A Garden Party

Every year the women in my church congregation get together and have a Garden Party. This has been a tradition for as long as I can remember and this year I had the privilege of hosting it at my home. In years past, it has been held at some pretty beautiful homes with equally stunning gardens so I felt a lot of pressure to make it special.

Cutthroat Lake

Cutthroat Lake is a relatively easy hike located in the North Cascades with a beautiful lake as your end point. We ventured out early in the morning and as our reward we had the trail and then lake to ourselves. The North Cascades is one of my favorite places to hike because there are so many different hikes, the trails never seem to be overrun like they sometimes are along the I-90 corridor. 

Our little man's nursery

One of the most heartbreaking acts I performed after our son passed away was to dismantle his nursery. Several friends and family members suggested they take over this task for me, but it only seemed appropriate I would be the one to take it down. Ten days after he passed, I decided it was time to pack up all of our son's belongings. Unfortunately, this decision coincided with my birthday. Looking back I believe I tried to inflict the most amount of pain I could upon myself in hopes my heart would stop feeling. After the initial surge of love and support from loved ones, I struggled with feeling guilty for having moments of happiness. The act of packing up his belongings was punctuated with heavy sobs and feelings of anger. The life I was looking forward to was over and instead was replaced with large clear plastic containers of memories. Life felt unfair. Life felt hard, but the very act of keeping all those baby items was a testament to my faith in the future. 

Hiking Snow Lake

This pregnancy has been very similar to my last one, but as I have gotten farther along I have tried my best to take it easy and be kind to myself. The decision to stop running sooner during this pregnancy was a big one for me, but my joints and bladder have thanked me for it. Running has always been such an integral part of my workout and something I look forward to each morning. Running also allows me the ability to cover more territory in a less amount of time, so walking just takes longer. On particularly warm days when I think about going on my daily walk, in the back of my mind a nap sounds just about right too. This time around I have allowed myself the freedom and flexibility to do both. Some days I am better at pushing myself than others. Even though the thought of hiking is sometimes an exhausting one when all is said and done I have never regretted a day spent in the fresh air. 

Puyallup Fair

I have visited the Puyallup Fair every year for as long as I can remember. Even though it recently rebranded itself as the Washington State Fair, to me it will always be the Puyallup Fair. When I was young I would oftentimes get picked up early from school and we would make the long drive to the fair grounds. I think part of being a kid is thinking every car ride over ten minutes is long. Ha! When I think of the fair my thoughts immediately turn toward the food, animals, rides and vendor booths. I have spent many hours walking up and down those vendor stalls enjoying the Kitchen Craft or Vitamix shows. Although I am never really compelled to buy any of these products, it is still fun to see what their latest gimmick or sales tactic is this year. 

Maternity photo shoot

The weekend we spent up in the North Cascades we were walking around Sun Mountain Lodge when Cameron snapped a couple pictures of me. Before I knew it, I had turned it into a mini maternity photo shoot. Over the course of this pregnancy, I have gone back and forth between wanting professional photos taken and not. I will be the first to admit I would rather be behind the camera instead of in front of. When I am getting my picture taken solo I tend to feel awkward and don't know exactly what to do with my body.

Mylio.com

I just wrote my second article for Mylio.com. In this article, I discuss some of my tips for taking fewer photos which will allow you to remain present in your own life. Go here to read the full article. 

Blue Lake

Blue Lake is a stunning Summer hike, but short enough it will not take up your entire day.  Blue Lake sits around 6200 feet and you could easily spend an entire afternoon sunning on its shoreline, picnicking or documenting the changing water color. On the way up the views are spectacular and feel reminiscent of hiking around Glacier National Park. 

Seattle Bloggers Unite Fall Meet Up

I am pleased to announce there are still a few spots left for our Terrarium and Candle Making Night at Glasswing in a couple of weeks. It will be a great night of networking, shopping, crafting and having this gorgeous Seattle store all to ourselves. Attendees will also be given the chance to win a free night stay at the beautiful Sleeping Lady Lodge in Leavenworth. 

I am looking forward to seeing many of you there. To purchase your tickets go here

Cascadian Farm

Every great road trip needs a couple tried and true pit stops. When we make the drive from Seattle to the North Cascades we like to stop at Cascadian FarmCascadian Farm is an organic farm which has u-pick blueberries, freshly made homemade ice cream, organic vegetables and a pumpkin patch. (Due to all the warm weather we have been having this Summer it appears the pumpkins might be a tad ahead of schedule.) The combination of sunflowers and little pops of orange made me excited for the coming months.

Long weekend in the North Cascades

The North Cascades will always hold a special place in my heart. It is here where we sought solace after our son passed away. It is here where we made the first steps to picking back up the pieces of our life and creating happy memories again just the two of us. Being in North Cascades fills me with peace and reminds me how hope and love can get you through the most trying of times. Normally we come here for our son's birthday in October, but since we are expecting another little one in October we decided to come earlier rather than forgo our trip all together. It only seemed fitting to pair a baby moon of sorts with the celebration of our son's brief, but impactful life. 

London Plane

If you are searching for the perfect place to grab a leisurely lunch, pick up a loaf of crusty bread or find a unique gift thenLondon Plane is the place to go. I have wanted to try London Plane for awhile now, so last week on an overcast day I finally made it happen. Since the weather was warm enough, we opted to eat outside. Overall, lunch can be best described as a treat for the senses. Not only is the food at London Plane delicious, but it is photo worthy. London Plane offers an eclectic menu filled with offerings and flavor combinations I would have never thought of on my own. After lunch, I left feeling satisfied and reinvigorated, both by the food and the company.

Long weekends

I love the weekend, but give me a long weekend and that is even better. If you are still looking for a place to go this coming Labor Day weekend, here are a few of my favorite long weekend destinations:

Time flies

At the start of the Summer season, I had a long to do list of things I wanted to accomplish. As the weather has consistently stayed warmer than normal I have found my energy waning and my excitement for Summer to come to an end ever increasing. Shorter days equals being more productive inside and just another sign we will be able to meet our little man soon.

Looking forward to Fall

Fall has always been my favorite time of year. Between the crisp Fall air, the luscious colors, the leaves which start to scatter all over the ground, and the ability to wear layers again I am pretty much in heaven. In addition, the fact we are expecting our second child this Fall makes me doubly excited for the impending season. There is no shortage of wonderful things to do in the Pacific Northwest in the Fall, so I thought it would be fun to share some of my all time favorite things to do in the coming months.

Becoming a quilter

As a society we have a tendency to assign labels and put people into boxes. In general, I think we truly believe it helps us make sense of the world and our interactions within it. Upon first meeting someone, a typical question one might ask is  "what do you do for a living?" For many years my answer was clear, "I am a student" or "I work at Eddie Bauer" or "I am an Interior Designer" These days my answer is far less succinct. Sometimes I might say "I am a photographer" other times I might say, a blogger, or an Interior Designer. Nowadays, it seems to depend on my mood, my audience and what I perceive their interest to be in any answer outside of the box. These days I wear many hats and I am grateful for the diversity and richness it brings to my life. 

Afternoon date and a trip down memory lane

Last week we both had the afternoon free so we decided to head to The Attic for a late lunch. The Attic might seem like an inconsequential place, but this is the very place we ate lunch after Cameron told me he loved me for the first time. Shockingly, we had not been back here in almost ten years. Although much has changed over the past ten years, I am grateful the one constant in our lives has been our enduring love. For lunch we dined on pizza and a salad and thought back to those three words which started it all. "I love you"

Happy weekend!

The weather has cooled off this week and lately my thoughts have turned to inside our home. With only ten weeks left to go in this pregnancy, I am starting to go into nesting mode. As my belly continues to grow and my hiking pace slows down I am dreaming of taking a trip to Glacier National Park and Waterton Lake. For the time being, I will just have to savor photos from past trips and look forward to taking our littlest hiker there next year. You can enjoy photos galore from past trips here,herehereherehere and here

Mylio.com

I recently became a contributor to Mylio.com and had my first article published on their site today. Mylio is an exciting new company which describes itself as "a place for people who love the art of photography and the possibilities of technology". I am pleased to have joined their team and hope you will take the time to check out their site and keep a watchful eye on the fun things they have going on in the coming months.