Friendsgiving.

I love Thanksgiving. When a co-worker of mine invited me over to her house to participate in Friendsgiving, I was excited. Thanksgiving in my family has always been pretty low key, and relatively small. This dinner with friends was opposite. There were quite a bit more people than I'm used to. About twenty two if were getting technical here.

There is something special about eating turkey by candlelight while enjoying good conversation and topping the night off with your stomach hurting from a combination of too much food and too much laughter from playing many rounds of Cards Against Humanity.

Leaving Oregon

On Veteran's Day I woke up early and began packing up my things. My little mini getaway was coming to an end. We took one more early morning walk, turned on the fireplace and brewed up a pot of coffee to get the day going. It would be a long drive back to Seattle.

I didn't once get lonely or bored when I was on this trip. I think it's a mighty fine quality to have too! To be able to spend time with yourself and fully enjoy it.

In the Middle of Nowhere, Continued.

I awoke early this morning, but I was actually ok with it for once. The doggie dog slept on top of the bed with me for the entire night which made me happy to know that there would be no surprises found in the cabin when I got out of bed. The dog and I went out for a morning walk shortly after the sun came up. It was chilly this morning, our breath showing the signs that winter is fast approaching. I stumbled out into the desolate resort area wearing blue sweat pants, my burgundy university sweatshirt, and thick fuzzy socks shoved into my gray TOMS. It made me even happier at 6:30 in the morning because I knew no one was awake to witness my stylish outfit. When we got back to the cabin I immediately started a fire (and by “started” I mean adjusted the thermostat so the fire place would turn on), and put some coffee on.

My absolute favorite thing to do when I don’t have to work is to sit around all morning and drink coffee while reading or watching tv. I’m so rushed during the week because I wait til the very last possible minute to get out of bed, and therefore don’t even eat breakfast til I get to work so being able to lounge and do these things is a complete luxury. I read some of my book club book and watched a few episodes of New Girl until the Wi-Fi started to annoy me. When I was sufficiently satisfied with my coffee intake I got dressed and the dog and I headed to Sisters, OR.







It’s a small little town about ten miles away from where I’m staying. It’s full of cutesy shops on a small street front. I took a few photos, looked at a few shops, and then headed back to the cabin.

The rest of the day was pretty low key. I went on a walk and got some great photos. After I got back from Sisters it was relaxing time in the form of more New Girl Episodes, steak dinner, and Risky Business. I leave tomorrow morning, and I am a little sad. It has been so refreshing to get away for a few days and be by myself. The whole experience has been good for the soul. Having the chance to play around with my new camera in such beautiful surroundings has been cathartic. Having a doggy to keep me company has been comforting, and having the open road in front of me with the music blasting has been empowering. I’ve realized that most people don’t take enough time away for themselves, and that this time I do have for myself might not last forever. One day I may find someone who I do want to settle down with and start a life, and when that happens I don’t want to look back and wish I had taken more time for me when I had the opportunity.

Getting away, by myself

Currently I’m sitting on a couch, wine glass on the coffee table, and Teen Witch on the TV. I spent the better part of today driving far, far away from Seattle. I’m not going to lie: these past few weeks (or even months) have been rough. Both my personal life and work life have experienced some major upheavals. I needed a break, but I haven’t been able to take one due to reasons I had no control over. I started to feel really suffocated and stressed out. All that changed this weekend though. It’s a long weekend and I decided two weeks ago that this would be the weekend that I would get away. At first I thought I would fly somewhere warm and lay by a pool for a few days sipping margaritas and reading my kindle. When flight prices weren’t to my liking, I changed my plan. Upon perusal of the deal sites I found an awesome deal on a cabin in central Oregon. It was two nights for the price of one in a cabin that sleeps five people and it was going to be all mine.  Some major “me” time was in order. 

I packed up the car, stole my mom’s cute pup and hit the open road. It was a long drive, but it was broken up by coffee stops, and doggy potty stops. As I got further and further away from Seattle, I felt myself relax a bit. I also noticed myself realizing how off the beaten track this place was going to be. I started to think about how people live so far away from a large city. I’ve always lived within twenty minutes of I-5, and as far as I can tell, the closest thing to a larger city in these parts is a two hour drive.

My whole plan for these few days was to do things I don’t get to do that often or never have time to do. I bought a new fancy schmancy DSLR last week. I used to be really into photography pre digital times. I learned how to develop black and white film in a dark room. I also had a photo of mine featured in a local gallery back home. I’m no pro at this digital camera stuff, but it’s something I want to explore and I figured I could get some great practice in while I’m down here. Get ready for photo overloadJ. I also plan on getting some reading done. I’m behind on my Good Reads goal for the year and that bums me out. I was doing so good for most of the year and then fell behind. Drinking wine while watching movies is another planned task of this long weekend, which doesn’t need any further explanation if you ask me! 

Also, who knew you could get wi-fi in the sticks, but not cell service? It’s shoddy at best, but it’s kind of nice to have when I thought I wouldn’t have internet at all. You still might not see this post til I’m back in Sea town because of the quality of internet..

Wine and lots of birthdays

I started my weekend off by attending an event called "Swirl With Your Girls" at a winery near by. About 20-30 minutes north east of Seattle is a city called Woodinville. This small city is home to over forty wineries. Some of the wineries sprawl across acres of landscaped terrain, and others are so small that they operate out of business parks filled with other small wineries. The event we attended was held at what is considered to be one of the bigger wineries located in Woodinville. It was an all girls event featuring everything girls love: Wine tastings, appetizers, cheese, and shopping!

I picked up a fun gray,cuff style bracelet from one of the vendors. I also ordered the coral necklace from Stella & Dot. I had never heard of Stella & Dot, but I couldn't believe how cute their jewelry was! That little number should be arriving in my mailbox sometime this week.

Mom and I enjoying our ladies night!

 It was a really fun event, and you get a lot of bang for your buck! We were given eight wine tastings and endless amounts of cheese, crackers, and various appetizers. We even got our lips read! We put lipstick on and kissed a piece of paper. The lady who did the readings asked me if I blog, because I should. I thought that was funny considering I have just started to blog. She told me that it would be very positive and upbeat.

The NW has officially received fall-in full force!

 On Saturday afternoon I headed further up north to attend a couple birthday parties. One for a thirty year old girlfriend on Saturday evening, and the other party for a three year old cutie (My best friend's nephew). It was great to see old friends.

Finally got to wear this necklace on Sunday

Holding a friend's adorable little girl!

The birthday girl in the middle!

I also got to take some amazing fall photos this weekend. I keep kicking myself when I'm out running because the fall foliage has been so gorgeous, yet I never have a camera. I made sure to get some pictures this weekend. A lot of these fall photos were taken at a cemetery. Kind of creepy right? haha. It may be at a cemetery, but the location is kept nicely manicured so it works for great pictures!

What did you do this weekend?

Crazy crock pottin!

Fall arrived in Seattle today. I slept with two blankets, and my window closed last night. I also burrowed deep into my bed so that I was so comfortable and warm that when 6:30am rolled around I was less than thrilled to get out of bed and start getting ready for work. It was a foggy, chilly morning in Seattle. I, for the first time this season, brought out one of my winter coats to wear. That's a sad day folks. I was really hoping that it would burn off and we'd end up with blue skies by the afternoon, but no such luck today. It kind of worked out perfectly though because on Monday I took advantage of my day off and whipped up a bunch of Crockpot freezer meals! I got my inspiration from www.SixSistersStuff.com blog. What a fun blog! I can't even believe it's about six sisters, no boys! Anyway, one of the sisters did a post about eight freezer meals in an hour. I decided to take on the challenge, because the results sounded worth the small amount of time.

This is everything I needed from the store to make 7 meals!

I decided to make seven of the eight meals mainly for the fact that I didn't like one of the meals, and seven is a good enough amount of food for me! I went to the grocery store and bought everything needed for those seven meals for right around $75.00! These meals will easily feed four people. I am going to be eating each of these meals for a couple days so it's definitely a good deal because that equals around $10 per meal made. You seriously can't beat that. I made note of what time I started, and began preparing all my meals. I felt so accomplished the further I got into putting meals together, and the six sisters were right, it was actually fun to put them together! Some took mere minutes to complete while others took longer.

Cilantro lime chicken

It took me an hour and fifteen minutes to prepare six of the seven meals. I took a break after the sixth because I needed to go for run before it got dark out. When I returned I started on the final one, but then lost track of time completely because KC finally called!!! It was so amazing to hear his voice. I talked to him while preparing the last one but clearly my focus was on him, and not finishing the final meal as fast as possible.

As you can see in the picture on the right, that's how much room all seven meals take up (the meals are all stacked up on the left side of the freezer. It isn't too bad space wise. I would say that so far the little time spent on the meals has been worth it. I have yet to throw any into the crock pot yet, but I'm planning on cooking up my first one tomorrow! The weather today makes me look forward to the season of crock pot use. Do you have any good crock pot recipes that you make for those cold fall and winter nights? I love trying new recipes.

I LOVE this time of the year!

 Fall is my favorite season. It's perfect weather wise. Here in the Northwest it means that it is still sunny, but cooler so you can pull on comfy sweaters, and fun boots. The sky will be blue, and because of that it makes the leaves on the trees that much more radiant.

I completely missed out on fall last year because I was temporarily down in Georgia for work at the end of the summer right up until Christmas of 2011. If you've ever been down in that area you know that there is only a couple types of weather down there. It is usually hot. When I left Georgia to come back to Seattle in December it was 85 degrees out! Just days before Christmas! Anyway, I didn't realize how stoked I was for fall this year until about a week ago. I spent Saturday shopping for all things Autumn. I got a cute sign for our door, a light up pumpkin, and gourds (to name a few things!). I'm also planning a pumpkin carving night!  I have been loving the pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin beer, and fall scented candles. I can't get enough.

I went for a run after work today through the surrounding neighborhood to soak up some of the amazing colors going on outside. It was one of those days that you feel like you could keep running for a long time because you don't feel tired. I usually run the same route every time, but today I mixed it up! I love that my neighborhood is so distracting for me when I run. I get caught up looking at all the houses that line the leafy streets in Seattle. I look at each one and decide what I do and do not like about them. I would love to live in a big old house someday. One that has been updated, but still has that old feel to it. I used to never think about houses this much, but maybe it's the sign of the times that I'm growing up and see purchasing a house and settling in in the near future.