Category: N.

Halloween Pics

E loved the Halloween festivities this weekend. On Friday afternoon I took him to N’s office for their party. E was a little apprehensive at first but very quickly got the gist of the holiday (i.e. candy) and would scoot up to people and mumble “icko-reet!”

E as a dog and me in my cop-out black cat costume.

N and his team at work rockin’ it out as an 80s hair band.
(Note: this is the only photo of N wearing jeans you will probably ever see. He hasn’t owned a pair since he was 14. I had to go to a thrift store and buy these especially for his costume.)

Before this weekend E had only had candy on a few occasions. But he very quickly learned how to say “candy” and has been running around the house trying to wheedle pieces from us all weekend. On Saturday evening I had planned on just taking him to a few houses but he insisted on going all the way around the block but then lost steam and I had to tow him back home.

All things considered, it was the best Halloween I’ve had in a long time.

I heart (in no particular order) pierogi and N

N is amazing and helps out a lot around the house and takes a turn cooking dinner every other night. It’s a huge relief not to be responsible for putting dinner on the table everyday. N’s probably the better cook of the two of us anyway and last night he put together this tasty meal of pierogi and vegetables. I love dumplings of all sorts and pierogi in particular. Dumplings stuffed with mashed potatoes and cheese–what’s not to like? Add some sour cream on the side and you are in heaven, my friend.

On an unrelated note, I’ve updated my URL. This is the new one. Please adjust your bookmarks accordingly. (Hee-hee! Make your own here.)

Have a great weekend.

Gasworks Park

After we ate our way from one end of Wallingford to the other we stopped by Gasworks Park on the way home to take in one of the best views in Seattle.

There were a lot of people there enjoying the summer evening.

It was relaxing to watch the boats go by.

Woman’s best friends.

Detail of a sundial.

Today is a state holiday to honor the pioneer members of my church and so N has the day off from work. Presented with a Thursday night that was no longer a “school night” we got a sitter and went out to dinner and to see Harry Potter. It was really nice to spend time one-on-one with N chatting and laughing after not seeing each other for a while. I think it might be true what they say about absence and the heart because he seems even cuter and funnier than before.

I hope you have a great weekend!

The Ideal Gift

You may have heard that the ideal gift for the eight anniversary is bronze or pottery. But it’s not. It’s collectible vinyl toys!

I’ve been collecting these keychains for a while but the local store that carries them hasn’t had them in stock lately which has been pretty disappointing. Well, yesterday N surprised me with a wholesale-sized box of them!

Twenty-five yummy breakfast keychains in all their blindbox glory. *drool*

On top of that, N had swapped out one of the keychains and hidden another present inside its box. So I had to open all the boxes to find it. It turned out to be a lovely pair of earrings! Best. Husband. EVER.

In general N and I are pretty frugal, but anniversaries are fairly big deals to us so we like to do something a little special for them. But N’s gift really blew me away this year: it was so creative and thoughtful. Only someone who knows me as well as he does could have put it together which makes it mean so much to me.

Poor E, though. He really liked the keychains and had a hard time understanding that all these brightly-colored toys weren’t for him. He kept swiping one and trying to run off with it, probably intending to throw it in the toilet (as is his wont). Luckily, all of the keychains were saved from such a fate.

After opening all of the boxes I’m just a few pieces away from having a full collection (Musk Melon and Burnt Toast, you’re on notice: you shall be mine!)

I ended up a few duplicates and so I think I’ll have a small giveaway later this week to share the Yummy Breakfast love. So be sure to check back for it!

How I Met Your Mother

N. found this photo from the study abroad trip to Korea we went on back in the summer of 1999. It cracks me up: I like the sassy thumbs-up N’s flashing but I’m not sure why I’m making that weird smirk.

It’s funny; it wasn’t until the last night of the trip that we even really talked to each other. We had even been in the same Korean classes the year before the trip but we still barely knew each other. For most of the trip I was pining after one guy and spending all of my free time hanging out with another, neither of whom was N. (Yeah, I was just a touch boy-crazy at the time.) N seemed cool but was kind of intimidating at the time.

Details of how we got together will have to wait for another time; today I don’t really feel like typing a long post. For right now let’s just say that things managed to work out in the end.

Check it out: N’s new blog

While I flit around from hobby to hobby (woodworking, photography, knitting, sewing, design, cooking, etc…) N has steadfastly had the same main passion since he was a teenager: music. He likes several genres of music but has a special soft spot in his heart for kind of obscure independent stuff.

Since he has such a breadth of knowledge about music and is a great writer (not that I’m biased, ahem.) I’ve been urging N to start a music blog for months. And once his friends joined in on the pestering it was only a matter of time before he caved. And so wiresandwaves.com was born (with a banner designed by yours truly).


So if you’re interested in music, check it out. N posts every weekday and includes a streaming song with every post. It’s a fun way to hear some new and new-to-you music. Today he started his top 25 albums of the year countdown; maybe you’ll find something for the music lover on your Christmas list.