Peck Life

A First Family Outing

Last week, in between the rain, hail, and thunder, we ventured out of the house to Fox Hollow Farm. It took us three hours to get out of the house that morning {although that included a shower/bath for everyone} but it was worth it just to get some fresh air for a few hours.

Ben slept soundly in his stroller the entire time, Sky had his first pony ride, and we got to enjoy some baby farm animals. I highly recommend a visit if you haven’t been…it’s such a pleasant little place!

{Enjoying some quality time with my big boy!}

Ten on Ten: February 2013

Welcome back to the ten on ten project, put together by the lovely Rebekah. We spent our weekend at Suncadia in a house we rented with friends. Even though the snow was almost non-existent {MUCH different from last year}, we still had a great time. We got home early this afternoon and have spent the rest of the day cleaning, organizing, and counting down the minutes until bedtime because of a certain little mister who only napped in the car. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

A whirlwind week and looking ahead

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This week, I went to Chicago for the PMA conference – an annual trip I attend for my day job as a paralegal at Microsoft. Highlights involved my luggage getting lost by American Airlines {never again}, good food at trendy restaurants like Girl and the Goat, Untitled, and Bandera, lots and lots of training sessions, a very comfy bed all to myself, snow flurries, scary taxi rides, and a few snippets of the city during the fleeting moments we were able to get outside. The more I go to Chicago, the more I love it. Everyone is friendly, the food and shopping are top notch, and it’s starting to feel comfortable…even a little homey.

I was happy to be home though. I am looking forward to thanksgiving…looking forward to finding out if we are having a boy or girl {11 days!}, looking forward to moving hopefully very soon, reducing the stress and commute time, resetting some habits with Sky, setting up a new little nursery and filling our home with only things that really matter. Clutter out, simplicity in.

How was your week? What are you looking forward to in the coming months?

Ten on Ten: November 2012

First snow – seems early this year?!

Stumptown Coffee – my very favorite.

Brunch at Café Flora.

Wedding dress shopping for our beloved friend Rachel.

The best friends a girl could have…

Space Needle! Snow in the morning, sun in the afternoon? Beautiful!

Lucy

My orchid sprouting new life in November.

Making “pizza”.

Welcome back to the ten on ten project, put together by the lovely Rebekah. I was excited to see the 10th fall on a weekend this month so I could actually take some photographs, instead of sitting behind my desk at work! Saturday was beautiful, a first snow, brunch with friends, wedding dress shopping, and time to sneak in a sweet sniff of Lucy dog. Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Pumpkining: Oxbow Organic Farm

It’s no secret that visiting pumpkin patches in the fall is one of my favorite activities, EVER. This year is no different! We started the 2012 season off right by visiting Oxbow Organic Farm, just a short drive from home. Josh had a long day of work and then a Sounders game so Sky and I went with my mom to check it out! It was crucial to spend the day outside given the gorgeous weather we’ve been having!

Oxbow isn’t just a pumpkin farm. In fact, they are much larger than that. They are a full education center and resource for young kids to learn about farming and the environment AND they supply local fruits and vegetables through their CSA and to various farmers markets and local restaurants in the area.

In the fall, they also have a lot of activates for kids! There’s a living playground with a gourd tunnel, a giant bean teepee, and a huge tractor to climb on. Plus, lots of little nooks and crannies to get lost in, including the most charming grape vine picnic area.

If you are looking for something fun to do this coming Sunday, 10/14, they are having a big Hoe Down and Pumpkin Patch Party. It was so much fun….I would definitely recommend a visit if you are in the greater Seattle area! It’s worth it!

P.S. - Thank you for all the nice comments about our baby announcement and video! :) We are pretty excited and once I can get my act together, I'll have an official bumpdate for you all very soon!

The Mighty Pacific

We just returned from a quick trip to the coast – one last hurrah before fall officially sets in. What’s amazing about Washington is that it can be just as nice at the beach in September as it is in July. It’s pretty wonderful.

Our days were filled with lots of beach time where Sky discovered a new favorite hobby: feeding goldfish crackers to the seagulls instead of eating them. It was too chilly to swim but the sand alone was entertaining enough. Oh the SAND…it was everywhere….EVERYWHERE.

When we weren’t at the beach, we were eating or playing at the arcade. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend the Cottage Bakery, a throwback to a TRUE bakery where real bakers make real amazing treats in the wee hours of the morning and locals come daily to sit in the colorful booths and drink coffee while doing crossword puzzles and talking about the day ahead. We met a nice old man from Brooklyn, on a long road trip, discovering the US. How awesome is that? He was so friendly and it was comforting to see how beautiful he thought it was here.

Before we left, we stopped for a visit at Cape Disappointment. While the trip overall was a bit disappointing {no pun intended} since it was too foggy to see and the lighthouses were small and un-exciting, we did get immersed in the famous drippy ocean fog that supplies life to some of the most magnificent old growth spruce forests.

Look at that! A spruce so big it’s in the fog….it was just breathtaking. It really makes you feel small. Oh! And, one final tidbit! I got to do something I haven’t done in a LONG time…I got to read a book! It’s silly how this is nearly impossible once you have a child. I’m halfway through Bloom by Kelle Hampton, one of my favorite people. Have you read it? I highly recommend.

The Last of Summer

If there’s one thing that I look forward to each year to close out the summer season, it’s camping with our family friends and all our kiddos in eastern Washington. No agenda or structure – just the open road, water, and good company.

Much of the drive looks like this – gorgeous country! Hwy 2 East.

I was a little worried about Sky after last years complete camping FAIL but he did beautifully. It’s amazing the difference a year makes. He slept perfectly in the tent and had so much fun riding in the boat and playing at the beach.

This is the smile Sky makes when he’s overly happy. It’s too adorable!

Can you believe we live near something so beautiful?! How lucky we are…

The cutest bunch of kiddos you will ever see!

Two daily occurrences – tractor rides at dusk and floating in the lake.

Between the multiple birthdays {including Josh!}, an engagement to celebrate, 50 tons of food, and a huge group of friends to share it with, it just doesn’t get any better! More camping pictures can be seen here. Happy Monday friends!

Blueberries for Sky

{A thousand bonus points for you if you grew up reading Blueberries for Sal and got my title reference}

We recently took a trip to Donnelly’s Riverbank Blueberry Farm just a short drive from our house. This is one of those places you go if you really want to feel like you are out there {proof: there is no website or facebook page}….in the quiet country on a home-grown family run farm. Take a bucket, weigh it yourself, put your money in the can….pull up a chair, borrow a sun hat, and wander.

It was sweltering hot but still, such a relaxing afternoon picking berries in the breeze. If you’d like to visit, berries will be ripe for another week or so {they are open 7am - 7pm} and you can find the farm here:

11827 Reiner Road
Monroe, Washington 98272
360-793-2114

In business since 1989, Donnelly’s does not use any chemicals on their berries. They do use a freshwater pond on the property to irrigate the bushes so whatever is in the water, of course, gets sprayed on the bushes. The best part? They are some of the best blueberries I’ve ever had, so fresh and delicious!

Wednesday Random

As this song continues to play on a solid loop in my head, and I can’t seem to focus on anything other than BlogHer in 6 days {!!!!}, I thought I would share a sprinkling of this and that with you today. A peek into my brain if you will….

I GOT DRESSED

Josh and I had a dinner date on Sunday to celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary. Nothing fancy {OBVIOUSLY since I was too lazy to do my hair and instead put it up in a messy bun}, but still fun to eat in peace and not have a toddler who says “I’m all done” 3 minutes into the meal.

FLATTERY

A lovely blog friend, Sarah, was nice enough to invite me to write a guest post for her while she’s enjoying some summer vacation. It’s part of her “Women and Children” series and focuses on making the decision to have more than one child. You can read it over at her blog, Well and Cheaply, and I’ll be republishing it here next week while I’m in NYC.

A SUMMER SOCIAL

This past weekend, I went to a little Seattle blogger social, hosted by the lovely Ravenna Girls at their ADORABLE house. It was a small group but still wonderful to get to connect and have conversations longer than a few minutes. Sarah, Eva, Cathy {who brought the beautiful flowers featured above}, Madeline, Jenny, Brianne, Danielle, and Lyndsey – all such talented women! Check out their blogs!

NEW YORK CITY!!!!

This map is making me really happy right now:

Not only am I SUPER excited to attend BlogHer {especially to hear Martha Stewart and Katie Couric speak!!}, but that giant city is calling my name and there will be no shortage of sightseeing. As you can tell from the map above, I’ve plotted nearly every possibility knowing that we probably won’t make it to all the places. At least we’ll know what’s around if we are in the area! Extra special thanks to Sandra and Jess {who I’m excited to meet in NYC!} for providing some restaurant suggestions yesterday. It was the missing link to our otherwise very well researched list of adventures. So so SO excited!

As for pre-conference jitters, I’m trying to relax and just enjoy the ride. Packing has started, outfits are mostly picked out, business cards are ready, and I’m just busy plotting, planning, and preparing. I still need a belt for a dress and possibly one more pair of wedges, two things that have been surprisingly hard to find…or I’m just picky. The only other thing I'm missing is a coherent elevator pitch....I literally freeze up when someone asks me what my blog is about. What should I say?!

In case you’re interested, more fun BlogHer related posts from this week can be found here, here, and here!

DAILY LIFE

// Fresh peas from the garden // Knarly traffic, boo! // Our wild July garden // New shoes – he was so excited! //

I think it’s safe to say Sky is pretty much a full blown adult now. With phrases like “Sure, mom”, “I’m just gonna stand right here and do this”, and “Let’s go check to see if the plum’s are ripe”, it’s like I’m living with a teenager, not a 2 1/2 year old. He wants to do EVERYTHING on his own with no help from anyone. I’ve been trying to lure him on the potty with m&m’s but so far, it’s not really working. I told him he could have 1 m&m just for trying to go, 2 m&m’s for #1 and 3 m&m’s for #2. Shortly after that, he pronounced that he is entitled to FIVE m&m’s just for sitting on the potty. I shouldn’t be surprised since he asks for candy and ice cream comes ALL day long. That boy has a serious sweet tooth like his mama!

Leisure Time.

Last weekend, Josh and I went on a 30 hour date to Portland. It was probably the longest amount of time we’ve spent together in months, just us, no Sky….no agenda….no work.

Since visiting earlier the month, I was eager to go back and see more of the city. This time, we were able to conquer much of downtown, the Pearl District, and NW 23rd but another trip is definitely warranted sometime soon {parks! Pittock Mansion! More food! Alberta!}. But, that’s not really important. What’s IMPORTANT is that we ate a lot, drank a lot, went and saw a show, shopped, and generally just had a good time wandering around.

Our hotel….historic, quaint, clean, and charming. Just perfect.

The first part of our afternoon consisted of Stumptown Coffee {IN LOVE} and an inaugural trip to Powell’s {the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world in case you aren’t aware}. I could have stayed there for many days on end….we didn’t even hit the tip of the iceberg. After that, we had a lovely dinner at Andina, followed by a show at the Wonder Ballroom. All goodness.

Sunday morning food trucks not quite open yet!

I couldn’t stay away from Mother’s Bistro. This time, I had crab cakes benedict with sautéed spinach. &*%$#@!

I feel like this is one of the most unflattering pictures of me…but I don’t have any other ones of my face {need to work on that} soooo this is what you get.

After breakfast Sunday morning, we wandered through several cute shops, where I contemplated asking if I could photograph a few things for the blog {aka Oblation Papers & Press and Crafty Wonderland} but then quickly chickened out when I saw how many customers were inside. Josh was happy in the Filson store and a good time was had by all. More affirmation that we need to return again soon! What’s you favorite place in Portland?

P.S. – As you can tell, I got a little color happy with these photos. It was overcast most of the time and I’m just so tired of the PNW’s blahhh gray right now and thought they deserved a little POP! Somehow it instantly brightened my mood, haha!