S P O O K T A C U L A R ! !

I love to decorate for Halloween.
This year I added a few DIY projects that only costs me a few bucks.

Here is my entry table...


This is another spot...

This was a new DIY...
I bought both the candlesticks and glass jars at Hobby Lobby for 50% off.  I glued the jars to the candlesticks with E6000 glue, filled with candy, tied on some ribbon that I already had in my stash and printed off some Halloween labels from the computer...FREE!
If you haven't found Pinterest - please don't go looking.  Well, I guess you can if want some great ideas like this one : )
It's a love/hate relationship for me!

These were a new addition this year as well and LOVE them!
Total cost...nothing!
I just googled Halloween printables, picked a few I liked and clicked "print" on my computer.
I used scrapbook paper I already had to matt them and then put them inside some black frames I had sitting in my closet that needed to be put to use.

 

I bought the colorful glass bottles at Hobby Lobby at 50% off.  I think the largest bottle (purple) cost me $2.50 and the red and green were about a buck.  I found the lables through a link on Pinterest but you can find them just as easily (and without the addiction) if you google "printable Halloween potion labels".

I love Halloween in Arizona!
Perfect weather.
No coats under or over a great costume.
Neighbors gather out on driveways to pass out candy and enjoy the evening together.
We build fires in pits, share BBQ and all sorts of great food and chat the night away.

Why we believe...

Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a blessing.  If you've ever wondered what we are all about just click here to read about people just like you. 

And if you care to know why we believe, you can click on our names : )

Maddison

Brent

Andrea

4 minutes well spent...

I've heard Amazing Grace sung many times.
But never quite like this.
It is sung by Il Divo in the Rome Colosseum.
Please pause my music on the side bar.

Have a beautiful day!

Part Three ~ final thoughts on Seattle

When Brent graduated from the mighty Y, he interviewed with a company that his sister was working at.  They had an opening...in Seattle.  He took the job and left for training without me.  I stayed behind and kept working at my job, trying to save save save some $$$$$.   At some point I joined him for a weekend and we went house hunting.  Not far from his new office building was a little hill called Queen Anne.  It was a fun, vibrant and quirky small community and that is were we began looking for a place to call home.  After seeing a few places we ended up at the Fourth West Square apartments.

That's our place.  On the second floor, corner apartment. We paid $575.00/month for rent.  I remember that we looked at two apartments that day.  One did not have a window with a view of the Puget Sound.  The corner apartment did have a window view.  The view came with a price and Brent and I pondered over that extra money for quite some time.  Keep in mind that the view could only be seen if you stood at a certain spot at the corner window, held your breath, closed one eye and clicked your heels three times : )  But we took the plunge and signed the papers. 

It was great to go back after 20 years.  It still looks exactly the same but I'm sure the rent has doubled even though the view hasn't changed!  It was fun to think about all of our "firsts" in that apartment.  Our first Thanksgiving dinner was just the two of us.  We managed to put a decent dinner on the table.  We cooked a turkey, I made my dad's gravy, Brent made his mom's orange rolls, we followed the Libby's label and made a yummy pumpkin pie and we toasted with Martinelli's.  Our first Christmas together followed.  I still have the pretty umbrella that Brent gave me.  I could go on and on...

Twenty years ago this little Thai restaurant was our hangout spot.   The price was easy on the newlywed budget, it was just up the street and around the corner from our apartment and the food was DELICIOUS!!  This is where I fell in love with Thai food.
We went back and nothing had changed except a fresh coat of pain and they had upgraded their once paper menu for a laminated menu!  You still ordered your food the same way...1 to 4 stars depending on how spicy you want it.  We always go for two stars.  The food was still incredible and it felt quite romantic sitting across the tiny table from one another all over again : )

The best place for gorgeous views of the Seattle skyline is right on Queen Anne hill.  There is a small park that was made just for taking in the incredible sight. 

The view is so sweeping that you can even see the ferries come in and out of the harbor. 

On our last full day we drove out to Bellevue and did a session in the Seattle temple.  It was the perfect way to end our trip.  It all came full circle...beginning our life together here 20 years earlier and celebrating it again right where it all began.

 

If you haven't enjoyed a vacation to the Northwest yet...please put it on your bucket list!

Special note to Maddison, Davis and Cooper...
when we retire here, please come see us : )

Part Two ~ Seattle

One of our favorite places to wander away the time is at the market.  Also known as Pike Place.
This market is full of interesting everything!

We started our day just inside the main entrance with breakfast at Lowell's.  We had a beautiful view...

And while we watched the ferries come and go we enjoyed an enormous cinnamon roll, topped with a slightly sweet, buttery cream cheese frosting that was oh so yummy.  And we shared a LOWELL’S INCREDIBLE BREAKFAST TACO, which in their words is made up of: House made chorizo, scrambled eggs, Cotija cheese, avocado and tomatillo salsas on double corn tortillas served with crispy hash browns.

Yeah...we devoured it!

 
 
The fresh flowers are truly unreal.  Honestly stunning.
Pictures rarely do flowers justice, as in this case.  It is something you have to see to believe.

All along the market are flower vendors. The blossoms were huge, colorful, fragrant and so incredibly cheap!

A monster size bouquet with a variety of flowers was only $10.

I wanted to bring home a bouquet for every neighbor, friend and stranger!

That being totally unrealistic, Brent bought me a bouquet for us to enjoy in our room.

I don't have a picture but we found a little corner bakery called Cinnamon Works.  You'll want to remember that.
They had thee most incredible cookies!  I ended up going back on our last day and buying six snickerdoodles to bring home for the kids.  The boys thought they had died and gone to heaven!

A day at the market is not complete until you've stopped here ~ The Pike Place Fish Market.
You can't miss it. It's right at the main entrance and you have to duck when these fun guys start throwing fish around. Nobody was buying when we stopped by so there wasn't any flying fish. I was tempted to buy a beautiful salmon (only $11.99 a pound) and have it packed to take home just so I could get a picture of the great fun but I got control of my impulse and walked away. I think I glanced over my shoulder a couple times though.

 

And this little side street is called Post Alley.  I hear it is quite the spot.  Something about a gum wall.  I googled it and I'm really glad we decided to just take a picture.  Like I said "interesting everything!"  But it's what makes Seattle, so Seattle.

Another activity was a stroll around the Ballard Locks.

It is always so lush and green here and today was no exception.  The fall colors were bright and beautiful.

So what are the locks?  Well according to a website the locks and associated facilities serve three purposes:

•To maintain the water level of the fresh water Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20 to 22 feet above sea level.
•To prevent the mixing of sea water from Puget Sound with the fresh water of the lakes (saltwater intrusion).
•To move boats from the water level of the lakes to the water level of Puget Sound, and vice versa.

Necessary tidbit?  Probably not but how about good random trivia!  You never know when you'll be asked how the locks work the next time you are on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire".

Here are a few pictures of a boat going through the locks, coming from the salt water of the Puget Sound to the fresh water of Lake Washington.  The lock is filled with water and rises until it is at the same level as the canal.

When the levels are equal, the lock opens and the boat heads up the canal.  It is fun to watch.  Many times while we lived here we would come to watch the boats make their way in and out of the locks.  Often there are several at a time going through.  You get to see some beautful boats, from little watercrafts to amazing yachts.

 
The large lock for the big beauties!


Also at the locks is the Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Gardens.
It was a beautiful day to enjoy the park.

 

 

Can you believe the size of this tree?!?!  I couldn't find the marker for it so I'm not sure what it is but we found out this much...

It is a type of pine.  Standing back from where I was taking the picture I never would have guessed.

 It certainly didn't look like a pine until I got up close.  The needles were the give away.

 
 
And the flowers.  When I have my camera I just can't resist the flowers.

 

 

 

 

It was a gorgeous day in Ballard.

Part One ~ Seattle

Brent had a business conference in Seattle last week so I joined him and we turned it into an extension of celebrating our 20th anniversary.  We left temps of over 100 and came to cool, fresh air.
We played for 5 days and it felt so good!

We stayed at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel.
Right down town and so BEAUTIFUL! 
And I could get used to the valet parking service...opening and closing my door all with cheerful smiles!
"Good morning Mrs. Brown!"
"Enjoy your day Mrs. Brown!"
"Would you like a cold water to take with you Mrs. Brown?"
"Welcome back Mrs. Brown!"
"How was your day Mrs. Brown?"
"What did you see today Mrs. Brown?"
"Have a pleasant evening Mrs. Brown!"
Ahhh...it was lovely.

The forecast was rain for five straight days.  Nightmares of most our recent trip to Disneyland made me cringe!  But instead of rain we were so happy to only have clouds and an occasional drizzle.  I have to say that all our pictures are a bit on the gray side, but that's the reality of the Northwest.

We drove the car onto the the ferry and headed for Bainbridge Island.
The view from the ferry back to the Seattle skyline filled me with honeymoon feelings all over again!
We lived on Queen Anne hill, right under the shadow of the Space Needle for almost seven months.  It was the perfect place to begin our lives together.

Driving off the ferry we headed for Paulsbo...a favorite destination.

Paulsbo is a darling little Scandinavian town, nicknamed Little Norway.

It has quaint little shops and a bakery to die for!

Sluy's is not to be missed!  They have glazed donuts the size of a salad plate and other must try melt in your mouth specialties.  With our pastries of choice in one hand and a whipped hot chocolate in the other, we headed off and began to wander and rediscover this fun little town.

A little back story about marinas on the waterfront...I love them!

When I returned from my mission and Brent and I started dating again, I went to California and stayed with his family for a bit.  One of the many places they took me was out to San Fransisco.  We went down to the wharf and that is where my love affair with the waterfront marinas began.

It felt so romantic and dreamy holding hands with my sweetheart, walking along the wharf with a little sea breeze blowing in my hair.  Sigh....

So moving to Seattle, a city built on the water, was just as it should have been...

 

...and so it still is.

This little waterfront marina in Paulso was perfect.

 

And the love affair continues.

We continued on to Port Angeles.  A beautiful town set on the waters edge of the Olympic Peninsula.

If you are not a Twilight fan then this may cause you to roll your eyes but you must forgive me while I indulge in some silly fun...and if your expectations for Twilight is higher than that of silly fun then you're missing out.

Maddie ~ this is for you : )

 

Port Angeles is where Bella goes to find her prom dress and has her first date with Edward.

They dine at  Bella Italia which is a real restaurant here and YES they serve Mushroom Ravioli!

We decided to have lunch down on the waterfront : )

at Smuggler's Landing.

 

It was a cozy but not real fancy place right on the water which for me made it perfect!

Brent had clam chowder in a bread bowl.  The chowder was okay but the bread was super yummy!

I had a chicken Caesar salad and it was over the top delicious!

It was a lazy lunch and I'm glad we found such a great little spot.

And something for Davis...

This step by step carving station was set up right next to our lunch spot.

I thought the process was so interesting and thought of you and your talents immediately!

 

After lunch we walked around a pretty little park set right on the water's edge.

It was very gray and mysteriously misty out on the water.

Perfect weather for wolves and vampires!  Ha ha!!

And then the most amazing thing happened...

We had a wolf sighting!!

Although this incredible wolf/husky breed is not named Jacob it was so cool to talk with his owner anyway.
He did say that the dog was a total chick magnet.  No kidding : )

  

And while this town is about so much more than the Twilight craze, it certainly gets the most out of it.

And from here all you have to do is drive an hour through the gorgeous Olympic National Park & Forest and you are in Forks!  So why not??  Even Brent was up for it.

It truly was one of most spectacular scenic drives I can reminder taking.  Right along the edge of Lake Crescent with fall colors and crystal water.  I'm planning a trip back and staying in the lodge on the lake.  I'm sure Brent will want to come too : )

Brent was such a great sport!  And he felt much better when after we pulled off the road to take a picture, four more cars did as well.

Now Forks is little.

But Twilight put it on the map!

All the places in the movies you can find here.  We drove past Forks High School and they are completely tearing it down and starting over.

The story goes (a young girl that was working at the "all things Twilight" store told me) that when Stephanie Meyer was writing the book, she came here to get it all in her head so that she could visualize it while she was writing.

Interesting fact though, the movies were not filmed here.

None the less, they have tours, stores and more.

I couldn't help but get a picture of one of the tour buses.

In Forks it's not about having milk, it's about having Twilight.

And although we couldn't drive out to La Push (we were running out of daylight and still had to make the last ferry back to Seattle ) there was plenty of it to be found here.

Here's a little taste of La Push from their search site.

All to quickly the day was over and it was time to catch the ferry back.

It was cold, windy and drizzling on the ride back.

I loved it.

I took this of the Space Needle from the front of the ferry coming back into port.  I think it's funky and fun.

Totally Seattle.