GO HAWKS!

I remember when I was little my dad took my brother and me to a Seahawks game. It was back in the Kingdome days and it was awesome. That game was the only Hawks game we went to until they built the new stadium, and the only thing I can remember about the game was how LOUD it was. Even back then, the 12th man was present. I don't remember what year it was. I don't remember who we played. I don't remember if we won or lost. What I DO remember is the noise. The blatant, ear-deafening, crazy, get-off-your-seats NOISE. It was amazing (although I'm pretty sure I didn't fully appreciate it at the time).

Fast forward 15-20 years (holy cow, I'm kind of freaked out I can say that about anything)... the Seahawks are at their peak and it is still CRAZY LOUD. More like ridiculously loud. Teams don't want to play at our house. We move the earth, thank you very much (Beast Quake, anyone?). We have the best defense in the league (Legion of BOOM!) and our coach is a fun guy to boot. Oh, and don't forget that our QB is Russell Wilson. Enough Said.

The past few weeks I've been Hawk-crazy (like almost every Seattleite around these parts) and I've been getting so into the hype and excitement of the big game. I've been reading tons of articles, stalking following the players instagram feeds, watching sportscenter and fox sports one (well, these were always on, but now I just pay attention), even listening to sports talk on the radio. I've become a little obsessed, and it is so much fun. 

I love my Hawks! So. Freaking (stop freakin' call beacon! - Marshawn Lynch). Much. This season has been AMAZING. I got to go to a couple games and the atmosphere in the stadium, especially this year, is unreal. It makes me so proud to be part of this awesome 12th man community. We love our players, every one of them. Whether they talk "too much" in an interview (which, in my opinion, was great - definitely more "classy" than a certain Canadian teenager these days...), or don't want to talk at all, Boss, they are all awesome. Not just the individual players, either. The whole team is awesome. They have each others backs. They win games together. And they love their 12th man. We are with them every game and definitely will be there in New York!

I know my Hawks can do it! We are there to win it all and this time we WILL! We have to because if not my heart just might break in to a million pieces. I kind of feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight! LET'S GO HAWKS! We are with you! Let's bring the BEASTMODE, the LEGION OF BOOM, the 12TH MAN!!! We got this! 

Go Hawks.

Custom Framing - The Easy (and Cheap!) Way

Way back in the day I bought this poster of all the Seattle neighborhoods. I love it, but it took me over a year to put it in a frame so I could enjoy it on the wall. Mostly, because of the price of custom framing! It's ridiculous! 

I finally got with it and decided to figure something else out. The picture was 32x16 so I got a standard poster frame that was 24x36 - the closest I could find. From there I just went to the framing section and asked for help. I wanted a green mat that matched the green on the poster and picked the closest color. Then the lady measured the picture and we ordered the mat. 

I love how it turned out! As for cost, we probably saved at the very least, half of what it would cost to get it custom framed. 

Frame - $20

Mat - $35

Total - $55 

Only $55 for a custom frame! That's pretty sweet in my book. It did take some time to order the mat, but all in all it was a super easy way to frame an awkward sized print. 

Have you ever gotten anything framed professionally? Expensive, right? 

PS Can you believe it's November already?!?!?!

West Elm Finds

I went to West Elm recently for a little shopping day and thought I'd share some of my favorite finds. It was my first time at the downtown Seattle location and I lurvvved it. I loved everything in the store. Seriously. I want it all. Instead, I settled for a few cute little things (more on those later). There was a whole wall of these aqua bottles and honeycomb vases. Please can someone get me one of those stat. 

They had a ton of great light fixtures, but I especially liked this little geometric guy.

On my wish list is a couple of these bell jars... love the shape and think they'd look great in different sizes in a cluster on the table for display.

Salt n' pepper shakers are the one thing that I collect and I loved these little owl guys!

Loved this minty kitchenware.

I really want a lamp like this! The gourd shape is awesome and I love the clear base with contrasting shade.

I'm obsessed with stripes. Enough said.

This rug would look really good in my kitchen. I'm also obsessed with navy.

Navy + stripes! Whhhhhaaat?! The perfect combo all wrapped up in this little toothbrush cup.

Loved this navy jewelry box with gold detail.

This dresser is fantastic with the detail on the drawers.

You know how I feel about distressed wood. This headboard is awesome. And also $1,300.

This pillow case was calling my name! But, I think I'm going to attempt to knit something very similar this fall. Stay tuned...

So what did I purchase? Ever since this trip, I've wanted some antlers. Kim told me about these at West Elm paper mache type antlers for $19 so I was hoping they'd be everything I wished for and more. Just so happens that while checking the clearance section I found this little guy for only $3! He is slightly damaged, but nothing a little coat of spray paint can't cure. So I snatched him up.

I also got this guy (the turtle on the left). Apparently I was on a mission for animals. And they're all male. He's so cute and white and perfect! He's currently residing on a stack of navy vintage books on the mantle!

Those were my West Elm finds. What have you find lately?

Golden Gardens + Paseo

On Saturday after an unexpectedly loooooooooong day at work we went out with our friends Mykell (she was my Maid of Honor) and her bf John. We had such a great time! First, we stopped by Paseo - this amazing walk-up Caribbean restaurant in Ballard. Mykell claimed that they had the BEST sandwiches ever. I was a little skeptical until she said it was cash only. If I've learned anything, cash only restaurants are usually pretty tasty. And she was pretty spot on. Both Zach and I got the #2, which we highly recommend (apparently #1 is the other really good choice). 

We took our sandwiches to go and went on down to Golden Gardens. I had never been before, but heard a lot from Mykell about how much fun it was (and how pretty). It's a really sandy beach and has a lot of fire pits where you can bring your own wood to have a bonfire! We brought stuff for s'mores but didn't get there early enough to grab a spot. Instead, we just laid out our blanket, popped open some brew-skis and ate our glorious sandwiches. They were so messy, but that's how you know they are so good!

We watched the sunset and then it got chilly so we went back to Ballard to Cupcake Royale! We each got something different and they were - you guessed it - delish. 

Clockwise from top left: "The Kate" - Chocolate with Vanilla (Pink) frosting; Chocolate with Mint frosting; Tiramisu; Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel. 

I can't wait to go back to Golden Gardens! I love the beach. Especially when there are bonfires involved. And s'mores. 

Have you been to the beach lately? Had any cupcakes? What's your favorite cash-only restaurant that you just know is the best place to eat?

Gettin' Our Bob Ross On

We had a blast painting one of our favorite landscapes last weekend - the Seattle skyline (although it didn't have any trees or little squirrels). Painting, combined with wine (and healthy appreciation for mustaches - ahem, Colleen, ahem) made for an awesome night at Canvas! - a paint & sip studio in downtown Kirkland! I'd been wanting to go for a while now and even though I'm not the best artist (I'm no Bob Ross - definitely far from it) I love being crafty and creative. 

We had Thai food before we went and then wandered down to the Kirkland waterfront for a quick photo. Sutira turned me on to Thai Iced Coffee! Have you had it? You MUST try it. It. Is. Amazing. I already decided I have to order it every time I have Thai food from now on. It's that good. Think sweetened (and strong) coffee with a dash of heavy cream on top (I never said it was the healthiest thing on the menu).

I really hope that is not a cat on a leash behind us in the above photo... kinda looks like it, no?

On to the wine and painting! It's a little spendy coming in at $40, but Sutira found a living social deal that ended up being about $27/each for a party of four! The deal included two bottles of wine between the four of us and painting, so it wasn't a bad deal at all. Plus, it's more for the experience, right?! And I'm all about experiences. 

We were the first ones there at 6:30, which meant we got the best spot with a view of the instructor. They had very light appetizers (think chips, salsa, grapes, cheese + crackers, pound cake) and a bar with beer and wine. Since we had wine included in our deal, I'm not sure if you have to pay extra to get a drink or not beyond the $40 regular price.

They give you four paintbrushes in various sizes, then you fill up on all your paint. The instructor then teaches you step by step how to paint! It's like a grown up paint by numbers. Pretty awesome. And as you can see, all of our paintings turned out pretty darn amazing (ifidosaysomyself).

Getting our paint on! Colleen is not impressed...

Ready to paint!

The sweet set up (Rule #1: Don't mistake your wine glass for the water glass to clean your paintbrush).

I don't remember what was so funny... but we sure had fun!

Here's a bigger and more elaborate version of what we were painting.

On all the walls they had inspiration of all the different painting they teach. You could actually paint whatever you wanted, but we all figured it would be better to just stick with the instructor. :)

Me and my masterpiece! Yes, my space needle is ginormous (that's what he said?). I just wanted to make sure if was the focal point... totally planned it that way. :)

Sutira and Colleen.

Colleen's masterpiece (can you spot the mustaches?).

Sometimes you just have to turn is upside down.

Ellie's masterpiece.

And here's Sutira's masterpiece already up on the wall at her place!

The whole group!

The whole process went surprisingly smooth since the instructor gives you each step. When you layer all the different pieces like they show you, it's actually pretty easy! Although, with two doctors-to-be and an accountant in our group you probably won't be surprised that we were the last group to finish up our paintings (perfectionists, much?!).

We had a blast, and I would highly recommend going if you want something fun to do with a group (and have the bones to spend). There was even a bachelorette party painting right next to us! I know there are a few other similar places around the Seattle area, too.

And one more time because we did so awesome.

Have you ever been to a place like this? If so, what did you paint? Did you find it easy? Challenging? Frustrating? Do tell!