Birthday Activities

Kells Irish Pub

It is no secret that Kells is by far my favorite pub in Portland and when I found out a few months ago that they have a sister location in Seattle I insisted to Ryan "I have to go on one of my upcoming trips!" He remembered my request and took me there last Friday night. The Seattle Kells is practically nothing like the Portland Kell's but it's still just as amazing. Have you ever had a Washington Apple? It was our beverage of choice for the night.

Tea Time

On my actual day of birth, we spent the entire morning and early afternoon baking a plethora of cupcakes. Mid afternoon rolled around and being up to my elbows in cupcakes (literally), starving and in need of a hairbrush the boys convinced me to put the spatula down and attend tea time. My friends have shared stories about this illusive tea time for ages and last Saturday I finally was able to experience it for myself. Tea time occurs at The Grill on Broadway, the restaurant its self is gorgeous and their $5 sliders and teas are unbelievably good. 

The birthday kids Brad (on my left) and myself with Brandyn, Ryan and Tiffanie. 

Best Seattle hosts.

There was a pre-event going on at The Grill that night, we had to join in on the fun. Naturally.

After dinner we headed to Red Light Vintage & Costume. That place... ridiculous. I could easily spend way too much money in that store.

Movie Time

After our photo shoot (pictures to come!) we headed out to Purr, a bar on Capital Hill. It is our regular bar of choice, not fully recovered from my week of sickness I  ended up sitting at a table observing for most of the night, secretly excited about going back to the apartment for movie time. We watched a number of movies over the weekend but the birthday night movie choice was Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I had never seen the movie before and I loved it. The awkwardness of the main characters and monologues of Flint the main character kept me laughing again and again. 

Balloons

Party planning has always been my thing. I love to plan parties and I think I'm pretty darn good at it. Despite my natural talent to whimsically create I like to find inspiration to help plan my parties. Pinterest couldn't be more of a godsend in this area. I used to search Google for ideas then copy/paste my finds into my e-mail, before that it was magazine clippings and glue on poster boards (ah the good old days). Today I find creative sparks via Pinterest and throw them into a Word document as a flow board.

Pinterest ideas:

Clips converted to inspiration/flow boards:

These magazine-esque pages help me get detailed about my ideas yet make it possible for quick lists of what I will need for the party. 

My first Pinterest birthday find this year was inspired by this balloon wall. I wanted to create a wall made entirely of balloons in the middle of my friend's apartment (the location that we were having the Katy Perry themed photo shoot). But then I remembered that the room was carpeted so I dug a little deeper and found this idea; hanging balloons from the ceiling using a marble to weigh the balloon down. And so on Friday Sean, Ryan and I started the process of blowing up 144 marble filled balloons. We got about half way through before calling it a night.

Brandyn and Brad finished blowing up the balloons Saturday morning. Unfortunately with all the other birthday activities, the boys did not have enough time to hang the balloons from the ceiling (so curious to try that!). Instead they managed to tape every balloon to the wall. Of course, half way through the photo shoot we tore them down for ground photos anyhow (so I guess it worked out in our favor).

Have you ever made a balloon wall? 

Weekend Recap - Birthday Edition I

This weekend I celebrated my 25th birthday in Seattle with some of my absolute favorite people in the world. I can't wait to share all the stories and photos (ok maybe not all, we took a ridiculous amount of photos and well some stories are just meant for those involved). 

Highlights: Dr. Seuss trees, 144 balloons, 50 cupcakes, Tea Time, a Katy Perry photo shoot, Kell's my favorite Irish pub - Seattle's version, Dance clubs, and of course kid movies that are really adult movies. 

Here's a little teaser:

A Day Trip - Part II

Following the market we each picked a spot to visit. Michael chose Post Alley to see the famous gum wall. It's pretty disgusting but a very traditional tourist attraction.

 My brother David adding his gum to the wall.

Next my siblings and I headed to see the Freemont Troll, my choice. Naturally, we just assumed it was underneath the Freemont bridge, it is not. It's under the Aurora bridge. Luckily we pulled over to look for directions because we ended up pulling onto a dock that had a glorious view of downtown Seattle and the surrounding areas. Sometimes getting "lost" has its perks.

Can you find me? I blended in pretty well. 

Following the troll expedition we went to the downtown Seattle library, my brother David's choice. The architecture and interior decor is extremely compelling. 

Next we headed to the Space Needle, my brother-in-law's choice.

We ended our night with dinner on the water at Fisherman's Restaurant and Bar; my sister's choice as it was her and her husband's honeymoon dinner spot.We all ordered clam chowder, a perfect end to the cold day.

Coming soon: Seattle Surprise Party

A Day Trip - Part I

Yesterday my siblings and I decided to go on a last minute trip to Seattle.

En route:

Once we got to Seattle we decided to make it a tourist day. We headed to Pike Place Market for lunch and overindulgent shopping. My siblings went to Michou for paninis and I headed to Piroshky-Piroshky for their potato-mushroom and onion prioshky. If you've never had a piroshky, you need one. They are heaven folded into a pastry. Seriously. The pastries even look like artistic halos, ok maybe that's a stretch...

After lunch we picked up snacks because when you come to Pike Place you can't leave without visiting/purchasing from their food shops. These are some of my favorite places: 

Chukar Cherries I admittedly have an affair with chocolate, especially dark chocolate. And this stand sells chocolate covered cherries. They are magical, like change your life magical. Having a bad day? Eat some of these bad boys and you'll be back to your chipper self in no time. 

The Confectional Speaking of halos and chocolate... They serve hot chocolate that is literally melted chocolate, not powder added to liquid. Not to mention their cheesecakes.... 

Beecher's Handmade Cheese They serve award winning grown up mac-n-cheese, enough said. OK so maybe I also have to brag about their Flagship Cheddar. This cheddar is currently one of my favorites. Made with cow's milk it has a nutty flavor and you can serve it either sliced or crumble it onto salads. 

Market Spice When I cook I spice almost everything. This market has insanely fresh spices and the variety is prodigious. A must stop for the cook in the family. 

Pappardelle's Pasta I love carbs, I blame my mother. If you're tired of regular pasta this is the place to shop. They sell the most usual but delicious variety of fpastas; from  toasted onion fettuccine to dark chocolate linguine. Yes, dark chocolate linguine. And they serve gluten-free pasta! (soon to come post)

Pike Place Fish Ok so I don't shop here, not being a fan of most seafood and all. But if you're a tourist it's a must stop. They throw fish around and sing songs and have been featured on ABC, NBC and other miscellaneous TV shows.

 Starbuck's Coffee For other Starbuck's enthusiasts this was the first Starbuck's to open up shop, in 1971 in case you were wondering. They don't serve a lot of specialty drinks but it's an interesting stop nonetheless. 

Also there is this one fruit and vegetable stand in the middle of the market that I go to every time and I can never remember the name. But honestly they are the best. 

A shot of their selection:

Outside the Market: 

I have a train to catch so the rest of the trip is to be continued...