February Happenings
Dear... GARDEN I am sure hoping we can break ground on you soon! I have ambitious plans to build a raised bed in between the sidewalk and the street out in front of our house. Then, I will have lots of research to do to find out what to plant in the Pacific Northwest and when to get it in the dirt! I'm really looking forward to growing some of my own things again! And, Jack is going to be my big helper...he's already been talking about "digging in the garden".
VACATION WEEK Remember how good you were to us? Movie watching every night, family walks, dinners with friends, lunch at the bakery, drinks at the bookstore cafe, and our Seattle date night...oh, please, come back! We liked it better when you were here!
FARMER'S MARKET We have missed you! It was good to see you again at the beginning of the month. We have made a fun promise to ourselves to visit you each Saturday that all 3 of us are at home (right now that is not often, sadly). And, we are going to find a fun treat to bring home with us from your tempting bounty and pair a visit to you with an outing for breakfast or lunch. The food stands at the market smell so delicious...we are excited to indulge in vegetable quesadillas next time we are there (or, of course, make another trip to Nook!
SUMMER The pairing of David's vacation with the most outstanding February weather of sunshine, blue skies, and fifty+ degrees has made us super excited for summer! We are already mentally filling up our weekends (By the way, we are SO over the moon that we are going to have weekends together again!!! Starting in July, with the change to Radiology residency, we are promised weekends OFF for the whole academic year!) with overnight camping trips (reservations for summer campsites are nearly full by this time!), canoeing adventures, trips to the many beaches, picnics in the sun, and day trips! If you have Pacific Northwest summer recommendations, please, please share...but, all plans must include a 2 year old.
BOOKS I am so happy to be reading you again. Well, I guess I never really stopped reading you, but getting through 4 or so in a year was about my pace. I've already many since moving to Seattle...thanks, in part, to motivation from my book club. I've read The Marriage Plot (not so good, I give it a 2.5 rating out of 5), Hungry Monkey (5 out of 5), Girl with a Dragon Tattoo (4.5 out of 5), Before I Go To Sleep (4 out of 5), and Operating Instructions: A Journal of my Son's First Year (4 out of 5). And, I'm currently reading Epilogue, Parenting an Only Child, and Eater's Manifesto. Next in line...Bird by Bird, Bringing up Bebe, A Visit from the Goon Squad, Julia's Child, A Grown Up Kind of Pretty, Blood, Bones, and Butter, and the Art of Fielding. Any good book suggestions???...I would love to hear them, please share!
HOTEL WISH LIST Hotel Endémico, located in Baja, Mexico in the wine-producing Valle de Guadalupe about one and a half hours south of San Diego, has officially been added to my "hotels that I must visit" list (don't you have a similar list???...so many cool places to visit!). It is a “luxury camping hotel” and consists of 20 bungalows, each with a private terrace adorned with a clay fireplace and an unobstructed view of the winery and vineyards below. On the property is also a pool with a view of the valley and a fine food restaurant that uses organic foods and follows the "slow food" principles. The bungalows are $200/night...wouldn't it be a fun and indulgent wine tasting getaway?! Who wants to go???