highlights of 2011.

i love reading the yearly highlights on other blogs & thought it would be especially fun to catch up on the entire year since i didn't start blogging until the fall.

{via google}

january: we had a mellow start to the new year that was highlighted by starting the last semester of my law school career.

february: we celebrated our 6 month anniversary on the first (cheesy, i know). we hosted a celebration party at our townhouse which included my turning 26 (yikes!), a very belated housewarming & of course, our 6 month anniversary. aaron took me away to whidbey island for a romantic weekend to celebrate my birthday and valentine's day, and we went to serafina (my fav) for dinner!

march: my last official spring break (probably ever) which was spent studying (papers & oral argument) & working on my Bar application. i submitted my Bar application. we were surprised by the early arrival of baby cambridge: franklin pierre cambridge.

{via cari cambridge}

april: we attended the Barrister's Ball (a.k.a. law school prom) which was held at the EMP. we drove to ritzville, WA to meet my dad & brought home the newest member of our little family, sadie. we had a date night at The Pink Door during Seattle Restaurant Week.

{taken at photobooth}

{the very first picture of sadie & aaron at the columbia river - taken with holga 135}

may: my last official final exams period: one final, two papers & a project. i painted our office a soothing blue in preparation for my bar exam studies. we attended Baccalaureate Mass at Seattle University & my Law School Graduation at Key Arena. we flew to indiana to see aaron's family & to attend aaron's ten year reunion at Culver Military Academy. we continued east-ward to Paris where we spent a week of celebration: graduation & aaron turning 28! we spent our first day in Paris with our good friend jerry who acted as our translator & tour guide.

june: i started my bar prep studies on the first; this marked the beginning of eight grueling weeks of 80 hours a week cramming. aaron interviewed & was offered a program manager position (still at microsoft). 

july: we saw Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part II at the IMAX. i sat for the WA Bar Exam on July 26, 27 & 28; i wouldn't have made it thru those three days without my friend miriam, three-evenings-in-a-row massages, jimmy john's delivery service or the sheraton hotel in bellevue. we got celebratory pedis at my favorite spa Julep. 

august: on the first we celebrated our one year anniversary at Rover's. we dropped off sadie with nanny lisa and headed east for a lower family vacation. we spent the bookend weekends in charlotte, NC with aaron's brother david & his family, but spend most of the vacation in charleston, SC on the beach at the Isle of Palms. lots of sun, sand & air conditioning. sadie & i drove to boise for a quick trip home to visit my family & to get a haircut (yes, i go to idaho to get my haircut). we waited in anticipation for baby lower who was born shortly after we left NC: landon neal lower.

{via jodi lower}

september: we saw maroon 5 & train in concert at the white river amphitheater. we drove down to salem for a weekend to see old family friends & so aaron could skydive; we saw our friends but had to cancel the skydiving due to weather conditions & miscommunications. we attended a surprise dinner party for sami, one of my very old friends from idaho, who now lives in seattle with her husband, brandon. on the 26th we celebrated sadie's 7th birthday.

october: i passed the bar exam! we celebrated our four year dating anniversary with dinner at the melting pot. we attended Ghouls Near Greenlake, ben & sarah's annual halloween bash as aladdin & jasmine. we ate our way thru seattle & bellevue during Seattle Restaurant Week. aaron ran in the warrior dash. i started a little blog called emerald city diaries to keep family & friends updated on the lower family.

november: i was sworn in as an official King County Bar Association member. i was rear-ended. we celebrated the baptism of baby herschel, the son of one of my law school friends. we celebrated thanksgiving with my grandmother & friends in seattle. we bought doug the douglas fir, the second annual lower family christmas tree. aaron took me to the nutcracker for an early christmas date.

december: we celebrated the engagement of our good friends andy & hailey. we attended a champagne brunch fundraiser. we got an SLR camera. we drove to boise in a rental car. i got a haircut. we flew to vegas. we attended the nuptials of scott & kelly at the chapel in the clouds. we cheered on the boise state broncos to victory in the las vegas bowl. we attended a christmas reunion of the CBC (my dearest high school girlfriends). we celebrated christmas! we drove back to seattle. 

whew, what a year! every year i think "this has been the best year ever!" and i think this is totally true about my 2011.

how was your 2011 - was it a year to remember or are you itching to start 2012 already?

M

my weekend in pictures.

{b.l.a.t. at oddfellows. it was time for a change-up from turkey.} 

{does anyone know how to darn a mitten?} 

{pouring down rain = wellies.} 

{apple cup. bow down to the huskies!} 

{thai take-out.} 

{you know it's the holiday season when TJ's carries candy cane green tea. my fave!} 

{thanksgiving leftovers.} 

{hot cocoa & a walk around the neighborhood. don't know what we would do without a coffee shop right down the block!} 

 {baking the apple pie.}

{this is how sadie sleeps. all. the. time.} 

{after making turkey stock, we made turkey stew with wild rice, pancetta and crimini mushrooms.}

{date night at the nutcracker.}

we had the laziest weekend ever. but then today i got a million-and-a-half things done before noon. does that ever happen to you? how was your weekend?

M

seattle restaurant week.

{photo via}

though i have fully enjoyed what seattle restaurant week had to offer this fall, i am sad to see it come to an end. next spring seems too long a time to wait for such a wonderful way to enjoy the restaurants this city has to offer. for those of you not in the know, seattle restaurant week is two weeks (minus the weekend in-between) twice a year (fall and spring) where restaurants all over the city offer special lunch and dinner menus at really affordable prices - 3 courses for $28 (dinner) and 3 courses for $15 (lunch). 

whenever restaurant week comes around, we always have to limit ourselves ahead of time and usually choose two new places to dine. my husband was so sweet this year and surprised me with reservations at two new restaurants so that we would have a date night on each tuesday. we got really lucky this fall and also ended up at three other restaurants over the last two weeks with family and friends, so we really got to enjoy restaurant week five times!

i would highly recommend all of the restaurants we chowed down at this week. my fav is a tie between cantinetta and the tin table - both were delish!

{wild ginger at the bravern} 

{cantinetta in bellevue} 

 {seastar in seattle}

{the tin table}

the fifth restaurant we visited was the keg in factoria. i didn't get a chance to take a picture as (1) we didn't even realize the keg was participating in seattle restaurant week until we got there, and (2) we were in a rush because we were trying to catch a movie. 

you should check it out if you live here, or if you just happen to be visiting seattle during the right week, as it is such a great chance to enjoy amazing food and often at a fraction of the price of the regular menu.

seattle restaurant week

maroon 5 & train on tour

a few weeks ago (actually a month ago tomorrow) aaron (my husband) and i got to see maroon 5 and train in concert. even though the venue wasn't really in seattle (it was a bit south of here in renton) and it took forever to get home fighting traffic, it was totally worth it! we have both been followers of maroon 5 since their first album "songs about jane" released in the early 2000s, and actually the band was one of the things we had in common when we first met (that's another story for another day). as for train, well, they have been around for years ("drops of jupiter" anyone?), but "hey soul sister" happens to be one of my very favorite songs (yes, it's my ringtone).

we knew when we bought tickets  that we would be close, but it wasn't until we got to the venue and found our section that we realized how close we really were: floor seats just a few rows back! it was perfect as we were close enough to actually see the bands on stage, but not too close to all of the groupies. matt nathanson was the opening show and i didn't even realize who he was until he started singing his radio hit "come on get higher." after matt's set wrapped, the curtain went down in order for the change of bands. aaron and i just assumed that train would be next since it seems like maroon 5 is a bigger name, so we were both really surprised when the curtain rose and adam levine was on stage!

the maroon 5 set was awesome. they sang their new hit "moves like jagger" along with many of the oldies from their first record, including "sunday morning." (side note: "sunday morning" was our first dance song at our wedding. our actual song was "everything" by michael buble, but aaron convinced me we couldn't dance to that song since it was so fast - he surprised me at our wedding reception and actually sang "everything" to me - so we decided that the acoustic version of "sunday morning" was the perfect song because we, in fact, got married on a sunday morning.). the train set was equally awesome. they sang many of their old and very well known hits and also delighted the crowd, including yours truly, with "hey soul sister." it was fantastic.

{matt nathanson}

{me. can you see my earplugs? it's not that i didn't want to hear the bands, i just want to be able to hear when i grow up!}

{adam levine & maroon 5}

{train}

and because you couldn't be there, here are two video clips of my favorite two parts of the show to make you feel like maybe you were:

{sunday morning rain is falling...}

{hey soul sister ain't that mister mister...}

M