Whidbey Island is my favorite place to be in stormy weather. Sheltered in the warm and cozy in the cabin, I can watch as the sea and sky both turn a steely grey, and rain and wind lash the windows. Luckily for me, we had perfect stormy fall weather on our last minute weekend trip to the island. Before heading to the cabin, we stopped in Langley for coffee and some bookstore browsing, and I picked up the perfect weekend reading material. For the first time I can remember, we hadn’t packed a ridiculous amount of food, and we wound up having a dinner of chips, salsa, and breakfast sausages. Oh, and plenty of red wine. Not sure what we’d been thinking when we packed food for the weekend, but we survived!
Read moreLife: Week 43
Washington is absolutely killing it with fall this year. Everywhere, there's an absolute riot of vibrant color, the likes of which I can't remember seeing in years! It's been a struggle to stay indoors and work, especially knowing that soon all this color will be gone, and we'll be left with the muted grey of winter until spring. Since Andy had to work for a few hours on Saturday, after running a few errands in Kirkland, I went for a walk along the waterfront. There's something magical about a foggy fall morning, and working from home I don't often get the opportunity to enjoy these occasional spooky mornings. By the afternoon when I headed to Bellevue to meet Andy for lunch at our favorite ramen restaurant near his work, the fog had burned off and the city lit up with the fiery splendor of fall. Hopefully there will be at least one or two more weeks of this dreamy fall color. I'll definitely be getting outside as much as I can while it lasts!
Read moreLife: Week 43
This was a whirlwind of a week! At home, the nights are getting darker, which we've been combating with lots of candles. By Thursday, well before dawn, I was on a flight bound for California for a business trip. After two busy days in Sacramento, and a busy week leading up to the trip, Friday night I caught a train to the Bay Area where Andy was waiting for me for a much needed visit with his sister and her family. We hadn't seen them since April, and especially with a new nephew to meet, I was overjoyed that work provided the perfect excuse for a visit!
Read moreLife: Week 43
This was a very busy, exhausting, and fun week. I spent most of the first half of the week with my sister-in-law and niece, who were visiting from California. We went to the pumpkin patch and carved pumpkins. We had brunch at one of our favorite local restaurants on their first day of brunch service. On her last night in town, Andy and I went out with his sister to one of our favorite local taprooms for dinner and beers.
Thursday, I left very early (at an unspeakable hour) for a two day trip to LA for some training for work. I was very pleasantly surprised by LA, or at least the area of West Hollywood I was in. It was very clean for such a big city, the people were all very friendly and laid-back, the architectural design was all so distinctive and fun, and the food, and even coffee, were excellent. I'd definitely like to go back in the near future for an actual vacation!