Keeping Up With the Allens

2014… A Year in Review

2014 has been a year to remember. I think it’s safe to say that it has been our busiest year ever, filled with trips, new experiences, strengthened friendships and a lot more sunshine than usual.

The year started with a crummy ski season and a reeeeaallyyy bad case of the flu. The 2013-2014 ski season marked the year we skied the least since we moved to Seattle. It was a shame, too, because we didn’t take any ski trips in 2014.

{It's not often that I strap my skis to my back and hike up a mountain.} — {It’s not often that I strap my skis to my back and hike up a mountain.}

We had several visitors throughout the year: my dad came to ski with us twice, once bringing my brother; Bryan and Sarah visited us for a long weekend in January, as did my mom.

{Fred & John riding the gondola up to do the First Tracks breakfast at Crystal Mountain}

We finished off the winter with a little Leavenworth getaway with Alex’s parents. Somewhere in there we managed to take a little weekend trip to Crystal with the Buffingtons, Millers and Sally and Ian, only to ski in the rain.

Spring came early to Seattle and filled the city with an abundance of sunshine and glorious weather. We celebrated our third anniversary and spent a bit of time working on our yard, per usual, and trying our hand at some gardening.

Alex broke his wrist and several ribs in an unfortunate bike accident.

As a trial-run for our Europe trip we headed up to Vancouver, BC to be “International” tourists for a weekend in May.

I jetted off to DC and Annapolis for Alina’s bachelorette party. We also hired a dog trainer to help us be better puppy parents.

{I spent a weekend in DC and Baltimore celebrating my sister in-law's bachelorette party} — {I spent a weekend in DC and Baltimore celebrating my sister in-law’s bachelorette party}

Once June hit it seemed like the fast forward button got pushed and time just raced right on by. We spent an incredible month tooting around Europe, stopping in Italy for Alina and Alberto’s wedding, then moving on through Switzerland, Spain, London and Amsterdam, before ending our major vacation in Minnesota for Cammy and Adam’s wedding.

{Attended Alina and Alberto's fairy tale wedding in the Italian countryside} — {Alina and Alberto’s fairy tale wedding in the Italian countryside}

{Eating fondue in Switzerland was a highlight!}

{We drank copious amounts of wine, took a tour of the Priorat wine region, sat on the beach and gorged on amazing tapas in Spain... Another major highlight!} — {We drank copious amounts of wine, took a tour of the Priorat wine region, sat on the beach and gorged on amazing tapas in Spain… Another major highlight!}

{Our nearly month-long trip ended in one of our new favorite cities: Amsterdam!}

The rest of the summer was just as busy and included a camping trip near Mount Rainier with our great friends, the Millers and the Buffingtons.

{A great camping trip with great friends} — {A great camping trip with awesome friends}

Alex went to Chicago for Bryan’s bachelor party, then we both went to Lake Geneva for Bryan and Sarah’s wedding the following weekend.

The next weekend we took a trip to Suncadia to celebrate Dave and Trish’s wedding, then we unofficially ended the summer with a Labor Day trip to Walla Walla with Alex’s parents.

Suncadia_Hilliard Wedding (12) — {The backdrop for the Hilliards wedding ceremony at Suncadia.}

{Our amazing trip to Walla Walla wine country!}

Alex’s cousin, Bryan, came to visit for a quick weekend, as well as his friend Nick, who came for a weeklong trip. Thankfully I had the foresight to re-decorate our guest room, as our house turned into a hotel for about a month!

Fall marked a bit of a slow-down. We spent a weekend in Minnesota for my high school reunion, then celebrated ten years together with a staycation in Woodinville before we took our annual weekend trip to Leavenworth with several friends to celebrate Oktoberfest. The rest of fall meant relaxation for us.

{A great crew for our Leavenworth trip!}

The last month of the year has been a favorite, as we got into the holiday spirit by baking {56 dozen} cookies for our neighbors and family, planning and hosting our first annual holiday party, as well as our Christmas trip to Leavenworth.

{Enjoying the holiday festivities at our first annual holiday party}

Our pets were healthy, happy and fairly well-behaved this year. It was a great year for them too!

Finishing out the year in Utah by taking a ski trip just the two of us is the perfect cessation of 2014. We have SO much to look forward to in 2015… Bring it on!

Our Christmas Vacation

The theme of this holiday season for Alex and me has been family, friends and new traditions. While we still have a few more days left of the season, I’d say our Christmas surpassed my wildest expectations of new traditions and time with family.

We just returned home from our Christmas vacation in Leavenworth, Washington with both of our parents and Alina and Alberto. We spent five days in the mountains, as well as a day on either side in Seattle. I found a cabin for us to rent that came with a huge kitchen meant for entertaining, a great big wood burning fireplace, a fabulous hot tub, a dining room table to accommodate us all, a shuffleboard table and a wine fridge.

Our trip began in downtown Leavenworth where we stopped for lunch at Munchen Haus to enjoy a sausage, sauerkraut, as well as beer and mulled wine. We walked the streets of town and got our bearings before setting off to check into the lodge.

While it was a little different than I expected, the lodge worked out really well for us. I wish there would have been two more bedrooms and bathrooms, but the three {of each} that were there sufficed pretty well. The layout was meant for entertaining, though was still a little sectioned off. I would definitely stay there again – the hot tub was awesome, there was a huge deck off the back overlooking the expansive property and onto the mountains. The kitchen was enormous and had a lot of space to set food out for all of us to indulge in. We brought our own Christmas tree and a few decorations, as we had been told that the lodge wasn’t decorated for Christmas. As it turned out, there was a huge artificial tree and tons of decor in the closet. I guess the property manager was just too lazy to decorate for us!

The trip was a wonderful hodgepodge of cooking, eating, drinking, skiing, chatting and playing games. The first night we were treated to an Italian meal called Spetzatinna {or something similar}, which is a ragu with slow cooked beef served with polenta. It was divine!

Our first ski day was Christmas Eve. We woke up to find an early Christmas gift in the form of new snow! I think it’s safe to say we all enjoyed getting back on the slopes at Stevens Pass.

Donna prepared our delicious Christmas Eve turkey dinner and we spent the evening playing the game called “Things” which is a new favorite.

Christmas day started out with homemade cinnamon and orange rolls, opening our pajamas and gigantic stocking and just hanging out. We spent the day at the lodge and went in the hot tub, played Uchre, worked on the neverending puzzle and the ladies did Pilates. My mom arrived just in time for our prime rib dinner on Christmas night. She flew in late so she could spend Christmas morning with my brother back in Minnesota. Our night was finished with a grossly inappropriate game of Cards Against Humanity. Nothing like playing that game with your parents!

The day after Christmas we all piled in the SUVs and headed back to the mountains for more skiing.

We had planned on doing a sleigh ride that evening but there wasn’t enough snow for the sleigh so it got canceled. That meant we had more time in downtown Leavenworth to taste wine at Icicle River Winery and eat dinner at Gustav’s.

On our final full day in Leavenworth the moms treated themselves to a day at the spa while the rest of us made our final turns at Stevens Pass in one last day of skiing. It snowed quite a few inches during the day, which conveniently provided us with free snow refills.

We headed back to Seattle on Sunday with two very full SUVs, while my mom made her way slowly back to the airport. She went back home a day earlier than everyone else, and just as she was getting ready to leave the lodge we found out that chains were required to get through the mountain pass. Having a rental car meant she didn’t have chains, so she had to take the long way around through a different mountain pass. Of course less than 30 minutes after she left, the restriction was lifted so she could have gone the original route anyway. Oh well!

The rest of us packed up and headed back to our house since we still had one more night with the rest of the gang in Seattle. We spent quite a bit of time playing the game Fibbage on the Xbox before settling in for an evening of drinking wine at Bottlehouse.

Our house is now empty and feels much too quiet. It was very sad to see our families leave today after such a wonderful Christmas vacation with everyone. We are so grateful that our family was willing to come out to Washington to celebrate Christmas with us in the mountains. We knew it was a lot to ask but now that we’ve had our first Christmas out here we hope it won’t be the last. This holiday will go down as a highlight of my Christmas memories from recent years.

First Annual Holiday Party

Last night we kicked off the holidays in style with our holiday party. We have been planning this party for several weeks and it’s hard to believe how fast it came and went. Alex and I had so much fun both at the party and preparing to host it. The evening went very smoothly and we were surprised how well we were able to estimate food and beverage quantities. We made a solid effort to try to chat with all of our guests and I think we were able to manage that and keeping everyone’s glasses relatively full. We’re hopeful this will be the first of many annual holiday parties! I’ll let the photos tell the story.

{Our spread included a cheese board, gougeres, stuffed mushrooms, Christmas pinwheels, white bean dip crostinis, veggies and mushroom/onion tartlettes, along with a whole boat load of cookies!}

{Alex was in charge of drinks. We had a big batch of Maple Bourbon Splash and another dispenser with Cranberry Lime Spritzer, along with red wine, beer, homemade Irish cream and egg nog.}

{Carrie's cookies were the star of the evening! They were placed next to our holiday photo props.} — {Carrie’s cookies were the star of the evening! They were placed next to our holiday photo props.}

{Alex and I kicked off the photos with our goofy props.}

{Ali & Tyler snuck a kiss under the mistletoe!}

{So thankful for the help of these two!}

{The boys were holding down the fort before everyone started to arrive.}

{Dave and Ryan enjoying some vino} — {Dave and Ryan enjoying some vino. We were so thankful to my dad’s thoughtful gesture of getting us some additional wine glasses and champagne flutes for the party. They came in VERY handy!}

{Jackson had a little too much fun at the party! He was passed out all day Sunday.}

We can’t wait for the second annual holiday party next year!

Feeling Blessed

I have been working really hard to prepare for our impending holiday party and the arrival of our family for Christmas. While I was busily chipping away at my to-do list yesterday I found myself staring at all of the holiday cards we have received so far this year. It was humbling to step back and see all of the people who care enough about us to take the time to send us a holiday card. The holidays have a way of making me more sentimental than usual, but I just felt a overwhelming sense of gratitude for the many friends and family we have in our lives.

Alex and I are positively floored by the number of “yes” RSVPs to our holiday party. Six years ago we probably could count on one hand the number of friends who would have come to our party, but today we need more than both of our hands together to count our Seattle friends and family who are going to be celebrating the holidays with us in our home. I am just feeling so blessed and thankful for the wonderful people we have in our lives.

{Putting together our holiday photo props}

We also know it was a lot to ask our families to come out and spend Christmas in the mountains here. Both Alex and I are so thankful that we both still have our parents and siblings and that they are able and willing to travel across the country, putting aside their differences and their own families, to spend it together, as a merged family. I will be greatly missing the presence of my brother, who is unable to join us, but am so grateful that our friendship has improved a lot over the last few months.

{Jackson is pretty good at spreading holiday cheer!}

This year one thing Alex and I decided to do to spread our love bit was to bake cookies for our neighbors. I really overdid it {easy cookies next year!}, but we have packaged up 13 boxes of cookies to take to the neighbors on our block as a way to pass along some neighborly holiday cheer. We did this last year with a few neighbors we know better than others and we were overcome with their gratitude for us thinking of them.

We certainly have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, and my heart is full and very warm knowing that we are spreading our holiday cheer.

{Can't wait for our party!} — {Can’t wait for our party!}

Our Skiing Evolution

As we patiently await the start to the 2014-2015 ski season Alex and I have been recalling just how far we have come as skiers over the last several years. We also realized that we are entering our seventh ski season in Washington, making that Alex’s eighth overall ski season.

{From the 2012-2013 ski season at our home mountain, Crystal Mountain Resort}

Somehow I had a lot of confidence as a skier back in 2008-2009 while I was rocking my two-sizes-too-big white, down puffy coat that I had to get that big so it could fit all of my layers underneath {thanks mom}, my hand-me-down snowpants, another thanks to my mom, and my old school hand-me-down straight, skinny skis from my aunt who is at least 5 inches taller than I am.

{Whistler December 2008!} — {Top of Alpental, March 2009! Either I look like a snowman or a marshmallow? What’s your thought?}

Really, though, I remember thinking I was too hot to trot back then. And looking at the pictures I am really not sure what I would think if I saw me standing in the lift line for an “expert only” area of the mountain. Actually, I do know what I would think!

{Our first ski trip together - skinny skis and all! Whistler, December 2008} — {Our first ski trip together – skinny skis and all! Whistler, December 2008}

{We fell in love with Whistler back in 2008, even with the temperatures down to 30 below zero, hence the gigantic mitts on my hands.}

Moving on… Skiing in Washington has really been probably the best thing that Alex and I have done. As a kid I had fond memories of skiing, though I wanted to ditch my parents and just go find the jumps. Eventually in high school I became too cool for skiing and tried my hand at snowboarding a couple times before giving up on both completely. Somewhere along the line in college I yearned to go skiing again.

{I believe this was taken at Buck Hill in Minnesota around 1988}

At that point, Alex had never tried skiing or snowboarding, and finally, our senior year of college Alex’s family took a trip to Breckenridge. I encouraged Alex to ski instead of snowboard and thankfully he listened. His family secured a ski instructor and Alex was hooked. Just like that.

{The family that skis together....} — {The family that skis together….}

There are a lot of people who I credit Alex’s unbelievable transition to becoming an exceptional skier. The person who wins the gold star is really Alex, though. I have come to realize how difficult it is to learn how to ski as an adult, mainly because you understand pain and risk and it’s a bit unnatural to fly down a snow {or ice} covered mountain with two wooden planks attached to your feet.

Alex bit his tongue and followed his ski instructor’s words of advice, then trying to be Mr. Big Shot, kept his mouth shut as I dragged him down a double black diamond mogul field known as Parachute. Oh the fond nights we spent learning how to master the Pacific Northwest at Snoqualmie those first few years. Neither one of us had any idea what we were doing. We just went for it.

{Backseat Betty! Alex's first time skiing powder in March 2009} — {Backseat Betty! Alex’s first time skiing powder in March 2009}

{My brother wins the award from that day - it was also his first day skiing powder but he flew down the hill like a bullet and left us in the dust!} — {My brother wins the award from that day – it was also his first day skiing powder but he flew down the hill like a bullet and left us in the dust!}

The second year we lived in Washington we looked the part a bit more. I got a new more modern ski coat and pants, along with my first pair of shaped skis. We both got helmets to complete our look. I think this was the year that Alex bought his second pair of skis.

whistler 001 — {Showing off my new ski gear in Whistler, 2009/10}

Our third ski season in Washington was the turning point for us, I believe. This particular year we had the opportunity to follow Patrick around Crystal Mountain during the four weekends we rented a cabin near the resort. Patrick is a fearless skier to say the least. We explored Crystal Mountain together with him and Carrie, as well as his childhood friend Chris and his wife Diane, both of whom are incredible skiers.

{Our perception changed a lot this winter. Behind me is a Breckenridge double black diamond. We're fairly sure that this would be a blue in Washington...} — {Our perception changed a lot this winter. Behind me is a Breckenridge double black diamond. We’re fairly sure that this would be a blue or single black in Washington… Either way, I LOVED Horseshoe Bowl – one of my favorite areas on the mountain.}

In addition to our local charades, we also took a trip to Breckenridge and had a private ski lesson from the man who taught Alex how to ski. That was singlehandedly the best thing we have done to improve our form.

{Putting the new skills we learned in Breckenridge to the test in Cheyenne Bowl in Jackson Hole}

I’m not sure how many ski days we had during the 2010-2011 ski season, but I bet it was pushing 40. That was the year our foundation was set and our skills and techniques were on their way.

{One of our trips to Whistler - we both agree that Whistler is our favorite ski resort and the place we wish we didn't have to go home from} — {One of our trips to Whistler – we both agree that Whistler is our favorite ski resort and the place we wish we didn’t have to go home from.}

The years that followed have allowed us to refine our form and continue to improve, but no ski season sticks out in my mind as much as 2010-2011. It paved the way for us. The following year we kicked it up another notch by taking another ski lesson, and I got a new ski outfit that made me look a bit more professional and put together and ready for several more years of adventures on skis.

{Sometimes I even surprise myself by pushing the limits a bit more. Last winter we hiked for what felt like a day, but was probably 30 minutes to Southback, an area of avalanche controlled backcountry terrain at Crystal Mountain.}

{Alex got into backcountry skiing a while back and has taken several avalanche safety courses.}

{We took advantage of a really long snow season and did a ski tour on August 28th back in 2011.}

We are both so thankful to our families for providing us the opportunity to learn to ski. We are very fortunate to have been able to take up a sport like this in the way that we have done. It’s a focal point to our winters and it makes me wonder what we would do all winter long if we didn’t ski. Now, here’s to the 2014-2015 ski season… if it ever comes to Washington!

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!

Alex and I went a leeeeetle wild on the holiday decor this year. We are pulling out all the stops as we count down the days to our holiday party and the arrival of our family for Christmas. Here is a little sneak peek at our holiday home…

{We have been enjoying spending time in front of the fireplace, especially all decorated for the holidays!}

{Close-up of my homemade "Let it Snow" garland and cranberry sticks... loving those!} — {Close-up of my homemade “Let it Snow” garland and cranberry sticks… loving those!}

{As my mother has pointed out, not everyone else sends Christmas cards as early as I did this year, so we are holding the place for other cards with our own from last year... so send your cards already!} — {As my mother has pointed out, not everyone else sends Christmas cards as early as I did this year, so we are holding the place for other cards with our own from last year… so send your cards already!}

{Carrie made this beautiful wreath for me. I still can't get over the fact that it's hand crafted!} — {Carrie made this beautiful wreath for me. I still can’t get over the fact that it’s hand crafted!}

{These containers have turned out to be such a fun purchase. I didn't realize I could do so many fun things with them!} — {These containers have turned out to be such a fun purchase. I didn’t realize I could do so many fun things with them!}

My Favorite Things

Oprah called and suggested I do a post about my favorite things, just like she does every year. I am almost as much of a big shot as she is, so I figure, what the heck. So, just for fun, I have compiled a list of some of my favorite random things, just like Oprah…..

Butter socks

Wearing these amazing Butter socks will make your feet feel like they have entered heaven. I basically live in them. These make awesome stocking stuffers, too!

Wicked Good moccasins

These mocs from LL Bean are the most luxurious, comfy slippers I have ever had. “Wicked Good” is quite an apt name for them. I love that they have rubber soles so you can walk outside to grab the mail or whatnot, then scoot back inside, all while keeping your feet toasty. These are made for both men and women. Be forewarned that furry creatures also really like these, too, and they are not dog-proof!

Line Celebrity Skis

If I could choose one, and only one, pair of skis to have forever and ever, this would be that pair. I am madly in love with my Line Celebrity skis. They are speedy on the groomers, making nice wide turns while cruisin’ down a blue, or tight bunny hop turns on the moguls, they are fantastic off-piste on the lovely “Cascade concrete” we get here in Washington, but also soar through champagne powder. These are the most versatile ski I have ever had.

Food Network Magazine

Whenever I get a Food Network Magazine in the mail I read it that same day. I can’t say that for any other magazine that I receive. I love the casual style of the magazine, but the recipes are spot-on. The format makes it really easy to save recipes.

100 Days of Real Food cookbook

I am pretty big into “real food” and eating organic and this book has served as both a reference guide and a cookbook that has helped me clean up the food I eat. The recipes are really straight-forward and super tasty.

America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Whenever I see that a recipe is from America’s Test Kitchen I just know it’s going to be good. The chefs here test out a variety of ways of making really simple foods to super complicated foods and come up with a recipe that highlights the best flavor and way to prepare it. I particularly like the Healthy Family Cookbook, though they have dozens more cookbooks {and the Cooks Illustrated magazine}, because it has a healthier focus.

Plastic cutting mats

Several years ago my brother gave me a set of these flimsy plastic cutting mats {note, these are not just plastic cutting boards – they are much more thin and flexible} and they remain one of my favorite kitchen tools. Not only are they handy to cut or prepare meat on but they make adding flour to my mixer a cinch!

Penzeys spices

Being an avid cook I have quite a collection of spices. I think that Penzeys spices are some of the best spices in terms of the robustness in flavor and overall quality. I love buying their gift sets for people – they are really creatively packaged.

Lodge cast iron skillet

I have always loved my Lodge cast iron skillet but lately I have been using it more and more for preparing pretty much anything I have been cooking. I have a 10″ skillet and would love a few more smaller sizes, but this is an incredible go-to skillet that costs $20. Beat that All Clad! That said, if you properly season your cast iron skillet it will be non-stick, too, without needing a teflon coating. Bonus: check out the Lodge brand Dutch oven on Amazon. And beat that price, Le Cruset!

Silicone muffin liners

These silicone muffin tin liners are a game changer. Holy cow – they sure make baking muffins or cupcakes easy!

Organizational Notepad

I am such an organizational nut that I am constantly looking for new notepads to keep track of my never-ending to-do lists. This one is a winner! I love the way it is organized to keep track of each day’s to-do items, along with any cleaning or errands, plus your schedule for the day, your overall goals, then what you’re going to do for exercise and your menu for the day. It doesn’t get much better than that! This is so well-thought!

Bare Minerals

My absolute favorite makeup ever is Bare Minerals. It’s just a light powder but the coverage is really unbeatable. Not only does it smooth out skin but it covers up pesky blemishes. And it feels so light and fresh. Oh, and it’s reasonably priced, too. I used to wear a liquid foundation and a powder, but after finding Bare Minerals all I use is the powder foundation.

Williams Sonoma evergreen candle

I would like to burn one of these winter forest scented candles in every room of my house right now. This is my favorite evergreen scent of all of the evergreen scented candles I’ve ever smelled. The candle has a really smooth burn and it smells like you’re walking through the forest.

Leggings

My friend Carrie turned me onto the Zella Live In Leggings last year and I want about 4 more pairs. I wear these all the time! Pilates, with a pair of boots, as my “long underwear” skiing… You name it and these leggings fit the bill. They are reversable, too, which is just icing on the cake!

Patagonia Nano Puff jacket

Alex and I both have one of these amazing Patagonia Nano Puff jackets and he says it’s like wearing a furnace. So true! The Nano Puff is suuuuper light-weight and comfy and unbelievably warm! Also, it folds into its own pocket making it ultra convenient for traveling. I wear this as my mid-layer underneath my hard shell when I ski.

Pottery Barn cozy cable knit throw

I don’t think this really needs a narration, as the title sums it up pretty perfectly.

Trader Joe’s tea tree oil face wash

Kind of a silly thing to include on my list of favorites, but this face wash is amazing! For about 9 months I kept having patchy red skin and blemishes and within a day or two of trying this face wash my skin completely cleared up and has never looked so smooth. I really can’t believe it took me 28 years to find this but it is a winner in my book!

Hope you enjoyed perusing my favorite things!

The Happenings

While life has slowed down immensely over the last month {thankfully!} time still seems to be zipping right along. Alex and I have been thoroughly enjoying down time at home, trying to make the most of our empty schedules before the holidays and ski season and a crazy travel year sneak up on us, which I think they just did!

{Jackson has been getting extra attention and lots of walks this week!}

Ski season in Washington is officially kicking off tomorrow. December is upon us. Thanksgiving has come and gone, which means the holidays are in full-swing. I’d be willing to bet big bucks that you’ll find us at Crystal mountain for day one of Allen Family Ski Season next weekend.

{Random photo... we got these cute little pots for growing herbs in our kitchen.} — {Random photo… we got these cute little pots for growing herbs in our kitchen.}

Alex and I can’t wait for Christmas, but more than anything, we are both just so excited to embrace the holidays this year. It is a big year for us – we’re hosting a swanky holiday party, then both of our families are coming out for Christmas in Washington. I have been busily planning for our party, our week-long Christmas celebration and several trips we are taking between now and mid-March. We’ve also got a couple of tentative trips and a really exciting project we’re working on. Oofta! It’s going to be a great winter!

{Holiday drinking begins with homemade Irish cream!}

That said, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We spent the day over at Ryan and Mary’s house, alongside Ryan’s fraternity brother, Mike, and his girlfriend Priya. It was such a relaxing, calm day filled with great company and food. And wine.

In all this down time I have had, I have been rather lax about posting what we’ve been up to. Last weekend I got together with Carrie, Mary and Jamie to have an afternoon at the new Hobby Lobby, then ran over to Carrie’s to see the beautiful result of their recent kitchen renovation. At some point recently we had a really fun night out in Capitol Hill with the Buffingtons and the Millers, but I can’t remember which weekend that was!

{Cocktails at The Old Sage, a whiskey bar in Capitol Hill.}

Last weekend we met Mary and Ryan, as well as Jamie and Evan at Marymoor dog park for a little puppy play date. Our little ham and Berkeley, Mary and Ryan’s dog, decided to have a contest to see which pup could get the dirtiest. Berkeley won.

Thankfully this dog park is so baller that they have a dog wash station, which we were very happy to pay a visit to.

{This is the coolest thing ever - they have about 5 huge tubs and then a sprayer that you can switch from water to shampoo to water, then you switch it to vacuum to dry the dog! Awesome!} — {This is the coolest thing ever – they have about 5 huge tubs to wash the dogs and each one has a sprayer that you can switch from water to shampoo to water, then you switch it to vacuum to dry the dog! Awesome!}

After our dog park sesh, both us and the Millers realized we were going to pick up our wine club release shipments that day, so we met up in Woodinville to taste at Darby, where Ryan and Mary are club members, then across the street to Trust, where Alex and I are members, then next door to Fidelitas, a winery none of us had ever been to.

So far we are thrilled with our newest wine club, Trust Winery. They do two shipments each year and in each shipment you get three bottles of two wines, so six total wines but three of each. I love that concept. We haven’t tried anything yet – I think these ones will hang out in the cellar for a bit…

Aside from Thanksgiving this week, Alex and I have really just been home for the most part. Alex had Wednesday and Friday off, whereas I worked at home on Wednesday. He woke up on Wednesday and made cinnamon rolls! Yes, from scratch! Love him.

Friday we got up, lit a fire and decorated our house for Christmas {I’ll do a separate post with photos of our house all jazzed up for the holidays – we got a ton of cute new stuff this year that I can’t wait to share, but not everything has arrived yet!}.

Just as I was waking up on Saturday morning Seattle was getting covered in a light blanket of snow. I grabbed a cup of coffee and positioned myself in front of the window to watch the big, wet flakes slowly fall. It is very, very rare for it to snow in Seattle, so I was treasuring the moment.

The rest of the weekend has been so super relaxing. Alex read a book in front of the fire. I finished up my Christmas shopping and have just been doing some planning. We had our Pilates class on Saturday. We are relaxed and well-rested… Let the holiday season begin!

The Happenings

Life has been pretty quiet for us the last few weeks. We have been enjoying relaxing evenings filled with reading, meeting friends for dinner whom we haven’t seen in too long, catching up with each other and hanging out with our goofy pets. We’ve watched a few movies over the last few weeks {Steel Magnolias, 22 Jump Street, Chef and something else I can’t recall} and got through the whole season of Transparent on Amazon Prime TV. We’re just soaking up the calm before the holidays and our 2015 travel schedule, which is somehow even busier than 2014.

{We had a really fun evening at Vio's, an ultra kid-friendly Greek restaurant in Capitol Hill, with the Furtwangler clan this past week.} — {We had a really fun evening at Vio’s, an ultra kid-friendly Greek restaurant in Capitol Hill, with the Furtwangler clan this past week.}

This week started with the highly anticipated arrival of our new iPhone 6’s! We are both hopelessly in love with our new phones. Our previous phones were great but they lacked application choices, so we are overwhelmed with the selection of apps in the Apple store. I have been loving the various health and fitness tracking apps that measure the number of steps I take each day – I really thought I was walking more than my phone is telling me I am, so it’s nice to pay attention to that.

Alex and I just started doing a Pilates mat class together on Friday mornings. So far we are the only ones signed up so it’s like our own private class! I’m sure that won’t last long, but we’re enjoying it while it does. Alex is really enjoying how it stretches him out and helps with his posture.

{Henry cat has been extra cuddly and snuggly with the chilly weather}

{Jackson is trying to pretend to be Henry, it appears.}

In personal organization news, I just got a new daily organizational notepad that I’m in love with. I don’t normally organize myself by each day, but I can see that it’s helpful to try to plan things out on a daily basis to be more realistic about what I can accomplish in that amount of time. I bought this here.

The weather over the last week has been unbelievably gorgeous but super chilly for Seattle. Every day has been full Seattle sunshine, but I added the removable liner back into my coat and have brought out my mittens because the temps have been in the low 30s, which is pretty unusual for here. The nice days have brought me out for more mid-day walks with Jackson this week which has been an extra treat.

I had a pretty rough day on Wednesday after an unexpectedly traumatic dentist appointment. I had my regular 6-month cleaning on Tuesday morning and the dentist told me it’s time to take care of two teeth that have several really big fillings in them {thank you childhood pop drinking!} by replacing them with crowns. I was less than pleased by this news and left the dentist office feeling very discouraged, wishing there was more I could have done to prevent this from happening, though the damage was done a long time ago.

Wednesday morning I arrived, bright-eyed and bushy tailed {ok, maybe not…} for my 8 a.m. appointment to get my first of two crowns. I sat back in the chair, the dentist started to numb me up and just a moment after he finished with the anesthesia my heart started racing and I started to feel my tongue swell and the area around my throat swell. It turns out that the numbness the dentist creates feels exactly the same as the feeling of anaphylaxis. Having gone into anaphylactic shock before, due to my severe shellfish allergy, I felt the same way that morning in the dentist chair. It was awful.

I really thought that my throat was closing and that set off a serious panic attack. I had no idea I was experiencing a panic attack until the dentist told me that was what was happening. I spent about 30-45 minutes sitting in the dentist chair just shaking uncontrollably, trying to catch my breath and calm down. Eventually I called Alex and he was able to hop off the bus and catch another one back home and come and calm me down. Needless to say, I have not gone through with the crowns and will likely put the appointment off until the new year, so hopefully the second time is better.

On to more exciting things like saving us from avalanches… We are still in planning mode for the upcoming ski season, and a few weeks ago we spent a wonderful evening with the Buffingtons and had the opportunity to test out our avalanche airbags just to make sure they work. Good news! They do indeed work! Hopefully we’ll never have to use them.

{The Avalanche backpacks blew up just like they're supposed to! It looks like a hot dog!} — {The Avalanche backpacks blew up just like they’re supposed to! It looks like a hot dog!}

Watch me “explode” my ABS bag here:

We are looking forward to another relaxing, low-key weekend at home and are really enjoying catching up on stuff around the house and planning for the holidays and ski season. Happy Friday 🙂

A Jackson Update

We have come a very, very long way with Jackson since this time last year. By November 2013 our wildebeest dropped out of puppy class, was always near us or on top of our feet, weighed 55 pounds, was 6 months old, didn’t have the slightest interest in playing fetch or with tennis balls, was the biggest cuddle bug ever, and loved to challenge us in any way he could.

Today, Jackson is a year and a half, weighs 80 pounds, is always near us or on top of our feet, is absolutely completely obsessed with any type of ball and/or playing fetch, is the biggest cuddle bug ever, loves to challenge us in any way he possibly can and has a mind of his own.

{I'm fairly certain he thinks that if he can't see me that I can't see him...} — {I’m fairly certain he thinks that if he can’t see me that I can’t see him…}

So, as you can see, not much has changed! In reality, there really is a lot that is different about Jackson and his behavior these days. He has gotten into a pretty good routine, though he still has bursts of uncontrollable energy and moments where he is so obsessed with a ball, squirrel or other dog/inanimate object that he can’t focus.

For the most part, he is a darn cute furry bundle of love who just wants to play ball and hang out with his humans.

Exercise is the key component to Jackson’s success and good mood {therefore our good mood too}. Right now our routine consists of taking Jackson for a 3ish mile run or playing fetch at the park with him each morning (plus a 20 minute walk to and from the park), then mid-afternoon or early evening I take Jackson for a shorter training walk, do some training at home, then we play ball in the backyard or basement.

When Alex gets home he plays ball in the backyard with Jackson and usually ends up wrestling and playing ball in the basement with him later in the evening before they curl up into a ball of dog/man cuddles if we watch a show.

Our amazing dog trainer, Katie, recently paid us a visit to check in on us and Jackson and give us some updated tips for our defiant pooch. We were very excited for her to see all of the progress Jackson had made since she last saw him in early May.

That said, we are always in favor of getting more ideas of things to do with him to keep him behaving nicely and to calm down his crazies. Katie’s biggest suggestion for us is to just be consistent and maintain the rules, as he is in another period of “testing us” right now. I feel like that’s just his life, though. Good parenting practice!

We are really looking forward to ski season with Jack man! He is such a snow dog and is so in his element as he is bounding through the snowdrifts, running back and forth as we throw ice chunks for him to catch. We are also very much looking forward to Jackson calming down a bit. He is such a goober, but we are so, so, so, so lucky and thankful that he is our crazy pup.

{No, Jackson is not aloud on the sofa!} — {No, Jackson is not allowed on the sofa!}

{Nor is he aloud on the bed!! Jackson waits until I get up in the morning and then jumps in bed with Alex because he knows Alex won't throw him off the bed... Stinker! He sure has us trained...} — {Nor is he allowed on the bed!! Jackson waits until I get up in the morning and then jumps in bed with Alex because he knows Alex won’t throw him off the bed… Stinker! He sure has us trained…}