2012

Ran everyday for 45 days straight | Got snowed in on top of Queen Anne | Had a blind-date-first-date tell me blogs are ridiculous | Didn't have a second date | Had a first date walk me home all the way up Queen Anne hill | Discovered Lloyd Martin | Learned I love walking to/from work | Danced all night with my girlfriends | Got promoted at work | Started a book club | Went for HH at The Saint and stayed all night | First time bonding/hanging out with my future roommate over tequila | Saw Lady Antebellum in concert again | Mariner's opening game with Oakland A's | Launched Pandora at work | Won an award for Pandora launch |
Walked 14 miles for a sandwich with Elyse | Bought a bike | Took a long lunch to discover Il Corvo below Pike Place Market with girlfriends | Jef with One-F | #happyhourclub | White Water Rafted | Didn't fall out | Got a Seattle libary card | Call me maybe? | Launched pre-sale anniversary sale from 2pm until 6am | Survived pre-sale Anniversary Sale | Capitol Hill Block Party | Thunderstruck | Got promoted again | Survived Anniversary Sale | Saw Aerosmith in concert | Moved next door | Finally bought a community/farm table | Sisters Day | Danced on the Mariner's jumbotron ] Started monthly community dinners | Got addicted to chiropractor adjustments | Interim chiropractor dislocated a rib | Girlfriends getaway in San Francisco | Bourbon & Branch | Mary got married | Fired chiropractor | Denny Blaine Park | Had the best birthday ever | Ashley & Vik bought a house | Saw Pitch Perfect three times in the theater | Voted | Watched Obama get re-elected | Learned to bake a pie | Danced all night to soul music | Mini-Golf, Hole-in-one, Birthday, Pizza, Beer | #stackedwrist | Bought my first bow tie | Wore a bow tie to work | Chopped off all my hair | Christmas Eve | Christmas | Didn't accomplish a single resolution | Ready to start again | 2013

What will you remember most about 2012?

See you in 2013, friends.


xo Dani

Book Club Holiday Party

This month for book club we skipped a monthly read and focused our attention on finding the perfect book for a gift exchange. Instead of the regular white elephant gift, everyone was charged with bringing a wrapped version of their favorite book to pass along. We each pulled a number and went around picking out our gift with an option to steal.

It was so fun to take home something that had value and wasn't a gag gift. Plus, it was an opportunity to get to know each other in a unique way.

For my party planning friends, these slate & chalk place cards are a must!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

I hope you are able to spend today with your family, friends, and loved ones. So often we forget the true meaning of Christmas and get caught up in the presents, foods and countless events.


When I think of Christmas, I think of love. God loving us to send his son. Mary & Joseph loving us to give up so much to raise Jesus. Jesus loving us by devoting his life and mission to saving us. With that love, I have hope. Christmas is a fresh start and a hope for what is to come.

Whether I know you in real life or not. Whether you believe in the same God I believe in or not... I hope you know this Christmas that you are loved.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

I John 3:1-3 (NKJV)

Holiday Fiesta

When +Emily decided to throw a Holiday Fiesta party to show off her carne asada recipe she had been bragging about for the last 6 months all I heard was "costumes." She may never never said that word or insinuated that idea but you must know...any time someone mentions the word "party" that is all I hear. I have a one track mind.

Which is why I showed up in this:

Mistletoe and mustache.

Festive and fiesta.

The correlations are obvious.

I also brought mustaches to share.

It was a decadently fun night that came with amazing food, new friends, old friends, and tequila.

All in all:
The carne asada was brag worthy.
The mustaches were a hoot.
The real victor was the was margarita that was unassuming but deadly.

30 Before 30: Bake a Pie from Scratch

After taking my pie baking class I was confident in making my own for Thanksgiving with my family. I was going to make minor substitutes to the recipe I was taught, using apples instead of pears, but otherwise following it to a T.

The baking processes started perfectly... flour may have been everywhere but I knew I was doing it right. Then we had some minor complications and had to rush the crust into the oven for the pre-bake. When I went to check on it 30 minutes later, the crust had collapsed.

While I was crushed, my sister was rolling on the floor laughing. I left it for the night and thought I wouldn't be showing my dessert the next day.

When I woke the next morning, I decided to go with my slumped crust and filled it with apple filling and ginger streusel. 10 hours later we dug into the pies and it tasted amazing and my pie tin was the first one empty as we had leftovers the next day.

It may not have been the prettiest first try, but it was a valiant effort to be perfected over time.

1. Get a pixie haircut.


2. Go on a vacation alone.


3. Karaoke.


4. Camp.


5. Learn to longboard. Or at least attempt it.


6. Complete a catch on the flying trapeze.


7. Throw a fancy dinner party.


8. Run a marathon. (But I will settle for a half)


9. Visit Canada.


10. Travel to a country I have never been before (not Canada).


11. Revisit my best friend in Florida.


12. See a football game in the south. War Eagle.


13. Learn to grill.


14. Attempt snowboarding... again.


15. Take a cooking class. 
Completed Nov. 11, 2012 at Pantry at Delancy
Pie Ninja
16. Hold my future niece or nephew.


17. Treat my parents.


18. Make a pie from scratch.
Completed Nov 21, 2012 with a Ginger Apple Streusel "Pie"
19. Find the perfect swimsuit.


20. Decorate a christmas tree.


21. Ride a motorcycle.


22. Explore 5 states I have never visited before.


23. Conquer my reoccuring NYE resolution of reading 50 books in one year.


24. Learn to french braid.


25. Take a 2 week vacation: 2 consecutive weeks.


26. Build something... that doesn’t come from Ikea.


27. Do one cartwheel.


28. Matchmake a couple, successfully.


29. Wear my navy blue special occasion Florida dress.


30. Be apart of something momentous, memorable, and national. Subjective... deal with it.

BONUS: Be awesome every day.

Christmas Tree Hunting

Last year I had high expectations for spending someone elses money to get a christmas tree and then watch them decorate... unforunately, it didn't go as planned and they went without me.

But not this year:

Emily invited me along to her adventure of finding THE tree and (between you and me) it was a good thing I went. She wanted a 6ft high tree to fit in her living room but once we got there she only had eyes for 8-9ft high and just as wide. She was bound to be living in a tree house for the next month.

Although I had to burst her bubble a few times, she was resilient... determined to find her one.

And find her we did.

She stood 7ft tall in a corner one of the fields. She had no holes, no brown edges, no sagging limbs and a top perfect for an angel. She was unassuming but beautiful, just waiting for a "She's All That" makeover. Emily knew that this tree could be prom queen with a few strands of lights and jewels to dazzle.

Emily squealed.
Emily hugged her.
Emily named her Edith.

Then Emily took her home.

(Tree Hunting Style: Hoodie circa 2004, chambray shirt, Paige Skyline Skinnies c/o Paige Denim, Hunter boots, tech gloves, red hat)

30 before 30: Take a cooking class.

I have been so close to checking off at least 5 items on my list and then something gets in the way.

But I am getting closer...

For my big 2-7 birthday, my brother and sister gave me a cooking class at The Pantry at Delancy. We were going to learn how to be Pie Ninjas which would come in so handy when I needed to check off another item on my list.

During a 4.5 hour class, we learned the proper way to make pie crust and baking it to french baking standards along with three filling recipes that are great for the winter season.

This kitchen is a great place for classes and I've heard that their community dinners are delicious. (Although, they fill up immediately so act fast.)

More 30 before 30 updates coming soon!

1. Get a pixie haircut.


2. Go on a vacation alone.


3. Karaoke.


4. Camp.


5. Learn to longboard. Or at least attempt it.


6. Complete a catch on the flying trapeze.


7. Throw a fancy dinner party.


8. Run a marathon. (But I will settle for a half)


9. Visit Canada.


10. Travel to a country I have never been before (not Canada).


11. Revisit my best friend in Florida.


12. See a football game in the south. War Eagle.


13. Learn to grill.


14. Attempt snowboarding... again.


15. Take a cooking class. 
Completed Nov. 11, 2012 at Pantry at Delancy
Pie Ninja


16. Hold my future niece or nephew.


17. Treat my parents.


18. Make a pie from scratch.


19. Find the perfect swimsuit.


20. Decorate a christmas tree.


21. Ride a motorcycle.


22. Explore 5 states I have never visited before.


23. Conquer my reoccuring NYE resolution of reading 50 books in one year.


24. Learn to french braid.


25. Take a 2 week vacation: 2 consecutive weeks.


26. Build something... that doesn’t come from Ikea.


27. Do one cartwheel.


28. Matchmake a couple, successfully.


29. Wear my navy blue special occasion Florida dress.


30. Be apart of something momentous, memorable, and national. Subjective... deal with it.

BONUS: Be awesome every day.

Community Table

When I moved a few months ago, I had the opportunity to get a new kitchen table. I had an old table sitting in storage in Portland but in my new place I had space for a farm type community table.

I have always dreamed of having a table that I could bring my dearest friends together to enjoy each other's company over dinner and drinks. And not too long ago, I finally made it happen.

I am not an avid fan of cooking. I do enjoy it occasionally but it mostly stresses me out, specifically if I am cooking for others. It makes me feel extremely self conscious.

I invited my inner circle over for a simple meal of pesto/garlic chicken, sweet potatoes, and salad. Everything was made by scratch and cooked with love... and it turned out better than I could have imagined. (Special thanks to my sous chef and roommate)

The real test was my brother in law, a passionately talented cook, who later asked my sister... "That chicken was really good! Where do you think Danielle bought it from?" I'll take that success.

I love the promise of my community table and the hope of many more dinners yet to come. It is my goal to start doing it not as one off get togethers but reoccurring events. Perhaps with 2013, I will start with just once a month and increase from there.

And with that... a cheers and hope that you may one day join.

Super Deli & Grocery

You wouldn't expect a convenience store mart in West Seattle to contain one of the most epic selections of hard to find craft beers and yet there is one. Super Deli & Grocery Mart has the appearance of a 7/11 but once you walk in are surrounded by aisles of beer, a selection of craft beers on tap, and apparently, a decent sub shop.

It would be any beer enthusiast's heaven and even I, the occasional drinker, fell in love with a pint of Dog Fish Strawberry/Honey ale.

Well worth the trip from Queen Anne to pick up a growler or two or just enjoy a pint while perusing the vast selection. Care to join me?