The Proposal (and a ring pic!)

My friend Cari, over at Cari & Ryan, requested that I blog about the proposal story and share ring pics.  And I can't say no to her, because her husband is deployed, her dog ate all her shoes, and she's having a rough week.  So here you go Cari ... I hope you're having a better week :)  

So, I knew that the ring was being made, because it's pretty hard to hide anything financial-wise when you are deployed and your significant other is in charge of your finances.  And we had previously talked to our jeweler to get some estimates.  J.'s good friend, G.S., has a younger brother who sets diamonds at Tiffany's and also designs his own rings on the side.  I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted, so this seemed like the best way to go.  Plus, he's a friend and J. had seen his work before, so felt confident we would be getting a good quality ring.  They kept me out of the loop, but I sent T.S. a few pictures of what I liked so he could get some ideas.

So, I knew the ring was being made.  And J. came home from deployment.  But no packages had shown up at the house, so I didn't think it was going to happen immediately.

They returned on a Thursday (and I have pics, I could blog about that too!).  I can't remember what we did on Friday and Saturday nights, but I am pretty sure we went out with friends.  Sunday we stayed home and got a bunch of stuff done.  And J. offered to make dinner.  

On our very first date, way back in January 2006, J. made me dinner instead of taking me out.  It was this delicious chicken, in a creamy sauce, over angel hair pasta.  I'd never had it before, nor seen a recipe anywhere online, until Pinterest!  So, when he proposed, he made me the same dinner and then asked me to marry him afterwards.  And he got me some flowers too!  It was low key which was the way I wanted it.  I was terrified he was going to do it at the homecoming in front of everyone ... the only thing making me feel better was knowing that the ring couldn't be shipped to the boat so he most likely wouldn't have the ring yet!  Haha.

Sorry for the iPhone pic ... I don't have a better one!

It's an oval diamond with a halo of diamonds and a split band.  

Maybe tomorrow I will actually blog about the homecoming, Christmas, our week in Houston or 2012.  

Happy Wednesday friends!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2012! 

I never intended to take such a long break from blogging,

 but the month of December was BUSY around here.  

Since my last post, I ... 

worked a lot at the end of November/beginning of December 

saw The Nutcracker at the Pacific Northwest Ballet 

welcomed J. home from his first deployment! 

GOT ENGAGED!!!!!

watched Miss Lucy graduate from Basic Training 

had a very fun and full week in Indianapolis

bought my wedding dress

had a wonderful Christmas in Louisville

and a wonderful week in Houston visiting more family :)

I have lots to blog about ... like wedding plans, Christmas fun, 2011 in review and my goals for 2012.  I can't wait to catch up on all your blogs as well!  I hope your holiday season was filled with family, friends and fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Friends! 

I hope you had a wonderful day and were able to spend it with your loved ones!  

I could write out a list of things I'm thankful for, but that would take all night and I know I'd forget a few things.  So, I'll sum it up with this ...

for the opportunity to spend time with my family, for the warm weather, for the sunshine and for the fact that today brings me one day closer to the end of this deployment!

Ten on Tuesday - Turkey Time!

Happy Tuesday Friends!  

And Happy Thanksgiving week!  I've made it to my aunt and uncle's in Houston and I'm ready to start celebrating :)  And relaxing.  And Christmas shopping!  I love the holidays.  But first, I need to participate in this week's Ten on Tuesday.  The questions for this week were provided by one of my favorite bloggers, E., and are about Thanksgiving (how fitting!).  To join in the fun, visit Roots and Rings to find the questions and link up!  

1.  What are you doing for Thanksgiving this year?
For the first time ever, my sister and I are visiting my aunt, uncle and cousin in Houston and spending Thanksgiving with them!  I am so excited to be doing something new and also to have an extra week to spend with my family this year.  My grandma is not in the best health and with the big move coming up, I am so happy for the opportunity to spend some extra time with her this year.

2.  What are you most thankful for this year?
I have a lot to be thankful for this year ...
1.  My amazing family (they're at the top of the list every year!)
2.  My fabulous friends - both old and new :)
3.  J. - he's a saint for putting up with me (but then again, I also put up with him!)
4.  Miss Addy and Miss Lucy - who I would not have survived this deployment without, those little girls are hands down the best thing in my life right now :)
5.  And I am SO thankful that I have almost survived my first deployment ... the past few months have had their ups and downs, but they are almost over and for that I am so thankful.

3.  Do you have any traditions on Thanksgiving?  The parade?  Football?  Long naps?
Well we used to spend every Thanksgiving at my mom's house with her side of the family, but that changed last year when I moved out west.  I don't have any particular traditions, per se, but I like to put up my Christmas decorations as soon as Thanksgiving is over and I've always wanted to go out shopping at midnight or something crazy like that for Black Friday, but I don't think I could handle the crowds.  Now that we live out west, I think we should start a skiing on Black Friday tradition!

4.  Is it called stuffing or dressing?  Is it in the bird or a separate dish?
I call it stuffing ... I don't particularly care for it, so I don't put much thought into it.  I've never made a turkey, but I think I'd make the stuffing separately.

5.  Do you cook?
I do, but not usually for Thanksgiving!  I leave it to the pros ... you know, the one's who have been doing it every year for the past 20+ years :)

6.  What is your favorite dish?
My mom makes an amazing sweet potato casserole.  YUM.

7.  What is your dessert preference?
Well, I love dessert, but not really Thanksgiving desserts.  I am not a big pie person.  I think I'd like a pumpkin cheesecake or piece of apple pie on Thanksgiving.

8.  What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?
I think I'd have to say the last one we spent with my dad.  My parents had just gotten divorced but he came to Thanksgiving and he was so thankful to be there with us that year and it ended up being our last holiday with him.  Last Thanksgiving was also a good memory - we stayed out in Washington and had a big Friendsgiving.  The boys fried a turkey, everyone brought their favorite Thanksgiving dish and we all drank wine and played games.  It was a lot of fun!

9.  Do you plan to shop on Black Friday?
Maybe online?  I am not really sure.  My cousin and sister aren't here yet, so we haven't discussed our itinerary yet!

10.  What are you most dreading about Thanksgiving this year?
Flying back to Washington's cold and rainy weather on Sunday!

Purse Love

It's no secret that I have a slight obsession with Marc by Marc Jacobs.  I've got a few purses, a work bag, a laptop case, an iPhone cover, sunglasses and perfume ... ummm can we say obsessed?

Unfortunately, since we moved out west, my budget no longer includes a Marc fund.  So I hadn't been keeping up with Marc, because I didn't want to tempt myself.  And then along came Pinterest.  And a trip to Chicago.  And now I've got serious purse envy.  Look at these little beauties that I've got my eye on:

Classic Q Karlie

Classic Q Karlie

Classic Q Lil Ukita

And I'm also crushing on this Tory Burch beauty:

Reva Clutch

Now let's just hope Santa reads my blog :)

What's on your Christmas list this year? 

Washington Wine Country - Day 2

We slept in on Day 2 and had a delicious breakfast before heading out for our second day of tasting.  Staying with parents = the royal treatment :)  We headed back into downtown Yakima for our first stop of the day - Gilbert Cellars.  Their tasting menu features 5 wines and you can also taste their limited release wines for an additional fee.  Their menu features mainly red wines, so again, if you aren't a big red wine drinker you might want to skip Gilbert.  However, if you like reds .... go!  The tasting room is super cute, the service was fantastic and the wines were delicious.  It was a great start to our day. 

I loved the writing on the windows

M.C., R., me

(I'm looking a little special here)

After Gilbert, we headed to Dineen Vineyards.  While I really enjoyed all of the wineries we went to, we had the best time at Dineen.  They were hosting their annual open house and we got the royal treatment.  They had a cheese and cracker bar, free tastes (which were more like half glass pours), a buffet of delicious salads and pizza straight from the brick oven.  It was amazing.

The view from Dineen

The tasting room

Grapes on the vine

Dineen Vineyards truck

After we'd eaten our fair share of pizza, salad, cheese and tasted our fair share of wine, we headed off Windy Point Vineyards. 

The tasting room was in such a neat building.

With a fabulous view ... 

I bought two bottles of wine here and am very excited to drink them with J. returns!

And with that, we headed back into Yakima to have dinner with M.C.'s parents.  We loved all the wineries, but the highlight of the trip might have been our home-cooked dinner ... it had been awhile since we'd had such a delicious, home-cooked meal (and complete with dessert!)  

I told you, staying with parents = royal treatment :) 

Have any of you been out to Yakima Valley?  Do you have any winery recommendations for our next trip?

Washington Wine Country - Day 1

I started October on the right foot ... wine tasting in Yakima!  Visiting Washington Wine Country has been on my to-do ever since we moved to Washington.  I was excited to not only cross another thing off my Seattle Bucket List, but to do it with a local!  R.'s friend, M.C., grew up in Yakima and graciously invited us to spend the weekend at her parent's house.  We packed up the car (and her super cute dog) and headed out on Friday evening.  We woke up early Saturday and hit the road.

We started our tour at Desert Wind Winery in Prosser.

I loved the style of the tasting room!

R. and M.C.

Our second stop was Cote Bonneville.  This winery was SO good, but also not your typical wine tasting experience.  We drove past the winery several times before finally matching the address on the mailbox with the address we got from the winemakers.  We pulled up to their house(!) and were ushered into the barn for our private tasting (it's by appointment only so call ahead if you plan on going).  We tasted with the mother of the winemaker and met the winemaker as well as their two dogs. It was a really personalized and unique experience, but the wines were a little bit out of my price range.  

Our third stop was Cultura Wine:

The adorable tasting room

I liked their wine glasses :) (and their wine!)

And their floral arrangements

Loved this fall inspired centerpiece! 

Cultura is red wines only, so that is something to keep in mind if you aren't a big red wine drinker!  The tasting room is open every weekend or you can call for an appointment!

Apple trees across from Cultura

After Cultura we headed back into Yakima to attend the Yakima Fresh Hop Ale Festival - it's considered one of the nation's ten best fall beer festivals!  The "tastes" of beer were pretty decent pours, so we sampled a few beers, had some pizza and listened to live music!  Then we headed over to M.C.'s sister's house to spend some time with them and then headed home to rest up for Day 2 in wine country!