a movie night under the stars

So I turn nineteen this week (ahh! my last year to live as a "reckless teenager") and about a month ago I had the idea to have a movie night under the stars in my backyard by the lake. I wanted the night to be magical.  And it was. Twinkle lights glistening in the trees.  Frank Sinatra.  Tacos for dinner.  Hot apple cider & coffee.  The perfect fall movie-Dan in Real Life.  Blankets.  Homemade peanut butter ice cream.  And the best part of all, friends.  I proposed the idea to my mom and she thought it sounded like fun.  Plus, she's too nice to ever say "no" to me throwing a party.  Next thing I know we are purchasing strands of lights, renting a popcorn machine and projector, and spending hours in the scrap booking store making invitations. The night came together perfectly. Thanks family for all of your hard work!  Thank you friends for joining me.  I love you all! :)

& tyler joy photography, thank you for taking such wonderful pictures!  All credit to her.

three cheers for the red, white, and blue!

I know, I know, I'm a week late, but I still thought I would post a few pictures from the Fourth of July party. As we waited for the sun to go down in anticipation of the bright lights that would soon fill the night sky, we all played a few games of snake golf and bocce ball. Oh, and of course the holiday weekend is a good excuse to fill yourself with delectable foods, so we didn't hold back from snacking all day. Because this was my family's first time to host an Independence Day party at Windward we didn't quite know what to expect fireworks-wise but we ended up watching about 45 minutes of the shining explosions. The first set was from a distance in the skies of Stevenson Ranch. The second was the largest-the mall's show. The parents were too relaxed to leave the lawn chairs and so stayed in the yard, whether they liked the view or not. The view from the backyard was good, but not quite like that from the bridge. I have seen my fair share of firework shows (actually, I used to avoid them at all costs as a wee little one because I would scream and run away from the loud noises), but I haven't seen a firework show over a lake that reflected on the water so beautifully. The show was almost magical, it just needed patriotic music in the background. Sorry I was too lazy to take pictures of the fireworks!

I would have to say the first Fourth party was a success :)

the joy of summer evenings

During the long, hot summer days I most look forward to the evenings. I love getting creative with barbecue dinners while sitting outside enjoying the cooled-down nights. For quite some time I've been wanting to get mason jars to use as lemonade glasses and finally got around to it this week. As I was looking at another blog I noticed she tied cute ribbon around her jars and couldn't resist doing the same. I made a garlic-basil grilled chicken with salsa (recipe courtesy of Sunset magazine), homemade ultimate guacamole, grilled vegetables, and baked beans. Of course Kobe was on lookout to make sure no strangers intruded on our dinner (not that we would mind...) and Scooter was chewing on a little something he found in the backyard. Once the sun sets it's time to turn on the pretty lights and eat home-made ice cream for dessert. I can't wait to make more yummy food for the fourth tomorrow! I am currently working on the cupcakes. One day I want to have a neighborhood block party like The Sandlot.

I would like to host more dinner parties so please tell me if you'd like to join :)

they don't call it the emerald city for nothing

As most of you know, I love Seattle. That's all. I can't really tell you why exactly. I just do. And so I hope these pictures help you understand a little bit better.

It all began at three a.m on Tuesday morning. No one wants to wake up when your alarm goes off this early unless you know the day ahead of you is going to be amazing. I wanted to wake up and finally be on my way to Seattle. This was Stacey and mine's first vacation without our parents. For being freshman in college that's not bad, eh? When we arrived in Seattle at about ten in the morning we went straight into downtown to get coffee and donuts. Looking through these pictures you might assume that our days revolved around coffee (since we're holding a cup in almost every photo), and I guess it kind of did. When your options are endless it's hard to say "no" sometimes. Anyways, we spent our first day in the city with my aunt in town around the public market and west Seattle. The next couple of days I showed Stacey where I hope to go to school next fall, Seattle Pacific University. I fell more in love the second time visiting. I also got the chance to explore Queen Anne, SPU's own neighborhood. It held more coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, quaint homes, but best of all, my favorite book store of all time. Have you ever seen the movie You've Got Mail? It was just as cute, if not cuter, than Meg Ryan's "Shop Around the Corner." Stacey and I both said we would spend all of our time in there if we go to school in the neighborhood.

Will you all come visit me if I go to school in Seattle, please? :)