{Florida Vacation: 2012}

At the beginning of October the three of us, along with my parents, flew to Florida and spent eight glorious days visiting with my step-sister, Theresa, her husband Matt and two wonderful kids, Matthew and Taylor. (and yes, that does check #2 off of my 30 by 30!) It was one of those vacations where so many great memories were made and quality time was spent with people you love. You see, I hadn't seen my sister in 12 years and therefore, had never met my niece and nephew. So in addition to a restful vacation, it was also a long-overdue reunion!

We took in the beach, spent two days at Disney (both Epcot and of course, Magic Kingdom!), shopped at Downtown Disney, ate delicious home cooked meals, hung out in the pool and did a lot of catching up. Plus, the three of us got to spend Sunday afternoon with my dear friend and college roommate, Rebecca, who we haven't seen in 3 years!! Like I said, this was such a special trip, beyond just a lovely vacation!

We spread out the two days at Disney so we could rest up and not feel so overwhelmed. Epcot was our first park and wouldn't you know, we went during the International Food & Wine Festival! As it is, Epcot offers an amazing showcase of eleven countries, where you can feast on cuisine of that region, as well as shops and local experiences you might find there. Some of my favorites include: Germany, France and Morocco (although, they are all phenomenal!) But the festival made it feel as if you were getting a dining experience from all around the world! We had a wonderful day and Claire did fantastic for her first day at an amusement park!

The girls! (Chris sadly couldn't join us at Epcot because of work)

Looking across the beautiful lagoon, beginning our "trip around the world" :)

In China we met Mulan! Claire was quite smitten!

And somewhere around Morocco Jasmine and Aladdin made an appearance!

Hello, lovely!

On Saturday, which was also my parents 22nd anniversary, we introduced Claire to the happiest place on Earth!! I realize that many people have strong opinions as to when you should take kids to Disneyland/World, but I will say that it was such a magical experience for all of us! We got to experience Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, the Teacups, the carousel, the Main Street Parade and Fireworks with our little one, and all without a single complaint from her :) So whether or not she remembers this trip (which she will likely not!), the special memories for us will always be treasured. So maybe her remembering it doesn't matter because we all had an amazing time! Plus, she'll always have the pictures ;)

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

The entire park was completely decorated for Fall, so wonderful!

Mom & I having a Dole Whip, our favorite treat in Hawaii!!

Dad, Mom, Theresa & Taylor

My Sweeties!

Claire loved her first carousel ride!

Happy girl!!

Gorgeous sunset just before the parade

Grandma, Grandpa & the little Princess

Getting ready for the Main Street Electrical Parade!

And finally, some shots from a relaxing and beautiful day at the beach!

Taking her afternoon nap on Mama-melt my heart!

Sweet girl loves the water!

Our last night, shopping at Downtown Disney!

What an awesome week! Now, when can we go back?!?

Seattle Eats

One of my favorite things about visiting Seattle (and Portland) was the incredible variety of food we got to enjoy! Call it luck or fabulous recommendations, but pretty much every meal we shared on our trip was fantastic! It couldn't hurt that I appreciate good food even more now that I'm pregnant...which is saying a lot!

Here's a quick glimpse at some of the delicious fare we enjoyed ~

Byways Cafe - located in the heart of Portland's Pearl District. There is nothing assuming about this tiny diner, but oh wow, do they know how to serve up a good breakfast! I would highly recommend the banana bread pancakes.

Huber's - apparently the oldest restaurant in Portland and full of charm. My husband ordered two of their signatures: the turkey dinner and Spanish coffee (which they light aflame tableside) and claimed that both were wonderful.



Little stand in Pike's Market - So sad I can't remember the name, but we went on the recommendation of a co-worker who used to live in the city and claimed they had the best clam chowder. We devoured shared a bowl of said chowder and a blackened halibut sandwich. Yum!

Le Panier - The "Very French Bakery" located across from Pike's Market and quite possibly one of the best chocolate croissants I have ever tasted!

Wild Ginger - By far the best meal we had all week, making me even more proud to tell you that I found this one on my own! We dined on The Buddha Rolls and potstickers, followed by a few items from their satay bar, the mongolian noodles and the seven flavor beef. And they even suprised us with the chocolate torte for our anniversary. We left in the most blissful food coma!

Top Pot Doughnuts - Seattle's original doughnut and a "must try" according to most people. While it was a nice splurge (being a closet doughnut lover who rarely ever allows myself this treat), I wouldn't call it the best doughnut I've ever had, but good nontheless:)

The Pink Door - This is where we celebrated 3 years of married bliss (and culinary bliss, no doubt!). Not exactly what I expected in terms of atmosphere, but so much better! We dined outside, just overlooking the water and enjoyed the kitchy, retro comfort of the outdoor patio area, which was complete with mismtched vintage tablecloths. Love! They have nightly entertainment, which happened to be live jazz on this particular night. Everything from the pesto lasagna to the strawberry rhubarb crumble were completely amazing!

Macrina Bakery - Great pastries and an amazing {decaf} latte!

The Harbour - "Best fish & chips on Bainbridge Island" or so we were told, so we decided to try it for ourselves. Not only were we pleased with their infamous fish & chips, but Chris also found his favorite beer of the trip!

Delancey -  What can I say really? Delancey is simplicity at it's finest, serving brick oven pizza and a few lovely appetizers. Since I've followed the blog Orangette for so long, I was dying to try the restaurant that her and her husband opened about two years ago and I would venture to say it was so worth the wait! We ordered the Hot Salami with Porcinin mushrooms and barely left a crumb on our plates. And might I suggest that if you still have some room to squeeze in dessert, please do yourself a favor and order the bittersweet chocolate chip cookie with gray sea salt. You can thank me later.

And there you have it, a glimpse at our week of indulgence! The only saving grace that kept us from gaining 5 pounds each last week was the sheer amount of walking we did! City living is like built-in weight management and we loved evey minute:)

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!}