It’s June and we’re nine days into summer. I don’t think I’ve felt like we’re in that stretch of hot summer days that don’t seem to end quite this early before. It’s too early to complain, plus it’s not really my style to complain about sunshine and heat, but we are working hard at finding creative solutions to staying cool in our hotbox house.
{Henry and Jackson parked in front of the fan}
Last week I shared that I had found some new sources and inspiration for how to consume the great produce in our CSA. I’m pleased to report that I had at least one salad every single day last week. If you know much about me, you know that is very strange – it’s unusual for me to have a salad a month let alone a day. But, lo and behold, I have started to come over to the dark side and I’ve got to say I’m enjoying it!
{checking out the goods! so enjoy having salad as a light, “no cook” meal in the heat.}
{as a “no cook” idea I got a rotisserie chicken from whole foods that I can use in a few different meals this week. tonight’s menu is all about grilling, though!}
As another follow up to last week’s post, I’m pleased to report that Alex and I have gotten ourselves into more of a consistent routine, particularly with Spanish. We discussed a daily Spanish schedule with our tutor, and she really upped the homework and told us we need to spend at least an hour a day on Spanish in order to make progress.
Additionally, I feel like I’m starting to get into a rhythm with my own personal routine. My work schedule slowed down last week and allowed me some consistency. I went for three great runs last week, and this week I plan on starting to increase the length of one of my runs to start officially training for my half marathon this September. I’ll basically just run 2-3 short runs each week {2-3 miles} and one “long” run each week, where I increase the long run by one mile each week, starting with running 4 miles this week.
Over the weekend, we did find some fun ways to beat the heat. On Friday night we grabbed a quick dinner at one of Tom Douglas’ new spots, TanakaSan, before catching the new Jurassic Park movie at a fancy theater called Cinerama in downtown. The food at TanakaSan was really fun and different- we shared the Osaka Pancake, which was fantastic, and I had a Hawaiian burger, which was amazing. It was nice to have a fun date night – I couldn’t think of the last time I went to a movie! And we both enjoyed the movie – different parts, though 
{just in time… I ordered new natural sunscreen and bug spray. anxious to try them both out!}
Saturday was a day of running around. We took Jackson down to the lake for a quick swim and then took care of a few things around the house.
{tested out our new griddle – turns out, it is super handy to make pancakes on a griddle rather than a pan!}
{using my CSA and farmer’s market berries to make a cobbler}
{a “quint” berry cobbler sounded pretty good… too bad I was a little overzealous and accidentally doubled the amount of butter in the crumble topping. oops! I have never said math was my strong suit… oh, and the cobbler still tasted good!}
Later on, we headed over to the Eastside to run some errands before meeting our friend Ali at Chateau Ste Michelle for their member appreciation concert. Ali and Tyler have been inviting us to attend this particular concert with them for four years now {they are wine club members at CSM} and the concerts are so fun! This year, a Beatles cover band was playing. Sadly, Tyler missed out because he was home sick.
{enjoying our picnic and thankful the sun went behind the trees!}
We arrived early so we could partake in the free wine tasting and get set up and start eating our picnic. Each year, though, we get shown up by fancy people with incredible picnic sets. And while we had kind of a fancy picnic, too, we were definitely shown up! Next year we will have a table!
{this was seriously someone’s picnic! can you believe they brought a plant inside a watermelon…!?}
On Sunday morning I took Jackson for a long run down along the lake, followed by a quick swim for him. Just as I was arriving home it started to thunder! Thankfully a little storm blew through and the temperature dropped and the wind picked up so our house cooled off a bit {to 78 degrees}.
{he never can make up his mind whether he wants to be inside or out!}
That afternoon we headed to Magnuson Park to attend Eat, Run, Hope, an event in support of fetal health. Several of my friends have suffered through pregnancy loss in varying forms, so this was one little way I could give back in support of fetal research. Plus, it was a great event with amazing food tastings from some of the best chefs in Seattle.
{we got to spend the afternoon with this cool dude – Conner is Ali’s 13-month old and he is the most chill child I’ve ever met!}
{Vivian, Ali’s 2 1/2-year old, kept us entertained all afternoon. Viv is unbelievably cute and has an enormous personality. somehow she ended up with an arm painting instead of on her face?}
This week is moderately busy with some fun outdoor activities planned. We are in town for the 4th {I think we’re the only ones who are!} and looking forward to crossing some more of our summer bucket list items off our list.
