Trevor and I have officially been married for a year now! Crazy... It doesn't feel like it's been that long, but then again it kind of does, haha. In that first post I did, it was really nice to look back and think about all the fun things that we've done over the last year. Some of them weren't very big or major, but we've been able to get out of town and enjoy ourselves. I feel like that's when we're at our best; when we aren't worrying about work and money, and we're not being boring on the couch. When we can just pack a bag and leave and just BE with each other.
We were able to do just that a few weeks ago for our anniversary. My parents have had season tickets to the Seahawks for the last several years, and they were nice enough to give us tickets to the home opener against the Cardinals. We made a weekend of it by riding the train up on Saturday afternoon and staying the night. Not having a car was really nice! We didn't have to worry about parking and we were able to stop at any restaurant or store that we saw along the way, instead of just driving right by it. We walked from the train station to our hotel, dropped off our bags, and then walked to Pike's Place...
and then the Space Needle...
We rode to the top at about 7:00 when it was still daylight. We each sipped on a drink while circling the top and enjoying to view of the Sound, Queen Anne's Hill and the stadiums. We even caught the tail-end of someone's proposal! How cute. :) By the time we made it back down, it was dark. I forgot to mention that the weather was PERFECT-- just like it was on our wedding. It was nice and warm and sunny on Saturday and we were able to wander around comfortably.
Anyway, after the space needle, we hopped on the monorail and rode it back into town. On our way back toward the hotel we saw a really neat-looking restaurant and put our names on the list. There was an hour and a half wait (!) which gave us enough time to head to the room, get a little dressed up, and head across the street to a snobby little bar where we had fancy drinks (mine had a piece of orange peel floating in it that the bartender roasted for a few seconds over a flame. ooOOOOooo...) By the time we were done, our table was ready at the restaurant. It was awesome! I HIGHLY recommend the Purple Cafe. A little spendy, but if you're out on the town, why not?! Trevor surprised me by agreeing to paté for an appetizer (sooo good!) and he EVEN order the wine pairing to go with it! I had some incredible lemony, parmesany, shrimpy pasta and Trevor had a fancy pork chop with fruit compote. *sigh* I love food so much. One of my dream jobs would be to be a food critic. More on food later in the post.
Sunday was pretty laid back. We slept in, checked out of our hotel and then headed toward the stadium. It was a little drizzly, but overall turned into a decent day. And the Seahawks won! Couldn't ask for more than that. :)
Snapped a picture before the game:
When the game ended, we just went straight to the train station, hopped on our train and headed home! It really was a perfect Seattle weekend. Hoping to plan our next getaway soon. I'm thinking a lazy beach trip may be next on the list.
Aaaand, just to throw in another picture, last week we had our cousins, Sara, Bryce and Leila, over for dinner and a game. So fun to be able to see them a bit more often lately! It will be pretty sad when Sara and Leila move to Texas to be with Justin, but I'm excited for them.
So the real reason why I finally became motivated enough to post a blog is that I have another recipe to share! This one, you guys... This one's a winner. I'm obsessed with it. If you know me well (Peggy.) you know that I love me some soup, salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden. And the Zuppa Tuscana is one of my favorites. Weelllll, my mom found the recipe. I was a little hesitant because a) I thought it would be complicated, and b) how could it possibly be as good as the real thing? BUT IT'S EASY AND IDENTICAL! No joke. You must try it:
Zuppa Tuscana
Serves 6 (I ate four of those servings. Seriously. Three of them were within the last 12 hours...aaand I just had the last bowl of it for breakfast.)
1 lb Italian Sausage
2 large baking potatoes, sliced with the skins on
1 large onion, chopped
1 jar Real Bacon Bits
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cups kale, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 quart water
1 cup heavy whipping cream (I used half and half and it was just as good)
Cook and drain the sausage. Place onion, potatoes, chicken broth, water and garlic in a large pot on medium heat until potatoes are done. Add sausage, bacon bits, salt and pepper to taste, then simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Turn to low heat and add the kale and cream. Heat through and serve.
It's a perfect fall soup (rich, creamy, a little spice). If you want to go all out (I'm not crazy, I swear...) you can go to Olive Garden and buy a bottle of their salad dressing. Lettuce, olives, a few slices of purple onion, croutons, tomatoes, pepperoncinis if you got em, and then the salad dressing. Boom. Whip up some breadsticks and alfredo sauce. Boom. I'm telling you, I may never need to actually GO to Olive Garden again (besides to buy bottles of their salad dressing).
Ok, I'll stop. :) I just can't NOT tell people how amazing that whole dinner was. I think it will be in the regular rotation around here.
Until the next big news!
Signing off...
B♥
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