Thursday, August 8, 2013

Three Things Thursday - Turning 32

So...I turned 32 on Sunday! Other than seeing that number and telling people I'm 32 I honestly don't feel that age at all....maybe I'll just tell people I'm 29 when I meet them from now on yes?

Anyways, post Ragnar has been a whole lot of nothing in the exercise department actually.  I've been running a bit, I've been going to the gym a bit, but mostly I've been relaxing and celebrating a new year of life.

My midwest BFF, Sonia, came into town the Thursday before my b-day (b-day was on Sunday, August 4) and to say we celebrated to our fullest potential every single day would be an understatement...pretty sure I'm still recovering.  Some common themes from the long weekend were bloody marys at breakfast, walking around exploring, afternoon drinks, fabulous dinners...oh and watching episodes of Orange it the New Black <---- BEST.SHOW.EVER

Here are just three of the super fun things we did over 4.5 days!

1. FRIDAY HARBOR OVERNIGHTER!

I picked up Sonia from the airport at 9AM Thursday morning and we proceeded directly to the Anacortes ferry to head to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.  The clouds lifted right as we pulled up to the island and we spent the afternoon and evening exploring all that was Friday Harbor.



The Friday Harbor adventures included:

  • Wine tasting at San Juan Vineyards
  • Wine tasting plus tapas at Mikes Cafe and Wine Bar <---owner of Totem Cellars
  • Staying in the smallest hotel room I've ever seen at the Orca Inn where there motto is "spend a night, not a fortune".  Highly recommend considering this was under $100 a night and all other places in Friday Harbor will well over $200/night.
We woke up Friday morning to pouring rain and some lovely headaches courtesy of all the wine so we decided to check out Roche Harbor and then get on a ferry back home.  Most of the day was spent waiting in a ferry line, being on the ferry, and being in Friday afternoon traffic back to Seattle.  

Isn't Roche Harbor the cutest!
2. SEATTLE GREAT WHEEL
Since Sonia moved from Seattle back to Minneapolis and has come back to visit Seattle she has wanted to go on the Great Wheel.  To be honest, I wasn't too excited about it but agreed to do it for her and the experience and you know what...it wasn't that bad...the views were pretty awesome!  Luckily, the wait was short and so was the ride...hehe!  We both agreed that towards the end we were getting a tad bit of motion sickness so we were happy the ride wasn't too long.


Oh and you get to share the tiny pod with strangers...luckily the people in our pod were friendly and we chatted most of the ride.

3. BIRTHDAY DINNER AT THE WHALE WINS
I've been wanting to try this restaurant out forever after eating at the place next door (Joule <---also fabulous) months ago.  Sonia, my brother and his roommate met there for my birthday dinner and pretty much ate the entire menu.  My brother joked that Joule should really be named The Squid Loses...clever brother that one!


It was family style sharing and we had:
  • Spanish Gordal Olives - biggest olives EVER!
  • Sugar Snap Peas
  • Bitter Greens - we all agreed these were TOO bitter
  • Roasted Cauliflower - best veggie plate and will be re-created at home in the very near future!
  • Painted Hills Filet Mignon - delicious but large portion was still super small and only gave us each a tiny piece of filet
  • Carlton Farms Roasted Pork Shoulder - LOVED THIS!
We all left satisfied but not full...perfect dinner in my opinion, I really love the small plate sharing concept!  And if you need further proof this restaurant is not to be missed it was just nominated as one of the 50 best new restaurants in the UNITED STATES by bon appetite.  And Joule is on there too...successful little building by Gasworks Park I'd say!

No birthday is complete with out dessert so we headed to Old School Custard right before they closed.  Unfortunately they only had chocolate and vanilla but it was still super yummy!


I should add that other Birthday day activities included a jog around Greenlake, outdoor yoga courtesy of Jasyoga, brunch at Greenlake Bar and Grill and drinks at Virginia Inn...BUSY DAY! 

Thanks to all my friends and family for all the texts, facebook posts and tweets!!

Question: Any other August babies out there? I feel like I know a million peeps with bdays in August.  

No comments: