Seahawk Sunday

Corey bought season tickets to the Seahawks this year and today was my turn to be his date for the game against the Arizona Cardinals. While the game was pretty bad (3-27), I had fun at my first Seahawks game - everyone gets so excited and into the game, it was hard not to get excited myself. Seahawks fans are definitely a bit less mellow than the Mariner fans I'm used to!

The weather cleared up in time for the game after yesterday's on and off downpours, so we didn't have to worry about getting soaked walking to / from the game - a definite plus!

Another thing that helped me enjoy the game more today that I might have in the past is that Corey has been explaining the rules to me so I understood a lot more about what was going on down on the field. Don't get me wrong, I still found time to watch the Seagals and ask Corey all sorts of random questions completely unrelated to the game in front of us, which I'm sure he appreciated.

The day was totally made after the game when we stopped for delicious hot dogs on the way back to the car. Yum!

All in all, it was a great date day with my hubby!

Corey snacking and waiting for kick-off.

Loved that we had a view of the entire field and stadium - lots of things to look at during the game! There is some good people watching at those games, let me tell ya!

These post-game smiles are a result of our hot dog snack.

Snow (Patrol) Comes to Seattle!

We're back in Seattle and back to reality (i.e. work, cooking, cleaning, laundry) but we took a break last night and headed to the Paramount to see Snow Patrol. The tickets were a gift from my parents to Corey for his birthday. Between Snow Patrol and their opening band, the Plain White T's, it was sure to be a great show.

Though we arrived just in time to catch only the last few words of the Ts' second to last song, Hey There Delilah, we didn't have to wait long for Snow Patrol to come on. They were great live and I'm so glad we were able to go!

Here are a few photos from the show.

Rehearsal & Wedding - Days 5 & 6

We're at Logan Airport in Boston waiting for our flight back to Seattle and can't quite believe that our vacation and Spence & Renata's wedding are over. Neither of us are ready to return to reality yet but we've had a great week and are looking forward to seeing Miss Roxy when we get home tonight.

The last few days have been a whirlwind of exciting activities to celebrate Spence and Renata's wedding. On Friday night, there was a rehearsal at St. Francis Chapel, followed by a delicious dinner at Aspen in Old Saybrook. We had a great time meeting their other close friends and family members. After dinner was an after party back at the hotel, which Renata thoughtfully planned with an Irish theme (Spence is Irish). The food, music and some of the alcohol followed the theme - very fun.

Yesterday, the guys headed off to breakfast and lunch together before donning their tuxes and I spent some time wandering through downtown Mystic. Once everyone was ready, we all boarded the shuttles that took us over to the church. The reception was then held at Eolia Mansion, an amazing venue right on the shore in Waterford. The entire venue, along with the floral arrangements, decorations, etc., was extremely amazing – no detail was missed. The entire event was very lavish. Everyone was in awe of the surroundings - I don't think many of us have been to such a beautiful, lavish reception. Everything was amazing, including the music, which was provided by Soulsystem Orchestras, a band out that was formed by Rob Affuso, the drummer of Skid Row. Rob was part of the band and was present at the wedding as well! Spence and Renata looked fabulous and they are so happy together. We had an absolute blast celebrating with them and didn't want the night to end.

This morning, Spence and Renata hosted another event (a farewell brunch) for all the guests, so we were able to say our goodbyes before we headed back to the airport and they get ready for their honeymoon in the Maldives (we are so jealous!).

We had a fabulous week and are already trying to figure out when we can make it back to the east coast to visit Spence & Renata in their new house and Mick and his new baby boy in NYC.

Below are some photos from the events over the last few days and my Flickr site has been updated with all the photos I took over the last week.

Rehearsal Dinner table - John (groomsman), Yuli (best man), Heidi (bridesmaid), Mick (groomsman), Corey.

The groomsmen: Yuli (best man), John, Mick, and Corey. (Missing is Renata's brother Dan.)

Destination wedding = Corey gets to enjoy alcoholic beverages. I think he was having fun at the after party.

Corey and I outside the church.

Eolia Mansion.

Amazing sunset to end a perfect day. This is looking just beyond Eolia's beautifully landscaped gardens.

As you can see, the decorations were amazing...

Katrina, Brian and Mick smiling while Corey makes faces behind them. (I didn't even see Corey there until after I took the photo. He's a sneaky one.)

The beautiful couple listening to Mick's speech.

Boston to Connecticut - Day 4

Yesterday morning, Corey and I packed up, said goodbye to Boston and hopped in a rental car to make our way to Mystic, CT, a cute little seaside town, for Spence and Renata's wedding.

Since the drive is only about 90 miles, we decided to take our time getting here in order to take some detours along the way, including scenic State Route 169 and the Gillette Castle. SR 169 proved to be a great highway for leaf peeping, which we've heard is amazing in New England in October. While not all the trees have started changing yet, it was an amazing drive and a great way to spend our afternoon.

From there, we headed over to Gillette Castle, a castle that was designed by William Gillette and built between 1914-1919. William was a playwright who wrote and acted in many plays. He even helped write Sherlock Holmes and acted as Sherlock over 1,300 times in his lifetime. It was his idea to add a pipe to Sherlock's image --- something that many associate with Mr. Holmes today. We were able to tour the castle, learn a lot about Gillette's history and take in some great views.

After the castle, we headed to our hotel in Mystic for some relaxing before we met up with Spence and Renata and four of their friends from D.C. for dinner at Azu followed by drinks at a nearby Irish bar.

Tonight is their rehearsal, dinner and an after party at our hotel. Should be tons of fun. We are all looking forward to the wedding tomorrow!

In the meantime, feel free to check out the photos of yesterday's journey below, or head to either of our Flickr sites for all photos taken so far. (Corey's site is here and my site is here.)

Heading towards Connecticut after just leaving Boston.

Beginning our drive along SR 169.

First photo op stop along 169.

Another stop along 169. Everything here is so cute and quaint.

Making our way up to Gillette Castle.

Inside the castle, looking into the great room from the second floor. Loved the openness of this area of the house.

Full shot of the castle as we were leaving.

Corey and the groom-to-be. They've been friends for about 30 years!

Boston - Day 3

We had another great day in Boston today. Started off with some relaxing in our room since there were strong winds and downpours on and off outside. It finally cleared up enough for us to head over to the T (Boston's subway system) to make our way to Harvard.

Harvard was very pretty, even if it was gray and gloomy while we were there. Surprisingly though, some of it reminded me of the quad at UW (I think it was all the red brick buildings). We explored the campus and surrounding area a bit before heading back to the T to go to the North End again.

Once there, we headed to Limoncello, a recommendation from Corey's co-worker (and our friend) Matt. It was delicious! We followed up lunch with some gelato and made our way back to our hotel to relax before a nice dinner.

For dinner, we headed back down Newbury to Capital Grille for an awesome steak and salmon dinner. Between dinner, the shared bottle of wine and dessert, Corey practically had to carry me home. I may need to sneak in some extra workouts once we're back home!

Looking forward to tomorrow - we'll be road trippin' it over to Mystic, Connecticut for Spence and Renata's wedding this weekend!

Waiting for the Red Line to take us over to Harvard.

Harvard is made up of some amazing, old brick buildings like this one.

Corey and I trying to fit in on campus. I think our cameras gave us away, though.

Outside Limoncello after lunch.

Our walk back down Newbury towards our hotel after a delish dinner.

Boston - Day 2

Yesterday we woke up to sunshine and similar temps and decided to walk the Freedom Trail to see the historical sites of Back Bay, Government Center and the North End. We got tons of great pictures along the way (he with his camera and me with my new camera).

I’d heard Ben Affleck was filming (and producing and directing) The Town here in Boston so, being the stalker I am, I did a little research on my phone to find out where they were shooting. Lucky for us, they were filming in the North End, right off the Freedom Trail.

We easily found the location and ended up walking right through the set and saw both Ben and his director’s chair. Before we knew it, he was only about 20 feet away getting ready to hop in a car and several folks ran over to get his autograph – I wasn’t quick enough and missed my chance at talking to him before he drove off. Total bummer. A bit later, though, we finished up on our walk and headed back into the North End on our way back to our hotel to see if filming was still going on…and it was! We grabbed some drinks at a bar that showcased front row viewing and watched them film for awhile.

Corey got some great pictures of Ben while we sat there. It was so cool to be so close and to see everything that goes into just a few second clip of a scene. Depending on where today takes us, we may just have to walk by the set again to get some more photos and see if I can’t get an autograph! More details about yesterday's shoot can be found on the Loaded Gun Boston blog.

Once we made it back to our hotel, we did a little more walking along Newbury and stopped at Kashmir, a great Indian restaurant, for dinner. It's such a great city for wandering around and exploring.

Another great day in the city and looking forward to what adventures await us today!

Found a cute T-Mobile store on Newbury.

Loved how the shops along Newbury look. They're all on the first floor of townhouses / apartments.

Great park / pond in the Public Garden across from our hotel.

Corey in the Public Garden. The leaves on some of the trees are just starting to change color. So pretty.

More views of the Public Garden.

Shot of the Boston Common, a larger park area right across from the Public Garden. Such a gorgeous fall day.

Just in case you didn't believe it was actually Ben Affleck that we saw, here's his chair to prove it.

Signing autographs - totally missed my chance to meet him!

Talking to the crew.

Getting out the big guns. This is just before he put on his scary bank-robber nun mask.

Found a place where everyone knows your name. (This shot is for my parents - Cheers was one of their favorite shows when I was little.)

Boston Adventure Begins

Landed in Boston around 5 p.m. yesterday evening to sunny skies and temps in the 60s.

Once we made it to our hotel (the Taj, which took over the old Ritz-Carlton), we settled in to our nice room and then went out to explore Newbury Street, which, perfect for us, is full of fun shops. After shopping around for a bit, we hit up Parish Café for dinner and then headed to Globe to watch the Packers vs. Vikings game, which even I enjoyed (yes, I’d had a few beers, but I think Corey’s trying to teach me about football for three years is finally starting to pay off).

Boston is such a great city - it's so cute, clean and charming. I would move here in a minute if I could. It was a great first day of our week long adventure– a perfect way to top off my birthday celebrations.

Arriving in Boston!

Such a pretty city...so charming.

Found my ride. Lucky for me, it matches my red earrings (courtesy of Kels!)

More Birthday Celebrations!

Since we're leaving for Boston and Connecticut tomorrow, Corey let me open my birthday presents from him last night. In addition to Joshua Radin concert tickets, a Nike running jacket and a cool charger for my BlackBerry, I got an awesome digital camera! The photos with it are so much better than my old camera...I guess the extra 8 megapixels helps!

I couldn't wait to start using it to capture photos for the blog, so I packed it along for my happy hour celebration tonight at the Matador with some of my girlfriends. Kels, Gina, Sara, Heather and Brooke joined me there to catch up over yummy cocktails and appetizers. It's been a few weeks since I'd seen most of them - it was so great to catch up. And to top it all off - they completely spoiled me.

I am so lucky to have so many great friends in my life! Thanks to all of you for my many birthday celebrations!

First shot with the new camera. Great subject, if I do say so myself. ;)

(A newly engaged!!) Brooke and Gina.

Heather

Heather, me, Kels

Kels, Gina, Sara

Kels, me, Gina and Sara