Last Day...

Splashing at Green Lake.


Well, It has finally arrived. My LAST day in Seattle. When I really think about it, gosh it flew by so fast. I tallied a list of things that truly will be missed, Marty, gelato, finally mastering the art of cookie baking, my kitchen aide mixer, Green Lake, Mocking Bird Books, and Zeke's amazeball( its just another word for amazing) veggie pizza ( nom nom moments on that piece of heaven for sure.) The sunset will be missed from our balcony, and our late summer dinners we had. HOWEVER..............


Things that will not be missed, dead plants, dark grey skies, busted wash machines, and 50 degree weather in the summertime. Seattle the next time I see you I will be a married woman. So until April, I bid you ado. Stay class Seattle.

xoxo Monique

Gasworks Park

clear blue skies makes us happy.

Last Saturday Marty and I took a Picnic to Gasworks Park. I'm going to let the pictures do the talking on this one.

Friends playing music on a hill side.

a old factory still intact at the park.

beautiful colors of the rainbow

wonder what this dog was mulling over?

kite flyers

Eva

For Marty's 29th birthday we went to a local restaurant called, Eva which is located in our Green Lake neighborhood. It had charm from the time we stepped in the restaurant. As for the food? The flavors were so complex, and the was food laid out and prepared beautifully. We left nothing on our plate. Marty quickly decided when both sides of our parents come to visit, we will have to visit this darling restaurant again.

The charm started as soon as we got to the door..

All I want for christmas is this kitchen....

yep charm... all the way down to the menu!

yes, please!

Sure, we will have some of that too!

Even MORE good Eats!

These last few weeks I have caught the cooking bug! Here are a couple of dishes Marty has been stuffing his face with lately....

Yummy Eggplant Parm... ( this time I actually remembered to peel the dang thing.)

Kabobs marinated with greek yogurt, lemon, and rosemary....

Banana Nut Bread.. this was ridiculously good..

Its been a good summer!

Marinated Lamb Kabobs- taken from food network by Ina Garten

I used steak instead of lamb.. still delish!

Ingredients
1 pound plain yogurt (regular or lowfat)
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for brushing grill
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
5 tablespoons fresh whole rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds top round lamb
1 red onion
Directions
Combine the yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a large, non-reactive bowl. Add the lamb, making sure it is covered with the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days.

Prepare a charcoal grill with hot coals. Spread the coals in one tight layer on the grill.

Cut the lamb in 1 1/2-inch cubes. You should have about 20 cubes.

Cut the red onion in 8 pieces and separate each piece into 3 or 4 sections. Loosely thread 3 or 4 pieces of lamb onto skewers alternately with sections of onion. Sprinkle both sides of the lamb cubes with salt and pepper. Place the skewers on the hot grill and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, turning 2 or 3 times, until the lamb is medium-rare.



Enjoy!

Downtown Seattle

Steep hill to walk down towards Pike.

Yesterday, Marty and I took advantage of the vivid blue skies and hopped a bus to downtown Seattle. Downtown was in a buzz as numerous events were going on and Pike's Place was in full swing. There even was a Medicare rally, complete with a jazz band, that played to the beat of their protest. Beautiful day, beautiful people, and beautiful food.

A outdoor picnic seemed like a must...

Our view for lunch

Women protesting to bring our troops home.

A vintage library with some books you don't normally see...

Fresh veggies for sale...

For the seafood lover in you.

Zoe's Yogurt Shop!

Fro-yo and yummy toppings to boot.

There is this cute fro-yo shop by our little condo that I have been dying to go to.Today since it was hot, Marty and I took a stroll to Zoe's Yogurt. It was also fun, because my one of my dear friend's Tiffany, has a newborn at home named Zoe and I knew I had to take some pics of this fun and quirky yogurt shop! So here's to you Zoe, you make some darn good yogurt for a 6 month old!

Cake batter with oreo cookies and brownie pieces...

What to choose?

Cool treat for a hot day...

Nom, Nom!

Zoe making some critical company decisions....

And the sun came out to play!

After almost a month... THE SUN CAME OUT! What a glorious 3 days it was... there must have been at least 1,000,000 people doing 1,000,000 different things. Sadly its back to grey this week, but oh Seattle sunshine, come back, we miss you!!

crystal clear skies....

local kids selling lemonade on a warm and sunny day...

I wish it was like this everyday...

People soaking in the Seattle sun....

  Finally.. Mt. Rainer I see you!

Mocking Bird Books

I've always liked children's books, I think the art work is so creative & engaging. I was super excited to learn that down the street.. literally a one minute walk is a cute children's books store called Mocking Bird Books! There is a small cafe inside, and they have authors come in and sign books every now and then. It is the cutest little shop. Now I own over 100 children's books, mostly because I teach and when Marty and I have kids I want them to have the best library of the Pacific Northwest. My mom always use to take me to the book store when i was little and let me buy 2 books, each visit. So thanks Mom for inspiring a love of reading, I hope to pass the same torch on to our children one day.

My favorite book characters of all time

1. Trixie from, "Knuffle Bunny" by Mo Williams
2. Olivia from, "Olivia" by Ian Falconer
3. Madeline from," Madeline" by Ludwig Bemelmans

one of my favorite authors

A oldie but a goodie.

My students ask me to read this almost every single day.. I can recite this one in my sleep.

My 1st purchase at Mocking Bird Books.

City Life

Seattle is so different from any place I have ever lived. Literally down the street is a charming book store, a middle school, a Vegan smoothie shop, gym, & a Starbucks. Marty and I really enjoy this greek restaurant that makes mouth watering gyros! This morning I decided to stroll to Starbucks, get some breakfast, and take pics along the way!

1. Starbucks, Green Lake
2. Green Lake Bar & Grill
3. Losita's Mexican Cantina
4. Mocking Bird Children's Book Store ( Very very excited about this!)

Starbucks pastries? Yes, Please!

Pretty lake, but where's the sun???!?

Green lake, is beautiful.. well when the sun is out. I think even the ducks look confused as they go on their daily swim. However, when the sun is out, I think even the ducks would agree, Green Lake is a beautiful place!