Out On a Ledge

For over a week we had been planning our first hiking trip for this weekend. Early Friday we rushed around running our weekend errands and getting last minute gear (read: suitable clothing) for the three of us. That evening I made some snack bars, homemade flour tortillas, and hummus for on the trail. Saturday morning we were up at the crack of dawn to go pick up our Bountiful Basket and do last minute packing up. We finally got to Rattlesnake Lake at 11:45am and started up the Rattlesnake Ledge Trail. Since it was our first hike we went with friends who are always outdoors and more experienced than us. The trail is 1.9 miles, with more than a thousand foot gain in that time. Somehow David and I both made it to the top with our heavy loads on our backs. It was a *rough* hike for Lorelei (see her sleeping in the pack? she did that most of the way up). She woke up at the top happily exclaiming, "Water!" Up on the ledge she made me a nervous wreck, holding still only long enough to snack and hydrate, then she was ready to do some hiking of her own. We took turns being her walking stick and chasing her little crazy self. When she started getting crabby we decided to head back down, and surprisingly she was excited to get back in the pack (this being a kid who hates confinement and being robbed of her independence). It was a great experience and work out! I loved seeing the valley I grew up in from that high point, and I never knew the lake could look so pretty. The weather was perfect for it too. Not hot, not raining. It made for a lot of other hikers, but it was still awesome. I really can not wait to get out and do more trails! Once we were down and heading out we decided that a Starbucks refresher sounded glorious, so we got a Trenta for the three of us. I think Lorelei had the most, and when she was done she dumped the ice all over herself and stuck her legs into the cup (weirdo!). It was one of those weekends that makes you wonder why you don't make more time to get out and enjoy the big, wide world with the ones you love. I hope your weekend was just as good!

Music, On Monday...Because I Couldn't Wait

I couldn't contain myself when I found this, I had to share! First of all because I really love Lana Del Rey. She's unique and simply gorgeous. Secondly because this video sooooo reminds me of Twin Peaks, and who can't use a bit of Twin Peaks nostalgia? And thirdly, because I love H&M, and this fall she's partnered with them for a gorgeous Lana worthy line that I advise you check out. 

H&M Fall Collection

Our Week in Food

This past week we have been seriously considering giving up the dairy and eggs in our vegetarian diet and go completely vegan. I had been skeptical before I started experimenting with vegan recipes, but it turns out that they are delicious. My breads don't miss butter. I can have espresso from our newly acquired machine (via trading a camera body we couldn't afford a lense for) with soy milk. "Nooch", as strange as it sounds is super yummy. I also know that a vegan diet will probably serve me well health wise. And then, we watched "Earthlings" a documentary about the mistreatment of animals. How they are raised, how they are slaughtered, how as humans we don't generally care, and I was sick over it. So, we have a few sticks of butter left in our fridge and a block of cheese to finish off, but we aren't buying any more animal products for consumption. Yesterday we took a trip to the library and grabbed several good vegan nutrition/recipe books. I've spent so much time in the kitchen this week my feet and back hurt (not complaining, I LOVE it!). Some of the things I've made were non-vegan like graham crackers and breadsticks, but I'm only showing off the animal friendly food I've made. Flying our vegan flag I guess! Oh, and I hope you can forgive my bad food photography skills. I'll own up to them. ;)

Midweek Music P.11: The Shins "Simple Song"

Upon my first listen to the Shins back in 2010 I liked them, but I came to love them when one day while I was pregnant and driving somewhere blasting them, Lorelei, in utero, danced the most fierce little dance to almost the entire Chutes Too Narrow album. Since that day their music has held sentimental attachment for me. Today I give you "Simple Song" because I love the song, and the music video is highly entertaining. 

Enjoy!

Doing the Weekend Right

With the weather cooling down, and not having any extra family members to entertain, we decided to keep this weekend pretty low-key. Every weekend it's a given that you'll find us heading to Starbucks, but this weekend we went to Roy St. Coffee & Tea (owned and operated by Starbucks or "inspired" by as they say). It's like the non fast-coffee version of Starbucks, and one of our favorite Seattle hang-outs. If we were in a show like Friends, it would be our place. They serve wine and beer, cheese trays, awesome pastries, a good selection of whole leaf teas, and the coffee beans (more of a selection and special reserves) are fresh from the roaster every day. Not to mention, the decor makes our hearts pitter-patter. Lately we've had to incorporate money for something just for Lorelei into our "treat budget" (yep, we are so good we follow a budget for how much we get to spend on things like coffee, junk food, and frozen yogurt in a week!) because if she doesn't have something of her own she fah-reaks out about whatever we're having. Funny story: Lorelei behaves better in coffee shops than just about anywhere. I started taking her to Starbucks when she was just 3 days old. Anywho, she usually chooses those applesauce packets as her treat, but being a hipster fancy cafe, she didn't have that option this week. She got a lemon curd pastry instead, and she ate it more daintily than anything in her life. It killed me. :)

Not far from our fueling station is our favorite Seattle park, Volunteer Park, with most of it's structures being 100 years old! There are lush green rolling hills, trails, a reservoir overlooking the Space Needle, a gorgeous water tower, a wading pool, a conservatory filled with orchids, carnivorous plants, and cacti, and an amphitheater. First stop was the conservatory since we knew Lorelei would only stay in the stroller so long with the great outdoors calling. 

We were ill prepared in going to the park on a beautiful day not knowing about the wading pool. You see, Lorelei is a bit of a mermaid, and where there is water, there is our water baby. Being all about spontaneity, and not wanting to break any little hearts we let her get wet in her regular clothes. I was thinking (ahem, hoping) that it would be cold enough to keep her from submerging her entire self. She walked in nicely, holding my hand, for about 4 steps before thrusting herself in, save her face and head.  And boy was getting her out of there a battle!

We ran around in the grass and basked in the sun to dry off, and somewhere in the midst found this gorgeous Dahlia garden.

 The little lady happily plucked us little "yewo" flowers and treated us to all kinds of affection for such a great day out together.

Yesterday we did some much needed cleaning, checked out Marshalls (which is just a parking lot away from us), and ogled everything at IKEA. Today David worked, like every Sunday, I lounged most of the day, and Lorelei has residual happiness from Friday I think. Tomorrow is another day off, and hopefully it brings about some Schwinning. Hope everyone else is having a lovely Labor Day weekend as well!