Day 2 in Spokane!

Our morning started off at the best breakfast place ever, Rusty Moose! I am not a big breakfast person, but they had the most wonderful bread. Yes, it was just plain wheat bread, but it made this stop well worth it. It had a cool cabin feel that I envisioned Spokane being like. We didn't have time to see all of Spokane, but it definitely had it's cool parts and others were a little questionable!

This huge moose burned the fire out of Marissa's inner thighs

because she didn't know it was going to be hot and just plopped on down!

The owner took this one and thought we were a hoot!

Well, the point on the trip was to watch my hubby play basketball, and it was so entertaining to watch him in his element. He is such a talented player, and he absolutely loves the game. I think the three of us girls were good cheerleaders for all the games that started after 10am (since we slept in and met him downtown later)!

Here was the game winning shot from the first of four games on the last day.

Just a fun pic I liked from the championship game.

Overall, Gabe's team lost by ONE point in the final championship game. They were devastated, BUT so glad to be done playing ball since they were completely exhausted. Two days of basketball without a sub wore my hubby out, heck, I was tired after two days of being in the sun and I didn't even play! Mollie's boyfriend played in a bracket as well, and Gabe filled in as their sub for a couple games so we got to watch them play too. Their courts were on completely opposite sides, so we got a little workout going back and forth!

Crossing the Spokane River that runs through downtown

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Adventure to Eastern WA

Gabe was invited last minute to fill a spot of an injured player in Hoopfest with two guys he plays with regularly in league games at LA Fitness, and he happily said yes. I decided to venture out east to Spokane since I have never been before and tag along for the world known 3 on 3 tournament! The entire city shuts down with 400 courts spanning 40 downtown blocks, and approximately 200,000 fans and players participating in some kind of way. I thought it would be fun to have Mollie and Marissa come along and keep me company. When I invited Molls on the trip, she was like, "Isn't it going to be weird being the third wheel?" It wasn't like that at all .... and I would have been offended if she went off and left us :)

Gorgeous view driving to Spokane

Marissa, me, Mollie on Day 1

It was mid 80's, but felt much warmer being on the black cement,

so we made a trip to the ice cream truck for a refreshment.

**I learned I love Rocket Pops!!

Dinner after a long day in the sun

(Mom you would be proud of me wearing 80SPF)

Walking through Downtown Spokane

We then stumbled upon the Davenport Hotel,

a Spokane highlight built in 1914 and restored since.

It was absolutely classy and gorgeous.

Gabe had a grand ole' time serenading us on the piano!

I had too many pictures to add from the entire weekend, so I will post the rest of the weekend on another entry! Stay tuned.

Thailand

I am so incredibly pumped about my new book from Sonja! We met for lunch since her little baby is due in about a week, and she surprised me with this to plan for our trip to Asia. Gabe and I are stoked about researching Thailand, figuring out the best months to visit, and work out all the kinks of traveling overseas. Boy, is it difficult to plan. I just wish I could pick up the phone and talk to someone on the other line to tell me how far things are from each other and how one might get from Bangkok to the tip of the country, etc. Apparently, Mom said Fodor's is the way to go when planning for a trip ... Thanks Sonja!!

Anyone been to Thailand and have traveling tidbits or advice? Thankfully Carmen and Jamie just moved to Singapore a couple months ago and will be extremely helpful in the process. Plus, we will get to see them on our adventure!

Semiahmoo Resort

I am working the WOMA (Washington Osteopathic Medical Association) conference this evening and all day tomorrow at the Semiahmoo Resort. Such a gorgeous area surrounded by water and lush greenery everywhere else. The website explains the location it being, "nestled on the north Puget Sound shoreline overlooking the Semiahmoo Bay and Drayton Harbor" in Blaine, Washington, which is the last exit before the Canadian border. This is a definite hot spot for vacationers, and I am sitting here wishing my hubby was here to enjoy it with me. Off to a reception, and then probably enjoy some dinner from their local seafood restaurants in my room while watching SYTYCD! Life couldn't get any better.

I forgot my cord to transfer pictures from my camera to my laptop,

so the web photos will suffice for now!

Photos found here

I wish, I wish

Photo found here

I saw this gorgeous Temperley London gown on Emma Watson and I wish, I wish I had one of my own :) Yes, this girl is like 18 and maybe I should like something an older adult might wear, but I just love the unique straps with it's flattering neckline!

Happy Father's Day

This was my Dad's idea to take this photo since I have him in the palm of my hands :)

Gabe and I are so blessed with loving fathers and wonderful family members!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY - We wish we were closer and could spend it together.

One Lucky Girl

This is what she is going to look like ....

I am one lucky girl to have a company car at my fingertips, and I definitely don't take it for granted.

I hope she get's here soon!

Sinful Treat

Melissa told me about this fabulous cupcake boutique in Seattle where she indulged a S'more cupcake that was out of this world delicious, so I thought I should stop in and check it out. This is another reason why I am loving having the heart of Seattle as my new territory because I can find fantastic finds like this!!!

Isn't this the cutest concept! I just had to take a picture (shocking, right?!)

I got a lovely variety and they seemed too beautifully made to enjoy ....

but we chowed in anyways.

Red velvet (Gabe loves), snickerdoodle (Gabe also loves), triple chocolate (yes, Gabe loves this one too),

and who knows what else!

**They had a humingbird flavor, but I was too nervous to try it.

Supposedly it was like banana nut bread with something else.

The girls and I went to Crossfit this evening, and the second we recovered from a killer workout .... I pulled out a surprise for each of them out of my trunk. I am pretty sure Northwest Crossfit wouldn't approve of this being of the Zone Diet, but we just won't tell. LOL

LOVE MY CF GIRLS!!!!

I asked the associates at the cupcake store how many calories were in each cupcake, on average, and they claimed to not know. YEAH RIGHT! I got it out of them to give an approximate amount, and they said 400 calories. Well, off we go to the gym in the morning to work off this treat!!

Dang's Birthday!

A group of us celebrated Amy's 25th Birthday at Boom Noodle, and it was so fun to get together and share what's going on in our lives. I haven't eaten much Japanese food before, but thank goodness Emi was there to give her suggestions! I found out I love Gyoza (it's like pot-stickers), and Mollie and I shared the Miso Ramen (pretty tasty, but it makes me nervous when they throw raw meet into the bowl and the hot soup cooks it). The highlight of the evening was the green tea ice cream wrapped in rice paper ... mmmm! The service was almost unbearable, but it was purely amusing by the end of the night.

Mollie Beth

(isn't this green wall fabulous!!)

All the girls:

me, Christie, Emi, Amy, Marissa, Mollie (and Becca came later)

Carms it was so great getting to talk to you on Skype in SINGAPORE pretending like you were with us! We miss you!!!

Help Help!

So, I need every ones advice, and I need it pretty quick! I am ordering my bridesmaid dress from J.Crew tomorrow, and I have gone back in forth between a couple different styles because I am incredibly indecisive! Katie is letting us pick between five different styles, and the vision is to have a variety of girls all wearing the same material with a mix of styles. It's going to look great once all said is done, and these three are the top picks so far. I like each one for different reasons, and my goal is to be able to pick one of these dresses and wear it again .... to anything! Then, the value becomes a lot better if I can wear it to another wedding, work Holiday party, birthday dinner, etc. The list goes on, which is great about the color black!

The goal is to find the perfect little black dress for ME!

I added a picture with a model in a different color since all the details weren't as visible with the black.

Pick #1: ERICA

Pick #2: LYDIA

Pick #3: SYDNEY

Please, Please leave a little comment and help me decide :)

Harley Hair

This is how I feel right now and probably look too! Gotta love "Harley Hair"

My manager is riding with me tomorrow to all of my offices and lunch appointment, so I am prepping for an eventful day with him. I have been driving a Toyota Camry as my rent car until my Subaru comes (which I get to order on Monday), and I am completely unorganized. Everything had it's place in my old car, now, not so much. I need to spend the rest of the day working on that, so I better run.

I am thrilled to order my new vehicle, but Gabe and I are going back and forth on the color. I want charcoal and he wants black. The charcoal color has a two tone look since the bottom panel is a different shade, and Gabe says that looks more like a wagon. I guess since we are trying to hide the fact that the Subaru Outback is a wagon, then I might as well get black. Although, I never wash my car. I need suggestions readers!!

Surprise Shower

My team had a surprise baby shower for my partner before she goes out on maternity leave next week, which I am happy for her and sad for myself :) Sonja thought she was meeting me and two of our girlfriends for a goodbye lunch, and instead was surprised by the district. There were a few missing who had prior obligations, but it was so nice to get most all of us together in celebration of her upcoming little one.

After finalizing the game plan with many people involved and tricking her along the way ... it then finally went off without a hitch. I really think she was surprised!

Crystal, Sonja, me, Jamie, Rebecca, Cheri, and Rocky

Mini Nike Shox from Robb that were soo precious!

Sonja and Jamie (my old partner who I miss working with dearly)

Sonja, you are one of the easiest partners to work with, and you're going to be incredibly missed (by me particularly - can I say that enough??)! Gabe and I are wishing you the best delivery and a healthy recovery. Get ready to juggle raising a little one and answering all of my phone calls ..... Okay, I will refrain a little so you can forget about Pfizer for a bit, but I do want to hear about everything regarding life with a BABY!!!

Friday!

Yay - It's Friday, and I couldn't be happier for weekend to relax and soak up the amazing weather!

Aren't these Sprinkle cupcakes great! They make me happy, but glad I don't have a location in my proximity.

Snoqualmie Falls

Snoqualmie Falls is definitely a highlight for Seattle visitors. It is only about 30 minutes east of Seattle, and we were excited to go again since it had been about a year and a half since we had last been out here with my family from Dallas. It is a gorgeous park with a resort and spa, a half a mile hike to the bottom of the waterfall, adventurous rock hopping to get closer to the falls, and then what seems like a very steep climb back up. It goes by pretty quick!

We found it relaxing to just stare at the falls and chat about any and everything.

Randy and LaJuana

Gabe and his cousin, Chris

My hoody did wonders to save me from most of the mist while venturing down to the falls.

All the fam after the hike down

(then my hair became super rough)

And we are done, now, climb back up!

We overheard a lot of interesting conversations: A dad telling his little girl that she couldn't climb down on the rocks to the bottom of the falls because she was a little girl. And she said, "But brother get's to do it," and he said, "because he is a little boy." Hmm. Then, there was the cutest little kid that was probably four years old who got a great teaching moment on the hike back up. As we passed him, we heard his parents say with a completely straight face, "There are consequences for your actions. You chose to walk down to the falls, which means you have to walk back up." It was sooo funny to see this poor kid regretting walking down because he was so tired and was stomping his feet back to the top! Ahhh, parenting.