March 5, 2014

Werkout.

Working out in Seattle just isn’t cheap. We’ve got literally one gym “sort of nearby” our house on Beacon Hill and all of the gyms near my office on Capitol Hill are $70+/mo! Get outta here. I guess I didn’t realize how spoiled I was with my $30/mo. Gold’s Gym membership back in good ole K-town. Those were the days……

So instead of forking over the big bucks and having to choose just one, I’ve been keeping a close eye on those pesky deal sites in hopes of snagging some discounted memberships. I’ve been pretty lucky lately and have kept myself in a semi-regular workout schedule so far.

MODE Fitness
$45 for 2 months at their gym – includes four 30 minute personal training sessions
The good: near my office, usually not crowded, clean facility, cable TV!, free parking nearby
The bad: personal trainer didn’t always seem super excited to be training me and did not ask much about my goals and experience level, self motivating gym – not always my cup of tea

THE SWEATBOX
$50 for 2 months of hot yoga classes
The good: super cool teachers, never overly crowded, later class times, that heat! guys in those tiny, tiny shorts 🙂
The bad: $4+ parking, bathroom doors in actual studio (seriously weird layout), not near my office and a 20 min. drive from home

PURE BARRE
$100 for 10 classes
The good: near my office, lunch time classes, THE HARDEST WORKOUT EVER
The bad: THE HARDEST WORKOUT EVER, classes move along really fast sometimes so it’s hard to keep up

STAIRS
FREE.
Beacon Hill location – S Lucile Street & 18th Ave S
Capitol Hill location – Lakeview Blvd E & E Howe Street
The good: free, free parking, close to home
The bad: getting yourself motivated, the last set (though your butt will thank you later!)

And just for fun…..

NY TIMES SCIENTIFIC 7 MIN WORKOUT
FREE.
The good: free, easy to do at home whilst watching TV, it’s only 7 minutes people!
The bad: getting yourself motivated, it’s only 7 minutes?
I’ve done this workout a few times now and although it doesn’t seem like much, but I’m always sore the next day. I actually do this 3 times so I wrap with about a 30 minute workout. Not bad for free!

March 1, 2014

Currently.

Currently

Watching: (As of Sunday….)the Olympics! As a non-cable household, it’s pretty darn exciting to have something interesting to watch each night. Curling? Sure. Skeleton? Great! Ice skating? Hells yes! I love the personal stories that are woven into the programming too. Unfortunately, since Russia is so far ahead in time zone status, I usually know what is going to happen before I watch, but hey, that’s OK.

Loving: That spring is just around the corner (I think….) My yard is telling me that, so I’m going to go with it. I’ve been shopping for rain barrels online recently, half of my seeds are purchased and I’m just waiting a few more short weeks to plant the indoor starters.

Listening to: Ma new shuffle! I somehow broke my nano a while back only after a few uses – so annoying – so my man got me a purple one. Hopefully it will be hard to break that little thing, though I can see it getting washed :-/ Alt J, QOTSA and Jay Z are buzzing in my head again when stomping out those stairs!

Doing: Stressing out a bit about work. I’m usually a pretty stress free gal, but for some reason, my big event is making me nervous. Things just aren’t lining up like they have in previous years. We’ve got a big goal to make and I’m feeling some added weight on my shoulders. Fingers crossed that it’ll all pan out, but for now, I’m stressin.

Reading: Still nothing….I can get about as far as people.com these days. It’s a sad, sad thing when one does not read. I do hope to start the final GoT book though. My hairdresser said I can’t come back until I’ve read it.

Eating: 26 +/- some points each day. Ah yes, the Weight Watchers tracking system. My old, annoying friend. Trying to stay on the train with the help of lots of fruit, eggs, salads and the such until our engagment photos this weekend. I haven’t been uber good, but the scale slowly keeps creepin’ down so I’m sticking with it. (Sorry, not sorry homemade peanut butter cookies).

Thinking about: Next year ie. what it will be like to NOT have to plan and save for a wedding. Vacation days that won’t go towards wedding organization, monies that won’t have to be spent on flower arrangements or DJs, weekends that don’t include the trying on of dresses. Ahhhh….that will be a glorious time. I can’t wait.

**This blog post was inspired by http://sometimessweet.com/ – check her out!

February 26, 2014

Duffy’s.

Aberdeen, Duffy's, greasy spoon

Nothing says legit like razor clam sandwiches.

It’s been a few weeks since our trip to the coast but I thought I would share this little story with you – about my mild obsession with, well, a greasy spoon in the little town of Aberdeen, WA.

This weird little restaurant has a little piece of my heart peeps – Duffy’s. Sigh. It was the meeting place of all of the Heuer/Sugiura family members as we made our annual February trek to Quinault Lodge. As my family pulled into the parking lot, I recalled always scanning around for my grandparents truck. More often than not, they’d beaten us there by a mile and were inside enjoying the clam chowder and wild blackberry pie, which is to die for I might add.

We’d then take off and drive another 45 minutes to the lodge where we spent a week of childhood bliss splashing in the pool, playing ping pong in the game room, begging grandma for chex mix and Coca Cola and walking the trails of the PNW rain forest. It was always pouring down rain or doing that misting thing that our state does so well which was fine by me. The lodge had tons of old chairs and couches and a GIANT fireplace that was stoked with 5 foot logs. The fam would play board games and the card game Hearts all evening long, drinks in hand (for the people of age). Some of my best childhood memories came from these trips.

Sadly, Duffy’s is also the place where I last saw my grandpa before he died. I’ll never forget that day…..how he was laid up in the truck, not able to head inside for his favorite slice of pie. I knew something wasn’t right that day. He passed away later that week from pneumonia at the local hospital. Who knew that the parking lot Duffy’s would be the last time I’d see him?

So whenever I’m passing through Aberdeen, a stop at Duffy’s is always on the list. Their food might not be the best but the memories it holds for me are pretty darn special.

February 22, 2014

B & W

photography

I had all of these hopes and dreams while at the beach that I would magically take some killer black and white photos that would someday grace our entryway. I don’t know what I was thinking because 1) I’ve never taken a photography class and 2) I’m extremely amature with my skill set. Nonetheless, I borrowed my aunt’s fancy camera and off I went on my photographic journey.

I’d had my eye on a few professional photos on Etsy and though, heck, I can reproduce something like that myself and save me a few bucks. Um, yeah. Not quite. First off, it was like minus ten degrees with the wind blowing. My hands were frozen after a few minutes. Secondly, there were no cool logs in site. I really wanted driftwood, piles and piles of cool looking driftwood and there were none to be found. And thirdly, the camera kept sucking batteries. Ugh.

I couldn’t capture the moodiness that I was seeking. Though the first one below is MAYBE 30% of the way there….. And let’s just say the boys weren’t thrilled with my yelling to pull over ever time a scenic spot flashed by my car window. I’m not feeling uber moved to frame any of these, but thought I would share them nonetheless. Sigh. Next time…….

February 20, 2014

Beauty consult.

Beauty

The goods.

I recently had a bad experience at the MAC makeup counter at the downtown Seattle Nordy’s. I’ve always considered myself a MAC girl, but after them forgetting about my appointment AND ignoring me for the first 20 minutes I was sitting there, I figured it was time to spread my wings and try other beauty products. Sorry MAC, it’s been real.

In steps a Nordstrom beauty consultant, which I guess have been around for a while now? My bad. They’ve recently added a booking system that had caught my eye online so I made an appointment and met up with Cory a few days later.

I decided to focus on one area for this appointment and chose foundation. Mine had been looking a bit too pink-ish lately and I was ready to try something new. We cleaned off my face and he prepped my skin with some uber amazing (and expensive!) products. I think skin care is important, but not $100 per bottle important if you catch my drift. I kept my focus and we moved on to the foundation hunt.

We ended up with a Trish McEvoy product as the big winner! I must admit, I’d never heard of this product line before but their Beauty Balm was it. The foundation leveled out the redness in my face without feeling caked on. Granted, the price tag was a bit steep ($85 – eeek!) but I’m totally loving this product after a week’s use. And hey, if it lasts 5 or 6 months, then that’s really not bad when you think about it. I can talk myself into any purchase really 🙂 I also purchased a NARS translucent powder and a YSL clear lip gloss that was probably not needed but really polished off the look.

A little blush and bronzer touch ups, a few eyeshadow suggestions and this gal was just about done! I was extremely happy with the results though I may have went over my makeup budget a bit. But it was really great to have someone who knew all of the products on the floor and could pull them as he saw fit. I’m definitely going with a Nordstrom Beauty consultant from here on out!