Etsy jewelry picks: vintage inspired.

Back by popular demand... this is a post for the ladies! ;) Per your request, I'll occasionally post some Etsy picks (and may try to pick according to a theme). These lovely pieces are vintage inspired... and I covet every one of them!


What a yummy milkglass green...


Owls are hot right now (and awfully cute!).


This gorgeous necklace could easily be from Anthropologie.


I think I have to have this pendant for the impending blackberry season! Is that reason enough to justify buying it?

Free pizza.

We've had a "scam" going with a local pizza chain ever since moving into our new house last year. Since it seems to work about 90% of the time, we're going to share it with the rest of you:
Call up the pizza joint and order a large, square deep-dish pizza, and, here's the key, ask for it to be "Chicago cut". "Square cut" works too. And be sure to get it for pickup (delivery won't work as well).
When you go to pick up the pizza, they'll check to see if it's "Chicago cut". Nine times out of ten the person making the pizza will just do their usual "round cut" on the square pizza without even noticing the special instructions, which creates a bunch of oddly-shaped pieces. At this point you can either choose to have them remake it correctly, which takes seven minutes, at which time you'll get two pizzas for the price of one; or, you can just ask for a coupon for a free one for next time. We bring the coupon for a free one along every time we go for the pickup, but almost never have to use it, as the pizza is always cut incorrectly. We've literally gotten at least a dozen free pizzas this year.

You probably already know which chain this is, but if not feel free to email us directly.

Two days by the lake.

Visiting Diablo Lake in the North Cascades National Park last weekend was pretty awesome. The lake is quite a sight, turquoise in color from minerals that wash down the mountains via melting snow each year. I've never seen anything quite like it. Neighboring lakes are also shades of blue and green, each taking on their own appearance from whatever is flowing into them when the sun comes out.

We spent two nights at a B&B just outside of the park. Quite frankly, I wasn't digging the idea of camping b/c there are black bears frequently seen in the park. Just one day before we left, a black bear was spotted hanging out at the trailhead we were planning to start a walk on. Forget that!

So, out of fear for our lives, we hiked alongside a naturalist in the area and also took a canoe tour of the lake. Other than the small group of 12 that we did both of these activities with, the lake was virtually free of other people. But, I digress. The water brought back some of the dizziness I've been experiencing (thanks to the old brain injury), so we decided to take a drive and gush over Highway 20's many viewpoints. Once again, I found myself wondering how we have the good fortune to have so many beautiful, natural spots so close by. Photos follow below...


Shawn ponders ordering some "bike food" at the B&B's restaurant.


Some of the old growth forest we hiked through...


Oh, sh*t, bears have been here!!! This tree shows evidence of claw marks.


The North Cascades looming over Diablo Lake.



We ate lunch right around this spot.


Our Subaru sitting at the viewpoint along Highway 20.


Ross Lake, a darker shade of blue than Diablo.


Capturing the view of Diablo from Highway 20.


From my vantage point... Seriously, how is this a mere 3 hours from our house?!


Shawn checking out a topographical map at the lookout.

A great "reading".

Last night we were lucky enough to catch Michael Ian Black doing a reading/signing for his new book "My Custom Van". At these events authors typically read some excerpts from their books, then answer a few questions. MIB, however, is obviously not a typicial writer. He read one quick essay, then proclaimed that he would answer "any question", and proceeded to improv for nearly an hour! The venue was full of superfans, and Michael appeased the lot of us with hilarious answers to questions about The State, Ed, Stella, his movies, and even zingers like "Would you rather drown in a vat of sour cream or guacamole?" (Answer: "Guacamole, as long as it's fresh. If it's fresh, it's healthier for you.") We were both particularly pleased to hear that a State special is currently being developed for Comedy Central. Sweet!



Afterwards we were able to meet him to receive autographs on the book and on our Stella DVD. He asked us if we were married, and that he didn't want to get in the middle of it if we were to divorce. Hence the signing: "Shawn & Heather: Don't break up. I love you both!".

The surreal drive to Diablo: part 2.

The most surreal thing we passed on the way to Diablo Lake was the town of Concrete. Apparently, it was a town in the cement business, so whomever named it called it like they saw it. The town even has its own "Concrete Airport" and "Concrete High School".



We particularly enjoyed the ginormous monument welcoming us to Concrete. Note the shot of Shawn standing in front of it... showing just how giant this freaking thing is.

A surreal drive to Diablo: part 1.

The drive to Diablo Lake and the North Cascades National Park was a surreal one. We passed by quite a few odd things including:


A giant carved cub statue...


A very strange little chapel in the woods...


A beer crossing by a brewery...


And one pretty sighting, a field of wildflowers.

More coming tomorrow...

Diablo.

We are heading to the serene and beautiful North Cascades National Park this weekend. There are 3 national parks within a 3 hour drive from us--a fact that completely blows my mind! Life in Seattle during summer is not bad at all. ;) I've been wanting to check out the super turquoise Diablo Lake since moving here, so I'm excited to spend time taking photos and exploring the area. Pics (courtesy of the internet) follow below...

Hiking Tiger Mountain.

While Bill was visiting, we also did a short hike on Tiger Mountain just outside of the city. We hiked a fairly steep trail to see some crazy cave-like rocks surrounded by a valley of ferns. There were loads of slugs along the way to keep us company. Yuck! Regardless, it was an attractive walk and we were happy to breathe in that yummy pine-y air.



At the end of the hike, S noticed this wooden "cyclops man" hanging out in the woods.

A belated update on the 4th.

Well, it's July 11 and I'm only just posting an update. Things have been challenging since my "brain injury" occurred, with my post-concussion syndrome symptoms changing from one day to the next. Let's face it, I experience most of these symptoms on a day-to-day basis. Irritability? Obviously. Headaches. Most likely. It's the extreme dizziness and short term memory loss that are really getting to me. So, I'm a little behind. To keep it easy, here's the past two weeks in photos. =)



The Greenbergs came to visit! While David was busy at a Microsoft training, we had fun visiting the troll and strolling Green Lake with Lori, Jack, and Ben. Last Thursday, we got together with all of them during lunch and toured the library where S works.


Bill arrived on Thursday night... and immediately began a face-off with Bluebee.



Before heading out for fireworks last Friday, we took Bill to our beloved pub, the George. We were lovin' the nice weather in the beer garden, and I took this nutty shot of S in his Chelsea blue with a funky feature on our newish point-and-shoot camera. We left shortly after with friends to go to a private party.


We watched the fireworks with all of Lake Union spilling below our feet. The party was held at the house of another fellow Chelsea fan!



David & Lori brought us corn on the cob from Indiana. That made my fourth complete!



Paul, me, S, Jason, & Kris... our little pocket of Chelsea supporters at the party.

Best license plate ever.

The vanity plate for the University of Washington features a prominent "W", followed by the plate number. Last week at the beach we noticed this clever license plate; too bad IU's isn't as versatile. :)

Can the yellow pages.

Thanks to our pal John in Portland, I came across an opt-out group who can stop the delivery of that gigantic waste of resources, the yellow pages. Are people still using this albatross? Let's move on to this century and get rid of that thing.

The shiner.

So, it turns out that having a concussion is *not* fun (click here for the full story)... even if it's a mild one. By Monday, the area around my eye turned purple and greenish-yellow. Although it's not quite this gross now, I still have some discoloring around the eye, as well as the cut on my temple.

Internally, however, I've been feeling like I have a permanent hangover. Things are hazy, I find it hard to concentrate, and I am often drowsy. Fortunately, there isn't a lot of pain... mostly just mental discomfort.

I followed up with my doctor Wednesday and he said that these symptoms will probably last a minimum of 3 weeks, but could linger for up to 3 months. That was sucky news. But, he explained that I have, after all, suffered a "brain injury". Yikes!

Strangely enough, S came home from work on Tuesday with his own matching external wound sans brain injury. He managed to whack his head on the corner of a server and gave it a minor cut. How twisted is that? Photo evidence follows below...


Celebrating a low-key 4th anniversary on Wednesday with matching flesh wounds. =)

Design Sponge's Seattle Guide.

After posting an Indianapolis design guide not too long ago, Design Sponge has now put together a guide to Seattle, as well. While seeing an Indy guide blogged there shocked me a bit, I'm not surprised to see our Emerald City has its own design meccas. There are so many great boutiques out here, I have no clue how they ever narrowed down their options.

Happy reading (and shopping)!