Discovering Gig Harbor

Friday night has become "Date Night" sort of by accident and sort of on purpose. We wanted to have at least 1 night a week just for us to go out and enjoy. Last week, date night was Hale's Alehouse for dinner, followed by African Cats to celebrate Earth Day.

This friday, it was going to be Seattle, but we didn't get all the way there. We were starving so we ended up in Gig Harbor at a tiny Thai dinner. And I mean TINY. The place seated probably under 20 people. The food was good, the price was reasonable. We followed that with a walk along the waterfront. We found a Coffee and Clay house  .  While we didn't paint anything, we enjoyed hot chocolate and looked around. We'll probably be revisiting this. I've always wanted to try one of these things (even though my painting skills are pretty much on par with a 3rd grader).

But the best discovery of the night was a wine bar called Morso. We just stopped in for a drink and dessert, but they had lots of great, reasonably priced things on their menu (flat breads... yummy...). We tried a local cider (Westcott) and were treated to a sample of another local cider (Spire). The Spire cider on tap was on par if not better than any of the UK ciders I've tasted (a personal favorite is Strongbow on tap). I can't wait to go back and enjoy a full glass! Their wine list was extensive (as expected) with lots of local goodies. Dessert was delicious (mine was apple pie with Madascar vanilla ice cream and Sean had a chocolate fudge chip ice cream), the view of the harbor couldn't be beat, and a $5, the dessert prices couldn't be beat! I can't wait to show it to any guests that come visit!

We ended the night with a few hours of Super Mario Brothers on the Wii.

Unforuntately, the clutz in me got the better of me last night though. Before our date night,  I ended up taking a Pete Rose in a parking lot. I managed to scrape up my knee, hand, and elbow. Tonight Sean tweaked his hip. But we're managing to have some fun. You could say we extended date night a bit. We got out again today, grabbing "linner" (late lunch/early dinner) at Hale's again, and then heading off to a movie - FastFive. And it was great.

Now back to an exciting evening of nursing our aching bodies, folding laundry, and playing with Clydas. Who could ask for anything more?

Toilet Paper Woes

Recently Jaime and I bought toilet paper for cheap, it was double ply, and I was reminded of why I never buy crappy toilet paper. I, for a number of years, have firmly believed that no matter how much or how little money I have had that I would never skimp out and buy cheap tp. It can be the difference between a gentle cloud caressing you or a piece of rough sandpaper. Well the stuff that we got feels more like the latter, which I thought was impossible with double ply. Well luckily for us it will be a short lived mistake for both Jaime and I have started cycles of Dr. Natura's Colonaide. And boy does that stuff work. It works rather well and suffice to say it a good portion of my morning does reside in the rest area. This has obviously been the wake up call I needed to remind me of how an amazingly soft toilet paper can just make your day. I mean I do prefer my arse to, you know, not bleed. I would hope that others feel the same. Kind of makes you wonder how those cheap Toilet Paper companies stay in business. Well I do have one theory...with the thousands of high schoolers and drunk college students out there I am sure that many of them have gone tping at least once, if not many more times. Why waste spending your little and hard worked for (begging daddy and mommy) cash on expensive toilet paper to throw over peoples houses and trees, but I digress. I, for one, will never buy cheap toilet paper again.

He's here!

Sean arrived on Sunday of this week. I took Monday and Tuesday off work to help him settle in and to spend time with him and Louise, his friend who helped with the road trip/move. We celebrated his safe home coming with a visit to Safeco park for a Tigers/Mariner's game. The Tigers whooped the Mariners, and the fans were very gracious to us (fans of the other team).

Great food, great game, great company - who could ask for anything more/

  We also did dinner at The Pink Door in Seattle near Pike's Market (which sadly was closed, so we'll have to save it for another day). The dinner was great! Literally, a hole in the wall, The Pink Door is located in an alley, across the alley from a chocolatier's shop. The food was all fresh, seasonal, and a  mix of American Italian. The wine list was incredible - as was the antipasto. It's worth a return trip (and we'll be trying the local chocolate too someday soon)!

Wedding Chronicals- The Great Bridesmaid Debate

This post is more intended for my bridesmaids than anyone else:

Ladies, originally I had said "just wear a black dress that you love". Well... it turns out 90% of you don't actually own a "little black dress" and will be buying a dress anyway.

I'm trying NOT to influence your decisions, as you're already having to travel to be part of the wedding party, BUT I need some feed back.

This is the color (not style) we're looking at:

It's called "Clover", according to Alfred Angelo (the designer of my gown).  Accents would be Ivory and/or Gold, and we'll work the peacock feather into hair accessories that I've already got someone working on.

Check out the links below to get some ideas of what types of dresses I've been leaning towards. I picked out one in each length and a few different neckline styles.
Long/Halter - http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=54933601-1453-4ae6-a212-a5a2aa863b49&categoryID=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65&pg=5&colorId1=009735a7-07a9-4a59-8a4e-d5e6ed509ac9
Tea Length/Strapless (Price is Right! Under $125 plus 15-20% discount) - http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=64fef8ae-84fb-4fbb-8859-b200aa2a56a5&categoryID=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65&pg=5&colorId1=009735a7-07a9-4a59-8a4e-d5e6ed509ac9 (Trim options: Ivory, Harvest Gold, Champagne)
Short/Halter - http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=0fb9a8c5-e7a8-460d-af70-309fa2658761&categoryID=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65&pg=2&colorId1=009735a7-07a9-4a59-8a4e-d5e6ed509ac9

Short/Tank - http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=5144e5a5-967c-4c6c-ad99-96355501a6c5&categoryID=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65&pg=3&colorId1=009735a7-07a9-4a59-8a4e-d5e6ed509ac9 (Most likely Champagne accent)
Short/Strapless - http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=e20c87e4-ea86-4f3e-a34a-cc8d928f6f39&categoryID=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65&pg=4&colorId1=009735a7-07a9-4a59-8a4e-d5e6ed509ac9

Short/Strapless - http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=49987b23-385d-4ef9-8700-0afdc5b1c8bd&categoryID=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65&pg=4&colorId1=009735a7-07a9-4a59-8a4e-d5e6ed509ac9

Keep in mind that everything strapless does have a spaghetti strap option, and wraps (which can be pinned on to over upper arms/shoulders) will be provided for you, no matter what neckline/sleevelength we go with.

Why is everything Alfred Angelo?

I'm leaning toward Alfred Angelo because (even if you order black dresses), we get 15-20% off through them since that's where I got my gown. They are NATIONWIDE and it offer every dress in every size without charging more for plus sizes. And most of their dresses are available in Junior sizes as well, which is vital since my kid sister is part of the gang as a Junior Bridesmaid.

Here's the deal  - check out some of the polls at the bottom of this entry. Feel it out and please, ANSWER HONESTLY. Don't worry about what you think I want to hear. Seriously - if you know me at all, you know that I genuinely want to know what you think when I ask your opinion.

We found a great pervayer on Etsy that will most likely be handling the flower girl's dress.


So let me know what you think- sleep on it, whatever. It's important to me that each of my girls feel as beautiful and confident as they can! It's why I love each of you. Thanks!
I'll be making the final call on this one probably next month, depending on the results (and confirming the date of the wedding). 

If you like one of the dresses linked above, feel free to comment on this blog! Feedback is always welcome!

Almost back together!

So the other day I stumbled across a picture of Sean in his uniform, and I have to admit, it's one of my favorites. He was in a friend's wedding last December (just before he came out to see me in California). So far, it's probably my favorite picture of him in uniform - showing the relaxed, confident, fun-loving guy I know.

I'm so glad Sean and I are hams for the camera. We've been apart since late February. It's been ROUGH. Lots of big changes have been happening and not being able to physically be there for one another leads us to be very appreciative of our families help and support. I really feel like they are all a part of making our dreams come true. And, aside from being flooded with excitement at seeing Sean again soon (next week), I'm also saturated with gratitude for all of our family members who have made my move and our huge leap as a couple possible. He's a really great guy and I can't wait to explore the Pacific Northwest with him.

Climbing Down

Jaime, and her wonderful determination, has lost yet another 1lb this week which is quite an accomplishment considering all the stress from having to finish packing, saying her goodbyes, and dealing with quite a few last minute details before her big move. Right now she is on her way to Port Orchard, WA and I only hope that with having to eat out most the weekend she can continue her downward trend. She is an inspiration to behold. I, on the other hand, have finally gotten over my plateau. Losing 2 lbs this week I feel quite accomplished at 205 lbs. 25 more lbs to go until I hit my goal weight. I have a feeling that in a few weeks when I will have more cookware at my disposal and can actually control exactly what is in my food intake things will start moving forward a little bit smoother. Hopefully another plateau can be avoided and in a 2 months or less I can be at or at least very close to my goal. So all in all things are looking good for us. Overall we have both lost weight and I know that personally I feel much healthier than a few years ago. I can say that Jaime probably feels the same way. Pretty soon we can keep each other more accountable since we will basically be living together. When I move I will start using www.MyFitnessPal.com to keep track of my calories. So to all of you who are trying to lose weight have heart there are plenty of tools out there to use, you just gotta take a few minutes to look.