Seattle: The Second Time Around

The word Seattle makes my heart skip a beat; the city provided the most spectacular engagement last year, and my heart has yearned to go back since. Brandon and I recently spent a week in the Northwest, and this trip was more than I expected, and could have asked for.

 

Our time was spent with family, and friends, and the days were so packed that we didn't sleep much the whole time. (the sun also doesn't go down until after 9:30pm, and this proved to be a hard adjustment. if the sun is up, so are we)

 

The first day there was spent with family, catching up, shopping for the reunion. The second day was spent in Seattle, Brandon and I went to the Space Needle for brunch to celebrate our anniversary. The food was insane and the views were amazing. This trip up to the top was better for both of us this year; I wasn't as scared as I was last year, and Brandon didn't have to worry about proposing! :)

 

 I had French toast with Nutella cream, it was fantastic, but...

 

 Brandon had the crab eggs benedict and it was TO DIE FOR. Seriously the best meal EVER.

 

 After breakfast we met up with Anne, and hit Pike Place.

 We saw the gum wall for the first time.

(Really disgusting, but hey it's a tourist attraction, now we can say we have seen it!)

 

 

The next day was the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma.

The Point Defiance Zoo is the most beautiful Zoo I have ever been to, the green landscape and well maintained exhibits made the trip totally worth it. I was also able to see a WALRUS, which was a major to-do on my bucket list.

 

CUTEST ANIMAL EVER

 

 

 Belly up! Watching the animals interact with trainers was so special!

 

Next we went to the Rose Garden that is attached to the Zoo, it was so warm and green, we could have stayed there all day!

 Lunch at the Ram on the waterfront

 

 

 

The next day we went to the University of Washington in Seattle so I could tour the Museology Masters Program. The campus was so beautiful and the program sounded like something that I would love and would fit right in to.

 Our tour guide Andrea

 

 George Washington Statue

 

 Me in the graduate library, also known as the "Harry Potter Library"

 

 Brandon having fun with the UW mascot

 

After 4 amazing days in Sumner, Seattle, and Tacoma, we headed out to Seabrook, Washington for the Hughes Family Reunion.

 

 

 

 In Aberdeen (home of Kurt Cobain) we drove past a Star Wars shop and had to stop.

The owner of the store had a tattoo of Carrie Fisher, he then met her a few years later, she autographed his arm, and he then had that tattooed on his arm. :) we loved it!

The owner showing off his ink with Brandon and Noah 

 Finally!! We arrived in Seabrook to a much colder climate and a breeze from the ocean (which was right across the street)

 

Brandon, Josh, and Noah 

 Brandon and Luke, his youngest nephew

 

 Brandon and his beautiful mother



So happy to have time with Lynn, she is such a wonderful woman, and mother.

We went to Ocean Shores and wrote notes in the sand

 

Anne and I in front of the pool

Such a wonderful day with Brandon and his family

A map of Seabrook

Stairs to the beach

Brandon and his parents

 

The trip was insanely beautiful, peaceful, and full of love. I'm so blessed to have a wonderful man, and his wonderful family in my life!

 



Stickygram Review

Today I wanted to share my Stickygram experience with you all. Stickygram is a website that allows you to chose your own instagram photos and turn them into magnets. I had been dying to try it out, and decided to do it after our trip to San Diego.

When you go to the Stickygram website, you log in with your instagram account information. Once you're logged in, all of your pictures will come up on the left side of the screen, and a sheet with 9 blank spaces will come up on the left. The next step is the best part, you get to select 9 images that will be turned into magnets.

When you hover over a picture it will say, add, you add it to your group of nine and keep going until you have filled up the sheet. (I couldn't stop at one, I had two printed) If you add a picture too soon, and realize you'd really rather have another in its place, you can just hover over your sheet and click remove on the photo. It really can't get any easier!

Once you're all done, you click add to basket and then you head to checkout. :)

 

The magnets come attached but you just peel them apart and you are ready to go!! The images are the size of the instagram photo on an iphone, so they may seem small, but you don't lose any details in the photos.  

 

I can't wait to order more, I'm thinking this will make a fantastic Christmas gift for loved ones :)

 

follow me on instagram! alexisstarr

 



San Diego

This past weekend Brandon and I took a trip to San Diego with my Mom and stepdad Jeff. The trip was relaxing and just what we needed. We left at 2am Thursday morning and arrived in San Diego eager to explore. We hit up Seaport Village (my favorite), Seaport Village has a ton of little shops and places to eat and is really fun to walk around. The next day we went on the S.E.A.L tour which was great, and then we rode the trolley around to see the rest of San Diego. Finally on Saturday we went to Balboa Park to go to the Automobile Museum, The Natural History Museum, and the Museum of Photographic Art. We hit Coronado Island on Thursday and Saturday and let me tell you, relaxing on the beach was just what the dr. ordered.

Some pictures from our trip (we didn't take nearly as many pictures as we hoped, but that may be a good thing because we were too busy relaxing.)

The SEAL tour bus!

me and my mom ready for the tour

 

Sea Lions! (although the tour is named the 'seal' tour we really go by sea lions. weird I know)

Balboa Park

Natural History Museum

Jeff, my mom, and me posing in the skull exhibit. (jeff never takes a serious picture)

 

The trip was awesome and we can't wait to go back. Next time we will take more pictures

 

 

23 Before 23

I'm a huge fan of the blog Anne the Adventurer. Anne writes beautifully, and when you read her blog posts you feel as though you have been friends for years.

After reading her post on 23 Before 24 I was inspired to challenge myself in the same way that she did. I wanted to make my 22nd year memorable, and filled with things that I knew I wanted and needed for myself.

I turn 23 in September and have made good progress on my list so far, and I am excited for the last three months I have to finish my goals.

23 Before 23:

1. San Diego Trip (We leave on Wednesday for a quick weekend trip)
2. Eat Sushi 12+ times (Two down, Ten more to go)
3. Go to 12 Yoga Classes (Zero down, Twelve to go)
4. Write more handwritten letters to friends (getting better, I just finished thank you cards from Graduation)
5. Save up $2,000
6. Recruit 10-15 Student Council Members
7. Buy a pair of heels and walk in them comfortably
8. Get 4 massages (One down, Three to go)
9. Do NOT cut hair, trims only (I should explain, every time my hair gets to the length it is now, I get fed up with it and cut it into a bob, I am forcing myself to live with it and learn to love it)
10. Make beef bourguignon Julia Child Style (Julie and Julia is one of my favorite movies, if you haven't seen it, go watch it now!)
11. Tucson Trip with April
12. Ikea Trip
13. DIY Corkboard for office (Anne the Adventurer did one and it is amazing)
14. Read 6 personal choice books (Reading Dancer by Colum McCann now, not sure what is next)
15. Drink cocktails in my fancy red dress (taking that bad boy to San Diego to cross this off my list)
16. Send out birthday cards-on time! (So far so good!)
17. Purchase a fuel efficient vehicle (this probably won't happen until after Christmas, but hey a girl can hope)
18. Graduate with Honors (we will see come December)
19. Walk on treadmill 3 times a week (ehhh 3 was hopeful, I do walk/jog on it at least once a week, but Brandon and I have been walking around our neighborhood almost every night (which is more fun than walking on a treadmill in my opinion). We have decided we are going to do the Bisbee 1000)
20. Style hair more, work on curling techniques
21. Shred unnecessary papers once a week
22. Create a cleaning checklist and stick to it
23. Get my passport (I need to get on this asap!)

This list has been so fun, I have it hanging on my fridge as a reminder of the goals I want for myself.

I can't wait to share more as I cross things off my list, and see if I can get all 23 done before September 24th!

Thanks for reading!