{Four} Lovely Years

Four years ago, I wed the love of my life! I am beyond blessed with a husband and partner who is my very best friend, who will move mountains to put a smile on my face, wipes my tears when I've had a bad day, holds my hand through the good and the tough times, rejoices with me over victories, loves me deeply and pursues me every single day! I adore you, Christopher Hansen and am so honored to be your wife! Happy anniversary!

Snapshots of a Babymoon

Merry Monday, lovelies! We're back from our trip and I would love to share a bit of our experience with you, if you like! Naturally, this is just a glimpse of our week, but is was all so lovely! Be warned, this post is pretty heavy on the pics:)

Our week began with a day in Portland, where we started the day with a delicious breakfast at a cute diner and them made our way to Powell's books, which is absolutely a book lovers heaven!!

Later on, we drove to Multnomah Falls, an absolutely breath-taking waterfall!

Then Monday morning, bright and early, we drove the three remaining hours to Seattle, making our first stop Pike's Place Market!

Had an obligatory treat at Le Panier (more on that tomorrow!).

And visited the Space Needle. We got there just before sunset and were able to get pics of the city during the day and some more after dark! Seattle is a beautiful city!!

{Love Mt. Rainier in the background!}

One of our anniversary outings was a trip to the Washington Park Botanical Gardens for a lovely and scenic walk. The weather was absolute perfection!

And on Wednesday we walked by the infamously gross gum wall...it was interesting.

And then rode a ferry over to Bainbridge Island.

Gorgeous Seattle skyline!

And lunched next to the pier. 

After an amazing dinner at Delancey, we made our way to the Ballard Marina to watch the sunset. 

Our last day in Seattle we drove to Bellingham to spend the day with my dear friend, Lael. It was such a delight to see her and explore her charming little town! Sadly, the only pictures I got were of the precious dessert shop she works at!

Did I mention how lucky we were to have amazing weather all week? All-in-all, it was a perfect and lovely getaway and I can hardly believe it's already over!

{Since we experienced culinary bliss this week, I thought that deserved its own post. So, coming tomorrow, Seattle Eats!}

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Three years of marriage and my heart couldn't be happier!

Happy anniversary to the man who still sweeps me off my feet!  I love you!

Babymoon Bound!

Happy Friday, loves! Tomorrow we begin our long awaited road trip to Seattle and we can hardly contain our excitement! Our bags are packed, snacks are prepped and we're hitting the road nice and early. We'll be staying the night in Portland so we can spend Sunday exploring the city. Then Monday morning we will drive the few remaining hours to Seattle and begin our adventures there for the week. We're looking forward to checking out the many lovely recommendations we got from friends and can't wait to share the fun details with you when we return! Have a wonderful week!

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Getting There

This past weekend started out with a pretty hefty to-do list. In preparation for our trip to Seattle, I wanted to get as much done ahead of time so this upcoming week wouldn't be such a blur. Thankfully, just about everything on my list got checked off, with a few things left to do today and tomorrow. Phew, I feel like I can breath a sigh of relief knowing I just need to gracefully get through the week and then it's time to relax!!

And on that note, I don't think I've ever been so prepared for a trip in my entire life! Go me!!

Here's what I accomplished this weekend:

House is clean

Laundry is done and put away

Outfits are {mostly} decided

Travel toiletries are purchased and packed

The Jetta got new rear brakes and an oil change

Hotel reservations are confirmed

Road trip snacks are planned (more on that this week!)

Anniversary cards are purchased

Meals are planned for the week using food we already have 

Dog sitter is confirmed

Oh, the sense of accomplishment ;) Hope you had a delightful weekend!

One Month and Counting!

 

 Wow, with the last few months flying right by, we are now only one month away from our Seattle trip! In addition to celebrating our 3rd anniversary, this trip is also what we are affectionately calling our "babymoon".  Needless to say, we are getting so excited about enjoying our last romantic getaway together before baby comes in the fall. Because I'm certain that once we're back, we'll be busy preparing for our little one's arrival! 

With just a few weeks left to plan, we've just about got all reservations in place, we've settled on a few day trips and our list of restaurants and bakeries to try is a plenty (and of course, additional suggestions are always welcome!)! I am now on the hunt for good portable recipes to pack for the road, because I am not about to chow down on fast food the whole way there! I'm thinking yummy wraps, salads, granola-ish bars and such since we will have a cooler. Healthy recommendations would be gratefully welcome!

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Planners Never Sleep

My oh my, this has been a busy week. But not to worry, I'm still sane-especially considering what I have on my mind lately. You know I'm a planner, right? And planners never sleep...well, figuratively, that is! So naturally, I've already got a head start on planning our anniversary trip/summer vacation of 2011!

Can we just take a second to indulge in the beauty of this lovely city...

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I've already got my sights set on the delightful food at Delancey, Top Pots doughnuts, visiting the original Starbucks, a romantic few days in the San Juan Islands, visiting my dear friend Lael in her hometown of Bellingham and so much more!! Cannot wait!

Easing Back to Reality

Well, the Hansens are officially oldtimers. We just celebrated our second anniversary and it was fantastic!! Although, I always seem to need an extra day to recover from vacation mode and gradually ease myself back to reality. Waking up at the crack of dawn after a lovely trip is no way to begin the week! But alas, reality has hit and I am thankful to have had an incredible long weekend with my husband!

We enjoyed some awesome wine tasting in Amador county, drove to Sorensen's where we stayed in an adorably cozy cabin and spent a day admiring Lake Tahoe. It was perfect! We even rented beach cruisers and rode around the lake to various beaches. And might I add, the weather was absolutely amazing all weekend!

A few highlights from our trip...

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Two years ago today I married my best friend. And I am still completely smitten with him!

Only the Best Will Do

You may remember me posting that I wanted a Belgian waffle maker a while back...well I am a very lucky woman to have a husband who remembers what he reads here on the blog:)

But don't be fooled, he didn't buy me the one I thought I wanted. Oh no my friends, my man researches everything and absolutely insists on having the best! Which is why he says he was willing to wait 5 years for me;) Moving on...

When he looked into the one I originally wanted, he discovered that the standard open and close makers only make waffle crevices up to 3/4 of an inch thick, where a "true" Belgian has 1 inch pockets. (Only my husband!) Apparently the best ones flip upside down, using gravity to create extra deep crevices. And knowing me, he was certain it would drive me crazy to only be able to make one at a time. So...he bought me this double flip Belgian waffle maker!!!




I am so excited this morning to use my new waffle maker AND try Giada's Pancetta and Cinnamon waffle recipe I've been dying to make! Bon appetite!

Pancetta Cinnamon Waffles
recipe from Giada De Laurentiis
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus 1/3 cup, plus extra for greasing the waffle iron
3 (4-ounce) slices pancetta, about 1/4-inch thick, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
3 cups Belgian waffle mix (recommended: Krusteaz)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the walnuts in an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until toasted. Set aside to cool.

Preheat and lightly grease a waffle iron.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until brown and crispy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine waffle mix, eggs, vegetable oil, water, cinnamon, and salt. Using a whisk, blend the ingredients together until smooth. Stir in the pancetta. Pour the batter, using the amount recommended by the waffle iron manufacturer's instructions, into the preheated waffle iron. Cook waffles for 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown.

Place waffles onto serving plates. Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts and drizzle with maple syrup. Serve immediately