I refuse to go back to work.

Lovely weekend! A+! I love my Fridays off! My mom drove up to hang out so was that as really nice (I hate driving and we missed her). Friday night we celebrated September birthdays with friends at the new Blue Door Pub on Selby. I loved it and since we can walk there, it is sure be a new favorite.

Giant Birthday Cookie, looks professional huh?

Saturday my mom & I went out for coffee and then to Goodwill for costume shopping. I bought Nor a skunk costume but it is too little so now Liam Mc gets to sport it and she will be a little ladybug, courtesy of her dad who went back and picked out her new, bigger costume. How sweet.

Hol & Nori causing a scene at Nina's Cafe

You know how people always post awesome recipes to show what a great cook they are? Well, I made a pot roast for my family and let's just say it was like a brick. I got a late start so I put it in the crockpot for 6 hours which translates to high which translates to brick. Oh well.

Family pretending to be excited about dry pot roast. The boxed brownies were great.

Gramsie Hol gave her a baby and she LOVES it. Also, she loves to pull up and stand.

Happy Birthday Melissa Rochelle Nelson Ho!

3 FREE Twins tickets

Vouchers for Home Run Porch tickets to any regular season home game...not many games left. All yours if you tell me the funniest joke.

A miracle is occuring!

Right now I should be rushing off to take T.McB to daycare after 2 plus hours of playing, feeding, diapers etc. But I am not. Why? Because she is STILL SLEEPING! My plan to indoctrinate her into the Seltzbicki ways in finally working. Go to bed early. Check. Take naps. Check. Burp loudly after every meal. Check. And now, finally, sleep in! Check!!! Joy!

My aunts love me...

Not only did my aunts Jill & Tracy stop over to visit and play with my kiddo, Anonymous Aunt Jill brought over a boatload of clothes for me that no longer fit her. I know what you are thinking, "isn't your Aunt Jill that super fabulous fashionista?". No, that is Doris. Anyway, everything was super stylish and in great condition! Here's what fits: 14 pairs of pants (some are dressy, casual, capris & jeans) 4 hot skirts, 1 professional dress and 2 tops. Hello! This is so awesome!! A few pairs of pants didn't fit because they were a tad too short but everything was perfect. I literally do not have enough room in my closet but oh well. I will prob get fired at work because they will think I am interviewing for new jobs. If you happen to see Jill, please tell her about the latest sales at Ann Taylor, GAP and Macy's. Trickle down economics.

Seattle

We're back! Did you miss me? We had a wonderful trip, Norelle was a super traveler and it was fun to get away!

What did we do you ask? Well, I suppose I can give you the highlights...

Thursday
After a smooth Sun Country flight, we hit up Pike's Place. We wandered around the crowded streets admiring the fruit stands, flowers and fresh fish & other sea creatures. It was a cool day so it was fun to be bundled up and have clam chowder outside. All the bakeries were awesome, I found a white chocolate raspberry mini-cheesecake and Jake found some yum cookies for dessert.

Gold Elite

Nori checks the wings for proper alignment

This is what we should have been eating

Just like Rosemarie's Floral & Gift, back in the day

We had calamari later that night, in her honor

Friday
The ferry ride to Bainbridge Island (I kept calling it Brisbane) was sweet, it was cool to see the sights. Lunch at Isla Bonita was delish and Nori enjoyed the Mexican rice, too. We walked around the quaint little town and once again, Jake found some cookies at a bakery. We like to eat.

"Look Dad...Is that Francis Bean?"

Bainbridge beach (named this myself)

Erin & Andrew hosted a pre-wedding par-tay at Pike Brewing Company where we finally caught up with all our Winona friends and the bride & groom to-be. It was an early night because our baby was still on MN time but we stayed out along enough to try the Seattle beer and hot wings!

" I like Pike"

Trying to keep a very tired baby happy

Saturday
Bused it to the Fremont Neighborhood which was our favorite with all the little boutiques and coffee shops. We had a killer Greek breakfast at Costas Opa: mochas and egg scrambles with feta, spinach and artichokes. Shh... don't tell but I found the coolest Christmas present for Nori, a board book set with artwork by artists like Picasso & Degas along with silly baby rhymes. We bought some dark chocolate from a chocolate factory, toured a greenhouse and walked through the Oktoberfest celebrations.

Waiting and waiting in the rain for the bus...

That night was the grand finale with Erin & Andrew's wedding under a tent at the Luna Park Seawall! Yes, it rained but it was one of the most heartfelt, personalized ceremonies I have ever been to and I am so thrilled that Erin & Andrew found each other through such an unlikely encounter (in a corn field in Iowa). The reception was gorgeous, they had beechwood for a guest book, beer mugs & homemade CD's as gifts and loving family & friends everywhere. Cheers Turpins!

Sunday
After another public transportation debacle (really Seattle? my advice: rent a car!), we made it to the Capitol Hill Neighborhood. Not our favorite place but we had an amazing lunch at the beautiful decorated Basil Chile Thai that was worth the trip.

"More rice please!"

Spicy light fixtures, extra heat

Secret garden?

The flight home was a little restless for a baby who just wanted to sleep - mom's collarbone did not make a good pillow. It was wonderful to take our first family vacation together, something we had dreamed about and are grateful we had the resources to do. We have lots of memories and photos to save forever. And now, you do too.

Seltzes leave Seattle
Exhausted!

Waiting for that Seattle update?

Read this by my blog friend Heather of EO in the meantime. She made me cry.

As soon as one of my dear friends has the time to email some wedding photos, I will post. I forgot to take my camera and the bride was wowza.