.

5 Halloween Ideas

I've been searching for great Halloween Decor and party ideas! Here are five of my favorites...

3 Halloween Witches via SallyBoyle | Monster Cupcakes via BHG

Halloween Plates via Design Mom

Pumpkin Vase via Midwest Living | Wreath via wRIte iT DOwN

Chicago!

Our family just took a recent trip to Chicago three weeks ago... and we had an amazing time. I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures and the places we went.

Our trip to Gino's East, Love the Graffiti on the walls... and some Deep Dish!

Jake Melnick's for beers! | Love this saying...Why go home? You're Here!

My adorable Niece Lily on the Architectural Boat Tour | Marina City

A view of the City close to Navy Pier... Wonderful!

Cubs Game vs. Giants | Us at Wrigley Field for the game

To Hopleaf after the game, to try out beers we can't get in Idaho

Steps at Art Institute of Chicago | Maharam Kvadrat Exhibit

Millennium Park Cloud Gate and The Crown Fountain

Ledge Glass Box at top of Sky Deck, Sears Tower | Chicago Dog

Tiffany Glass Tile Ceiling, Macy's at State Street

Torta via Frontera Fresco (Rick Bayless) | Chicago's Theatre District

Publican, Out and In (where we saw Thomas Keller dining!!)

Beers we tasted or brought home; Brooklyn Brewery: Brooklyn Brown / Local 1, Brouwerij Contreras Valeir Extra, Jolly Pumpkin Bam Bière, Dogfish Head: Punkin Ale /Sah'tea, 3 Floyds: Alpha King Pale Ale /Moloko Plus, Saison Du BUFF (Victory), Half Acre Daisy Cutter Pale Ale, Goose Island: 312 Urban Wheat / Green Line / Honkers Ale / IPA / Demolition.

Out on the Town

My husband (Ryan) has been writing a blog post on our friends local site called, Treasured Valley. The posts are called "Out on the Town" and are restaurant reviews he does of local places in our area. The image above was taken from his last post from Baguette Deli, I was excited that the photo turned out so good. Plus I love to tag along and try out new food!!

Gifts Under $50

Here is a list of gift ideas in the $25-50 price range. These items feature great designs and wonderful patterns.

Giveaway...Next Week | I will be hosting my very first giveaway next week. Stay tuned for details included in my post on Monday!

1. Dream by Sooooound 2. Jonathan Adler Vidalia Bud Vase 3. Thomas Paul Zinnia Pillow 4. Sparrow Hooks 5. Jonathan Adler Elephant Ornament 6. French Bull Mosaic Storage Set 7. Yellow Owl Workshop Stamp Set 8. GROW MY DEAR table runner @ envelop 9.Marimekko Kippis Tray 10. Angela Adams Cotton Rug in Sprout 2x3 11. Dog Cake Server and Lego Stereo Dock via Pylones 12. Lasagna Trio Pan

vino&pizza

We had an excellent evening with friends this past weekend for a "vino&pizza" party. Together we came up with recipes for 5 different kinds of pizzas, and each couple had to bring two bottles of wine to pair with a chosen pizza. The pizza's turned out yummy, and the wine paired well.

Pizza's in the pictures above include the "Meatless Mediterranean" and the "Broccoli & Cheese Baked Potato". All of these pizzas would make an excellent meal any time of the year. Check out the menu below for the list of toppings and the wine pairings and also see my post from last year to compare what was on the menu... Enjoy!

Yummy Fall Recipes

Wanted to post some yummy recipes that we love and are perfect for fall.

Top: Pinto-Bean Mole Chili, Chili (White Bean & Chicken)

Bottom: Roasted Tomato Soup , Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

Jaiden's 4th

Lots of fun this weekend at my niece Jaiden's 4th birthday party. Above are some images of the festivities. Green Balloons attached to the cute white treat bag (bottom right) and my mom added paper ice cream cones to the front, her invitation, beautiful water lily in the pond, green lanterns, Ice Cream Cone Cupcake (yummy), the birthday cake.

Vacation | Salmon River Brewery

Sorry, I was a missing for a little while...I was on vacation to Donnelly Idaho, where my husbands family has a cabin.

While in the mountains, we visited the Salmon River Brewery in McCall Idaho. Its primarily a brewery, but they serve food and have live music in their backyard. The food was a very interesting mix of smoked ribs, sushi, their own bratwurst, and vegetarian options such as veggie rolls and vegetable bowls. Their beer was pretty good as well. They have live music on the weekends... Finn Riggins who is a must-see band from Sun Valley Idaho is to play there Friday August 21st. This is a great addition to the local hang-outs in Valley County since there lots of food choices and great atmoshphere.


Back Patio-Kitchen. Love the wood bar table, and the golden bird.


Miscellaneous photographs of the interior/exterior and the fabulous food.
The dining tables in the house were an awesome fit (via IKEA).


A delicious beer sampler of their house brews.

Boise By Bike | Sunset Magazine

I noticed at Big City Coffee today there was an article posted on their doors, it was from the June issue of Sunset magazine and it was named "Boise by Bike" (click for article). I have included some pictures from the article below. It lists the great places Boise has, many of which I frequent on a regular basis.

Boise Greenbelt, Idaho Mountian Touring, Big City Coffee
{photos: John Clark, Jess Thomson via Sunset Magazine}

Father's Day Fun

Picked some fresh flowers in the morning for our family to enjoy, we have some great pink/salmon colored roses.



The new addition to my sisters family... Marley... a Labrador-English Bulldog Mix.



Ryan and his BBQ, used recipes from one of his favorite grilling books.



My mother-in-law bought these for me (as early birthday gifts) at a neighborhood estate sale, going on that day. The two patterns shown are Heirloom and Peony from the Georges Briard Collection.



Also picked up some vintage silver candlesticks, since its an item we don't yet own.

Seattle

My husband and I just took a trip to the great city of Seattle at the beginning of April, and we had a marvelous time (as per usual). I went before him to take an exam for Interior Design certification (NCIDQ). It was a tough test, but I am glad I finally took it. I don't find out for 14 weeks total if I passed any or all of the sections, which is stressful... but at least I am done studying for now.

Day Two (night before last test)
My friend Erin (who is proud to call Seattle her hometown) and her boyfriend, picked me up from my hotel and they took me to Georgetown (a new development in the industrial part of town). In Georgetown we peeked in a few shops and had dinner at Smarty Pants, which is a great place for sandwiches and local brews.

Day Three (after testing)
I was picked up by my husband and his cousin from the Hilton. We then met more family for dinner at Taste of India... a fabulous Indian Restaurant. Where we had the most gigantic Nahn bread we had ever seen. After dinner we went to the University of Washington to see the Cherry Tree's in bloom, and scope out some of its beautiful architecture.

Day Four
We headed to the market (Pikes Public Market), and had breakfast at Lowell's which had a fabulous view of the city. Since the weather was so perfect and sunny.

After breakfast we headed to Discovery Park and hiked all the way to the beach, where we had a excellent view of Mt. Rainer. We then hiked back to the car and toured an open house... a brand new home in Seattle... I was curious of course.

We then headed to the Locks which was packed with people since it was such a sunny day. Though there were no fish to look at. On our way back we stopped by the Flea Market and Festival down in Fremont. I found many new items that could be used for various crafts such as tabaco cards.

Later we went to dinner at Quinn's which is in the Capitol Hill District, there we ate Bone Marrow and Escargot, a nice salad, and Venison sausage (spicy) with a huckleberry sauce, along with a few beers from various parts of the world... very delicious, great design, and atmosphere.

On our back to the car, we stopped at Elysian Brewery where I had a sampler of their standard beers. It was one of the best set-ups for a Brewery/Restaurant we had seen, included local art and a laid back atmosphere.

Day Five

Our morning started at University Village to do some shopping, and of course we had some Starbucks while on our way (isn't there one every mile in seattle?). There where three stores in the shopping center!

After shopping we headed down to Kingfish Cafe (one of seattle's treasures) for some food. Ryan had the fried chicken salad (with sweet potatoes) while I had the Gumbo and fresh cornbread.

Then visited the Seattle Public Library, one of the newer buildings of Modern Architecture in the City. Has a great concept of the ramped levels of bookshelves down to each floor.

Back to the market area, stopping at Nordstrom Rack for some good finds. Bought a couple of t-shirts from a graphic artist at the market who made some fantastic silkscreen prints.

Then back to the house for some fresh (since we are from Idaho) clams and bbq shrimp... was delicious!

Day Six

Fly Home... Can't wait to come back again!