His/Hers

I’ve always loved the idea of cooking with fresh herbs but could never get myself to drop the $3+ on a few stems of fresh thyme or rosemary to be used in just one recipe.  I would dream of one day having a “kitchen garden” of my own that I could turn to when needed.  In St Louis we attempted to grow herbs and had some success with basil, but would never have a large enough variety or quantity to truly supplement our kitchen.

When we moved into this house we planted many herbs on our back porch and hoped and prayed that they would survive…and survive they did!! We now have parsley, dill, mint, thyme, basil, rosemary, oregano and sage to our heart’s content, and a good number of tomatoes ripening on the vines.  It has been so much fun!!  Now I am desperately seeking out recipes to utilize these precious ingredients.  So far we’ve made basil pesto with David’s homemade pasta noodles, pesto with salmon, Greek salad with oregano and parsley, mint chocolate gelato, and many many rosemary potatoes.  It has been such a treat for us.

We are still looking for great ways to use our herbs.  Please help us by passing on your favorite herbalicious recipes.  We hate the thought of these little kitchen luxuries going to waste, so if you are ever in need of those few sprigs to complete your own recipe, please stop by!  We’d love to see them used to satisfy the palate and the belly…whosever it may be!

Yes, I went to the No Doubt concert last week.

And yes, I got to meet the band.

And yes, I had a wonderful time.

But the real story is that my dear friend Mikki got to meet the band that she has LOVED since she was ten years old and tell them just how important they have been in her life!  This was her 13th time seeing them in 13 years.  It was so wonderful to be able to share in this very important and exciting event in her life.

One of the best things about our move back to Seattle is being close to our beloved friends.  It has been such a delight and encouragement to be around them.  Today I had the honor of hosting Ezra’s 1st birthday party!!  Ezra is my dear dear friend Jessica’s (and Brendan’s) little man.  I had the joy of being with her during the birth of Ezra but I sadly missed his first year of life.  I am trying to make up for lost time now and it was such a pleasure to be able to celebrate his life with his family and friends.

Hurray for presents…

…and colorful tissue paper…

…and ribbons!

This was my long awaited first taste of Trophy cupcakes…yes, they are amazing.

E- “Can I really??

Yum yum yum.

The whole happy family.

The beautiful mama and me!

We had a wonderful Fourth of July.  It was a beautiful sunny day and David and I set out to explore some of our favorite spots in the city.  We went to Kerry Park, Alki Beach and Downtown Seattle.  We then met up with friends to watch Team USA play Grenada in soccer. It was exiting in many ways.  In the first 10 minutes these guys in front of us began to fight and a beer thrown at someone else somehow landed all over me.  Not fun. But USA won and our drive home took us right pass the Gasworks firework display. When we arrived home the fireworks were still going on and we found out that you can see them from our back porch!!  Party at the Richmon’s next July 4th…mark your calenders!

We love love love our new little house.  We worked very hard for the first couple of days to get settled in so that it felt like home…and it does!!  Our favorite thing about it is the location.  We are a short walk away from our Church, Greenlake, and many fun shops and restaurants.  It’s so fun to be a part of a neighborhood. Here are some pictures.

You can’t see well in this picture, but from our back porch we have a view of Greenlake and Mt Rainier.  It’s so beautiful and such a treat for us.

This is my little birdie Rocky.  He is 14 years old and lives with my parents.  He got to take a vacation at our house while their floors were being redone and we had the perfect little room for him.  In fact, I don’t think this room is meant for anything other than a bird!  We’ve loved having him but I know my parents miss his company.

I’m back blogging after a long hiatus and have many things to catch you all up on.  First, the move.  The trip was surreal and stressful and exciting.  Although we reserved a 16 foot truck, they only had a 26 foot truck.  Talk about adding to the stress of things!  It was massive especially when towing our car. By some act of God we arrived safely in Seattle three days later and were greeted by our family and the first view of our new little house.  It was emotional on many levels and very draining…but oh so wonderful.   Here are some pictures of our beautiful country from the view of the passenger seat of our giant Pensky truck.