Christmas is here, it’s finally here. And that means that the last weekend to pack, shop and prepare for the holiday and our trip is over. That means that I am now questioning if I have everything I need done or not. But ready or not, here we come!
So our last weekend before being gone for a full month went by quick. It started off with a Friday night Christmas Party at Billy and Valerie’s, drinking mulled wine and blackberry mojitos, eating snacks and of course too much Christmas cookies, and playing Family Feud which was a lot of fun. We stayed out quite late.
Saturday was a whirlwind:
9am: Polly comes over to get house key and exchange presents and chat over coffee.
11am: Make a leek, sausage and potato hash topped with a fried egg for the boy and I
12pm: Prep vegetables and lamb for dinner with Billy and Valerie
1pm: Clean up house a bit, pack some presents, do laundry
2pm: Toning exercises for 20 minutes and then row for 30 minutes (Bryan and I swapped)
4pm: Run to Lowe’s to get shelves for the garage
6pm: Billy and Valerie come over for dinner. We had a plentiful dinner of a rolled leg of lamb, a variety of roasted root vegetables, and an apple and pecan salad
8pm: All four of us head over to the market for the Improvised Christmas Carol comedy show. Was quite hilarious
10pm: Walked to the Sheraton to take in the annual Gingerbread house competition. My favorite was the Seattle skyline one…I mean it had dollar bills streaming out the end of Bertha and it had salmon to replace the reindeer in Santa’s sleigh in the Puget Sound.
11pm: Head back to our place for some homemade hot cocoa and Saturday Night Live
1:30am: Bed time (oh boy Eastern Time is going to be a bit rough!)
Phew, barely made it through Saturday. Then Sunday hits with a welcoming slow down albeit productive. Bryan and I were itching to revisit Harvest Vine for brunch; our second time but last time since they are discontinuing their brunch service at the end of the year. We sat in the exact same stools at the bar but this time each ordered the Huevos a la Flamenca (baked eggs) and shared the pan con tomato. Sooooo delicious again and the chef now likes us! With the break in rain and intermittent sun I got to go on my weekly 6 miler run through the Arboretum one last time. I came back to the garage super organized and amazing! I commence on packing, which involves spending 1 hour on trying on each and every packed outfit. Bryan rows. We finish up just in time to settle into the HUGE Seahawks vs. Cardinals game, at Arizona, with a bowl of guac. Great game, great win, we are headed to the playoffs!!! Should be quite an adventure trying to watch the games over seas.
Head to Agrodolce in Fremont for the restaurants 2 year birthday with a special $2 menu of several items. For $2 each we had several amazing lamb burgers with mustarda and gruyere, polenta fries, caponata, and charcuterie and each got a Salvatore Sling cocktail (for $2!). We supplemented the items with a bowl of amazing homemade pasta with delicious forest mushrooms and braised rabbit. Delicious meal. Drive through Candy Cane Lane in the Ravenna neighborhood for their annual lighting grandiosity, run errands at QFC and get home around 11pm.
We are ready for vacation!!!!!!!!!!
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 