Little surprises

My ring from my Bella Candle.

I got together with a group of girlfriends the other night and my friend, Jamie, surprised us all with these candles. Somewhere in the candle is a ring that is supposed to be worth up to $5000. I had never heard of these, but apparently there are other varieties of these candles. I only had to burn my candle for a couple hours before I saw the foil packet that contained my ring. These rings are made of sterling silver. I still have a lot of candle left to enjoy on top of it all. It's such a fun gift idea! Definitely something to keep in mind.

Post Holiday Humanity

Now that the holiday season is wrapping up, many charities will experience a dip in giving. This is well documented and there are many a blog posts and articles around this subject. I whole heartedly agree that we should give back to the community year-round. Although I admit, it is much easier said than done. We live in a busy world with schedules overflowing with commitments. These commitments are a further sign of our good fortune. We are loved, our company is desired, we have disposable income, and so on. There is, however, something each of us can give to those less fortunate that requires no additional time or money on our part. Dignity. Just the simple act of recognizing the human that is holding the sign asking for money. Too often we avert our gaze when we sit at the freeway off ramp. We pretend to look at our phone or change the radio station. Why do we do this? To avoid the weight of the guilt of our privilege? Yes, it is uncomfortable to look at someone in that position. Imagine how uncomfortable it must be in their shoes. A smile and a wave is all it takes. Just acknowledge that you see them and that you recognize their humanity. I am in no way this should take the place of giving back, but it is an easy step in the right direction. It helps connect us in a society that is growing even more disconnected. What do you do to help those in need?

Weekend Outing - Bizzarro

I had heard an old wives tale that eggplant parmesan can induce labor. Five days prior to my due date I was on a mission to get my baby moving - I did not want to waste a single day of my maternity leave not having a baby. We decided to take a walk around Green Lake on that super hot August day and that we would wrap it up by grabbing dinner at Bizzarro, a hidden gem in the Wallingford/Green Lake area. One disappointment was that the eggplant parmesan is actually an appetizer here. The disappointment didn't last long because the dish was delicious and being 9 months pregnant I certainly wasn't going to complain about the need to order an entree too. Well....it worked! A few bites into dessert, the Chocolate Caliente, my water broke! Luckily I am not easily embarrassed. My husband let some of the wait staff know what was going on and that we needed to get our check sooner rather than later. This weekend we decided to return to enjoy a meal with our son and leave in a less hurried fashion and we were not disappointed. We will be back again! What's your favorite hidden gem restaurant?

M'ungry - Groceries

Who enjoys grocery shopping? From time to time I hear people say they like going to the grocery store and my jaw hits the floor. On the rare occasion that I can go in the middle of the day in the middle of the week, I don't mind it. It hardly ever works out that way for me and I end up there after work at the same time as everyone else. Trying to weave my cart through the too narrow aisles of the store and waiting in the checkout lines with all the other suckers caught up in the rat race. Those were my feelings at baseline when I was just another DINKY doing a quick grocery run. Now that I have a baby all of these feelings are amplified. Enter Amazon Fresh. I was hesitant at first. Worried that the convenience of having my groceries delivered would come with a hefty price tag. My concerns were soon proven unfounded. I love it! The trouble is, they know it. They know how much I hate grocery shopping and that they hooked me with their great produce priced on par with QFC. We will see how this all shakes out, I don't think I can justify $299 a year for the joy of avoiding the grocery store. I am thinking it is time to try out Instacart. This article has me thinking twice about that option though. It might be back to the aisles for me. What are your thoughts about the new Prime Fresh membership?

Weekend Outing - The Nutcracker

Saturday we went and watched the Pacific Northwest Ballet's last year of doing The Nutcracker the way I grew up knowing it. PNB has been performing this version since 1983, just slightly longer than I have been alive. I have seen various other ballet companies perform The Nutcracker throughout my life, but far and away my favorite has been this version. The Maurice Sendak sets are etched into my mind. I will never forget the first time I saw a performance other than the PNB version and was immensely disappointed when the Christmas tree didn't "grow" in the first act.

Three years ago Greg took to me to see The Nutcracker when we were living in Denver. It was beautiful, but I told him nothing compared to the PNB version. I am so glad that I was able to take him to the second to last performance of the rendition I grew up with! Will you go see the new choreography and sets next year?

M'ungry - Fresh Milk

When I was a kid we had milk delivered to our house. All the neighborhood kids absolutely adored Todd, our milkman, and would eagerly await Wednesday afternoons. He would let us climb up into the truck and ride along as he went through the neighborhood doing his deliveries. On his way out of the neighborhood he would drop us off and we would all scamper home. No this is not a scene from the 1950's. This was in a Seattle suburb in the 1990's! We had our milk delivered by Smith Brothers Farms and for the longest time I didn't know milk came any other way. The only downside of their milk delivery is that they don't deliver to condos and apartments. This fall we moved out of our apartment and into a house - oh the joy! I could finally have milk delivered again! It could just be the nostalgia, but I swear their milk tastes better than any milk I have ever purchased in a grocery store. Their farm used to be located in Kent, but now is in Eastern Washington. In theory I could take a day trip and go meet the cows that make my milk. Yum - locally sourced milk delivered to my doorstep. I wonder if they still let kids ride on the truck....

Weekend Outing - Dru Bru

We braved the torrential downpour in the Seattle metro area and the eventual snow in the pass to check out Washington State's newest brewery, Dru Bru. They just opened up at a new development aimed to make Snoqualmie Pass have more of a resort community feel. The look and feel of the tap room brought me back to my apres ski beers in Colorado. They currently have six beers on tap, of which I tried four. The winter seasonal was delicious, but I was also a huge fan of the Schwarzbier. The rich dark flavor makes it perfect for a snowy day. We even ended up taking a growler of it home to enjoy. I can't wait for there to be enough snow in the mountains to make a stop by the brewery after a day of snowshoeing or skiing. Although, the beer is so good it is worth the trip up there for that alone! What's your favorite Seattle area micro brew?