(no subject)
I've been having a hell of a time getting motivated to write. Looks like a Weekend Wrap-Up will have to do.
Thursday: After having been out on both Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I took the opportunity to go out again with Christine on Thursday. Thursday is my night for doing things that involve me alone as Chris goes out to play wargames on Thursdays. Christine is going to be out next week, so this was my last "Kate-free" Thursday of the summer. We originally thought we might hit La Medusa but without reservations we couldn't get a seating before 8:30 and that was just too late. We went over to Geraldine's Counter instead, which is fast becoming my go-to place for a reliable breakfast, lunch or dinner, whichever the case may be.
Friday: With three consecutive nights out under my belt, I (*gasp*) stayed home on Friday night. I made the most of my Kate-free kitchen by going to town on the preserves. I tried out several new recipes including one for Pickled Beets in Red Wine (halfway through prepping the recipe I discovered I was (*double gasp*) out of red wine, so I had to fit in a trip to the store, too), garlic dill pickles, and some preserved peaches (which I also put up in the left over spiced red wine... we'll see how that experiment goes). I still have about 20 peaches left to use in whatever way I might like, so I have to make some decisions about what the heck I'm going to do with those. Stud them with cloves and poach them in cinnamon syrup, perhaps.
I really wanted to make this Tempeh Coconut Curry recipe but was so exhausted from my night of preserving I just didn't have the energy. Chris was sweet and agreed to make it for me, even though the recipe is more fiddly (and involves more chopping) than he normally likes to take on. What a guy!
Saturday: The morning began at Salty's, where we joined the_monkey_king and the lovely shellyinseattle and friends for the third of her three part series of birthday brunches. Baby Heidi was in attendance and I got to not only see her awake for the first time but hold her for a little while. She still has that sweet, fuzzy head of baby hair. I just loved to stroke Kate's fuzzy baby head when she was that age.
Salty's had a whole display case dedicated to an ocean scene made from sugar sculpture.
After Salty's we retired to the house to digest for a bit until it was time to head over to our second event of the day: Jess's Fiesta Grande (and Muy Grande Tequila Showdown). Jess won a catered event through some sort of charity auction for the Junior League of Seattle and so, when we arrived, he had a houseful of cheerful women who had all volunteered to cook, clean, serve, decorate, and otherwise help manage this birthday fiesta. It was a gorgeous day for it: the sky and water were blue, blue, blue, dotted with boats and sea planes. We even saw some distant hot air balloons. The Junior League ladies were relentlessly cheerful and the food, drink, and company were all fantastic.
The boys ended the night on the deck with cigars and fine tequila. Even though it was a long day and we'd had quite a lot of celebrating (and food, oh my god, I must have eaten for hours straight yesterday) it was pretty much the perfect summer day in my book. I'd be hard pressed to think of a better way to spend a sunny Saturday in Seattle.
Thursday: After having been out on both Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I took the opportunity to go out again with Christine on Thursday. Thursday is my night for doing things that involve me alone as Chris goes out to play wargames on Thursdays. Christine is going to be out next week, so this was my last "Kate-free" Thursday of the summer. We originally thought we might hit La Medusa but without reservations we couldn't get a seating before 8:30 and that was just too late. We went over to Geraldine's Counter instead, which is fast becoming my go-to place for a reliable breakfast, lunch or dinner, whichever the case may be.
Friday: With three consecutive nights out under my belt, I (*gasp*) stayed home on Friday night. I made the most of my Kate-free kitchen by going to town on the preserves. I tried out several new recipes including one for Pickled Beets in Red Wine (halfway through prepping the recipe I discovered I was (*double gasp*) out of red wine, so I had to fit in a trip to the store, too), garlic dill pickles, and some preserved peaches (which I also put up in the left over spiced red wine... we'll see how that experiment goes). I still have about 20 peaches left to use in whatever way I might like, so I have to make some decisions about what the heck I'm going to do with those. Stud them with cloves and poach them in cinnamon syrup, perhaps.
I really wanted to make this Tempeh Coconut Curry recipe but was so exhausted from my night of preserving I just didn't have the energy. Chris was sweet and agreed to make it for me, even though the recipe is more fiddly (and involves more chopping) than he normally likes to take on. What a guy!
Saturday: The morning began at Salty's, where we joined the_monkey_king and the lovely shellyinseattle and friends for the third of her three part series of birthday brunches. Baby Heidi was in attendance and I got to not only see her awake for the first time but hold her for a little while. She still has that sweet, fuzzy head of baby hair. I just loved to stroke Kate's fuzzy baby head when she was that age.
Salty's had a whole display case dedicated to an ocean scene made from sugar sculpture.
After Salty's we retired to the house to digest for a bit until it was time to head over to our second event of the day: Jess's Fiesta Grande (and Muy Grande Tequila Showdown). Jess won a catered event through some sort of charity auction for the Junior League of Seattle and so, when we arrived, he had a houseful of cheerful women who had all volunteered to cook, clean, serve, decorate, and otherwise help manage this birthday fiesta. It was a gorgeous day for it: the sky and water were blue, blue, blue, dotted with boats and sea planes. We even saw some distant hot air balloons. The Junior League ladies were relentlessly cheerful and the food, drink, and company were all fantastic.
The boys ended the night on the deck with cigars and fine tequila. Even though it was a long day and we'd had quite a lot of celebrating (and food, oh my god, I must have eaten for hours straight yesterday) it was pretty much the perfect summer day in my book. I'd be hard pressed to think of a better way to spend a sunny Saturday in Seattle.