Puppying, Eating, Elliot Bay-ing, Upcoming SoulCycling and a Diagnosis

I haven’t posted in awhile because I went to Seattle and then had to catch up like crazy when I got back. Some highlights from the Seattle trip:

Friday: Seeing Santana for the second time ever and falling completely in love. How adorable is she in her pajamas!

Saturday: We went to the always yummy Mae’s Phinney Ridge Cafe. My brother got CROISSANT FRENCH TOAST. Wow. Dinner at The Pink Door where my mom had the best scallops I ever tasted and my brother, Mallory and I shared a delicious Fudge Brownie Sundae with Pomegranate Sauce – the perfect mixture of sweet and tart! Then we went to see The Lion King, a traveling Broadway show type thing. The costumes were incredible, but I fell asleep pretty soon into it due to a big meal + jetlag.

When we got back to the apartment, Mallory heated up a homemade cookie she made! She had the cookie dough chopped up in the freezer and stuck my cookie in the toaster oven. The entire inside was chocolate chips so it was warm goo – I LOVED it! Perfect bedtime treat.

Sunday: Breakfast at Portage Bay! It was a tough decision, but I ultimately decided on the Seasonal Compote French Toast – Graham Cracker crusted challah french toast, seasonal fruit compote, vanilla custard, whipped cream. It came with a trip to the toppings bar where I got some delicious syrup! It was absolutely incredible and I can’t wait to go back and try different types of french toast there.

For dinner we were so excited about Red Mill Burgers! These burgers are truly special. We got there and stood on the very long line when an employee came out with a sign that said “Closed” and informed us that they had run out of meat! Uhh how does a popular burger place, known for its MEAT, run out of meat! Ridiculous! So we left and went to Kidd Valley. My cheeseburger was still delicious and I got to have yummy sweet potato fries – my favorite!

We also picked up some ice cream for dessert – notably Edy’s Slow Churned Girl Scout Tagalong ice cream! I was SO excited to try this one since I didn’t even know they made a Tagalong version (I have already had the Samoa and Thin Mint). Unfortunately, I passed out on the couch at 8:30 and the ice cream remained unopened.

Here are two pictues: one of my brother with Santana, and another of me playing Santana’s only game (tug-of-war/fetch/who can get the toy first/tug-of-war once again) while looking at a picture my mom is showing me of my brother WITH Santana. I like that so much is going on there  🙂

Monday: Walked around Pike’s Place where I sampled incredible Marionberry Preserves, but forgot to actually purchase them. I tasted lots of other delicious goods as well. Then for the highlight – THE ELLIOT BAY BOOK COMPANY! This place is my crack. Every time I come to Seattle, I need to go there and buy books.

The employees who work there review the books so you can find little notecards with the reviews right alongside the books. The enticing, phenomenal reviews really make me want the book! This is great since I might not have chosen these books on my own. I used to work at a book company but since I left I have been a little out of touch with new titles. I left with 4 books but really wanted more. Luckily, Mallory had one of the ones I wanted to she lent it to me. There was another one that I really wanted because of the review, but I had a strong feeling I already had that one in my apartment (I will have to look!) If not, I’ll order it online. I have a ridiculous amount of books in my apartment (and my mom’s) because I took EVERYTHING when I worked at the book company.

Elliot Bay also has an extensive bargain section, where I grabbed a book I had never heard of (Dear Zoe), read it in its entirety on the plane ride back and fell in love. Another thing about Elliot Bay is the atmosphere. You walk in to this old wooden store and the floor creaks as you wander. There are little nooks and staircases and shelves and shelves and shelves of books. It is almost magical. I definitely feel different when I am in there. Just going in there is an experience on its own.

You can find some of the staff recommended books here: http://www.elliottbaybook.com/lists/index.jsp

I bought American Wife (Curtis Sittenfeld), Sarah’s Key (Tatiana de Rosnay), Remember Me (Sohpie Kinsella – a guilty pleasure) and the from the bargain table Dear Zoe (Philip Beard). The book I almost got but instead Mallory lent me is The Reader (Bernhard Schlink), which I am reading right now. The book I wanted to buy but think I might already have at home is What Was Lost (Catherine O’Flynn). If I don’t have it after all I’ll order myself a copy because it got such a great review at the store.

After we left, we went into Fireworks which is a very fun store! They have the most random things — very cute gifts and other randomness — and I always laugh when I’m there. It’s hard to describe but check out the website. I got the boy a little present there. Whenever we go to Elliot Bay we also stop in Rocky Mountain Chocolate. I had a delicious sample of some chocolate thing with an apple, which made it juicy and tasty! I took the piece with the smallest apple because of my stomach. I bought a Valentine’s Day box of chocolates (half price!) to bring to my work meeting on Wednesday. It was delicious!

And I finally had the Edy’s Slow Churned Girl Scout Tagalong ice cream – it was SO GOOD!

Here is a very tired puppy:

 

This weekend the boy and I are finally going to go to SoulCycle to try it out! Even though I can spin for free at my gym, when I am at his place we use the gym in his building, and we both miss spinning. If he likes it, this will be a great option for him to drop in on a spin class every now and then. I can’t wait to try it out! The class we wanted was already filled which makes me wonder if it is a better class. Maybe one day we will try to register earlier in the week, but for now I am very excited to see how our class is this Saturday. Now that I am comfortable with my spin shoes, snapping them into the pedals and positioning my bike, I am curious to see how it is at other places. I’ll be sure to give a little review next week.

Updates: 

I like the Annie’s Mac and Cheese singles very much! Stomach seems to be okay so I’ll have them for lunch every now and then.

I basically have a diagnosis on my condition. I’m not ready to post this on here (and I don’t know if I ever will be) but please feel free to leave a comment and let me know if you’d like me to tell you privately. Unfortunately, there is no definite treatment, and I am on the same course of trying different treatments and hoping one works. I left a message for a nutritionist in my doctor’s office so hopefully I can meet her and learn more about my food options.

Runners, Cyclists, Etc: Please read Caitlin’s post about Road IDs and why you should wear one. Once I start running outside (if I am able to!) I plan on always wearing one of these for my safety.

That’s all for now.