But my dog ate it!

I am dogsitting my fur nephew for the week and spoiling him rotten.

He gets to sleep in bed with me, mind you, under the covers too, a little bit of extra food plus a new bone, and I even come home from work early.

Until yesterday.

All bets are off.

We have all heard the excuse. "My dog ate my.."

Retainer.

Yes, I am 26.
Yes, I wear my retainer religiously each night.
A few people find it adorable. (Most don't.)

But after having braces twice (once when I was an "adult") and jaw surgery once, I am obsessed with straight teeth.

Correction, I'm obsessed with teeth in general. Do you know anyone else that keeps a tooth brush in her car and office?


My orthodontist is in San Francisco and closed until next Tuesday. I am having near panic attacks that my teeth will go crooked by then. And I'm still slated to puppy sit until Monday. Will people please stop asking me to dog sit?

Christmas

I am so disappointed by my lack of pictures from my Christmas weekend in Portland. As soon as I arrived I pulled my camera out, turned it on, and realized it wasn't juiced... Oh, and my charger was in Seattle.

Alas, the weekend was very memorable and spent with my immediate family, brother in law, and great friend, Shaya.

Some tears were cried... by the women folk over girly christmas movie.
Some blood was shed... we won't be talking about this. ;-)
Some cookies were eaten... and by some I mean a mass quantity.
And fun was had... by all.


Visits to Portland are getting tougher and tougher. I love being with my family and especially by dog which makes it heartbreaking to leave.

My latest score. Parents do not approve.

Bro in law

 Present of the year goes to Mama Noah with the purchase of the Puppy Bjorn for Vik & Ash

Stocking stuffer of the year.

Fireball

Only a few weeks before I moved to Seattle, I celebrated my friend Matt's birthday like this...



Now nearing the end of month three in my new home, I had a drop in visitor.

The stars aligned and I was able to join Matt and his daughter for lunch with thanks to a mini vacation, instagram, and working near all Seattle tourist stops.

I have been wanting to meet Morgan forever. From stories and pictures I've seen/heard I imagined a little fireball. I was not disappointed. Within minutes of warming her up I learned she is five and a half, has two boyfriends, and doesn't just walk... she runs, skips, bounces, and dances everywhere. A girl after my own heart.

I love parents who are raising their daughters to be independent, kind, and themselves. I have no doubt that Miss Morgan will grow up to be a confident woman... but Lord, help Matt for the next 15 years! I should maybe give him my parent's phone number in case he needs advice.

Sung

I was lucky enough to meet Sung Park early last month and finally hear him sing live at the Triple Door last week. He was beyond outstanding and sang with such soul and conviction.

I cannot wait until his next show.

Six hours later

Kunal is one of my best friends in Seattle and it isn't just because he puts up with my camera all of the time... although that helps.

The other day, what started as after work Christmas shopping turned into a Best Buy exploration.. and then dinner... and then Molly Moon's... and then six hours later I was home.

And he didn't complain once.

Well, maybe once.

Where's Waldo

Introducing part of my content team at work post white elephant exchange.

If you look closely you see:

My work husband.
The man my work husband wants me to love.
Reoccurring stars of #boyswithbowties.
My go-to white elephant gift.

PS. Merry Christmas!

You don't have to be rich

No matter how old I get, there are some concerts I will never forget...

Doobie Brothers
New Kids on the Block
Lady Antebellum at Rodeo Club

and now Prince.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Prince concert at the Tacoma Dome earlier this week and had a fantastic time.

The music was on par, the people watching was spectacular, and my company was memorable.

Adding another date night to the record books. Thanks, Seattle!

Chemistry

I have never used the word "guru" before but my mom is a personality guru. It's fitting. She is kind of a rockstar when it comes to understanding human behavior and helping teams become successful through utilizing their differences.

I was forwarded a personality test and after answer a series of questions I thought "there is no way this has any sort of clue as to who I am." Then I got the results and was in awe.

I posted the main section below and cut out anything that had to do with relationships... sorry, I have to keep some of my cards hidden.

about your personality

You are very curious and you love adventure, either or both intellectual and physical. So when you get interested in something, you can become extremely focused on it, sometimes to the exclusion of all around you. You pursue your interests thoroughly, too, often with originality and exactitude.

You are adaptable, competitive and a problem-solver, as well as skeptical, tough minded and determined. Because you have a lot of energy and tend to be enthusiastic about your theories and projects, you can be very persuasive. You are eager to make an impact on those around you, too, as well as in the wider world.

You are irreverent and highly independent. So you can be oblivious to authority figures, as well as to rules, schedules and social customs. And although you enjoy people and can be charming and humorous, you are not interested in routine social engagements or anyone whom you regard as boring. Instead, you seek stimulating and focused conversations; and you are comfortable being by yourself, pursuing your own many interests.

If you have some time and think this stuff is as intriguing as I do... I recommend taking the test. Sadly, it is part of a dating website. For the singles, I say skip the site and go talk to people at the coffee shop but hey, if online works for you, then have fun!

http://www.chemistry.com/

Family Dinner

Every Sunday, Vik and Ashley host family dinner. It is possibly my favorite time of the week because they are both extraordinary cooks, I get major cuddle sessions with Rudy, and it is the only time I watch TV.

This week they didn't hold back with an over the top meal of roast beef, veggies, and mac & cheese. It left us all in a comatose state for hours after. Still... no regrets.

Dance

There is not a single day that doesn't include dancing.

Anywhere.

Everywhere.

It occurs in the kitchen or car.
It always follows every movie.
And more often then not, if a good song comes on, it happens right then and there.

Go Fish

It's dinner and game night Top of Queen Anne with participants from both my place and the girls next door. I supplied the recipes, Megan cooked the food, and Elyse taught us a new card game. All was going smoothly until competition set it.

I faired well the first round and then got swept during both the second and the third. The true victor was Megan who came out of left field with her card game strategy of calling quickly and early.

Victory will one day be mine.

[Special shout out to BFF, Angela, for continually supplying me with the best simple recipes that always deliver.]

Dirrty

In the past six months, I have been on five third dates. But this is the first date that came with a pop up choir.

It may not have been planned, just a quick stop before dinner at How to Cook a Wolf... but never have I heard a choir sing Dirrty by Christina Aguilera and kill it. That's one for the books.

No Photography Allowed

Home for the weekend and took in a Christmas Concert. This is the one and only shot before the next screen popped up to tell me no cameras allowed.

Bah Humbug.

Broder

To celebrate my dear young dad's 30th birthday, we took him to Broder (SE Portland) for breakfast.

Broder serves the food of my people, Scandinavian, and does it in an intimate location. Food is plated with personality and ingredients top notch. I especially love their potato pancake and desperately want to try their lefsa.

Although my breakfast was great, celebrating dad was better. I feel so honored to be raised by such a man of integrity, intelligence, and passion.

Home for the Holidays

I went home (Portland) for the weekend and arrived just in time for my parent's staff holiday party.

The house was covered in decorations, an amazing chef was cooking in the kitchen, and holiday music sprang from every corner. It was perfect timing for a last minute Portland trip.

Young, Dumb & In Love

A year ago we started planning Ashley's wedding.

Big wedding. Small wedding.
Indoor. Outdoors.
Venue. Dress. Food. DJ. Photographer.

And I insisted on a videographer. Mostly, I insisted on James Polits.

I've seen some of James work and was always impressed. But I knew James. I knew how he would kill himself to make it perfect.

We finally received the video last night and it is perfect.


Ashley + Vik from James Polits on Vimeo.

What I love most about it is the intimate moments James caught. Between a stolen kiss or a quick wink, he recreated that special day in 11 minutes and reminded me what it was all about.

Love. <3

If you are looking for a videographer, there is no one else I would recommend. Between his demeanor the day of the wedding, his interactions pre and post wedding and the final product; he is phenomenal.

A Full on Assault

On Saturday I woke up in the middle of the night and something wasn't right. I was dehydrated, could barely swallow, and felt like I had been punched in the face. After chugging two glasses of water I slipped back into bed.

By morning I had a full on assault on my sinus:
My head was pounding.
My throat was on fire.
I couldn't breath.
I couldn't hear.

I rolled out of bed, drove to the grocery, and quickly loaded a basket with dayquil, nyquil, and an assortment of vitamins.

My big weekend plans? Complete shot.

I spent the rest of the day in bed.
I spent the rest of the next day in bed.

I hoped by Monday, I would be better. It's just a cold, right?

Nope.

On Tuesday, a slight fever came on. A coworker literally begged me to go home.

Wednesday brought on a cough that kept me up all night into Thursday.

Plans were cancelled. Chairs scooted away from me. Everything became miserable.

All this to say... Sorry I haven't written.

I think I'm on the tail end of it all. And I am actually happy to have gotten it. It explains my exhaustion these past few weeks.

For now, I'm off to work and then driving down to Portland for the weekend.

Lucy Chadwick for Zara

Figgy Pudding

Seattle hosts an annual Christmas caroling competition for charity, The Great Figgy Pudding. I didn't sing, obviously, but I did enjoy an evening the freezing cold with friends.

Did I mention that following this event I've been in house arrest due to a terrible cold? Bittersweet.

Lumberjack

'Tis the season for Christmas music, red Starbucks cups, twinkly lights, lit fireplaces and friends and family. I am so excited to be living in Seattle... not because I work for a great company, have a fantastic new home, or live a lifestyle that generally fits me, but because I get to be near my sister, Ashley, and her new husband, Vik, as they experience many firsts.

Like their first Christmas.

It's different than when you are dating...Although that first Christmas is exciting. But in truly sharing their lives (and home) it is a new experience. On this day we set out to find their tree and the perfect ornaments to decorate it with.

Unfortunately, they ditch me for the tree search. (Still bitter.)

But then I saved Vik the joy of tree decoration shopping and took his place with Ashley. He had to suffer at home by watching football. 

Hat: JCrew Cardigan: Splendid Jeans: AG Tomboy