Field Trip

Until December 26th, 2014 - I had never been to Whidbey Island. EVER. I've heard so many great things about it, so finally we went!!!

Getting to Whidbey is easy. I-5 north, follow signs to Mukilteo, take the Mukilteo/Clinton ferry - about 15 minutes and boom! You're on the island. We did a bunch of driving around to check the place out on the 26th - then rounded our way back to Langley for the night.

We booked an overnight at the Inn at Langley, just on the main street of the cute cute downtown and had a fabulous time. They do a prepared dinner on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights that can be reserved when you book your room. There is one seating at 7 and dinner lasts a few hours. You can add a wine pairing for all the courses or a "light" wine pairing if perhaps you drank yourself silly over the Holidays and couldn't possibly shove any more champagne and wine down your throat. The whole thing is really well done and the chef and staff are all fun to talk to and the food is good plus kind of fun little experiments, etc. Their dining area is really well designed and cozy and romantic - definitely worth going.

Breakfast is included in the room rate and it is also served in the main restaurant space. It is a really good selection of muffins, rolls, fruit, salmon (lox), eggs and meat and cheese options, toast, all the good stuff along with coffee and tea of course.

They also have a nice spa (or so I hear). We didn't make time to use the spa so we just walked by it with yearning. 

On Saturday the 27th, we meandered all over Langley and checked out all the shops and galleries, and had a lovely lunch at this cute little french restaurant called Prima Bistro! 

And then, it turns out, we bought a painting at this cute gallery called edit. It only just opened about 6 weeks ago and we had seen one of this guys paintings at the Inn and liked it so we stopped in and met him and looked at the rest of his work - which is fantastic. And now we own one of his pieces. Here is our painting which I am posting from his site because I haven't yet take a photo of it hung in our apartment. We are totally in love with it. If you get up to Whidbey, go see him.

I took some photo's of the Inn while we were walking around. It was a little rainy and cloudy but we had an excellent time. 

So - this is our room #12. Great room but if I were in charge of room decor, I would have selected
different furniture to make it feel more cozy. I think they were going for a light and airy approach, but
most of the year in the northwest is cloudy and rainy and the rooms would have been more suited to
a little more substantial furniture next to the bed, and softer more clubby chairs at the fireplace.
Just my opinion.

This is the bathroom from the sink area (double sinks) thru the toilet area with the shower and tub
beyond. The tub is a huge soaking tub so really nice to sit in and look over the water.

View from our deck

Inn from the water side. There is a walkway that meanders from the Inn to the town along the water.

Streetside entrance to the garden and dining room. Beautiful!
Must be fab in the summer.

Tightly trimmed hedge.

2015? Already?

Happy New Year! Seriously - HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A friend of mine who was diagnosed with breast cancer a month or so before me posted on her facebook page, "Hey, fuck you 2014! Happy New Year 2015!" - I thought - my sentiments exactly!

Pretty happy to be done and moving on to a better year - although I will always thank 2014 for the good outcome to a crap situation. So thanks, and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

New Years Resolutions:

I didn't put a lot of thought into it, but a few things are jumping out at me.

1. Grow my hair out. That's sort of a joke. Haaaaaa- It's so damn short still, but I can't wear the wig one minute more, so as of yesterday - it's me in my real hair all the time now and in whatever the hell color it is,for now. It's hideous, but whatever, deal with it. As it grows out, most of the white freaky Guy Fiori nastiness will go away - apparently one more thing that people don't really tell you is that chemo can strip the color right out of your hair and when it grows back it often comes in white or gray. So pretty. As if I haven't had enough. 

2. Get it all back together. This is sort of a general statement but what I mean is, I'm going to pay close attention to feeling good again. I still have a lot of weird chemo related side effects - some are not really a big deal, some are about to kill me..... but I will focus on getting everything back in proper order - and getting back on a really good diet and exercise schedule and living the good life. Radiation is almost over and it hasn't been bad at all - but after that's done (in 2 weeks), I wont be spending nearly as much time at the doctors and will have a lot more time to invest in my well being. Hhhhommmmmm.

3. Pay closer attention to my wardrobe. I plan to NOT get sucked too far in by the insti-fashions at Zara, H & M, the Gap, etc. All of them are just fine for trendy "not meant to last" styles, but I get so disappointed by how those things wash, dry, lose their color, etc. I will TRY HARD to buy fewer and better things so that they will last and I will look better. Also, while working on #1 and #2, I will attempt to plan out my clothes the night before so I don't run around like a jackass every morning wondering what the hell I'm going to wear. 

4. I will pay WAY more attention to the effects of aging - sigh! I feel like I'm doing exactly the opposite of what I am supposed to be doing in regard to aging. When I was young (and had perky skin) I spent way more time on hair and make-up and lotions and potions. Now that I'm older (and less perky), I hardly do anything about anything. Granted, I've been a little busy this year looking and feeling like shit, but new year - new me! I'm getting back on board. It might take me longer to get ready in the morning, but c'mon - this has to happen. I really have to get the cute back.

5. No more talk about the big C. Now that this cancer thing is in the rear view mirror -  I'm done talking about it here. Unless you ask, then I will. But, I'm really so sick and tired of it that I'm ready to move on to way more interesting topics. One year of that was plenty! So, cancer - fuck off. I'm breaking up with you!

Ok, that's it for resolutions - Did you make any?

Yay 2015! Bring it!

The importance of flashlights

Getting through cancer - easy.
Getting through the installation of a couple of overhead lights - well, it was touch and go for a while.

Joking! We're fine.

These two completely bad photo's show Kit trying to get the distance from the ceiling correct on our new lights. So I'm running around looking from afar, and taking pics, so he could see too...... but it was dark because c'mon, let's not electrocute the guy... and the flashlight was way too bright, hence the shitty photos.... and displeased husband. But in the end, turned out great.

Will post final photos as soon as the lightbulbs arrive.

No light, rickety ladder... tired arm... hurry up!!!!!
Looks good!

No, seriously, HURRY UP!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today my beautiful Mom is 75. Love her!

Age 8 I think

College pic with my Dad

This summer on our cruise

10 days til full PANIC

So, Thanksgiving is coming! Are you ready?

I'm here to help you with one really really great reminder - it's about how to cut the bird once you get it out of the oven or off the smoker. 

More often than not, I've witnessed the complete destruction of beauty when some novice starts sawing away at the turkey with no skills and a bad knife, so here's how to stop the madness before someone in your family wrecks the Holiday.

Martha Stewart photograph

As a public service: Get to www.marthastewart.com immediately and download the instructions for HOW TO CARVE A TURKEY. It's going to keep you sane - trust me.

You're welcome!

Road Rage

This dipshit hit and ran my car this morning on the way to work. He came blazing into my lane without seeing me, without using a blinker and without a brain! I layed on the horn, hit the brakes, and and....and....and......boom, he almost missed me, but sigh, the back end of his big stupid truck hit the front end of my pretty pretty car.

I had to then speed up to follow him, thinking that he would pull over to the side of the road to exchange info. Nope. He turned off the road down a side street. So, I thought, well maybe he wants to get off the road to exchange info. Nope. He's totally trying to dodge me. I followed him for a while, honking and gesturing for him to pull over. He gave me the big NO, the hand and possibly the finger and kept driving, ending up back on the road we originally turned off. Then I gave up because what if he was a big aggressive douchebag who might punch me or pull out a gun or who knows what.....obviously he had no interest in exchanging info or talking to me at all. Probably uninsured - why else would he act like that. Creep.

So I got out my phone and got the pic of his license plate and his truck. What a dick! I'm pretty sure karma is coming for him.

I'm now waiting for the insurance company to come see what the damage looks like and if they require it, I will fill out a police report.

Happy Wednesday!

Another delightful little Seattle drinking spot

Last night I met my friend Kristie for a little dinner at Le Caviste! It's at 1919 7th Avenue, right up the street from where I live in downtown Seattle.  Here is what their website says:

Le Caviste is a bistrot-à-vins, a wine-bar, located in downtown Seattle offering a broad selection of wines from France, along with wine-based apéritifs. It is a warm and inviting refuge in the bustling heart of the city, where wines are chosen with care and priced to drink every day, accompanied by charcuterie, AOC fromages, and a few specialty plates from its tiny kitchen 

Le Caviste also offers wines to carry out & drink at home 

The wines are selected to faithfully represent their regional character and reflect the good practices of their makers. Whenever possible we prefer to source wines produced using monitored organic methods and sustainable farming techniques.

And here is what the Stranger says:Le Caviste is Paris in the Spring

This is the kind of neighborhood wine bar that I love, and the article in the Stranger pretty much says it all. It's just a cozy little spot with a great wine and food menu, simple, french, not overly done. And the decor is sparse, lots of wine boxes around, perfect for drinking wine and having a good catch up! Love this place - so glad it's nearby, can't wait to take Kit over there. The photo's below are from the internet - I didn't take a single one so no credit to me. If you haven't stopped in here - get over there asap! 

interior

Photo credit: The Stranger
David Butler - we met him last night - very nice fellow!

We ate this - best thing ever - mushrooms, egg, bread crumbs! Yum!
Photo from Bin Notes.

We ate this pate and meat extravaganza too - excellent! Photo from Yelp.