Saturday, August 31, 2013

The way to my heart:

via hot concentrating men, Juicy Lucy and carrot juice.


Get in ma belly. 

Friday, August 30, 2013

twenty eight :: portland!

An alarm at 4am can be an incredibly confusing time in your life, yes?  Had it not been for Hunter who mumbled "I knew we should have packed last nighttttttt." I would have forgotten the alarm wasn't a mistake rather a swift kick in the bum to get out of bed, pack and make the 4:50a ferry.  Hunter and I still get every bit as giddy stepping on the ferry as we did the first time we took it over to Bremerton.  I don't know how you could get on a boat of that magnitude and not be in awe of the water and views that surround you for 55 minutes.  H always insists we sit outside of the main part of the ferry aka the main part where all the daily commuters claim their bench and are good 10 minutes into their morning snooze. The ferry has little benches in the front where it's still blocked by a wall of windows, but the sides are for the most part open.  I wanted to throw a little small lil baby fit about sitting outside because it was pretty damn cold/windy this particular morning, but seeing this HUGE gigantic shooting star { i'm still not unconvinced it wasn't a meteor of some sort }, a dolphin swimming along side the boat and of course the sunrise over the seattle skyline made it more than worth the few dozen goosebumps we had for the 55 minute ride.




Once we got to Seattle, we had about an hour+ to kill before our train left at 7:30a.  For anyone who might be wondering, there are more coffee/deli shops that aren't open at 5:50am than are open at that hour.  We did some { a lot of } walking around before finding this really great little coffee shop only a block from the Amtrak station.  After we finished up our morning nibbles of breakfast sandwiches { him } and dill scones { her }, it was time to get to the station and check in for our trip!  I clearly was still half asleep half zombie at this point because I took next to no photos, and the ones I did take certainly weren't quality photos.  Sooo let's just pretend I took tons of detail shots of the gold plated clocks, older than old benches and high glorious ceilings, ok?  Ok.


Once on the train, I had a smile plastered on my face.  Hunter gave me the window seat which I sat in until I abused my privilege one too many times { aka fell asleep and missed the views } and handed it over to H for the last part of the train ride.  I really loved our trip there.  It felt very similar to flying, but with more freedom and slower paced.  It was so fun to see all the different views and landscapes.  From farms, to cities to endless water.  The ride to Portland was about 30 minutes shy of what it would have taken to drive there, so this was really a no brainer way to travel to Portland.  If the price was right, I truly think I would travel exclusively by train.   I loved it that much!


When we made it, both of us had finally gained an extra skip in our step and forgot all about our early morning wake up call.  It was so perfect because the Amtrak station was downtown and within walking distance to our hotel!  I didn't take nearly enough { aka none } photos of downtown, so you'll have to trust me when I say the buildings downtown Portland were swoonworthy to the max.  They were original and aged while still looking modern and charming.  Hunter and I compared it a lot to Denver, but their downtown buildings reminded me so much of Denver's Cap Hill area vs Denver's downtown which feels more modern and updated to me.  Our first stop was to check into our hotel at The Nines to drop off our luggage and enjoy { obsess over } our gorg room. 

::via because the photo i took looks no where as good as this one does::
After a minute or two of relaxing, were off!....to the breweries.  Naturally.  We made it to two; Rogue and Tugboat with a stop or two at antique stores and local shops in between.  


When we were finished with our afternoon/early evening tour of Portland, the intention was to freshen up at the hotel and scan through dinner restaurants that came highly recommended by my friend Kori.  Emphasis on the phrase the intention was to.  The sun, few hours of sleep, walking and walking and walking, hours of public transportation and beers caught up to us.  It was clear within the first :30 of stepping foot into the hotel room, that we were there to stay.  We ended up ordering in pizza and watching the Discovery Channel in our cozies all. night. long.    Full disclosure: It was one of my most favorite parts of the entire trip!  I know we missed out on some amazing eats in Portland, but we were able to enjoy our stunning hotel room, relax to the max and veg out eating in bed { gasp! } while watching tv { double gasp! } which is a total treat for two people who prefer tv's out of the bedroom.  But!...it is a fun treat a few times a year.  It's an even bigger treat if you don't have to worry about washing the crumbs out of the bedding the morning after.  

The next morning we slept in, said goodbye to The Nines and popped in and out of different coffee shops, markets, more local shops.  We walked up and down the river, weaved throughout the Pearl District and stuck to our agenda...which was not having an agenda.  


We stopped at Whole Foods to stock up on grapes, heirloom tomato salads and hummus + pitas for our train ride home.  We decided to sit in the observation deck for majority of the ride back to fully soak in the views and learn a little about what we were seeing from the guides.  Next time you see Hunter, ask him about the worlds largest egg.  He can't stop talking about it!  We had a really incredible sunset over the Puget Sound on our ride home.  I probably have close to 2 dozen photos of the sunset in my phone - it was amazing.




Within about 60 seconds of getting back to Seattle, I almost broke Hunter's hand { the train brakes released themselves and we were still standing pretty close to the train and I 100% thought we were in the war }, got hazed by the homeless { one second Hunter gave some money to a homeless vet {{ awww }} and literally the next second we were getting blamed by another homeless man for giving the vet all our weed and not saving any for him.  Apparently on the streets "buck" means dollar AND drugs?  I have no idea. }  We were rather pooped, but still on vacation high.

I loved every. single. second of the trip.  It was so unstructured, go with the flow and relaxing.  It was so us.  


Perfect, indeed.

Monday, August 26, 2013

twenty eight.

"Well.  That sure was a good birthday for you, wasn't it?!"

Direct quote from Hunter the evening of my birthday while looking around the apartment at all the packages, tissue paper, gifts, cards that my friends and family so graciously sent my way from quite literally all over the US.  After we extended Hunter's work contract and we knew we'd for sure be in Bremerton through August, it was a funny feeling knowing I would be spending my birthday in the tippie top corner of Washington.  So far away from all my dearest friends and family.  From the looks of our apartment that next morning, you would have n e v e r  have known there was even a single mile of distance between myself and those closest to me.  Birthday's are funny, right?  Mary and I always talk about how people pop out of the shadows that one day for all sorts of well wishes via text, Facebook, email, phone calls, gifts etc while other's seem to hide in their shells pretending they haven't wished you a happy birthday for 27 straight years in a row.  In the midst of the constant stream of messages, I couldn't help have that little voice creep into my head.  That voice pointing out who had wished you a happy day, and those who hadn't wished you a happy day.  "Wellllll, I've heard from all my aunts and uncles but oneeeeee."   "Will they send a card this year?"  And as quickly as those thoughts creeped into my head, I firmly pushed them right back out.  Focusing on who I didn't hear from was doing a WORLD of disservice to the people who I did hear from.  The people who put so much time, energy and love into letting me know how precious and timeless friendships and relationships can be.  I think that is why I've shied away from birthday's in the past.  It's easy for one person to bring you down even when you have dozens of people there to lift you up.  I want to bottle up every emotion of love and bliss that came from the caring hearts and gracious souls who came out that day to wish me well and carry it with me constantly.  

Last Tuesday was great.  Really, really great.  Hunter worked the night before, so he scooped me up that morning at 7a and took me to a birthday brunch at a great local spot, Hi Lo's { whose name I am CONSTANTLY confusing with LoHi in Denver }  We lucked out and were able to eat in their Volkswagen Van they have parked outside and renovated for people to dine in.  Typically you need reservations at least a week out to sit in there, so we were pretty excited that it was open for us!  Back at home while Hunter caught up on his sleep, I treated myself to a day of a little crocheting & a little veging out with trash tv downstairs in the theatre room.  I beat the heat and went for a nice long afternoon run. I took my time opening and savoring the packages that were sent my way.  After Hunter got up we lounged and lazed around for a while before walking over to Manette for our dinner reservations.  Bremerton doesn't have a huge restaurant scene, and I feel like we have hit up a good 98% of the dinning offered.  However, there is this teeny tiny restaurant, La Fermata, over in Manette we'd walk/drive by fairly often and each time we'd  repeat "We have to check that place out before we leave.  We really need to go there.  Hunter look!  They have an open table right now."  The anticipation was building and building so Hunter booked us reservations for my birthday dinner and it was the most perfect decision!  It was more of an investment dinner vs let's go grab a quick dinner, so not somewhere to go to on the regular.  However, it exactly what one would look for in a birthday experience.  Martini's to start out the night followed up with fresh bread + dipping oils, a lovely antipasti plate and two delightful pasta entrees.  Rose wines and local beers with two glasses of port to wrap up the dinner.  We lucked out and it was a beeeeautiful evening out.  After we ate, we intended on just walking home but came across a little pub with live music so we snuck inside for a few beers and some tunes.  It really was a magical evening.  The walk home, hand in hand with Hunt, a warm scarf around my shoulders in the evening breeze, walking on the bridge with the water sparkling beneath us...well it was every bit as romantic { disgustingly barfy } and picture perfect as it sounds.


The plan for the rest of our evening was to go home and smoke cigars on the patio watching the ferries and waves drift in and out, but we had a 4am alarm set for the 4:50a ferry.  Sleep trumped cigars which was quite possibly the best decision of the night.  So!  My birthday trip this year was an overnight in Portland and traveling there via the Amtrak Train!  If I had a bucket list, taking the train would have been on that list for years and years and years.  I love hearing the story of my parents taking it from Denver { Where they met!  Which I always find to be romantic considering Denver is where Hunt and I met, too. } to Wisconsin for my mom to meet my dad's family for the first time!  When I worked in Denver, the Amtrak station/tracks were diiiirectly behind my office building.  Many mornings I would day dream about them walking hand in hand while loading a train set for Wisconsin.  Just knowing those tracks I would see on my walk into work each morning were same tracks used for their trip would was really special to me.  Hunter had taken the train a few times as a kid, and was totally on board { pun intended } with fulfilling this little adventure desire of mine.

Photos and stories of our Amtrak + Portland adventure to follow.  This post got a little too wordy and long winded to keep going { and going, and going }.  SHOCKING, I know.

Orange you glad I didn't say green?

Move over, green.  There is a new lady in town.









It's everywhere, and I ain't mad.  Oh and what's that?  Yes, I did loose some weight thank for asking.  How much?  About 7 inches.  No, no, no, no, nonononono not of my waist little goose, my hair!  It was about 4 months overdue, but I am appreciating a good new light hairdo while forgetting time after time after time that I don't need a hefty blob of shampoo/conditioner  anymore. 

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Peaced out in Portland.

Hunts and I are spending a relaxed + romantic 24 hours in Portland for my birthday. I know, I know. More birthday talk. Lucky you.


Monday, August 19, 2013

birthday week :: crazy for mt

Hunter and I don't go buck wild for the big holidays like Christmas or Valentine's Day.  We usually set like a $10 - $50 limit and have more fun cooking in with wine and candles than we would splurging on elaborate gifts or flowers.  I'm not exactly sure how it morphed this way, but birthday's have become our holiday to celebrate - to bust out all the stops and really go crazy.  Last year was no exception and Hunt managed to set the bar quite high.  Hunter has his pilot's license and the ability to fly in and out of Steamboat...so that's what we did!  We were able to drive up to Steamboat from Denver on a Friday night, grab breakfast and a quick hike Saturday morning then take off...{ literally! } and fly to Montana early that afternoon!


For many reasons, the whole trip was so intimate and so us.  One of my faaaaavorite parts of the trip was for sure the landing.  Hunter was explaining that because of the plane + flying club his dad owns/is a part of, we would have a rental car waiting for us right when we landed at the airport.  I remember seeing a Yukon/SUV of sorts parked near where we were landing and thought oh that'll be perfect for the 4 of us all weekend!  Wellllllll imagine my surprise when we parked the plane about 100 yards from the SUV, and I turned my head to see someone driving our actual rental car out to us.  A bitchin' purple Mustang convertible.  We laughhhhhed, and laughed and laughed when we realized what our rental car was.  I tell you what though, we had an absolute blast driving that car around the city, interstates and back roads!


The weekend was this blissful combination of hiking, great food, better beer, hot springs, lovely hotels and just memories that equal perfection.  These are the people who make me, me.  Spending my 27th birthday with them was something from a dream.


Sigh.  Perfection.


Sunday, August 18, 2013

birthday week :: balloons, friends and parks oh my!

I truly got the biggest warm fuzzy putting this post together.  The weeks leading up to my 26th birthday I had this nagging thought that wouldn't go away.  This dream of having a huge, big beautiful and colorful birthday party in the park.  When I looked on the calendar and realized my actual birthday would be on a Saturday, it pretty much sealed the deal for me.  The bestest of all best parts?  My parents, uncle Joel and cousin Rebeca were passing through town from ND to CA so all of them + my uncle Craig { who lives in Longmont, CO } were able to join!



I still to this day remember the smallest gestures that made this day a success.  Jaime and Ryan picking up the balloons that I was obsessing over having { I LOVE BALLOONS } on their way to the party.  Mary making cake pops and fruit skewers { which required she cut up cantaloupe which may or may not be her least favorite fruit }.  My girlfriend Amy coming an hour+ early to help with the set up.  Everyone who showed up who helped drink the keg of beer.  My dad going out and buying more beer when we ran out of keg beer.  { YES.  That actually happened. }  My gays + gals bringing their own tent, champagne, blankets and a piƱata.  My aunt hosting Mary + my uncles + parents and I for dinner after the party.  The entire day really was a dream.

And as if Mary hadn't done enough for the day, she filled + edited this video for me.  She's such a show-off BFF.  Wouldn't you agree?


Saturday, August 17, 2013

birthday week :: twentyone

There won't be a whole lot of detail going into this particular post, because wellllll - who wants to hear about someone else's { drunken } 21st birthday?!  We'll just say that I had a really aucking fwesome day with my nearest and dearest, and may or may not have been kicked out of the bar at like 10pm.  Don't worry.  I've learned to hold my alcohol since then.



Friday, August 16, 2013

birthday week :: my most smartest friends

Today's birthday week is honoring my dear dear friends back home, Jim and Eric!  Sadly this video will make sense to maybe 1 in every 30 of you who view it, but it is very likely one of the most thoughtful gifts that I have EVER received, so I just had to post it.  Eric and Jim said a few times over how my birthday present would be coming in the mail and the only thing I was told was that I absolutely had to take a video of myself opening it.

SO.  What the heck was in the box you ask?  About a dozen and a half gifts allllll relating to the movie Drop Dead Gorgeous, which we quote and watch on the regular.  Eric and Jim took our favorite lines from the movie and put a gift/quote to each one.  I will say that in order to understand even a fraction of the gifts that are in the box, you would have had to of seen the movie at least 12+ times, but it is just too good not to post.  I will also beg for forgiveness to the inappropriate jokes dropped and know that the "you're too big to fit in here" is a quote from another of our favorite movies The Sweetest Thing.


Again with the wife beater.  Again with the sweating out of excitement/fear of being on camera.  Again with the being so overwhelmed by love and friendship.

I love you, boys.  



It is so very important to me that you all know I don't go around talking about what is too big to fit where, and dropping 'mental r's' left and right.  I was so close to not even posting this video because of the crude jokes/language that is in it, until I realized this post isn't about the silly quotes from silly movies, rather the thought, intention and love that went into that gift.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

birthday week :: sweet sixteen

I worked at my last job in Denver for 5.5 years.  When I first started I was one of the youngest in the company and THE youngest in my department by a solid 8+ years.  My department would joke relentlessly how I had just gotten my drivers permit and when it came time for department happy hours my boss with a 100% straight face would say "Remember we need to pick a 18 and under bar because Beth can't drink yet."  I was 23 { at the time }.  For my 24th birthday, I came to work tooooooooooooooo this:


Yes, yes.  A fake Sweet 16 birthday on my 24th birthday.  It was all Hannah Montana, Cosmo Girl and clearly pink/purple themed.  It.  Was.  Awesome.   The Taylor Swift card may have been the best part as they all signed it like they would a high school yearbook.  "Stay sweet and never change, girl!"  "Have an AWESOME summer can't wait to see you for our SENIOR YEAR!!!"  But I will tell you what, there was a little Hannah Montana pocket mirror from this day that I used at my desk up until my very last day.  It was perfect for checking teeth before a meeting/after lunch.

Anyway, these are the crazy hooligans and fine folks that I have to thank for this.



Wednesday, August 14, 2013

birthday week :: beth's song

Same birthday, same day, same year as my Morning with Mary.  I headed to work just like I would any other day, and get a phone call from the receptionist "Hey Beth, can you come to the front desk quick?"  Suuuure.  Not a problem.  I just assume she picked out my favorite banana Laffy Taffy from the candy bowl to give me as a birthday gift.  Well good gravy I couldn't have been more wrong.

I have no real words to explain exactly what happened, though singing-vampire-telegram should pretty much wrap it up.  { this was during my big Twilight phase.  keep your judgement to yourself, please and thank you. }  I've tried to figure out how to download this video off my Facebook page, though for the life of me I can only figure out how to get the link to the video.  So, have at it.  It's worth the click.  Teeeeerust me.  




My bestest friend Amie had sent me this little gem at work.  Kate, my darling co-worker, had the right mind to grab my phone and video this scene.  Truly, all I really remember are my cheeks hurting from smiling/laughing so much, and sweating out of sheer panic and excitement.  Here are the lyrics to my personalized song:

I came to say,
today is Beth's birthday.
Time for a big celebration
according to my calculations
time for some birthday congratulations!
Though Amie lives far away,
she's thinking of you today
wishing you Happy Birthday
so she sent me! 
Your very best bud 
I'm vegetarian; I want to suck your blood!
You're the Queen of Graphic Designwho loves good wine
with a cat who's the cross-eyed kind.
You're from North Dakota
Where it's very cold 
and I want the whole world to know.
And I came to say Happy birthday!
Best wishes and many more happy Birthday's.
Would you like to go hideaway?
To somewhere hot and far away?
forget about your birthday 
my, love let me take you away! Ole!
I'll wine and dine you endlessly.
We'll shop and shop endlessly.
We'll spend your money wrecklessly.
I'll take you to Montana with me! Ole!
And if you run far away with me
It'll be your best birthday you see
Tell your boyfriend he is history,
The only one for you is me.
Happy birthday to you. You are too great, why must we wait?
Let's celebrate!

There are a few things I feel compelled to note about this birthday.
{ one} I have to laugh out loud/cringe a little that on my 25th birthday, the best outfit I could come up with was a wife beater and jeans.  Classic Beth.
{ two } I would be remiss to not mention the 30 day relationship I ended the night before this birthday.  I know it's best to leave some things in the past, but I can't help but roll my eyes + laugh as I see photos of this day and am reminded of that dreadful night before.  I feel like I need Jaime by my side to help tell this, because we still laugh about the story to this day.  Let's just say the 45 minutes spent in the park at a picnic he had planned were truly some of the longest 45 minutes of my life.  I will say the picnic + food was incredibly thoughtful but the event as a whole was a disaster.  He had brought white boxed wine, which typically I will be THE first person to buy/drink boxed wine, though I prefer more along the lines of Bota Box, Black Box etc., not necessarily Franzia boxed white WARM wine.  Yes, it was warm white Franzia wine and I drank literally 5+ glasses in what had to have been 7 minutes to actually spit out the words that it was over.  Don't feel too sorry for him, though.  I can assure you he was too stoned to remember any of it.
{ three } My girls Jaime, Sara and Ashley had a killer birthday night planned to celebrate.  Buda Buttons, a comedy show and ending our night to meet up with friends where else?  The Keg.  


{ four } And the final thing to note; you may remember that Hunter and I met through Amie.  Hunter was living in Montana at the time, but had family/friends in CO so visit Denver from time to time.  Hunter and I met in October of 2011, but on this very night, August 20th, 2010 he was in Denver.  Amie was texting me allllll night saying "MY FRIEND HUNTER IS IN TOWN AND HE'S OUT DOWNTOWN DENVER.  BETH.  GO MEET UP WITH HIM!"  I clearly was too busy celebrating days of birth and friends to have responded { read: too tipsy to respond to texts }, but it's so funny/crazzzzy to think that we could have actually met a year and a few months sooner.  Fun fact: I was at The Keg with my friends, and Hunter was out that same night at Giggling Grizzly with his friends.  The Keg is located on Wynkoop and 19th while Giggling Grizzly is on Market and 20th, which makes the two bars and therefore Hunter and I exactly 5 blocks apart on this very night.
MIND = BLOWN.

Epic birthday that 25th was!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

birthday week :: mornings with mary!

My birthday is on August 20th.  For some reason, it wasn't until about 5 years ago that I started acknowledging and actually celebrating my birthday.  It was the cliche excuse with awkwardness of people making a big deal out if it mixed with heavy nostalgia and a side of guilt.  I know, I know and I don't know either.  So.  Being that we are a week out from my 28th, I wanted to dedicate this week to my friends and family who have gone above and beyond to put up with me and my lame requests and make some of my more recent birthdays so uniquely Beth and so damn perfect.  This is me totally stepping out of my box here.  Going from showing up at work one day on your birthday and not breathing a word that it's such to dedicating an entire week to my birthday?  Yea, consider yourself stepped out of, Box.  I really want to push this blog to be more than just pictures of my food and my feet and this seems the perfect way to start.  Plus, that is an odd combination to begin with, but now that I say it out loud, it's even more strange.  

N E WAY.

Less food and feet talk, more birthday talk.  Check.

SO!  Who better to kick this week off than my Mary?  Growing up, birthday mornings were always my favorite.  Our family would do same as most families; breakfast in bed, pancakes in the shape of whatever year we were turning, freshly picked flower etc.  My sister and I lived together for several years throughout college & beyond so we most certainly carried this tradition on.  We'd rush out before the other person was awake, nab their favorite bagel from down the road, stop for coffee + trash magazines.  Flowers, treats...you name it.  Throughout the years, things change and people change.  New traditions are started and old ones seem to slip away.  This year particular I remember feeling extra down and out at not only being away from my parents, but especially my sister.  So what did Mary do?  She brought me coffee, bagels and sweet gifts before work.  Mary has such an eye for details and always finds the perfect ways to show you how much you are loved, and how much she cares.




I seem to have only snapped a few photos of that morning, but it really doesn't matter.  While the few pictures I did take don't say enough, they keep the memory so alive and strong which is really the most important, now isn't it?

Monday, August 12, 2013

i made this :: juice!

Are you guys as distraught as I am that my "i made this" wasn't posted on Sunday like all my other ones, but on MONDAY?  Say what?  You didn't notice?  You hardly read those posts anyway?  Oh ok. That's cool. As you were.


I've been wanting to post our go-to juice recipes for a few weeks now. We are still as obsessed with our Lucy Juicy as the day we got her. We've been sticking with our green smoothie breakfasts and afternoon juice pick-me-up. Here are a few of our favorites!


ORANGE :: carrot + apple + ginger. So simple and so delicious it really doesn't need any additional ingredients. This one is Hunter's most favorite. The carrots are surprisingly sweet when juiced, so I like to throw in an extra knob of ginger or extra parsley to balance out the sweetness. 

GREEN :: bok choy + celery + cucumber + lime + ginger + apple. This green juice is my jam & go to favorite. It can be easily adjusted with broccoli stems, pears, lemons, aragula, parsley etc. 

PINK :: beet + carrot + bok choy + kale + broccoli stem + lemon + ginger. Another of Hunter's favorite. Beets are easy to come by at the markets around here and have them on hand quite often, so this is another easy go-to!

Weee!  Yes, we { I } name our juices by color. It's so much easier that way.

I have my eye on a small hand crank juicer to better juice wheatgrass and herbs. I'm taking suggestions on names for that baby once the time comes!  I mean. Taking suggestions for recipes including wheatgrass/herbs. Yeah. Yeah! That's what I meant. 

Saturday, August 10, 2013

We're baaa-ack!

7 days later we've returned far more tan, with about triple the amounts of scrapes/bruises and thanks to limitless hot running water, finally as clean as we were before we left!







Enjoy these placeholder photos and will be back soon with more pictures + stories!

Happy Saturday, friends!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

insta{nt} replay.

AND WE ARE CAUGHT UP.

::ask hunter how much fun he had watching me arrange/take this photo.  spoiler alert - he had zero fun::
::amazing carrots in our full circle box!::
::tbt//missing my crazy drunken work peeps::
::saturday funday!::
::out in public not in work out clothes is deserving of an instagram::
::consider me lol'ed::
::tuesday workday!::

Monday, August 5, 2013

insta{nt} replay.

...nearly done playing catch up...
::being those assholes who match in public::
::wind - 1 beth - 0::
::amazing view from our b&b on orcas island::
::best kind of abundance to have...hydrangeas abundance!::
::feeling seriously ripped off realizing the inside of blueberries aren't blue::
::true love!::
::stunning sunday evening::
::i feel this great compliment was wasted on an unshowered girl in her gym clothes...but i'll take it!::