Turning 30 in England

I was excited to turn the big 3-0 while on this adventure of ours. I was also feeling ready for the next  decade. There is something about feeling more self-assured in your thirties. Ironically, I also turned 21 in England (with a rather different, less classy kind of celebration, might I add). Guess there is something about this country. Many of you know that I am not a fan of having birthday parties for myself (I LOVE going to big celebrations for other people though). When too much attention is on me, I end up drinking too much wine. My idea of birthday bliss is being out to dinner with close friends and family or exploring a faraway place with Jason.

The morning started with a wonderful surprise from sweet husband. Now I can ride around Cambridge with Dexter in the basket. Riiiight. We're still working on that. I also got a delivery of beautiful flowers from Emily.



DeAnna had recently flown in to Manchester to visit her fiancé, Steve, so the two of them drove down on Friday evening to spend the weekend with us in Cambridge. On Friday night, we had a delicious dinner out at The Backstreet Bistro. This was an incredible farm-to-table experience and one of the best dinners we've had out since moving here.

After a fun evening of good wine, perfecting/butchering our English accents, and embarrassing our significant others with our silliness, we all woke up the next morning in need of some strong coffee and cuddle time with the pups. Eventually, we all got ready and set out to explore Cambridge. It was DeAnna and Steve's first time here and we wanted them to see the historical city centre.

We stopped for lunch at The Anchor, right on the River Cam. The Anchor is an ideal place to watch people trying to self-punt down the river. It can be quite entertaining!

Quick side note: I couldn't be happier for these two! Steve is a great, easy going guy with a witty sense of humor (and also happens be a huge Seahawks fan). He's perfect for De. When her and I are together, he isn't even phased by our liveliness!

Let's try that again.

I recently heard that swans are capable of using their neck with enough force to break a human's arm. I'm sure glad that didn't happen.

It was a fabulous birthday weekend. DeAnna and Steve, thanks for making the drive down. We had tons of fun! 

The following morning, Jason and I were up early and off to Morocco!

Day Trip to Felixstowe

Fira was very spoiled in Tacoma. In the late spring and summer months, she would strut walk down to the beach with her head held high and go for a swim and romp in the sand almost weekly. Sigh, the joys of being a native of the PNW (and never being more than a 10 min walk to the water). Needless to say, we were eager to take her to the Suffolk coast, which is the closest "beachy" area from Cambridge. We decided on Felixstowe for our first trip, which ended up being incredibly windy but still a ton of fun. 

This was our first experience with sand from British beaches. Lots of little pebbles. I quite enjoyed it, less messy easy to just shake right out your shoes.

Poor Fira, she wanted to get in the water so bad. It just wasn't safe, even an olympic swimmer like her could get carried out to sea.

There were an assortment of brightly colored huts lining the shore. Turns out people use them for beach parties in the summer. Inside, there is typically a small sitting area and when the doors are open, you can extend your living area onto the beach in front of the hut. 

Felixstowe had a bit of a Coney Island/Jersey Shore feel. But also verrrry British! Quite the fusion.

After a long day of walking the entire coast line of Felixstowe, we were in the mood for proper Fish and Chips.

Dexter was so tired the next morning, he refused to get out of bed. Can you spot the dog?

Historic Lavenham

Lavenham is a historic little village about a 45 min drive east of Cambridge. It's known for it's half-timbered, medieval architecture.  A great place to stop for a cup of tea and a stroll on your way to the Suffolk coast.

Lavenham certainly isn't a very large or bustling place, but the unique architecture sure makes up for what the town is lacking in size. Wow, that sounds kind of like Dexter. His personality makes up for what he's lacking in size! 

72 Hours in DC

After a weekend of OT fun in April, I decided to catch a train down to DC to see a few more of my best girlfriends - such a treat! One of the luxuries of not working (at the time) was getting to do spontaneous side trips such as this. And how could I not go see them when I was only 45 min away?!?

My train arrived at Union Station where Svetty met me (on her way back from a barre method class, of course) and we walked over to her apartment on Capitol Hill. We thought we had some time to spare before getting ready for our jazz show in Georgetown that evening. After a rather firm text from DeAnna, however, we quickly realized we had to start getting ready right away otherwise we would be late! And the two of us are never late.

We UberX'd (btw, am I the last person to find out about this new trend?) it over to Georgetown and even had time for a quick photo!

The jazz show was incredible. Usually I enjoy more of a bluesy jazz that has a distinct rhythm, but this time the random, instrumental sounds really captured my interest! The musicians were extremely talented and fun to watch. 

After the show we walked over to a nearby piano bar and lucked out on front row seats.

Then Mr. Piano Man made fun of us for taking a selfie. Moments later he played a Beatles song and all was forgotten. 

By that point, we were all getting verrry tired so we decided to UberX it home and call it a night.

The next morning, Svetty and I spent a few hours of quality time sipping our coffee and catching up. In the afternoon, she had some work to do so I walked over to Union Station to do a little shopping. Later on, DeAnna picked me up and the two of us went back to her place while Svet finished her work. Nothing like couch surfing in DC!

DeAnna made me a deliciously STRONG cappuccino that just might have topped my special brew.

And I had the privilege of cuddling with these two kitties. Aren't they precious? Not as much as my two children dogs at home, but definitely the next best thing. 

After a few hours of relaxing, we spruced up for dinner in Dupont. DeAnna predicted that I would annoyingly ask for Mexican food after being in England.

She was right. Guacamole really isn't hard to make, but for some reason, British restaurants prefer to serve something that looks vaguely similar and comes from a squeeze bottle. This guacamole was delicious.

And the company was even better. A logger lady reunion!



Jennifer even brought cherry blossom toys for Fira and Dexter!

The following afternoon, DeAnna and I headed over to see the real cherry blossoms and meet up with Svetty. We were actually two days too early for peak bloom, but I was very excited to see them nonetheless. This was my first visit to DC during cherry blossom season.

Sherwood, we miss you!!

Later that evening, DeAnna and I continued with the Mexican theme. Don't worry, we didn't eat all of that food. 

On my last morning, we walked over to the zoo to see the new baby panda.

Svetty, DeAnna, and I had one last meal all together and I was off to the airport.  But first, I had to say goodbye to this handsome boy.

Fira was very excited about her new toys when I got home! 

Thanks for the hospitality, ladies. Cheers to wonderful girlfriends!!