pumpkin head

Bret's friend AJ is the king of finding great stuff on the internet. We saw this on his blog and it's just too good not to pass along. The dance moves (don't miss the leg kick), the music and the costume are a winning combination, although the end is a little weird. The whole thing is pretty weird actually. Thanks AJ, and Happy Halloween to all.

another year

Today is our two year anniversary. And yes, I am going to take this opportunity to display pictures of that beautiful day.

Since it is our anniversary, I thought I'd post another of our dancing videos. This one is from our trip to Midway for our one year anniversary. We're dorks, but we're nice dorks.

kerry park

One of the most visited parks in Seattle is Kerry Park known for its panoramic view of the city and, on a clear day, Mt. Rainier in the distance. The best part is that it's only a seven minute stroll from our apartment.

filling the void

I'm unemployed right now as many of you know. If you've been unemployed before you also know that there really is only so much you can do each day searching for a new job without going bonkers. That leaves me with more free time than I've had in awhile. We've done our best to fill any time that Bret is off work with lots of exploring the city and taking of pictures (please see any other blog post I've done lately as reference). But while Bret's at work I've tried my best to keep active and busy. Here are a few things I've been doing lately to stay sane:

1. The most obvious time-killer is television. I've tried to limit my daily intake but it's been hard lately what with fall line-ups and everything (but lets face it, I would have found time for shows like 30 Rock, Biggest Loser and SYTYCD no matter how busy I am). Besides the obvious favs, I've also rekindled my love for Oprah, Cash Cab and Jeopardy and discovered a new love, Project Runway. How have I missed out on this show? I'd heard about it of course but never really gave it a chance. At least I have a lot to catch up on now should I want to.2. I've also been catching up on some reading. Luckily there is a great library in walking distance that has become my second home. My most recent favorite has been Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float (subtitle: Classic Lit Signs On To Facebook). If you've read a lot of classic literature and you're at least slightly familiar with Facebook, you'll appreciate this book. It's a super quick read, took me only a couple hours actually, but it's full of good stuff. Basically it's written as if famous characters and authors were on Facebook and how they would interact and how their stories would be told through social media in the form of status updates and news feeds. For instance:

- Jane Eyre has "Hark Knock Life" on repeat.
- Juliet sent Romeo 1,000 Goodnights.
- Hamlet wonders if he should continue to exist. Or not.

Very fun and clever. I'm looking for a new book now so if you know of any good ones, let me know.
3. Another Library find was the complete DVD collection of the Horatio Hornblower Mini Series by A&E. I remember when these first came out while I was in Jr. high and my parents being so into them and me thinking I'd rather die than sit and watch it. I'm very glad my tastes have matured enough that I can appreciate these really awesome "movies" (8 in all) starring Ioan Gruffudd (Amazing Grace).
The best part about them is that Bret actually watches and enjoys them with me! I feel like I've found a loophole to the "bonnet movies" curse (bonnet movies referring to English period dramas like that of Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell that women adore but their husbands can't stand to watch with them and, yes, have an abundance of women wearing bonnets). Horatio has the perfect balance of English accents and old-fashioned clothing that you can enjoy mixed with high-sea, swash buckling adventure and hardly any bonnet-wearing (hardly any women for that matter) involved that he appreciates. Give it a try, it just might save your marriage.

4. Bret and I have also taken up salsa dancing. We've been wanting to do some kind of partner dance class since the beginning but we've never followed through. Well luckily some friends of ours (the group Bret has known since he lived here in middle school) know a guy who teaches salsa and agreed to give private lessons in their apartment every Thursday night for six weeks. There are four couples doing it and so far we're half way through our lessons. After last night's lesson I feel like we're finally catching on. Soon enough we'll be doing moves like this (probably not in that dress though):
5. Blogging.

6. I love going to the Theatre and Bret and I have been lucky enough to go to two great shows in the last month. First was Wicked which was in town here for a few weeks. I decided one particular Friday when I had nothing to do to try my luck at the lottery. I'd won it before in NYC but that was after several attempts. Knowing the odds and also that we've already seen it before, I wasn't too nervous about it. But by golly I won. No need to go on about how great that show is.

This week we went to a play with some people in our ward called The 39 Steps. It's adapted from the Hitchcock movie (which was adapted from a book) about a man caught up in a world of spies and evil plots. Despite my assumption that it would probably be dark and scary, it was actually one of the funniest plays I've ever been to. There are only four cast members that take on hundreds of rolls in the story through very clever and creative costume changes. We loved it.
7. I'm also trying to become a better cook and have ambitions to learn to sew. My mom gave me a small sewing machine when I moved and I hope to take some lessons at a fabric shop down the street. Let's hope I inherited the same sewing genes my sister apparently did from my mother.

So that's a taste of my life lately. If you have any suggestions as to what books to read, recipes to try, movies to watch or hobbies to pick up, please let me know. Please note that despite all these distractions, my first priority is still with finding a job. If you have any suggestions in that department I'll be just as appreciative.

*I'd also like to add trips to the ER to this list.

when desperation strikes

I'm not quite there yet but give me a couple more weeks and I may be responding to this amazing craigs list ad.

beaches

If you haven't already figured it out, most of my posts lately are basically just pictures of Seattle so if you aren't sick of that yet, please continue. I promise that once we've stopped exploring our new city and the weather turns for the worst, the onslaught of photos will dwindle. Fortunately the weather has been quite delightful and we've been out and about soaking up the sun "while it lasts". I keep hearing about this impending rainy season that will devastate us all but I've yet to see it...I'm beginning to doubt of its existence.

I need to apologize for that last sentence. I've been watching a lot of movies that take place in 19th Century England lately and it seems to have affected me (read the above with a snooty British accent and you'll know what I mean). Here are some pictures at nearby beaches.

Alki Beach

We went here like three weeks ago when it was still 80 degrees. The water was absolutely freezing though. Still, a day at the beach is a day at the beach.



I'm not sure why a lady liberty is here but I guess it never hurts to be reminded.

Golden Gardens beach

This beach was the perfect combination of summer and fall, having both the ocean and the autumn colors together. Bret and I have a feeling this is where Tom Hanks plays with his son on Sleepless in Seattle. It was actually Bret who thought of that not me. I'm so wearing off on him.



Bret is trying to fulfill a New Year's resolution he made with his friend Jordan to bring tube socks back in style. All I can say is, Candice, I hope you're dealing with this too. At least it's not fanny packs.
I'm weird and I love playing with sand and mud.


To be honest, the socks are kind of growing on me.

Update: We have since watched Sleepless and discovered that is actually Alki Beach not Golden Gardens where they film the beach playing scene. That kind of information is important to me so I just assume you'd feel the same.

farmer's market

Since I lived in NYC I've been a sucker for little street markets and community festivals. So when I was looking for apartments in Seattle and heard that the Queen Anne Farmer's Market was held weekly right outside our building, I took it as a sign and we moved in. (That, and the fact that there was a literal sign in the window that said Laura Miller on it. No joke. She's a local real estate broker with signs all over the city)

Anyway, I've loved having this little market right outside. Not only do they have lots of fresh organic fruits and veggies but they also have musicians, artists, cooking classes and book signings. I've been taking pictures every so often and since last Thursday was its final day, I thought I'd share some. 

Absolutely amazing french fries.

Doggies, doggies everywhere. I'm not exaggerating when I say that there are more dogs in Seattle than there are people. Ok I am exaggerating, but there are a lot of them. They could probably unite against us and take over the city if they weren't such loyal friends. 

I could go on about how rad this guy was, but you can surely see that for yourself.

This reminded me of my own little nieces dancing together... so cute.

That's our building behind B. Notice how he's surrounded by wholesome food and yet he still has a Dr. Pepper in his hand. 

the stache

Bret is a fan of the mustache. I appreciate a good one as much as the next person but it's different when you have to deal with it everyday. The only time I was Ok with him growing one was while he was in Brazil on his study abroad when we were unofficially engaged and I was thousands of miles away.

Being unemployed these days has given me a lot of free time, and this morning I was looking through all our photos and found some doozies of him with his stache that I'd like to share with all of you :)

This is how it began

He also became attached to this bandana while in Brazil as you'll see.

The stache in front of gorgeous waterfalls  (feel free to zoom in to get the full effect)

This has got to be one of my all time favorites. Even with the amazing scene behind him, the mustache steals the show.

This doesn't show the mustache but I thought it was a cool picture.

Being Draco Malfoy (?) at the Harry Potter premiere in Sao Paulo.

I think this was the worst of it.

Ok I totally forgot that I did let him grow it out a little once after we were married. His friends had a competition of who could grow the best one before graduation. He and Brig were the only ones to even make it that far (this was as much a personal accomplishment for me as it was a victory for him). Here's the last picture before the shave.