Mazama - The Northern Cascades

When my dear Bethanne booked a weekend trip to Mazama in the Northern Cascades and invited me, I was unsure at first whether to head out of town for the third weekend in a row but I asked myself.... When have I ever turned down a trip? NEVER! And I'm so glad I went!

For those of you who have never seen the Northern Cascades - you're missing out!! It's so beautiful and a very good breather from city life. We took our time on the several hour drive up, stopping along the way at Cascadia Organic Farms to get ice cream and some goodies as well as an incredible view point of Diablo Lake and the dam.

Once checked into our very remote cabin in the very small town of Mazama (literally a couple buildings), we began enjoying the quiet right next to the pool in the warmth of the sun. :) While we were there, we enjoyed the amazing food at the one and only restaurant in Mazama (conveniently located down the hall from our room), checked out the hot tub and explored the dirt roads that weave through the area.

One day consisted of checking out Winthrop which is a larger town down the highway. My condo definitely benefited from this trip - my bank account, not so much. Lots of good finds though. And what would a trip to the Northern Cascades be without checking out a local winery?? We stopped by the Lost River tasting room for a full tasting of their wines and, to stay true to myself, I walked out with a couple bottles.

To get away from the crowds in town, we also took a drive up Hart's Pass and Dead Mule Pass to hike on part of the Pacific Crest Trail with some friends. And I can't begin to describe how beautiful it was! Up in the fields, wild flowers were still blooming and my camera LOVED it! There's something about being out in the wilderness that is so refreshing. It brings you back in balance and gives your mind a rejuvenation from the craziness that life can be. Another trip like this is definitely in the cards soon!

Here are just some of the many pictures I took on this trip.

Link to more pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010695&id=149200395&l=e6070818bc

A Florida Wedding & Fun!

Apologies for running a bit behind, but I wanted to be sure to blog about the lovely Florida wedding I attended for my lovely Aunt Kris AND the fun little vacation we had while staying in Florida for a week. So here is the abridged version.... although, I'm sure it will be long enough (we WERE there a week, ya know). If it is any consolation, there are a lot of pictures. :)

After flying into Tampa and making an overnight stop at our home base of St. Pete's Beach (one of the many islands that strings along the Gulf side of Florida), my mom, her boyfriend and I make the quick jaunt to the place that all children dream about and many parents dread. Fortunately, there were no children with us - unless, that is, you count me being a goofball about seeing.... DISNEY WORLD! We checked into a hotel in the town of Kissimmee, FL and made our way to the very magical Magic Kingdom. We hit all the big rides (Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, you name it), we rode the train around the park, ate the yummy and extraordinarily overpriced food and, of course, watched all the Disney characters as they strutted down Main Street during the daily parades. Here are some pictures from our Disney fun:

THEN the next day we visited some place even more MAGICAL - Epcot! Don't get me wrong, I love a nice Disney character as much as the next guy, but Epcot was AWESOME! There was a nice amount of fun rides (although, I do admit I almost vomited on MISSION: Space) including Sorin' which takes you with a bird's eye view across California blasting the scent of oranges and pine trees at you AND Test Drive which is a replica of the GM tests they run on all their prototype vehicles - pretty spiffy. My favorite part; however, was the back half of the park where there is a lake surrounded by 11 country duplicates. Everyone showed up to play - Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, United States, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom and Canada. It was a blast! We grabbed una cervesa en Mexico, a German beer and pretzel in Germany, gelato in Italy... this place is otherwise know as Jessie's Heaven. Here are some Epcot pictures:

THE WEDDING

Ok, now to the wedding part. :) We drove back the night before the Rehearsal. My mom, grandma and I prior to the rehearsal went for some very important business - mani's and pedi's!!! DUH! Afterwards, it was time for the Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner. It was so great to see more family and friends.

Bride-to-be, Mother of the Bride, Sista of the Bride and Niece of the Bride:

The day of the wedding consisted of a Ladies Brunch (and, of course, a Dude's thang at a bar down the street which we do not speak of).

...and then an unexpected parasail through the Gulf of Mexico with some amazing ladies....

...and then WEDDING TIME!! We got ready, took some pictures and before you know it, Ms. Kristen Johnson walked down the isle to meet Mr. Rick Avila. Let the pictures speak for itself....

The wedding was beautiful and everyone looked stunning. We were fortunate enough to have a sunny day (although very toasty), to skip the random tropical storms that hit the coast that week, and on top of that have an amazing sunset. The wedding was followed by a happy hour and then a DELICIOUS reception dinner at Patrick's (Patrick not only owns the restaurant but was also the minister - two birds with one stone!).

POST WEDDING

After recovering from the lovely wedding, we explored the Gulf coast a little by driving north to Clearwater, FL. The Gulf coast in this area is lined with tons of small islands all connected with small bridges. Very cool to see. Once we were north in Clearwater, we explored the pier (covered in pelicans and seagulls) and docks - we were lucky enough to see both a manatee and a pod of dolphins from the pier. Shortly after we were caught in a torrential downpour. And I mean TORRENTIAL. Coming from Seattle, I've never seen anything like this... it dropped 3-4 inches of rain in about 5-10 minutes! Florida means business when it rains. Here are some pictures of our last bit of time in Florida:

Later that evening, we absconded with my grandma in a "beach chair" to get her down to the Gulf of Mexico to get her feet in the sand and in the water. It was quite a site, I do have to say....

And then we ended the trip, yet again, with some beach relaxation and then back at Harry's Beach Bar... *sigh* What an awesome vacation and getaway from reality. Thanks, Aunt Kris, for having your wedding in such an amazing location! hehe. :)

 

A Thrilling Kitchen Update

The kitchen remodel began what seems like ages ago. Weekend trip by weekend trip my dad has trekked north to Seattle to be my partner in crime and make this smoke stained and very dated 1979 condo come back to life.

With little help from time managementless (yes, that's in the Dictionary of Jessie) contractors, the place is really starting to come together. In between this post and the last, I've installed my pantry shelving, my dad and I have installed a lovely kitchen back splash, and I painstakingly watched as a tiny little cabinet was built in order to install the beautiful microwave that had made a home on my living room floor for the last month or so.

I do have to say that the most thrilling (literally) project took place on Tiling Day #2. My dad had taken off to head back home and I had just backbreakingly grouted some impeccably white tile when I was running over it with a wet sponge to remove the excess grout - it's what all the pros do. When I learned a very important lesson...

Wet Sponge + Live Outlet = Major Electrocution.

In a split second electricity and I became one as it shot up my right arm and into my chest. This of course sent me flying backwards into the stove and was accompanied by a very loud scream. My roomie rushed into the kitchen thinking I had seen a spider - yes, those two screams are apparently hard to distinguish. Needless to say, my grouting was over for the night, my right arm was still tingling the next day and the outlet covers have NOT been re-installed nearly two weeks later.

Electrification aside, check out some of the latest kitchen pics...

Aaaaand..... the grout! :)

Finished tile with a (unpainted) cabinet waiting for a door and hanging microwave! I have a real kitchen now!