thoughts for thursday: salmon, novels, and august goals

owwwww. i can't believe i managed to get out of bed this morning after taking my first barre class last night. um. holy workout. i used muscles that i didn't even know existed! it was kind of amazing, and a really fun change of pace from yoga and running. i've already found a barre place close to our sublet in la and i can see myself totally getting into it. anyways, it's thursday!! so i have some thoughts! it's thoughts on thursday, yahoo! check out the link-up over with nat and annie.

pistachio-crusted salmon
so blake's parents best friend went on a fishing trip up in british columbia and came home with 50lbs of fresh salmon and halibut. luckily, we got to share in that bounty, and cooked up a huge fresh seafood feast last night, including my first go at this recipe from nomnompaleo. and wow, it was incredible. for the halibut, i just baked it with some homemade pesto, and that wasn't half-bad. but this salmon totally stole the show - i'd highly recommend making it in the near future!

tell the wolves i'm home
i stayed up way past my bedtime the other night to finish this book in less than two days because i absolutely loved it. it's the story of a girl who is really close with her uncle, and it explores their relationship while he's dying of AIDS. what i really loved about it is the portrayal of the main character and her older sister - it's pretty much a spot on story about teenage girls (the good, the bad, the ugly). if you're looking for a new read, then this should be at the top of your list. but now i'm searching for a new novel, so let me know if you have any recommendations!

august goals
fine, i know, we're like a week into august already and i haven't done a post on setting goals like i did back in july. but this month, a big goal that my sister, mom, and i made is to email each other at least once a day, every day. we are all really busy and in different time zones, and sometimes end up going way too long without connecting or keeping each other up to date on what's happening in each other's lives. so far, we've made it through to the 7th! excited to see how the rest of the month goes.

tomorrow is our last day in seattle!! and tomorrow night we're heading to see arcade fire out at the gorge before driving down to sacramento on saturday. we're almost to california!!

thoughts on thursday: dads, striped flowers, and barre

another thursday, another look at what's floating around in my brain! most of the beginning of this week was spent fighting through the haze of jet lag and working to stay up past 8pm, but i think we're past the worst of it. on to some random thoughts, as hosted by nat and annie as usual! go check out their blogs, they are super cute.

dads
you know who's great? dads. let me brag on mine for a minute here. he lives down near sacramento, and drove up to seattle on tuesday to drop off his car so we could use it to drive down to california in a few weeks, which will save us a couple hundred bucks on plane tickets. then wednesday morning, we dropped him off at the train station, where he hopped on a 20 hour train back to sacramento. i mean, really. dads. just the best. we also had a blast introducing him to blake's parents for the first time. we BBQed out on the deck, drank way too much wine, watched the sunset, and laughed a lot. it was amazing. hooray dads!

flowers. that are striped. striped flowers. 
just look at these!! they're on blake's parents' deck and i am obsessed. i have never seen striped flowers! and we all know how i feel about stripes. ahhhhmazing.

barre3 classes
so i'm a yoga fanatic, and have practiced regularly for the past four  years or so. i'm going to try my first barre class here in seattle in a few days, and i'd love to hear if anyone is a big fan and has advice for first-timers? excited for a new work-out, but i fear i'll fall in love with it and my checking account will not be thrilled.

hair chop
oh sweet baby jesus, i am counting the minutes til monday at 1pm when i get my haircut. it is a total disaster. here's what i'm showing the stylist as inspiration. stay tuned to see just how close we can get in reality...

this weekend, we're attending a family reunion for blake's dad's side of the family. about 50 people are coming to seattle, and there are all kinds of events starting tonight and going through sunday morning. i'm sure a lot of great stories will emerge, and i can already tell i'll need a vacation to recover! stand by for a full report in a few days...

thoughts for thursday: beachy waves, groceries, and sneakers

happy thursday! it's our last day here in semur alone, as dylan's "real" father comes home tomorrow, and then we take the train into paris on saturday afternoon! hello wine, macarons, and steak frites. yes please. here's what's on my mind this week.

drunk history

um, what? have you watched this? i am obsessed. i heard the concept a few months ago and completely dismissed it, thinking it sounded like the dumbest show ever. but we've stayed up late the last few nights watching episodes on amazon prime (thank you amazon prime!), and i cannot get enough. i mean, not only is it educational, or something, it's hysterical. take 5 minutes of your day and watch this clip and i dare you to not want to watch more.

this is a sea salt spray

i love davines hair products, and i just ordered some of my favorite shampoo and conditioner to be delivered to seattle and await my arrival. i was looking for some styling products too, as i'm constantly in search of a potion for the perfect beachy waves, and came across this spray. i haven't used it yet, but i just wanted to give them a standing ovation for the name. there's a whole line of "this is a" products. i love a company with a sense of humor.

sneakers

speaking of ordering things online and having them delivered to seattle, i snagged these sweet sneakers for $35 from j.crew the other day. did you catch their 50% off the final sale code? i know, i know, this month's goal is to save, but what i neglected to mention is that another goal is to have really cool shoes and to take advantage of great sales. so it all evens out.

whole foods

true story: grocery shopping is probably my favorite hobby. and whole foods is my happy place. sorry i'm not sorry. there was a new one opening literally a block from our apartment in nyc, and if it had opened while we lived there, i honestly don't think we would have ever moved. anyways. it's been almost two months since i've been able to stock up on kale and coconut water (cry me a river, i know), and with a trip looming early next week, my dream two nights ago was literally just me grocery shopping. walking up and down the aisles. putting things in the cart. that was it. no other action, just me grocery shopping. yeah, it's a little sad, but what can i say?

blake + dylan

i'm not quite sure how to tell these two that we're leaving in two days...

linking up with nat and annie again! check out their blogs and say hi!

thoughts for thursday: rain, gene kelly, and bikes

closing in on our last week here in semur, which is mind-boggling! our time here seemed to stretch endlessly ahead of us when we first arrived, and the days are long but the weeks are blurring together. yesterday, i took a shower, got dressed in clothes other than yoga pants, and put on make-up just to go to the grocery store for a handful of things. yeah, i think we're just not cut out for country living...

linking up again with nat and annie on thoughts for thursday! you should too!

it has seriously been raining here since friday. that's six days. not on and off, and not nice summer storms in the evening. it's been gray, rainy, and 50 degrees and we are going a little stir crazy. july in france feels a lot like november in new york! but this dreamy forecast for seattle is keeping me going... hopefully it stays that gorgeous for our three weeks there and we get lots of time out on the water.

the view from blake's parents' house... cannot wait to be on that deck!

thoughts for thursday: 'merica, cars, and pups

happy almost-weekend! today i'm linking up with nat and annie for the first time with some thoughts for thursday.


how heartbreaking was the us game on tuesday? we were glued to the tv - i can't believe how close they were! tim howard is a total rockstar. i even wore my most patriotic outfit, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. luckily, this outfit now doubles for the france game AND the holiday tomorrow! what a fashion-forward thinker i am.

which brings me to my next thought... i am so nervous for that game! i've been a huge germany fan since growing up there, but how cool would it be if france went all the way while we're here this summer? so excited to go watch it down at the local brasserie, though it feels slightly wrong to be cheering for both of those countries on the 4th of july... i think i'll get over it. this seems to be a realistic rendering of about how the game will go.

ok, i know my goal for this month is to be more present and not worry about things in the future BUT holy crap, we realized we're buying a car THIS MONTH and it's the first time in my LIFE i've ever owned a car and WHERE DO YOU START? of course as soon as i start browsing, Facebook is all up in my biz and now won't leave me alone about ford escapes. i swear i was just looking!

so here's something i am dreading about time here going to fast, and that's the thought of leaving our sweet pup that we're watching! we have become the best of friends, and we're trying to figure out how to smuggle her home. pretty sure we can just sneak a 100lb great dane on a trans-atlantic flight, no worries at all. right? also, she is totally living the dream here. she's the best.

and finally, three cheers for a long weekend! the weather is supposed to be hit or miss here, but we're taking a day trip to dijon which is about an hour away and yes, they make all of the mustard there. might need to alternate wine tastings and mustard tastings along the way. other than that, i expect to do a whole lot of sitting on the patio and enjoying incredible sunsets like this one. here's to a lovely three days off! happy birthday 'merica!