Camp Wedding

Yes, admittedly I have sucked at keeping this whole blog thingy up. Back to Seattle and not a whole lot of inspiration. With that being said, I let a totally special and amazing event slip by without a word. Shame on me! It was, after all, the wedding of one of my best friends, Miss Angie Bakke.

Angie married Michael at the Olympic Park Institute out on the Washington peninsula. What an amazing event in a beautiful place. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the people I love IN love. A HUGE, MASSIVE, GIGANTIC congrats to the beautiful couple. I only wish that I had a photo of the stunning couple on their wedding day to share because it was....stunning!

Brynn, Lani, Joy and Emily...what a perfect camp wedding outfit combo!

Didi was in charge of signage, as she obviously should be.

Jan and Angie...the beautiful Bakke women

Lake Crescent. Amazeballs! And don't even get me started on the stars at night. Shooowee!

What up

Seattle, that's what up. It has been madness moving back here, and admittedly, a bit of a culture shock. But I am getting in the groove. Back at my old job, loving my apartment and being back in the old hood. And since summer finally started yesterday (that would be July 6th, everyone), I am a happy gal. Everything is perfect except that Jason is on St. John. Oh, and I am not rich. Oh yeah, and then there's that whole oil leak thing, and suffering refugees, and, and, and....

Here are some photos of past few. My camera is pretty broken, so not a whole lot of shots turn out.

Full moon out my bedroom window

Sadie and I hang at the Space Needle when she visits

Sadie and I at the sculpture park

Day time out my window. Nice parking lot!

Does this look special to you? Although lacking decor in the bedroom, I have a brand new king size bed with luxurious white bedding. Happy me!

This shower rocks

This is Dr. Jim Weller - in front of one of his paintings. He is a master woodworker and built his own totally fabulous home (and pictured with him is my fabulous friend Crystal who is back on island for a visit after nearly 2 years away...party!). And I just know it took a few smokey treats to inspire the creativity of this shower on his screened-in porch. A freaking double helix! Talk about a time-consuming endeavor. I love it.

Eeeww to the max

Looked down to my neighbor's place below the other day from my porch...into a hamper that they just have there for whatever reason. Its main purpose seems to be to fill with putrid water and breed mosquitos, but I could not believe my eyes. I know we have big spiders, but???? Really???!!! Seriously, the pics do no justice. Glad it's dead.

Jost is the Most!

FUN! We had the most incredibly fabulous weekend on Jost Van Dyke (Jost is pronounced 'Yoast') for Jason's 35th bday with our very special friend and tour guide Debbie. Jost is such a bitty little place that I've been to many times, but to actually go there and hang with the locals and rent a car to run around...it is just a totally different world. Debbie lived there for a bit so we got to hang with people we definitely would not have normally. Uncle Boy was a favorite. I mean, his name is UNCLE BOY. And he is the most amazing old dude ever. We stayed at Ivan's which is a famous spot for day trippers to pull up to for a day of drinking and fun, but actually hanging with the fabulous Ivan and looking at his old pictures was such a treat. It was drunken debauchery, as every Jost trip is, after all. Major dance party at Foxy's (I think pretty much I was the dance party); lots of my favorite St. Johnians (Garza family!) staying at Ivan's too; accidentally stealing someone's camera thinking it was Jason's phone-no resemblance whatsoever; meeting all the crazies on the little bitty 200 person island; having the bubbly pool all to ourselves and playing like little kids in the larger-than-average waves. It was absolutely paradise. And it is so close to St. John! Why has it taken me years to get over there to spend the night? Can't wait for the next go. In the meantime, photos (if my camera wasn't working so poorly, there would've been more)!

Uncle Boy! He's in his post-funeral leisure suit.

Bubbly Pool!

At Foxy's Taboo looking toward the dock.

Debbie and Jason enjoying at Bushwacker at Foxy's Taboo.

Another steep VI hill...looking toward Foxy's Taboo.

The Power of Engagement

Last Saturday Jason and I got engaged! He caught me completely off guard as we walked between downtown Charlotte Amalie and Yacht Haven Grande by whipping the ring out on the street. It was not a mushy moment, thank goodness. Just a good ol' fashioned "Will you marry me?" Followed by me staring at the ring saying, "I love it!" a thousand times over. We still managed to try to get a few St. Thomas chores done, but we essentially just celebrated.


That's the thing about living on a small island prone to partying...everywhere you go, someone gets you drinks. Rhumb Lines, a favorite restaurant and Jason's former employer, got us tequila shots, wine, and hacked off the top of a delicious bottle of Veuve Clicquot with a sharp knife. Somehow we did not end up hungover. That remains a mystery.

So now to not even think about planning for awhile. Summer 2011 will be wedding time, at some point. Below, the ring...I love it (and in the tradition set forth by Lani and Angie, on a piece of non-vegan food)! Big old aquamarine in the perfect light blue. I wanted aquamarine because it is a strong stone and it kind of has a Caribbean blue hue...an ode to our relationship thus far. Jason told me it is also his birthstone and the stone for the month of our anniversary. Now I love it even more. Also, people tend to think it is a rather big blue diamond, but those people don't know anything, because if it was, it would have caused several million. Fun to mess with some minds though.

Villa Fab

Another year, another successful Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park Gala. Check out the spot we had it this year. Soooooo amazing! I love this villa! You must peruse. The pool area and outdoors are so big it looks like a resort. Why can I not live this life? (We are really, truly working on it.) Oh, and of course we had to go through to collect and hide all those damn starfish they have everywhere since it is really not so friendly to the park to take live animals from the ocean. Small downfall.